THAW

Romney Talks About Wife's Illness

Tries to ditch 'stiff' image.

Mitt Romney, lately accused of bullying reporters and being cold and testy toward the media, made his first Sunday morning talk-show appearance in more than two years when he went on Fox News Sunday, as Newt Gingrich has taken over the frontrunner position recently. Trying to shed his image of being a stiff millionaire out of touch with the people, he talked about his wife, Ann, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1998. "Probably the toughest time of my life," he told Chris Wallace. "She was tired all the time. She couldn't take care of the family in the way she had. I said, 'Look I don't care what the meals are like. I like cold cereal and peanut butter sandwiches.'" Ann has since recovered much of her strength. On the show, Romney also bashed President Obama over the U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq, calling it "precipitous" and said some forces should have stayed behind.