Mitt Romney Shares His Lighter Side On The 'Late Show With David Letterman' (VIDEO)

Mitt Romney tried to lighten his image Monday night with an appearance on CBS' "Late Show With David Letterman."

Instead of enduring the usual "grin through it" interview, the Republican presidential candidate ditched his tie and did a deadpan reading of his "Top 10 Things Mitt Romney Would Like To Say To The American People," The Associated Press reported.

The former Massachusetts governor joked about his looks ("Isn't it time for a president who looks like a 1970s game show host?"), mocked his chief rival ("Newt Gingrich? Really?") and even announced the release of his new cologne ("It's Mitts-tified.").

Although Romney has appeared on "Letterman" before, this spot was timed to air in the middle of the candidate's latest effort to take the front-runner position in the GOP race. According to The Los Angeles Times, Romney plans to do MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Tuesday and participate in a bus tour of New Hampshire.

The late night talk show circuit is a popular one for political candidates hoping to appear more charming than calculating. In recent weeks, Texas Gov. Rick Perry and pizza magnate Herman Cain both sat down with Letterman in an effort to save their flagging campaigns. Since then, Cain has dropped out of the race, and Perry's numbers have fallen in the polls.

Comments

[Geoffrey Lane]

10:47 PM on 12/21/2011

Quotes
"Buenos dias!" -- Mitt Romney's regular greeting to the illegal Guatemalan immigrants who work on his lawn

"Aw, geez." -- Romney to a reporter who asked him about the lawn workers. He then walked away.

“The real Romney is clearly an extraordinarily ambitious man with no perceivable political principle whatsoever. He is the most intellectually dishonest human being in the history of politics.” - Barney Frank

"I'm a normal person. I have emotions." -- Mitt Romney, protesting too much.

"The more Mitt Romney speaks, the less believable he becomes. He has spent a year trying to convince Granite Staters that he is trustworthy. It looks like they aren't buying it. And for good reason." - the Manchester Union-Leader newspaper, New Hampshire's most conservative newspaper

"I'm not a big-game hunter. I've made that very clear. I've always been a rodent and rabbit hunter. Small varmints, if you will. I began when I was 15 or so and I have hunted those kinds of varmints since then. More than two times." -- Mitt Romney, failing.

"It wasn't as though I was suicidal, but I was at the point where I thought, 'Couldn't I please just have cancer and die?'" -- Ann Romney, his wife, about her multiple sclerosis. (She is currently symptom-free.)

[silverball]

09:46 AM on 12/21/2011

...mr. plastic....still stiff as a board even when he is TRYING to show how 'LOOSE" he can be.....he must be a riot at family functions....

[1mansvoice]

10:48 PM on 12/20/2011

like the plastic sex doll in the other article, Mittens is the plastic politician.

[MsMarchHare]

09:08 PM on 12/20/2011

he's still boring...

[DeeFromTheD]

08:35 PM on 12/20/2011

That junk was not funny.

[kevingiampa]

07:28 PM on 12/20/2011

I thought he did great. I'm still not voting for him.

[AgentGrey]

05:20 AM on 12/22/2011

You're incorrect. He did not do great. Now apologize.

[twain307]

05:27 PM on 12/20/2011

If Romney had been any stiffer, they would have hung ornaments and tinsel on him.

High praise to Dave for devoting the whole second segment to a tribute to makeup and hair artist Michele O'Callaghan. That kind of top down appreciation is rarely seen, and I found it to be a remarkably moving remembrance.

[randallalbin]

04:53 PM on 12/20/2011

also, richard nixon appeared on the laugh-in tv show. is this politics or what?

[allencollinsa]

04:48 PM on 12/20/2011

romney is the same thing as a mark foley and a hitler combined.

[allencollinsa]

04:47 PM on 12/20/2011

joepalookatoo , you are a idiot.

[allencollinsa]

04:46 PM on 12/20/2011

flip flop flip flop flip flop flip flop!! yeap that is the romney pledge or do we just call it being a liar.

[JuliaDemJules2020]

04:32 PM on 12/20/2011

Hey Mitt did you tell Dave that you want to take the welfare checks away from the poor that they will not notice? And you will never tax the rich? 1 in 5 kids live in poverty.
Your a hateful man. Everybody will be remembering that statement from you come election time.

[dmm1047]

04:32 PM on 12/20/2011

And not the least bit funny---either.

[Joepalookatoo]

04:16 PM on 12/20/2011

a bit uninspiring in his delivery but substantive and successful, a very accomplished individual, he'll make an effective President.

[ebroadcast]

05:38 PM on 12/20/2011

Everything about this man is uninspiring.

[smp276dp]

06:33 PM on 12/20/2011

And everyone wants world peace. But that is not going to happen either.

[flkewlkid00]

04:11 PM on 12/20/2011

letterman better beware windsock will be taking his job