BAIER (on-camera): Governor, thanks for the time. (voice-over) But I began our interview right in the middle of the working warehouse in between juice bottles, asking about another endorsement. (on-camera) The New Hampshire "Union Leader" endorsed Newt Gingrich over the weekend, saying he was -- he has courage, conviction, and isn't just telling them what they want to hear. Now, the editor there, Joe McQuaid, confirmed that that last line was really about you. What's your reaction to that endorsement, and specifically, that charge about that you lack conviction? ROMNEY: You know, the "Union Leader's" not always been happy with me, so I can't (INAUDIBLE) but, you know, Speaker Gingrich is a good man. He and I have very different backgrounds. He spent his last 30 or 40 years in Washington. I spent my career in the private sector. I think that's what the country needs right now. And with regards to my own views, I'm happy to have people take a look at my book. I wrote that a couple of years ago, laid out my views for the country, and I believe that my views are what are essential to get this country going again. So, no problem with Newt Gingrich. Good man. But a very different person than I am based on our life experiences. BAIER: If Speaker Gingrich became the Republican nominee, do you think he could beat President Obama in November 2012? ROMNEY: I think I stand, by far, the best shot of replacing President Obama among the Republicans in the field. That doesn't mean that others wouldn't have a good shot at it as well, But I wouldn't be in this race if I didn't think I had unique background and vision for America, and the capacity to actually replace President Obama. I think to get President Obama out of office, you're going to have to bring something to the race that's different than what he brings. He's a life-long politician. I think you have to have the credibility of understanding how the economy works, and I do, and that's one reason I'm in this race. BAIER: Like the "Union Leader," your critics charge that you make decisions based on political expediency and not core conviction. You have been on the both sides of some issues, and there's videotape of you going back years, speaking about different issues, climate change, abortion, immigration, gay rights. How can voters trust what they hear from you today is what you will believe if you win the White House? ROMNEY: Well, Bret, your list is just not accurate. So, one, we're going to have to be better informed about my views on issues. My view is, you can look at what I've written in my book. You can look at a person who has devoted his life to his family, to his faith, to his country, and I'm running for president because of the things I believe I think I can do to help this country. And I know in politics there are going to be those who try in every way they can to tear down one another, but the real question is, does Barack Obama have the capacity to lead this country out of a very difficult economic setting? And the answer is no. He's proven he doesn't. And I do. That's my experience. That's what I know how to do. The American people want someone who knows how to lead, who believes in the free economy, and understands the principals it takes to get America strong, economically, militarily, and culturally. BAIER: But I'm sure you've seen these ads, using videotape of you in previous years, speaking on various issues. ROMNEY: Uh-huh. BAIER: And it seems like it's in direct contrast to positions you take now. ROMNEY: Well, I'm glad that the Democratic ads are breaking through and you got -- BAIER: Jon Huntsman has a couple ads that do the exact same thing. ROMNEY: And there's no question, but that people are going to take snippets and take things out of context and try and show that there are differences, where in some cases, there are not. But one place I'd change my mind which regards to the government's role relating abortion. I am pro-life. I did not take that position years ago. And that's the same change that occurred with Ronald Reagan, with George W. Bush, with some of the leaders in the pro-life movement. BAIER: Well, let's talk about immigration. ROMNEY: Uh-huh. BAIER: In recent days, you've charged that Speaker Gingrich was proposing amnesty essentially with what he said in that last debate. You were attacking him on immigration, but you took what seemed like a very similar position back in 2006-2007, telling Bloomberg that some illegal immigrants need to be allowed to stay, come out of the shadows, and, quote, "we need to begin a process of registering those people, some being returned, some beginning the process of applying for citizenship and establishing legal status. We're not going to go through a process of tracking them all down and moving them out." ROMNEY: Right. BAIER: Is that different than where you are now? ROMNEY: You know, my view is that those people that are here illegally today should have the opportunity to register and to have their status identified and those individuals should get in line with everyone else that's in line legally. They should not be placed ahead of the line. They should, instead, go at the back of the line, and they should not be allowed to stay in this country and be given permanent residency or citizenship merely because they've come here illegally. BAIER: But isn't that what Gingrich is saying? Isn't he saying short of citizenship -- ROMNEY: I can't tell you what Speaker Gingrich is saying. BAIER: But yet you call him -- ROMNEY: Bret, no. If he's going to do what I believe he said he was going to do for those people who would be allowed to stay permanently and become citizens, that would be providing for them a form of amnesty. But my view is, and I can tell you what -- I'll let him describe his view. My view is pretty straightforward. For those people who've come here illegally, they should have the opportunity to get in line with everybody else who wants to come in to this country, but, they go to the back of the line and they should be given no special pathway to citizenship or permanent residency merely because they've come here illegally. BAIER: And they do it outside of this country? ROMNEY: Whether they -- whether they apply here or whether they apply by going home, I think I've said in the past, I think, it makes more sense for them to go home if we set up a system than to apply here. BAIER: The question is what you do with the 11 million plus people who are already here and how you handle them. And back in 2006-2007, you made a point in saying, we're not going to round them all up and send them out. ROMNEY: That's right. BAIER: So, what do you do with them? ROMNEY: You know, there's great interest on the part of some to talk about what we do with the 11 million. My interest is saying, let's make sure that we secure the border, and we don't do anything that talks about bringing in a new wave of those or attracting a new wave of people into the country illegally. The right course for us is to secure the border and say nothing about amnesty or tuition breaks to illegal aliens or anything else that draws people into the country illegally. The right course, secure the border, and then, we can determine what's the right way to deal with the 11 million and to make it as clear as I possibly can. Let those people apply, just like everybody else that wants to come to this country, but they have to apply at the back of the line as opposed to jumping in the front because they've come here illegally. BAIER: About your book, you talk about Massachusetts healthcare. We've heard you many times, in the debates and interviews, talk about how it is different in your mind than the president's healthcare law, Obamacare. The question is, do you still support the idea of a mandate? Do you believe that that was the right thing for Massachusetts? do you think a mandate, mandating people to buy insurance is the right tool? ROMNEY: Bret, I don't know how many hundred times I've said this, too. This is an unusual interview. (LAUGHTER) ROMNEY: All right. Let's do it again. Absolutely. What we did in Massachusetts was right for Massachusetts. I've said that time and time again, that people of the state continue to support it by about 3-1, but it's also designed for Massachusetts, not for the nation, and at the time our bill was passed, and that was brought forward as an issue, there were people who said, is this something you'd like to have the entire nation do? I said no. This is not a federal plan, it's a state plan. And under the constitution, states should be able to craft their own plans, and our plan -- BAIER: So, governor, you did say on camera and other places that, at times, you thought it would be a model for the nation. ROMNEY: You're wrong, Bret. BAIER: No, no. There's tape -- ROMNEY: The tape out there -- continue to read the tape, and the tape goes on to say for each state to be able to look at it. I was asked time and again. In the last debates, look back at the 2008 campaign, on the stage, I was asked in the debate, is your Massachusetts plan something you would have the nation do as a federal plan? Each time said, no, the answer is no. When you write a book, you have the ability to put down your entire view. And I put in that book, as clearly as I possibly could, that the plan we did in Massachusetts had many features that I thought should be adopted by other states. I thought there were very good ideas in there that could be a model for the entire states. BAIER: You think that you are well positioned to go up against President Barack Obama on the issue of healthcare? ROMNEY: Of course. The best equipped, the best equipped. I understand healthcare. I spent a good portion of my career working in healthcare. I came up with a plan, unlike his, that doesn't cost a trillion dollars. Unlike his, we didn't raise taxes. Unlike his, I didn't cut Medicare by half a trillion dollars. Unlike his, my plan is constitutional. So, what I did worked for our state in the way the constitution intends which is states crafting plans that work for their states, not a federal, one-size-fits-all plan. BAIER (voice-over): In the next series of questions, I brought our "Center Seat" segment to the governor with questions from the panelists. (on-camera) Steve Hayes from the "Weekly Standard" asked this. Can you name two issues on which your views are not in line with the views of the conservative base of your party? ROMNEY: You know, I don't typically think about -- BAIER: You're not in line. ROMNEY: How I'm not in line with the conservative base of the Republican Party. I think in terms of what I believe. And, that's what I've spoken about as I've run for office more than once. I have a record as a governor that laid out my views, or, if you will, exposed my views by virtue of what we did in the state of Massachusetts. BAIER: Is there one? ROMNEY: There are a number of issues where I part company with other members of my party. I've got a carbon copy of all the people in my party. This whole stream of thought that you began with, which is, will you say anything to get elected? If that were the case, would I still be defending Massachusetts healthcare? It's, by far, the biggest challenge I have in the primary race. And if I were willing to say anything to get elected, wouldn't I just say, oh, it was a mistake, because I've watched other people on the stage. When they talk about their cap and trade policies, they say, oh, that was a mistake. When someone says, oh, I did this ad on global warming, that was a mistake. So, they just dust it aside, and that makes them more attractive in a primary. I'm standing by what I did in Massachusetts. I've tried to dust it aside. The biggest issue that dogs me in the primary campaign, I'm absolutely firm that it was the right thing for our state. I'll defend that. And I understand it has political implications, and if it keeps me from winning a primary, so be it. But that happens to be the truth. BAIER: A.B. Stoddard from "The Hill" asked, if you were president this week, what would you do immediately in response to the Pakistani's decision to shut off NATO supply lines to Afghanistan and force CIA to vacate a key base used for drone operations? ROMNEY: Well, this ought to involve the personal attention of the president of the United States, either in person or on the phone. There ought to be a building relationship with leadership in Pakistan to understand our mutual interests. And I'm afraid that we're growing further and further apart, in part because of a president who simply doesn't know how to lead. And we need to have a president who can be on the phone, who can have a personal relationship, not only with Mr. Zardari, generals in Pakistan, with members of the ISI, to assure that they understand exactly where we're coming from, and we understand their interests. We recognize that the Pakistan people and the leaders of Pakistan, of course, it's a very multi- fractioned group there, that they will act out of their self-interest. They don't sit up nights wondering what's best for the United States. They think what's best for them and for their lives and their careers. We need to understand that. And then, we need to make sure that we have places of common ground where we can work together. I think you're seeing a pulling apart of our nations, and that would have great consequences, long term and short-term. BAIER: Charles Krauthammer asked, you pledged that as president you would stop Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, the last resort, of course, a military attack. What you're saying is that you're prepared to carry it out if necessary. He asks, would it be a single strike or sustained bombing campaign like in Serbia, would it be aimed at only the weapons or the pillars of the regime if you got to that point? ROMNEY: Well, before I could make a decision of that nature, I'd have to have a very thorough top-secret briefing by our military to understand exactly what our options are, what the responses would be from the Iranian military. The intelligence community would have to weigh in. There's a lot more information I need to have to know what type of military strike would be appropriate and effective. BAIER: Would you be prepared to do it unilaterally if need be? ROMNEY: Of course. BAIER: Lightning round here. What was the last book you read or reading? ROMNEY: I'm reading sort of a fun one right now, so I'll skip that, but I just read "Decision Points" by President Bush. BAIER: Do you think your faith will hurt you in this primary election, and what do you think the biggest misconception about your faith is? ROMNEY: I think it may have some impact among a narrow group of individuals, but by and large, I don't think it will make the decision. Biggest misconception is the name of our church. It's the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. BAIER: A lot of people are talking about vision. What does 2016 look like after first term of President Romney? ROMNEY: It's going to be middle-class in America again, where people have the conviction that the future is brighter than the past. America has to be strong, with strong culture, with a strong economy, and a military that's second to none. And we're losing faith in those things. I want to make America stronger again. America will be a stronger nation with freedom and opportunity as we've enjoyed in our past. BAIER: Is unemployment rate a certain number? ROMNEY: I believe that you'll see unemployment down pretty significantly. I look at adding about 11.5 million jobs in four years. That leads -- or that's associated with about four percent GDP growth and that gets our unemployment rate down to just a little over six percent as I recall. We have to be a job creating machine again as a nation. I also see us having our spending as a percentage of the GDP down from 25 percent of GDP down to 20 percent, but those are numbers. The vision is different than just numbers. The vision is people working again, rising incomes in America, confidence in the future, and a conviction that America is strong and that it is going to be an American century as opposed to a global international century or an Asian century. It's going to be an American century. BAIER: Do you think you have work to do to convince Republican voters to trust you? ROMNEY: Bret, the American people have had a good chance to get to know me over the last four years. Some have read my book, some have seen me in the debates, some saw me four years ago when I ran. I've got a lot more work to do to be able to win this. It's a far cry from being in my pocket at this point, and I'll keep campaigning to the last possible moment. BAIER: Governor, thank you very much for the time. ROMNEY: Thanks, Bret. BAIER: Appreciate it. ROMNEY: Thank you.