by 
Presenting himself, perhaps a bit prematurely, as the Republican candidate for president, Mitt Romney sent a message to President Obama consisting of just two words: “Start packing.”
The brief command to the man the Republicans will need to beat came during an exclusive interview with “World News” anchorwoman Diane Sawyer when she asked Romney if he had anything to say to Obama.
As of today Romney is still in the running for his party’s nomination. His chances to win that nomination rose dramatically when his top contender, Rick Santorum, backed out of the race last week, but until the Republicans actually decide at their convention in Tampa, Florida, this summer, Mitt is still not technically running against Obama.
Romney continued to slam the president’s policies, saying that Obama’s “policies have not helped the American people. They have not helped get jobs, they have not helped raise incomes and they’ve added trillions of dollars of debt.”
Ann Romney, Mitt’s wife of 43 years, also wanted to express herself to Obama: “I believe it’s… Mitt’s time… It’s our turn now,” she said.
Sawyer asked Romney what he thought of Obama’s suggestion that he release his tax returns going back 12 years. Explaining why he was not planning on taking that step, Romney said:
“The president is going to try and do everything possible to divert from the attention being focused upon his record as president and the failure of his economic policies. So he’s going to try to make this campaign about the fact that I’ve been successful, that I’ve made a lot of money,” Romney answered.
Asked about his challengers’ contention that Romney switched his stance from a pro-choice governor (of Massachusetts) to an anti-abortion presidential candidate, Romney carefully explained there is no contradiction and presented his position:
“I would love the Supreme Court to say, ‘Let’s send this back to the states.’ Rather than having a federal mandate through Roe v. Wade, let the states again consider this issue state by state,” he said.
This would then effectively end legalized abortion nationwide, although permitting it in any states that voted to allow abortion.
