It’s time the Republican Party return to its core values, said presidential candidate Mitt Romney at the Iowa Straw Poll in Ames on Aug. 11.

Romney, the first candidate of the day 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 the party left its core values during the last election, which is what caused the party to lose control of Congress in the 2006 election.

He said the best ally in the world is a strong America, and if elected, he said he would work with the Democrats to make progress.

Romney did not stray himself from talking about President Bush, saying he has kept us safe the past six years and worked to pass the USA PATRIOT Act and fight al-Qaida overseas.

Romney said he is anti-abortion, and he wants to strengthen marriage.

“We need to help our kids understand that before they have kids, you get married,” Romney 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 to which children are exposed every day.

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

He also said those who abuse obscenity laws would face serious 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 presidential candidate rivals Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and Sen. 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 government.”

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