Romney on '47 Percent': I Was 'Completely Wrong'Thursday, 04 Oct 2012 10:31 PM By Greg McDonald
Mitt Romney Thursday reversed his controversial remarks about 47
percent of American voters being dependent on government and not
paying taxes, telling Fox News’ Sean Hannity that he was “just
completely wrong.”
In his first post-debate interview, the Republican presidential
nominee sought to repair any damage the remark made earlier this
year at a private fundraiser may have cost his campaign even
though it was — surprisingly to many Democrats — not raised by
President Barack Obama in the first presidential debate in
Denver Wednesday night.
“Now and then, you're going to say something that doesn’t come
out right," Romney said, suggesting the remark just popped out
during the course of making “hundreds, if not thousands,” of
campaign speeches and interviews.
“In this case, I said something that was just completely
wrong,” he added. “And I absolutely believe, however, that
my life has shown that I care about 100 percent and that’s
been demonstrated throughout my life. And this whole
campaign is about the 100 percent. When I become President,
it will be about helping the 100 percent.”
Asked what he thought of his debate performance, Romney said
the president certainly “wasn’t happy” with the way things
went, given the fact that he was declared the loser by the
media on both the left and the right almost immediately.
But Romney suggested that he did well because the debate
focused on “substance,” which gave him an opportunity to lay
out clear differences with Obama.
“It was an evening of substance. . . . It was not a big
gotcha night coming from the moderator, but instead a chance
for the president and I to go toe-to-toe on important issues
people care about,” he said. “So, I thought it was a helpful
night. In the final analysis, people will decide what kind
of America they want.”
Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan, who appeared
briefly on the Hannity program with Romney, said the debate
finally gave the American people a chance to see “the guy I
know — a decisive, optimistic, confident leader.”
He said voters now know that they have “a very clear choice”
between the two candidates, one that will them to “growth
and opportunity” and the other to “stagnation and
dependency.”
“The president is basically saying, four more years of the
same. And Mitt gave them a better choice,” said Ryan, who
will face off against Vice President Joe Biden in a debate
on Oct. 11.
Romney also noted that he believes the debates are probably
a welcome relief to voters from the nastiness of the
campaign, which he said has focused on “character
assassination” aimed at tearing him down and misrepresenting
his views to the American people.
“I know what the president’s been campaigning on and saying
about me is very different than what I actually am, what I
actually believe. And I think that’s where the difference
came,” he said, suggesting that many voters for the first
time may have gotten a glimpse of the real Romney in the
first debate.
“What the president’s been saying and the reality are pretty
far apart,” he added.
Romney and Obama will square off again in two more debates
later this month. The next one on Oct. 16 will focus on both
domestic and foreign policy, and the last on Oct. 22 will
cover foreign policy only.
Romney appeared to signal his plans to lay out major
differences with the president on the Middle East and
particularly his handling of national security issues.
Romney, for example, told Hannity that he views the attack
on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that left four
Americans dead “a tragic failure” by the administration.
“There had been warnings of a possible attack,” he said.
“There were requests on the part of our . . .
commission there, of our diplomats there, rather, to
have additional security forces. They were turned down.
“And then, following the tragedy, we saw, well,
misleading information coming from the administration,”
Romney continued. “And in fact, the president didn’t
acknowledge that this was a terrorist act for what, a
week or two? I mean, this was a terrorist attack, lives
were lost. This happened on 9/11.
“We expect candor and transparency from the president,
from the administration. And we didn’t get it.”
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