Presidential candidate Mitt Romney, R-Mass., said it is time the Republican Party return to their core values at the Iowa Straw Poll in Ames Saturday.

Romney, the first candidate to speak to the large crowd gathered at Hilton Coliseum, was introduced with a loud roar and applause from the audience.

“Change begins in Iowa and change begins today,” he said.

Romney said that the party left their core values during the last election and that is what caused the party to lose control of Congress in the 2006 election.

He said the best ally is a strong America and he said he would work with Democrats to make progress.

Romney did not stray himself away from President Bush, saying he has kept us safe the past six years and worked to pass the Patriot Act and fight al-Qaeda overseas.

Romney said he is pro-life, and he wants to strengthen marriage.

“We need to help our kids understand that before they have kids, you get married,” he said.

Romney called the current world children live in “dirty water” and he wanted to clean up the “moral pollution” of drugs, violence and pornography that children are exposed to.

“I will enforce our obscenity laws,” he said.

He also said that those who abuse obscenity laws would face punishment with just one offense.

Romney said he would also work to strengthen the military, economy and families.

“[We add] at least 100,000 troops and more equipment and to take care when they come home,” he said

Romney said that candidate rivals Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and Barack Obama, D-Ill., were promoting the wrong ideas to strengthen the economy.

“Clinton and Obama say take more money and give it to government,” he said. “I say we must keep taxes down and have a smaller govenment.”

Romney said he does not support amnesty nor a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants.

“[We] make sure we welcome legal immigrants to our country but end illegal immigration,” he said.

“I will secure our border and start a system that will catch those who come here illegally.”