Mitt Romney said today that if elected president he and his wife will not embarrass the nation by their conduct in the White House as happened in “the Clinton years.”

In an interview on CNN, Mr. Romney was asked about comments he made at recent house parties in Iowa that he and his wife, Ann, would not embarrass the nation in the White House. He is campaigning for tomorrow’s Republican presidential caucuses in Iowa, while Senator Clinton is campaigning on the Democratic side.

“We’ll try and represent ourselves and our nation well, also to our kids, because I think, I think kids watch the White House and there have been failures in the past in the White House — if you go back to the Clinton years and recognize that — that I think had an enormous impact on the culture of our country,” Mr. Romney said. “And we’ll do our very best, our whole family will to — well, if we can’t be perfect, we’ll do our best to uphold and to be a good example for the kinds of values I think people expect from our leaders.”

Mr. Romney also said that in his comments he was “not referring to anybody, referring to ourselves. We will do our very best to uphold the kind of values that people expect of a White House couple.”

The last part of President Clinton’s second presidential term was dominated by a scandal involving his relationship with a former White House intern, Monica Lewinsky.

The Romneys have been married 38 years and have five sons and 11 grandchildren. The former Massachusetts governor has featured his wholesome-looking family prominently in his presidential campaign.