our viewer winner is michael. his caption, to oscar meyer, the last honorable wiener. michael, very good. your "beat 360" t-shirt is on the way. that does it for "360." thanks for watching. see you tomorrow. tonight, two words that will strike fear into the hearts of every liberal. ann coulter. why does the darling of the right believe that all liberals are demonic? what does she think of weinergate. >> he couldn't decide if it was his. >> if you don't run, chris christie, romney will be the nominee. >> mitt romney is back with me tonight. i have tough questions for the man that wants to be your next president. do you think personally think homosexuality is a sin? >> nice try. but i'm not going to get into it. it is a valid question, but nice try. >> and who knows mitt romney better than anybody, his wife.

>> the passion comes out for sure, in many ways. >> i bet. now we're talking. >> this is "piers morgan tonight." good evening. ann coulter is a shy, retiring, mild mannered young lady. never afraid to keep her mind to herself. the complete opposite. exhibit a, her latest book, "demonic: how the liberal mob is endangering america." ann coulter joins me. i'm so excited by this. >> me too. >> to have you in my lair, the provocateur of the right. >> i've been dying to do the show. but i've been busy writing the book. >> you seem relatively harmless in the flesh. >> i am. >> are you harmless? >> i think i'm a pussycat. >> really? >> yes. >> you think all the devils lie with the liberals? >> well, not exactly. it is not called demons.

it is called demonic. it is about liberal mob psychology, how they gin up their base, how they argue. all these things that used to confuse me about liberals and, by the way, i consider myself something of an expert on liberals. there was some things even i could not understand. for example, so many of them seem to do well on their s.a.t.s because they have gone to places like harvard and yale and yet they seem so stupid. and that's explained as mob psychology in a mob, a man, even of great education and intelligence, will suddenly become part of the mob. >> here's my confusion with you. i've watched you from afar and read your work. >> it is fun, isn't it? >> great fun. great fun. endlessly entertaining, amusing, provocative. >> thank you. >> my kind of girl. >> thank you. >> forget the politics for a moment. when i see you, you have the brass neck to say this, just as fire seeks oxygen, democrats seek power. as if somehow republicans in

this country don't also like fire-seeking oxygen and want power. this is ridiculous. this is from your publishers. this is actually the publishing literature for your book. >> of course. they want to gin people like you up. >> tell me there is some way that republicans don't seek power. >> of course, politicians seek power. but the point here is, and the examples i give are how democrats will, for example, they appeal to the segregationists, they appeal to the kkk, they were the party of maddox and orville forbus standing in the schoolhouse door. and then suddenly they switch and they're going to use blacks as a mob and gays as a mob and women as a lob and illegal aliens as a mob. as long as they have power, they don't care what happens. look at medicare and medicaid and security. their authors knew this can't last.

but we'll be dead and gone by the time the bill comes due. and you can't get democrats to focus on what we're going to do with the programs going bankrupt. they just want to keep demagoguing, demagoguing, demagoguing. >> if the republicans are so brilliant, and don't dispute -- >> i do not think republicans are brilliant. >> i don't dispute your words here, but if they're so perfect, why is it that america, this great superpower, was dragged into the biggest recession it ever has had under eight years of republican administration. >> i'm glad you asked that. that's one of the first examples i use in chapter one. >> i know. but why is it? >> what happened was, it was like a three or four-step process, it is relatively simple. you had the democrats through fannie mae and freddie mac pushing politically or rather financially suicidal loans on the banks. you have to give mortgages to poor people. >> when you have an eight-year republican administration, even you --

>> oh, no, no. >> with your brass neck cannot blame democrats. >> republicans were screaming from the rooftops about fannie mae. >> there was a republican president. why didn't he do something about it? >> he tried. >> for eight years? >> he did. but the point was it was democrats and barney frank and chris dodd. i haven't finished explaining. >> how can you blame the democrats for an eight-year regime which does nothing about it? >> push this politically or rather financially suicidal loans on the banks, literally allowing unemployment benefits to be used as collateral. those mortgages then get bundled into mortgage-backed securities by the big banks. they're spread throughout the economy. when the housing market tanks, that collapses, the entire economy. it is a fact -- >> why didn't your team do something about it? >> they did. greg man cue, the white house economic adviser, there is a long record, this is a boring subject. >> no, i like it. >> their eyes glaze over when you talk about mortgages. but i'll tell you, the republicans were screaming from

the rooftop and i -- >> it is not a boring subject. it is the single biggest crisis facing america. >> and we are at least talking about what it is really about as opposed to what i make fun of democrats in the book for, you ask a democrat what caused the recession, they say, bush drove a car into a bush. or into the -- into the lake. and now he wants the keys back. now the republicans want the keys back. that's russian approach to politics, use images, not words. >> what do you think about the bankers who were bailed out, awarding themselves multimillion dollar advances. >> it drives me crazy that republicans get saddled with wall street when obama took the biggest haul from wall street of any -- >> why is your instinctive gut reaction to everything i say, even when i'm agreeing with you, why is it always to mention the democrats? >> technically what i'm mentioning -- >> you're programmed like a robot. i can't answer a question, i have to blame a democrat. all you've done so far, even though we have agreed on several things, you've gone, wait, it is obama's fault, it was the

democrats. >> a, that was your question. why are -- if republicans are so brilliant, i'm answering your question. and, b -- >> the second question was about the bonuses, nothing to do with -- >> what i'm robotically going to keep returning to is what i say about it in the book. i contrast the french and the american revolution, i think are the two absolutely opposite revolutions. it was a -- they were debaters, they were thinkers, they're writing christian sermons on behalf of what was actually a pretty tough argument to make. it wasn't a bad thing being a british colony. it was an intellectual point, we want independence. french revolution by contrast, it was the revolt of the mob. that's why it is relevant to this book. it is lunatics running around chopping off heads, sticking heads on pikes and on guillotines. but they're often compared in this country. i say the liberal tradition comes from the french revolution whose --

>> gustav labon. >> the father of the group. >> adolf hitler and benit mussolini. >> he was not writing his book as a how to book, it was a warning, but they used his warning. >> two of the greatest mobsters over the last 100 years were right wing -- why did you write a book called "demonic" and it explains how the greatest, most murderous uprisings in history, the most murderous, rallying of mobs ever were by right wing-loanies, not left wing. >> this would be like citing someone who discovers some horrible virus and these scientists write about the virus to come up with a cure for the virus and then the terrorists still the book and they design the virus in order to kill lots of people. that is how hitler and mussolini

used gustav's warning against mobs, calling them dangerous, saying how they're irrational, they're simple minded, they create messiahs, they have contradictory thinking. with labon, it was a warning. hitler and mussolini studied labon to order how to gin up -- >> where is the similar mob to mussolini's and hitler's in the modern democratic era? >> well, i would say that there are a lot of similarities. the french revolution -- they're much closer to the original tea party, which -- and actually not as -- not as much of a rabl as the original tea party. the founding fathers weren't wild about the original tea party. >> are you worried about them? >> who. >> the tea party. >> the current tea party, hei love them. >> what do people think about you? you're intelligent. you live a provocative --

>> i can't believe you're insulting the tea partiers. >> they're not the brightest, are they? >> they're smarter than any liberal. >> do you think so? >> yeah. >> you really think that? >> yes, i do. >> in your heart. >> i meet them and speak to them and they get my jokes which already makes them smarter than the average -- >> does that make them smart? >> smarter than the average liberal. i'm having to explain, map out how the joke works here. >> liberals use mobs to seize power and impose their theories on the populace for the good of humanity. i think sarah palin would write that, who whether you like it or not, is a brilliant rouser of the populous, like nothing else in politics now. after obama himself and his last election, she's doing an incredible job marshalling her base. but she also comes out with some pretty inflammatory stuff and that surely arouses a mob mentality. you wouldn't dispute that. >> i don't think she's inflammatory. i think she's a great speaker. what do you think she said that is inflammatory.

>> putting cross hairs on people's heads. >> come on. i talk about that in the book too. >> is that inflammatory? >> that was invented by democratic strategist bob beckel as he admitted on tv. >> you go back to the democrats. i'm asking you about sarah palin. >> where is the camera? i'm going back to the book because i talk about -- let me answer this one. it is a beautiful example of something in the question. >> your default process throughout this so far is fascinating. every single time i ask you a question, rather than answer about sarah palin and cross hairs, you go, what about democrats? >> piers, darling, if i were selling you a book, if i were talking about a book i had just written about dogs, and you ask me what comforts old people, i would say, why, piers, dogs do. in fact, i talk about it in my book. my book is called "how the liberal mob is endangering america." if i could answer the question

on the cross hairs issue, it is a perfect example of totally contradictory thinking by the left in america, an example of the mob where they go around hysterical of sarah palin putting on cross hairs. it is a classic thing in politics. >> was it a sensible thing to do? >> yes, it is fine for both the democrats and the republicans to do it. >> would you encourage them to carry on doing it? >> yes. that isn't accused taylor to shoot up a shopping mall. >> how do you know? >> because we know. >> mentally unstable guy. it didn't have any connection, it would appear. >> as it turns out, he was a liberal. >> how would you have felt if he was mentally unstable, he had seen the website, he misunderstood the instruction from the cross hair, and he went and did the same thing? then what would you think? >> well, what if i walk out of this studio tonight, and someone who has seen you accusing me of being mean to liberals is so

ginned up, he shoots me. would you not ask any of the questions you're asking? no, you can't in the law -- this is called the eggshell skull theory, you cannot be held accountable for -- because someone else has an eggshell skull. you would take reasonable care and that isn't what happens, so you're hypothesizing the same way i am and it is a lot more likely that a liberal will run at me than anybody is going to run at a democrat because of cross hair on a map. >> let's come back to more hypothesizing in a moment after the break. we'll talk about the republican leadership battle at the moment. mitt romney and sarah palin. i want you to focus on them without once mentioning democrats. >> i'm going to mention the book. i can't do it without mentioning the book. that is impossible. [ female announcer ] only yoplait original has twice the calcium of the leading yogurt. that's 50% of the daily value. pass on the news and make sure you and everyone you know

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but i think -- well, i'll put it in a nut shell, if you don't chris christie, romney will be the nominee and we'll lose. >> you still think that? >> yes. no. yes, i still think we should run chris christie. i now think the economy is -- in fact, i've retracted this to some extent like a month ago on some radio show or something. i now think the economy is such a disaster and obama has such a glass jaw that we might win with romney. >> he's on after you again tonight. the economy is one of his strong points to argue. >> no. it is. the problem with romney that a lot of people have, people like me, conservatives, is romney care. i still think he'll probably be be the nominee unless christie jumps in. christie is pretty stunning. >> what about sarah palin? is she going to run? you probably know, don't you? >> i haven't the first idea. >> do you think she should? >> i wouldn't if i were in her shoes, not for president, maybe

senator or something. >> why not for president? she could probably get a big vote. >> it would be the worst job imaginable, both running and holding the office. >> really? >> yeah. >> doesn't she love it? she loves being a big star. >> she is a big star. >> but the biggest thing on the planet. >> she's virtually the biggest thing on the planet. >> is she dangerous? >> no. she's fabulous. >> you don't see any fault line in sarah palin? >> no, i think she's terrific. i think she's well spoken. i think she has a very high iq. i think she has a way of putting words together and appealing to people. i think she's a huge star now. why would you wreck your life by running for president? when i give -- i mostly speak on college campuses, because i like hearing liberals try to formulate a question, and that also helps give me the idea for the book, being around liberals and they are kind of mob-like, but sometimes i speak to friendly audiences and i'm often asked, you know, why don't you run for president? i used to be really insulted by

that question. and, again, i would frown and tell my friends, i'll really annoyed. i'm an author. it is an awful job. like saying you're ceo of a company, well, why don't you become a dog walker or newspaper delivery boy or something? and my friends persuaded me it was meant as a compliment. >> why if it is such a lowdown profession, why are you obsessed with it? you stay up to 3:00, 4:00 in the morning, writing your words of fury and bile. >> yes. >> you sleep until noon. is this right? >> yes. >> that is a bit weird, isn't it? >> that's when i get up early. >> a bit unusual. >> not for a writer it isn't. have you seen "the shining," jack nicholson, that's me. >> yeah, exactly, weird and slightly scary. >> and that's why i'm so happy i'm out.

it is finally done. let's talk about the book. >> you stop the shameless plugs. let's talk weiner. let's talk weiner. >> i would love to talk weiner because that comes right back. >> tell me about weiner. >> among the things i like is that in his press conference yesterday he, you know, admitted he sent the pecker photo out and said he sent it as a joke. i would just say, score. totally great joke. how does that joke go again? naked congressman walks into a bar. the other thing i find -- >> should he resign? >> you know, i mean, this is the difference between among many others, among democrats and republicans on this, all of our sex scandal guys, not only do they resign or don't get re-elected except one, i'll mention him in a minute, but we don't care. we don't try to rehabilitate them, we don't try to defend them. look at edward -- senator kennedy.

teddy kennedy, kills a girl, he's having an affair with. clinton, you have -- >> who is -- who is defending weiner? >> well, last week, your network was showing, and coming up, a special on hacking and how easy it is to hack. you're all attacking breitbart. nobody even talks about weiner over the weekend. they're obsessed with the deliverer of the news. >> it comes down to your problem, which is just a particular thing. it is like the story becomes instinctively in your heads, it is a left-wing conspiracy. >> it becomes instinctively in my head an example of mob behavior because what mobs do -- >> glory. >> he was fabulous. >> is he fabulous? >> what mobs to is create -- i have a chapter on this -- they create messiahs of their leaders. we don't do that. we don't put all our hopes in a politician. ronald reagan wasn't the most popular conservative his first year in office. he was number three. look at all of the uncombians for obama and clinton.

>> who attacked breitbart? >> you're joking. >> who seriously on mainstream media tacked him? >> i was traveling all week last week, just a caveat at the beginning, in three different states in three different days, jeffrey toobin, that cbs woman, i forget her name. >> great. so this is not a massive onslaught, is it? >> no basically the entire mainstream media. it was about andrew breitbart. >> it wasn't, though. that's the point. >> yes, it was. >> no, it wasn't. most of it was, well, hang on -- >> chris matthews, joan walsh and some other guy. and matthews just asks about -- >> i'm only talking cnn. >> that's not the point. instead of talking about weiner, you attack the deliverer of the news. >> it is natural to be suspicious of mr. breitbart. >> really? i wasn't suspicious of that guy chris lee. i demand to know who put that photo out. same thing with mark foley. do i even know who put out the mark foley story?

>> do you ever calm down? >> you're taking a long question when i'm trying to give an answer. >> is it not understandable that people might be at least skeptical given his track record? >> i don't know who exposed mark sanford, a conservative's reaction is not to say, who put that out? let's attack that person. >> why didn't the republicans expose -- >> would you see -- >> arnold schwarzenegger. >> good, get rid of him. >> arnold schwarzenegger. >> no one said, dam that l.a. times for exposing this. >> too late for any damage to be done, other than to his family. >> it wasn't too late in the case of john edwards, everyone seems to know that in the media coverage. everybody knew clinton was lying. and any sane person last week knew anthony weiner last week was lying. he goes from twittering that he's been hacked to as soon as a lawyer was involved it was a prank. >> you're creating this atmosphere that the left wing all ganged up against breitbart to defend weiner. >> no, my point is -- if you listen to my answer -- >> the way that the current inflammatory cable news cycle

works. >> yeah, yeah, yeah, i got that. here is the answer. >> first reaction is it has to be another left wing conspiracy. it wasn't. he gets exposed. he says i've been hacked. when the truth emerges that he hasn't, it is all over. only question now is -- >> here is the answer. the point is that when a republican is caught in a sex scandal, republicans do not think oh, we must save him, we must attack anyone who has put this out. we say good. good riddance. democrats, kennedy stayed in the senate for years and adam climber of "the new york times" wrote how mary jo kopechne, the woman he killed, his mistress, how she might have appreciated the good work he did in the senate when he continued to live. bill clinton is ferociously defended. i promise you no republican would have stayed in the presidency after doing what bill clinton -- i suppose with weiner, we're moving up in the world, congratulations, democrats. and perhaps today if a democrat

senator drove his mistress off a bridge in a pond and drowned her, perhaps democrats would not rally around him the way they did around ted kennedy. so we're making progress with the democrats. >> the only flaw in your passionate argument is that nobody is rallying around weiner. >> not now because he admitted it. >> nobody was rallying around him. nobody was rallying around weiner. you have invented this in your head because you're so madly demonic, ironically, about the liberals. >> no, no. >> you see them everywhere. i bet you wake up in the morning and go, whoa, there is a liberal in my bed! >> i think you wake up and go, whoa, there is someone who actually can see the world clearly. that would frighten me. >> do you hallucinate about liberals? >> do you hallucinate about someone who clearly sees the world and you don't grasp so you get angry and frustrated and attack that person. >> i don't get angry. >> why were they doing a story on hacking last week? >> because anthony weiner said publicly i was hacked. until evidence emerged he hadn't been --

>> the evidence had emerged for all sane people. >> really? >> yeah. >> i'm not so sure. he was very persuasive. he was very, very -- >> you've got to be kidding me. he couldn't say with certitude if the pecker was his. >> on that bombshell, i'll come back and talk to you about you and getting to what makes ann coulter tick. i'll turn you into such a little volcano. >> not talking about me. >> i think you will be. look, every day we're using more and more energy.

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right now my special guest, and she is special, ann coulter. let's talk about you for a moment. engaged three times. you're 50 in december, are you? >> don't talk about either engagements, social security number, age or anything else. >> is it true you once sort of lost two years of your age, you put on your driving license you

were -- >> there are apparently more than one ann coulter in this country. >> you never deliberately put the wrong age on a document? >> i don't answer questions about myself, but i will say that i'm not supposed to and i think like most public figures don't talk about anything that wouldn't involve -- that you would not want the most dangerous stalker to know or have. so i will not be answering private life questions, that's why we call a private life. >> i love that defense. it is all about stalkers. why are you skirting around issues about yourself? you're interesting. >> i don't talk about my private life. >> i'm not talking about your private life. >> i don't talk about myself. i'm ann coulter. i live a very calm, boring life. >> you don't. >> i write. my writing is interesting. >> you're personable to everybody else. i can throw some hypotheticals at you. >> yes, but i won't answer them. you can throw me a hypothetical about anything involving the

things i write and talk about. >> if you had a daughter or son, who came to you and said they were gay, how would you feel? >> how would you react? >> i would be fine with it. >> okay. >> would you? >> i can't imagine being married. >> that wasn't the question. >> well, that's the first step. and i'm not going to -- >> you've been engaged three times. >> you know, don't believe the things you read. >> you haven't been engaged three times? >> maybe, who knows? i don't keep count. >> you won't answer on issues -- >> about me. let's talk about things i write about. i write about public issues. i don't write about me. you're going to eat up this whole segment with me not answering questions. >> you're someone who says, for example, why don't you regret what timothy mcveigh, he didn't go to the times building. >> are we going through the biggest hits. >> inflammatory things you said. i'm not going to say anything about john edwards in the future. it is irrelevant now. i wish he had been killed in a

terrorist assassination plot. >> we'll take them one by one. don't just read the greatest hits without me saying anything. now i'm ready to talk. the first one was i was talking about how the new york times' entire -- 80% of their obituary on ronald reagan, one of america's greatest president who ended the cold war, 80% of it was on iran/contra. a man associated with iran/contra died this day. i was talking to a reporter and said my regret with timothy mcveigh, get this down, he didn't go to the new york times building. >> do you wish you hadn't said it? >> no. >> yes, you do. >> for the second one. >> john edwards. >> everyone was so upset. >> wish he had been killed in a terrorist assassination plot. >> yeah. because -- but, sometimes like -- >> do you feel that. >> it was because something was happening that week.

what was happening that week, everyone was screaming at me for a joke i made about bill edwards and bill maher goes on his show and he says, i wish dick cheney had been killed in a terrorist attack and no reaction to that. so i was referring to what bill maher had said. what i said was about what bill maher said. >> you're still responsible for your words, aren't you? >> my responsibility is for making fun of bill maher, or not making fun of i suppose liberals for not reacting to bill maher for saying this terrible thing about dick cheney, make a joke about john edwards, the world blows up, i'm asked about the joke and i say i guess i learned my lesson, i said bill maher said about dick cheney he wished he had been blown up in a terrorist attack, i guess i learned my lesson. next time i will say i wish he had been blown up in a terrorist attack. >> i think the government should be spying on all dropping daisy cutters throughout the middle east and sending liberals to guantanamo. that was one of your own columns. >> that needs no explanation. it is beautiful. beautifully written. >> yeah? >> yeah. >> that wouldn't in any way fall

into demonic rabble-rousing. >> it would not if you let me talk about my book. >> i'm taking the premise of your book -- >> you're taking the title of the book and asking me if it is demonic. it is not demonic. >> dropping daisy cutters throughout the middle east, sending liberals to guantanamo, isn't that exactly the kind of mob rabble-rousing that you accuse the liberals of in "demonic". >> no, it is not. >> what is the difference? >> the difference is if you read this in the full analytical context of where i wrote it, it was manifestly intended as a joke, it was taken as a joke, it has not -- as i describe at great length in this book, all of the political violence in this country over the last 100 years, every political presidential assassination attempt has come from a crazy person or from a liberal. if i said something that was hyperbole, or not intended to be

hyperbole, and my people reading it didn't take it as a joke or hyperbole and they went out and actually committed political violence, i might tone down the hyperbole. >> so that's the end of round one. come back again. i enjoyed it. coming up, a man ann coulter says will lose the presidency. mitt romney, though she's now changed her mind and had a dramatic u-turn. i'll ask him where he stands on abortion and whether his views, like ann's, have changed.

my position has been the same throughout my political career. and it goes back to the days of 1970. i will preserve and protect a woman's right to choose and i'm devoted and dedicated to honoring my word in that regard. >> i was always personally opposed to abortion as i think almost everyone in this nation is. and the question for me is what is the role of government? >> that was mitt romney on nbc's "meet the press." where do you stand on abortion. >> same place i did when i ran

for president last time around, which is i'm pro life, proud to be so. >> but you weren't always. >> that's correct. when i ran for governor, i believed i could keep the law as it was. i said i would keep the law as it was. when i became governor, a piece of legislation came to my desk, which would have led to the creation of new life for the purpose of destroying it. and i simply couldn't sign it. and i met with my staff and said, look, i've got to write why i've changed my view in this regard. it was one thing to talk about it philosophically, it is another thing to sign something that would take human life. i became pro-life and i continue to be pro-life. >> you're aware it is a very, very hot issue in america. certainly for politicians. and your critics jump on that as one of the examples of you being mr. flip-flop. how do you counter that, given your view has changed so dramatically on that one issue? >> well, ronald reagan was also pro-choice and then became pro-life. and george herbert walker bush

was pro-choice and became pro-life and they became pro-life as they took the responsibility of leading. and in that circumstance they recognized that -- >> how many times -- >> they could not simply sign up for the taking of unborn life. >> on how many issues can you do it before you lose credibility? >> the issue of great significance that everybody tells me i should change my mind on and do the politically expedient thing to say my health care plan was a terrible mistake, i'm not willing to do. >> gay rights. >> i've always been in favor of preventing discrimination against people whether they are homosexual or straight. >> that would imply -- that would imply -- >> let me finish. let me finish. at the same time, i said i believe that marriage is a relationship between one man and one woman. and that position has not changed. and i read now and then that i changed my mind in gay rights, simply not true. i am in favor of gay rights. but i believe in marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman. >> given that most gays with like the right now to legally

get married, in many states, you are not in favor of all gay rights, are you? >> at the time when i ran for office, i made that very clear. i met with leaders in the gay community -- >> when you say i'm in favor of gay rights, you're not. you're in favor of some, right? >> the gay community, the gay community changed their perspective as to what they wanted. when i ran for governor, one of the big issues was marriage, gay marriage. my opponent said she would sign a bill in favor of gay marriage. i said i would not, i opposed same sex marriage. i would advance the, if you will, the efforts not to discriminate against people who are gay, but marriage -- >> what is it that you're in favor of? >> equal rights in employment, equal rights in -- for instance, as the governor, i had members of my team that were gay. i appointed a couple of judges who apparently i find out were gay. i didn't ask people their sexual orientation. >> does your faith mean that you view homosexuality as a sin? >> you know, i separate quite distinctly matters of personal

faith from the leadership that one has in a political sense. >> can you do that? >> absolutely. >> seriously? >> you don't begin to apply the doctrines of religion for the responsibility for guiding a nation or a state. >> what is the mormon position on homosexuality being a sin? >> that's something that you can take up with the church. i'm not a spokesperson for my church. >> don't you know? >> i'm not a spokesman for my church. one thing i won't do in running for president is become a spokesman for my church or apply a religious test, which simply is forbidden by the constitution. i'm not going there. so i can tell you, if you want to learn more about my church, talk to my church. if you want to learn what i would do as -- >> let me ask you then, do you personally think homosexuality is a sin? >> nice try, but i'm not going to get -- >> it is a valid question. >> it is a valid question and my answer is nice try. i'm not going to -- >> nice try at what. >> as a leader of the american people, i will do everything in my power to treat all people

with respect and dignity, and to advance the rights people have to choose their own course in life. >> there are people watching saying nice try, piers, repeatedly, saying why don't you just answer the question? >> if you're to say to me do you think adultery is a sin, do you think someone who does something you disagree with is a sin, those are terms in the religious context. i'm not here in a religious context. i'm here as a candidate for president. and as a candidate for president, or as a president, i would have to represent the interests of all of the people. and i don't distinguish between sin and sinner as i'm looking at as i'm looking at a president. >> if you were made president, you wouldn't make any pronouncements whatsoever of a personal nature about any former personal behavior? >> i'm not sure what you're referring to. >> if you say every time i ask you so and so is a sin, if you're going to hide all that behind religious belief -- >> it is hard for me to imagine

describing something as a sin in a political sense. you can talk about something being wrong, about something being evil. there are murderers, that's evil and that's wrong. it also happens to be sin according to most religions. but the -- if the terminology is religious terminology, that's probably not something which would figure into public policy. >> i want to bring in somebody after the break who can tell us about your sins. >> oh, that's good. >> i should mention there aren't many, but she will know and that's your wife, ann. a guy named his own price, wants a room tonight for 65 dollars. we don't go lower than 130. big deal, persuade him. is it wise to allow a perishable item to spoil? he asked, why leave a room empty? the additional revenue easily covers operating costs. 65 dollars is better than no dollars. okay. $65 for tonight. you can't argue with a big deal.

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>> you were hearing that discussion about sin. are there any sins that we should be aware of, given so many politicians at the moment are being hit by scandal. anything we don't know? >> after 32 years of marriage, you know a person pretty well. and i think, well, mitt, he was already a pretty big player in

high school. >> high school player. >> really? would you like to elaborate. >> he dated all my girlfriends. would date them for six weeks and dump them. >> seriously? >> i was extremely weary. >> now it's all coming out. because of the mormon faith that you have, you don't drink alcohol. have you ever drunk alcohol? >> no. >> never taken drugs? >> no, no. >> and presumably you never had an affair. >> of course not. >> you can say that with total non-schwarzenegger certainty? >> absolutely. i have tested alcohol. i tried it on one occasion. it was not a good experience. but drugs, never. >> this is your trump card. when you look at these politicians at the moment, whether it's arnold schwarzenegger or anthony wiener, the one thing we don't

have to worry about in america if you're elected president is anything tumbling out of the cupboard, right? >> better not. no, we have -- we have a very, very close relationship and devoted to each other. we've been through some hard times together, too. a lot of joy with those five boys. a lot of difficulties with those five boys, too. but in particular, i have faced some serious health challenges in my life. >> you've suffered from multiple sclerosis. >> and breast cancer, as well. and i wouldn't be here if it weren't for mitt pulling me through and giving me the strength to keep fighting. so he has been the sense of my strength. >> when people talk about mitt romney, they say middle of the road, dare i say a little boring happens in your public persona.

he argued that there's a smoldering volcano in the mitt romney valley there. would you go along with that? >> absolutely. there's a great deal of passion. you know, he's -- publicly they see him maybe more controlled, but in the home setting, the passion comes out for sure, in many ways. >> i bet. now we're talking. you want to join in, mitt? >> my sons refer to something known as a mitt frontation. >> so you can lose your temper? >> oh, yes. i will say, as both of us have gotten older, you hope you mature and clearly it's been how you learn to control your emotions and he's definitely gotten better with that. but what do they call me? >> oh, ann is the miss stabilizer.

if i'm away for a week or so, she has to bring me back and moderate me back a bit. >> the mormon faith is obviously very important to you personally. you seem quite keen to say i'm not going to thrust it down the electorate's throat. but 25% of americans say they're less likely to support a mormon candidate. that must worry you, doesn't it >> it doesn't worry me. people know us for who we are, and that we stand for something and that we believe in something. and if the economy continues to be a problem, i think people are going to be very concerned about where their jobs are going to come from. mitt ran in massachusetts in a very catholic state against an irish catholic woman. the economy was the issue and he shockingly, with 13% registered

republicans, won that election as governor of massachusetts because people were concerned about a state that the state was in, and they saw mitt as being a capable guy that would do a good job. >> and governor, if america managed to bring itself to vote for its first ever african-american president, do you believe that the mood now is right to potentially vote for its first mormon president? >> you know, i don't think many people in this country make their vote based upon someone's religion. right now, with our economy in the difficulty it's in, and with the issues around the world, with the arab spring, with iran bent on becoming a nuclear power, they're looking for somebody with the experience to get america right again and create jobs and keep america

strong. and that's i think the final analysis and how people make their decision. we'll be right back right after this.