GOP's Pawlenty, Romney strike the pose

WASHINGTON, June 4 (UPI) -- GOP presidential hopefuls Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty defended "traditional" values and blamed Democrats for high unemployment at a Washington conference.

At the right-wing Faith and Freedom Coalition conference Friday, Romney and Pawlenty, the former governors of Massachusetts and Minnesota, respectively, avoided criticizing one another and focused more on criticism of the Democrats and the administration of President Barack Obama, The Hill reported Saturday.

Romney highlighted the current 9.1 percent unemployment rate and called it a "moral crisis" that was leading to marriage breakdowns.

Pawlenty also spoke of marriage and ventured further in his opposition to same-sex unions.

"Traditional marriage matters," he said. "All domestic relationships are not the same as traditional marriage. It needs to be protected."

Pawlenty spoke of "radical Islam" and said the United States should be "shoulder-to-shoulder with Israel" in its territorial conflict with Palestinians.

Both men reiterated their platforms of family values, patriotism and anti-abortion, the report said.