Romney: McCain camp should have provided more access to Palin

Former Gov. Mitt Romney at the RNC: RNC PhotoFormer Gov. Mitt Romney said Monday that the McCain campaign's reluctance to make vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin available to the press has been a strategic error.

During an interview on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," the Belmont Republican was asked whether the Alaska governor's recent interviews were bringing down the GOP ticket. Conservative syndicated columnist Kathleen Parker wrote last week that Palin should step down as McCain's running mate.

Romney did not say whether Palin was hurting the GOP's chances. He did, however, criticize the McCain campaign's media strategy.

"Holding Sarah Palin to just three interviews and microscopically focusing on each interview I think has been a mistake," Romney said. "I think they'd be a lot wiser to let Sarah Palin be Sarah Palin. Let her talk to the media, let her talk to people."

Palin's limited availability to the press has been repeatedly criticized by Democrats.

Romney, who was on McCain's running mate short list, said that, ultimately, Palin's "maverick" credentials will boost the GOP ticket in November.

"Look she wasn't selected by John McCain because she's an expert on foreign policy; John McCain's the expert on foreign policy," Romney said. "She was selected because she's a maverick. She's a person who identified with people in homes across America...She's an executive and a governor, and that brings a lot to John McCain's ticket."