Presidential candidate Mitt Romney had a tough day on the road, when the audience at a town hall would not stop asking him questions about his stance on gay marriage.  Luckily for the former governor, the inquisition ended when he called on a young boy, who asked him about abortion instead.

According to MSNBC, Romney was “clearly taken aback” by the question from such a young child, despite the fact that the candidate was no doubt looking for a chance to tout his “pro-life” credentials.  After all, he clearly knows what a weakness his past support of a woman’s right to choose has played in his lackluster support from social conservatives.

ABC has a slightly different version.

And then there was the 8-year-old boy who asked Romney what his stance on abortion is.

“That’s a question I did not expect from you, but I’m happy I got it,” responded Romney, laughing.

“I am pro-life, I am pro-life and what I’d like to see happen, this is a tender and sensitive issue and good people come out on both sides of this issue and so I respect people who have different views on the issue,” he said.

“What I’d like to see happen is for the Supreme Court to say we’re going to overturn Roe v. Wade and return to the states the authority to decide if they want abortion in their states,” Romney said.

So was the question a plant?  A sort of “get out of jail free” public forum card? Or are eight-year-old boys really that interested in restricting a woman’s right to choose?