NBC's Meredith Vieira: "And Governor Romney, good morning to you sir."

Governor Mitt Romney: "Good morning Meredith."

Vieira: "Happy guy this morning. You won the straw poll. You invested a lot of time and money in Iowa. How important is this victory to your overall campaign?"

Governor Romney: "Well, there's no question it sends a message that America is ready for a change and that change began in Iowa. I was delighted to do so well. I know everybody else is wishing they could be in my spot, but I'm glad I've got it."

Vieira: "Well, you know there are critics who are saying this morning that you basically bought that win and you competed against a weakened field of candidates because Giuliani and McCain didn't even run. What do you say to those people? Do you think the win is diminished by their absence?"

Governor Romney: "No, absolutely not. As a matter of fact, I had two wins in Iowa. The first win was doing so well in building such a strong organization that both Giuliani and McCain recognized they couldn't win so they pulled out to avoid the visible loss. And then I had another chance to run against a large field and I think I beat the next two combined. So I'm pretty pleased with what we were able to accomplish. We have a great ground team; a message which is connecting. All of the attacks that come my way have been pushed back. I'm hopeful that this gets me a strong position to begin this nationwide effort."

To watch Governor Romney's interview, please see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dx8viHHpjk8