Mitt Romney Speaks in W.Va.

Mitt Romney added West Virginia to the 2008 presidential campaign trail this evening, with a speech at the Kanawha County GOP's Lincoln Day Dinner.

In my story for The Associated Press, I note that the former Bay State governor sparked applause for 1) lamenting out-of-wedlock births, 2) praising mom-and-dad families and 3) including coal in his recipe for an energy independent America.

I estimated the crowd at about 300. While there were at least four empty tables, Republican lawmakers invited to the event were stuck at the Capitol for the session. Romney also took questions from reporters after the dinner.

While no direct reflection on the candidate, I could not help but notice that one of his staffers referred to "Charleston, Virginia," during the pre-press conference sound check. Yeah, we don't like that.

I also could not help but notice the campaign photographer snapping away at me when I asked the former governor about his past stance on gun control. I guess the campaigns can get pretty defensive.