While attending church services in Boston in the mid-1970s, long before he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, was nudged in the stomach by his then-girlfriend who whispered, referencing the speaker, "Why can't you speak like that?"

Cannon told Utah Valley State College students, speaking to them at an ethics forum Friday, that he took the message as a backhanded compliment. He was honored to be put in the same category as Mitt Romney, who is now a presidential candidate.

The topic of Cannon's speech was publicized as "Civility, Democracy and Elections," so he spoke about trying to bridge the divide between conservatives like himself and liberals. He and Sam Rushforth, dean of UVSC's School of Science and Health, joked about being on opposite sides of the political spectrum. Rushforth said that if Cannon stood in his position on the right and Rushforth stood in his position, they would need binoculars to see each other, but both men have learned to work together.

"Nobody is a slave to their party's platform," Cannon said. "You get to understand where your party's coming from and where you stand."

He said political parties and differences of opinion lead to a better world.

Cannon is supporting Romney in the upcoming election, but said he would never run himself because he's not ambitious enough and doesn't want to get into the mess of presidential politics.

"It's amazing, isn't it, the kind of harshness that has come out," Cannon said.

He said during his campaigns he tries not to sling mud, but debate is important in political discourse as long as two sides can come together.

"The engagement requires a willingness to acknowledge that an idea can be improved," Cannon said. "In my experience every idea can be improved, even mine."

A student in the audience asked how charisma affected presidential politics. Cannon replied that charismatic people typically get elected, though he is puzzled how Richard Nixon got elected due to his lack of charisma.

"Most of the evil leaders of the world have been charismatic," Cannon added.

Cannon told students that as they get involved in politics, the free flow of information should be on their minds because it will become one of the most important issues.

"Essentially we've gotten to the point where information is free," Cannon said.

He talked about illegal downloading and ways to curb the problem, like offering single songs for much cheaper than iTunes's 99 cents.

"I like him. I hadn't heard him speak before," said UVSC sophomore Sean Malouf.

• Brittani Lusk can be reached at 344-2549 or at blusk@heraldextra.com.