Romney slams Democratic opponents at South Carolina event

SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- Returning to the Bible Belt city that helped launch his presidential maneuverings two years ago, Mitt Romney used an appearance before key Republicans here last night to talk tough on Iran and his potential Democratic opponents.

He called on New York State -- home to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, the Democratic front-runner -- to divest its pension funds from companies linked to Iran and sent letters to New York's lawmakers, asking the state to disinvest public funds from any companies "providing financial support to the Iranian regime or linked to Iran's weapons programs and terrorist activities."

Romney's rhetoric on Iran seemed designed to paint himself as a strong voice on national security and to provoke Clinton, whom Romney has hammered for advocating engagement with the Iranian government as a means of preventing it from developing nuclear weapons.

"You don't want to reward bad behavior," Romney said to more than 600 people at the Spartanburg County GOP's annual President ' s Day banquet. "We want to squeeze the pressure on that country and get them on the right track."

Romney's appearance before the Spartanburg gathering, punctuated with theme music from the Olympics, underscored the importance of the city, along with the upstate region of South Carolina, to presidential politics. Romney, who spoke at the same event in 2005 as he began laying plans for his White House run, is one of at least five GOP hopefuls who have made or will make trips to the area in just a few weeks. The state holds the South's first presidential primary.

Romney's wife, Ann, played a particularly prominent role last night, as Romney made a special effort to highlight the fact that he's been married to the same woman for almost 40 years. "She's been the person behind me all my life," Romney said. Left unsaid: His chief Republican rivals, Senator John McCain of Arizona and Rudy Giuliani, former New York mayor , have each divorced at least once.

Iran has become, in recent weeks, a focus of Romney's foreign policy remarks. Last month, in addressing a security conference in Herzliya, Israel, he called for tighter sanctions and more isolation. He also helped set up a meeting last month between Massachusetts State Treasurer Timothy P. Cahill and Benjamin Netanyahu, former prime minister of Israel, about the possibility of the Bay State divesting its pension funds from companies doing business with Iran.

Last night, Romney also targeted Democratic candidate John Edwards and again singled out Clinton for criticism, saying her view toward Iran showed "a lack of understanding."

"We don't want to give a signal of support or accomplishment to someone like [Iranian President Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad," said Romney. Clinton's campaign did not respond to requests for comment last night, but when Romney first leveled the criticism of timidity against the senator three weeks ago, her spokesman responded by noting Romney's shifting positions on social issues such as abortion and gay rights.

"Given his record of flip-flops, the only thing that's timid are Governor Romney's convictions," the spokesman, Mo Elleithee, said then. "Senator Clinton believes that no option should be taken off the table when it comes to preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons."

One Republican who attended Romney's speech, Bob Myers, a 68-year-old from Spartanburg who works in construction and real estate, said he's not sold on a policy of military threats and isolation alone.

"Frankly, and I can't speak for the nation, but I think that we're going to have to negotiate through Iran," Myers said, adding that military action has to still be on the table.

Romney yesterday also met with Republicans at a restaurant in Rock Hill, S.C., and at a luncheon of GOP women in Greenville.