Romney: Primary fight ‘makes us tougher’ against Obama in November

Mitt Romney on Monday said the GOP primary fight has made him a “tougher” candidate, brushing aside concerns that the long fight to win the nomination is weakening the future nominee and strengthening President Obama’s chances. 

Romney called it a “rough-and-tumble process of sorting things out” that “makes us tougher” in an interview airing Monday on CNBC.

{mosads}Pressed by interviewer Larry Kudlow, Romney agreed that he thinks the process has made him “tougher” as an individual candidate.

“I anticipate that I’m going to be more able to debate, in the public square, Barack Obama, to point out why he’s failed, to defend the policies that I have,” he said. “I’m more ready to go after the president than I was when I got started.”

Earlier in the day, at a campaign event in Ohio, Romney was asked how, if he becomes the GOP nominee, he will answer attacks that compare the healthcare plan he implemented as governor of Massachusetts to Obama’s national plan, which is hated by most conservatives.

“Bring it on,” he said simply. “I can’t wait to have this debate.”

Romney also said that, unlike his opponents, he does not seek headlines in order to get a bump in the polls.

“My message is I’m not going to say outrageous things about the president or about my opponents,” he said. “It gets headlines and a lot of excitement, and it gets you, by the way, a number of days in the polls to get a nice little bump. But I’m going to talk about the real issues Americans face and talk with respect about people who have differing views. I’m not going to attack them personally. I mean, I know that’s fun, but it’s just not productive.”