• George Stephanopoulos: Taxes. When you were running for governor or Massachusetts, you refused to sign a pledge ruling out any tax increases. But you've done that in this campaign. Why?

• Mitt Romney: Well, when I ran for governor, it was pretty clear that I was going to be an anti-tax governor. I said I wouldn't raise Taxes and I was very clear about that, and I didn't raise Taxes.

I did everything in my power to balance what I thought was going to be a $1 billion budget gap that turned out to be a $3 billion budget gap, but we did not raise Taxes.

And when I decided to run for president and, actually, as I formed my exploratory committee, I wanted to communicate that's exactly what I'd do as president, as well.

I support the continuation of the tax cuts that were enacted under President Bush's watch and I will not raise Taxes.

• George Stephanopoulos: But when I was speaking with Governor Huckabee last week, he said that he may sign this, but he hasn't signed it because he's concerned that it would constrain him and prevent him from fulfilling his constitutional obligations.

• Mitt Romney: Well, he raised Taxes, this governor, and felt the need to do so and I understand that. People are in different circumstances.

But you can read the pledge, if you will, and you can see that it's drawn very narrowly. It's not drawn very broadly.

It talks about raising the highest marginal income tax rate. It does not talk about all forms of revenue for the government.

And so that being said, the ability to manage the nation and to protect our interest is there.

But at the same time, I think people have to indicate pretty clearly, are they in favor of a huge tax increase which would occur in 2011 if the tax cuts expire or are they in favor of keeping the burden placed on Americans the same as it is today.

I will not raise that burden. I don't want a higher tax burden, and that's something which I wanted to communicate very clearly.

Also See

06-30-2003, Romney signs no new tax budget in time for new fiscal year

MR. ROMNEY: I want to make it very clear that I'm not going to raise taxes.

As governor of Massachusetts, I made it very clear there, and I did not raise taxes. We faced a huge budget gap, and I went in and said, you know, what? I know some people want to raise taxes, but that's going to hurt working families and scare away jobs. I recognize that raising taxes could also lead to a slowdown in our economy, and so we didn't do it. We balanced our budget, and that's exactly what I'll do with the federal government.

They key thing you have to consider, as you look at what's happening in the federal government, is that Washington is broken. We need to have fundamental change in the way business in Washington is carried out. What that means is we're going to have to have leadership that can reorganize the government. We're going to have about 40 percent of the government employees turn over in the next couple of terms. And if we can -- we can reduce the employment there, but more importantly, is to go through all the agencies, all the departments, all the programs and cut out the unnecessary and the wasteful.

We're also going to have to do something we talk about on in Iraq. We all talked about benchmarks. Well, how about benchmarks in Washington? Let's lay out what we're going to get done, and instead of just talking about the same old same old, let's streamline and make Washington more efficient.

Gov. Romney: Benchmarks for Washington

My Analysis:

I had never heard this before: "We're going to have about 40 percent of the government employees turn over in the next couple of terms. And if we can -- we can reduce the employment there, but more importantly, is to go through all the agencies, all the departments, all the programs and cut out the unnecessary and the wasteful." People say that these debates can be a lot of hot air, empty platitudes, and slogans. Mitt Romney is looking at the numbers. He is the man of substance. Has any one heard anyone else talking about that? That in the next two terms (I assume he was talking about presidential terms) 40 percent of the (federal?) government retire? What an opportunity to downsize!

Back to 2nd Debate

Questions for Romney in the 2nd Republican Debate

1. Can you foresee any circumstances under which you would pull out of Iraq without leaving behind a stable political and security situation?
2. Why isn't your pledge to not raise taxes a blatant appeal to the party base?
3. Are you a clear and consistent conservative?
4. What would you say to someone who lost a wife or a daughter to an illegal abortion if you named the Supreme Court justice who tipped the balance and over turned Roe v Wade?
5. Governor Romney, you have also called Senator McCain's immigration plan amnesty. Are you prepared to say that sharing the stage with him tonight? And how do you explain your statement to the Lowell Sun last year in which you said, quote, 'Those that are here paying taxes and not taking government benefits should begin a process toward application for citizenship as they would from their home country.' Why isn't that amnesty as well, sir?
6. If three shopping centers near major U.S. cities have been hit by suicide bombers. Hundreds are dead, thousands injured. A fourth attack has been averted when the attackers were captured off the Florida coast and taken to Guantanamo Bay, where they are being questioned. U.S. intelligence believes that another larger attack is planned and could come at any time. How aggressively would you interrogate those being held at Guantanamo Bay for information about where the next attack might be?
7. Governor Romney, during this campaign, you have been criticized -- and again tonight you've been criticized -- for changing your position on some issues. You say that it's a part of learning from experience. Can you point to an area in which your learning from experience led you to change to a position that is less popular with the Republican base?