Transcript: Mitt and Ann Romney's Interview With Diane Sawyer

In a Diane Sawyer exclusive, Governor Mitt Romney and his wife Ann sit down for their first joint network interview. (Ida Mae Astute/ABC Ida Mae Astute/ABC)

DIANE SAWYER: Is it finally sinking in?

MITT ROMNEY: Well--

DIANE SAWYER: It had -- this is it?

MITT ROMNEY: We're getting-- we're getting very close at this point. And -- and so we're beginning to do the things you need to do to prepare for a general election and--

DIANE SAWYER: Do you wake up with a smile?

MITT ROMNEY: --it's very exciting. You know, I'm-- I-- I have both emotions. Once-- one, I'm delighted, we've been apparently successful so far the-- in the Republican nomination process. But I also feel an enormous-- sense of responsibility to make sure that-- that I can-- lead this effort in such a way that we can replace President Obama. I think he's a nice guy. I just think he's misguided and over his head. And-- and America needs to be back on track creating jobs and putting people-- in-- in jobs that pay-- pay more money.

DIANE SAWYER: One of the very important rituals for the nominee, I believe, Saturday Night Live. You've been asked, are you going to do it?

Ida Mae Astute/ABC Ida Mae Astute/ABC

In a Diane Sawyer exclusive, Governor Mitt... View Full Size

Ida Mae Astute/ABC Ida Mae Astute/ABC

In a Diane Sawyer exclusive, Governor Mitt Romney and his wife Ann sit down for their first joint network interview.

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MITT ROMNEY: I-- I hadn't heard that-- that we were asked until I read about it over the weekend. So-- I'll take a look at that. That sounds like a lot of fun. Why not? I-- I haven't made a decision on that, just-- just heard about it. And of course it would depend on the nature of the skit. I want it to be funny. But--

DIANE SAWYER: Who's funnier? You or President Obama?

MITT ROMNEY: I have no idea how funny he is in-- in real life. And people don't me terribly well from the-- you know, the kinds of pranks we play and what's like in a home with five boys. But most of our dinner table-- events were-- involving humor of one kind or another most of which can't be repeated on the air.

DIANE SAWYER: So you watch it? You watch Saturday Night Live, you see Jason Sudeikis doing you?

MITT ROMNEY: He's p-- it's-- he's very good, Jason's very good. Yeah, I watch-- I watch the skits that include me now 'cause we-- you know, we Tivo those or DVR them and get a chance to see them. But-- but from time to time, particularly in the past we watched-- SNL. Right now we've been kind of busy. We don't get to see a lot of TV.

DIANE SAWYER: Moving on. President Obama threw down a kind of gauntlet to you over the weekend. And he said, "Release 12 years of your tax returns. I'm releasing them. Release 12 years. If you have nothing to hide why not release 12 years as your father did?"

MITT ROMNEY: Well, the president is going to try and do everything possible to divert from the attention being focused upon his record as president and the failure of his economic policies. So he's going to try and make this campaign about the fact that I've been successful, that I've made a lot of money. So he wants to be able to get all the details on each year and how much money I made this year and that year. I'm not going to get into that.