Mitt Romney: ‘I won’t cry’

Shortly after returning to New Hampshire, Mitt Romney appeared to make a passing reference to Newt Gingrich’s tearful moment earlier on Friday in Iowa.

After introducing two of his sons, who have been campaigning for him in New Hampshire this week, at a packed spaghetti dinner in Merrimack, Romney mentioned his parents -- as he often does in his standard stump speech.

“At a time like this I think about my parents, and I’m sure during the holidays you think about your parents as well,” Romney said. “My mom and dad were extraordinary people, and they both left this life and moved on.”

“I won’t cry, no, I won’t,” Romney said, before going on -- apparently responding to a comment from someone in the crowd that was not audible. “But I do. I do. Nothing to be ashamed of in that regard.”

Romney went on to describe how his parents had imparted a love and passion for America. He did not make any direct mention of Gingrich, his rival for the Republican nomination for president, who became emotional Friday when speaking to a group of mothers about his own mother, Kit, who died in 2003.

maeve.reston@latimes.com