Mitt Romney on 'Meet the Press': It's 'Fine' if Gay Couples Want to Live Together, But Not Marry

In a conversation with David Gregory on Meet the Press this morning, Mitt Romney was asked about the changing marriage landscape in the U.S. and if his views had changed.

Said Romney:

"Well I think marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman. And I think the ideal setting for raising a child is in a setting where there is a father and a mother. Now there are many other different settings that children are raised in and people have the right to live life as they want to. But I think that marriage should be defined in the way that it has been defined for several thousand years. And if gay couples want to live together then that's fine as well. That's their right."

Asked if he thinks it's going to have a negative impact on society that so many states are starting to allow gay marriage, Romney added:

"Oh I think it's going to take a long, long time to determine whether having gay marriage will make it less likely for kids to be raised in settings where there's a mom and a dad. That's not gonna happen overnight. It's something which happens over generations in fact and again, I think the ideal setting is where there's a mom and dad that can invest their time and their resources in supporting the development of a child."

Asked if he thinks Republicans are losing on the marriage issue, Romney said:

"I don't think you have to worry about who wins or who loses a particular fight. I think you stand for various principles. You communicate those to the American people and they either support those or not. Sometimes, if something is lost why then you move on to the next issue. You wish you'd have won that one. But you move on. I think that in this case it's an issue that people continue to find relevant and important and it's something that is being considered in various states around the country. I do believe that it's better decided by people than by the courts."

Ann Romney: 'It's too bad the election isn't today'

The wife of former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney said she and her husband have moved on from last year's election. 

"We don't look back," Ann Romney said in an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer airing on the "Situation Room" Wednesday. "Neither one of us ever look back."

But with President Barack Obama failing to grab the approval numbers today as he did last November, she said it's a shame voters are picking their commander-in-chief this year.

In a hypothetical Washington Post/ABC News poll, conducted last month, which asked respondents who they would vote for if the 2012 presidential election was held today - Mitt Romney led Obama, 49% to 45%.

"Well, it's too bad the election isn't today," Ann Romney said of the poll results. "It's frustrating a bit to watch what's happening with the Obamacare rollout but we are where we are."

Nelson Mandela

Ann Romney also paid tribute to Nelson Mandela - saying that the former South Africa leader was a "power example" in both her and her husband's life.

"You know, I think there's maybe not a person living that has had a bigger impact, not just on Africans lives but on everybody's life," Ann Romney said in an interview with Wolf Blitzer, airing on the "Situation Room" Wednesday.

Tens of thousands, including President Barack Obama, former U.S. presidents, and dignitaries from around the globe, gathered Tuesday to bid farewell to the anti-apartheid icon in Johannesburg.

Ann Romney said Mandela was a leader held the highest esteem throughout the world.

"He was a powerful example in my life; a power example in my husband's life of how you move something that is so significant with such a peaceful, loving, generous, wonderful essence of who he is," she said, adding that Mandela was an "extraordinary human being."

GOP sensitivity

Ann Romney also said members of Congress should show more respect to one another in light of GOP congressional leadership concerns over lawmakers' sensitivity towards women. 

Following comments from House Speaker John Boehner last week that some members of his caucus "aren't as sensitive as they ought to be," Ann Romney said that in Congress "...there's more to it than just being more sensitive."

"Let's remember that the American people sent us there and they we need to be respectful of the needs of the American people let's get things done. Let's work across the aisle because there's nothing now - I mean, it's just extraordinary what's going on in Washington."