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Candid 'video views' add to Romney woes
Source: Agencies |
September 19, 2012, Wednesday
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US Republican Mitt Romney, already scrambling to steady a struggling campaign, confronted a new headache after a video surfaced showing him telling wealthy donors that almost half of all Americans "believe they are victims" entitled to extensive government support. He added that as a candidate for the White House, "my job is not to worry about those people."
At a hastily called news conference late on Monday, Romney conceded the comments weren't "elegantly stated" and that they were spoken "off the cuff."
President Barack Obama's campaign quickly seized on the video, obtained by the magazine Mother Jones and made public on a day that Romney's campaign conceded it needed a change in campaign strategy to gain momentum in the presidential race.
Romney allies were already trying to curb growing complaints that the campaign missed opportunities at the Republican convention and, most crucially, on the United States economy, which is seen as Obama's weakest point.
"There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what," Romney is shown saying in a video posted online by the magazine. "There are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe that the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you name it.
"Forty-seven percent of Americans pay no income tax."
Romney said his role "is not to worry about those people. I'll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives."
In his remarks to reporters, Romney did not dispute the authenticity of the hidden-camera footage, but he called for the release of the full video. He sought to clarify his remarks but did not apologize. "It's not elegantly stated, let me put it that way. I was speaking off the cuff in response to a question."
Mother Jones writer David Corn said the video came from a May 17 fundraiser at the Boca Raton, Florida, home of Marc Leder, co-CEO of the investment firm Sun Capital Partners.
Obama's campaign called the video "shocking." "It's hard to serve as president for all Americans when you've disdainfully written off half the nation," Obama campaign manager Jim Messina said.
The private remarks are the latest in a string of comments from the multimillionaire Republican businessman whom Democrats have criticized as out of touch. During the primary campaign, Romney insisted that he was "not concerned" about the very poor, and said that his wife drove a "couple of Cadillacs."
At a hastily called news conference late on Monday, Romney conceded the comments weren't "elegantly stated" and that they were spoken "off the cuff."
President Barack Obama's campaign quickly seized on the video, obtained by the magazine Mother Jones and made public on a day that Romney's campaign conceded it needed a change in campaign strategy to gain momentum in the presidential race.
Romney allies were already trying to curb growing complaints that the campaign missed opportunities at the Republican convention and, most crucially, on the United States economy, which is seen as Obama's weakest point.
"There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what," Romney is shown saying in a video posted online by the magazine. "There are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe that the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you name it.
"Forty-seven percent of Americans pay no income tax."
Romney said his role "is not to worry about those people. I'll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives."
In his remarks to reporters, Romney did not dispute the authenticity of the hidden-camera footage, but he called for the release of the full video. He sought to clarify his remarks but did not apologize. "It's not elegantly stated, let me put it that way. I was speaking off the cuff in response to a question."
Mother Jones writer David Corn said the video came from a May 17 fundraiser at the Boca Raton, Florida, home of Marc Leder, co-CEO of the investment firm Sun Capital Partners.
Obama's campaign called the video "shocking." "It's hard to serve as president for all Americans when you've disdainfully written off half the nation," Obama campaign manager Jim Messina said.
The private remarks are the latest in a string of comments from the multimillionaire Republican businessman whom Democrats have criticized as out of touch. During the primary campaign, Romney insisted that he was "not concerned" about the very poor, and said that his wife drove a "couple of Cadillacs."
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