Romney: Washington letting 'golden moment just slip away' with sequester

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Mitt Romney reveals 'hardest thing about losing'

Sneak peek at 'Fox News Sunday' exclusive interview

Mitt Romney, in an exclusive interview with "Fox News Sunday," said Washington is letting a “golden moment just slip away with politics,” as he described watching the unfurling fiasco over the sequester. He described it as the “hardest” part about losing in November.

The 2012 Republican presidential nominee and his wife Ann spoke extensively with "Fox News Sunday" in their first post-election interview.

Romney said the automatic spending cuts which take effect Friday should be seen as an “opportunity” to finally solve America’s fiscal problems – by coming together on a “long-term fiscal” package.

“I mean I see this as this huge opportunity and it's being squandered by politics, by -- by people who are more interested in a political victory than they are in doing what's right for the country.  And it's very frustrating, I have to tell you,” he said. “The hardest thing about losing is watching this -- this critical moment, this golden moment just slip away with politics.”

Watch the Romneys on "Fox News Sunday" at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. ET on Fox News Channel -- check local listings for Sunday morning airtimes.  

Romney criticized Obama, his former campaign rival, for “flying around the country and berating Republicans and blaming and pointing.”

“The president has the opportunity to lead the nation and to bring Republicans and Democrats together.  It's a job he's got to do and it's a job only the president can do,” Romney said.

Joining other Republicans who say the administration is making the sequester seem worse than it is, Romney criticized the administration for recently releasing low-priority illegal immigrants from Arizona jails.

“It's politics. It's, ‘okay, how do we do something that will get a headline that will make it look like those terrible Republicans aren't willing to come together?’” he said.

The former nominee also described the 2012 race as a “roller coaster” that eventually ended.

Ann Romney described the "adjustment" she and her husband made -- going from being surrounding by crowds and Secret Service agents to, after Mitt Romney's loss in November, being by themselves again. She likened it to serving in different positions in their church.

"In our church, we're used to serving and you know, you can be in a very high position, but you recognize you're serving. And now all of a sudden, you're released and you're nobody," she said. "And we're used to that. It's like we came and stepped forward to serve. And you know, the other part of it was an amazing thing, and it was really quite a lot of energy and a lot of passion and a lot of -- a lot of people around us and all of a sudden, it was nothing."

She added: "But the good news is fortunately we like each other."