Ann Romney says electing a Mormon a good signal

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Ann Romney says the election of her husband, a Mormon, would signal "that prejudices are left behind" just as the election of President Barack Obama sent that signal.

The wife of Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney tells "Tonight Show" host Jay Leno that she loves the fact that the nation elected its first African-American president.

Asked by Leno to reflect on the significance of the first Mormon president, Mrs. Romney said she hoped that if her husband were elected, "We would see more of the same, that prejudices are left behind."

The Romneys met in high school. Asked whether Mitt Romney was a good dancer back then, she tells Leno: "He's gotten to be a better dancer."

Mrs. Romney's appearance was taped for Tuesday's night Leno program.

Other political news:

• Pres. Obama leads by an average of 3.6 points in nationwide polls. After a sharp rise in the polls over the last two weeks of August that tied him with the president, GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney has seen a drop late in September.
• A new poll by Quinnipiac University, CBS News and The New York Times is raising eyebrows, showing Obama leading Romney by 9 points in Florida, 10 points in Ohio and 12 points in Pennsylvania. Politico points out that while other polls have shown Obama in the lead in swing states, even Democrats are weary of predicting such a large margin.
• The Romney campaign is more than just skeptical of the new polling data: the team is questioning the methods used to gather the statistics, saying they "don't make sense." Republicans have complained recently that Democrats are being over-sampled, the National Journal reports.
• A Texas newspaper recently published what looked like a confusing poll question for readers. The Round Rock Leader asked readers online "If the election were today, would you vote for Obama or Romney?" but published "Yes" and "No" in the place of "Obama" and "Romney" with the results.

Editor Brad Stutzman told Jim Romenesko "Usually we just have a yes or not question and we forgot to plug in the names," he explained over the phone. "Romney got the larger number here [in the online poll]."

1. The Blaze has a list of 10 Hollywood stars who are — perhaps surprisingly — Republican, including a well-known comedian and a vampire slayer.
2. Early voting is expected to exceed 2008 levels in some swing states, according to Talking Points Memo. Early voting kicks off Thursday in Iowa, followed by Ohio on Tuesday. George Mason university professor Michael McDonald predicted 35 percent of the vote this election cycle will be cast early.
3. GOP vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan compared the Obama administration to the NFL's replacement referees in a town hall meeting Tuesday in Cincinnati. "If you can't get it right, it is time to get out," Ryan said, referring to a controversial decision by referees Monday night to call a touchdown for the Seahawks when it appeared obvious that the Packers had intercepted a Hail Mary pass. The call cost the Packers the game. "I half think these refs work part-time for the Obama administration in the Budget Office," Ryan said. "They see the national-debt clock staring them in the face, they see a debt crisis, and they just ignore and pretend it didn't even happen. They are trying to pick the winners and losers and they don't even do that very well."
4. Obama and Romney have both blasted the replacement NFL referees after Monday night's debacle. "NFL fans on both sides of the aisle hope the refs' lockout is settled soon. -bo," Obama tweeted. And Romney agreed: "I'd sure like to see some experienced referees with NFL experience come back," he said.

Related topics