Washington (CNN) - Mitt Romney quickly moved to clarify a misstep as he metaphorically discussed hanging bad economic news around the neck of President Obama Friday night. His spokesman called stories about the gaffe "a ridiculous exaggeration of his actual comments."
It happened as Romney was speaking at a forum on job creation and spending last night in Manchester, New Hampshire, sponsored by Americans for Prosperity.
Using a commonly-said phrase as he was discussing the economy, Romney told the crowd, "You remember during that during the Ronald Reagan/Jimmy Carter debates, that Ronald Reagan came up with this great thing about the 'misery index' and he hung that around Jimmy Carter's neck and that had a lot to do with Jimmy Carter losing. Well, we're going to have to hang the 'Obama Misery Index' around his neck. And I'll tell you, the fact that you've got people in this country really squeezed, with gasoline getting so expensive, with commodities getting so expensive, families are having a hard making ends meet. So we're going to have to talk about that, and housing foreclosures and bankruptcies and higher taxation."
But Romney then said, "We're going to hang him with that, uh, so to speak – metaphorically. You have to be careful these days. I learned that."
Romney did realize the wording immediately, stopping to clarify his comment. He had a slight smile and there was some laughter in the room that seemed to be playing off his reaction, not the original comment.
A Romney spokesman, Andrea Saul, said in an e-mail to CNN of any question over the comment, "It is not what the governor meant and that was very clear in what he actually said. It's a ridiculous exaggeration of his actual comments."
From CNN Politics
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Why would he clarify a comment that sounds just like the rest of the hateful racebaiting idiots of the GOP? A comment like that would probably get him more votes with the tea-bigots.
All speeches, forum answers are planned and practiced. Either the writers were not thinking or it was planned to spur interest. News good or bad is still news. My question is that why did Romney not question this use of phrase in the planning session? He was either clueless which shows his being out of touch with people or he agreed with it.
wow. I hate Mitt and even I can see he didn't mean anything by it. It was an innocent bad choice of words is all
Memo to Mitt...you are not and never will be Ronald Reagan. Quit digging up the past and pretending in that bird brain of yours that you are the next Ronald Reagan to bring back the glory days of a corrupt and dysfunctional Republican Party.
First the GOP promised jobs if they were elected 2 yrs. ago. Now they make the same empty promises if they're elected to the WH. Nope, won't happen. Why should a company hire more employees and cut into their profits. It's all about making their investors happy and less profits is a hidden pitfall for the GOP. No jobs, more profits. More jobs, less profits.
What to say??? "Not intended to be a factual statement" or set another place at the dinner table Sarah and Michelle cuz Mitt has just decided to come for dinner.
Ok, so he made a freudian slip that displayed his underlying racism, and he caught him self on it right away.
Not a good thing, but at least he's not foaming at the mouth like uber-racist Trump.
Metamorphically speaking, Obama is going to hang the Massachusetts health care plan around Romney's neck. Also, Republicans are really helping families making ends meet by taking health care away from them, gutting government services and giving the rich more tax cuts.
Why would anyone care what Romney says anyway? Obama 2012!
They used to say people were crackers meaning they were silly or crazy. Well Romney is just crackers.
Another Republican making a stupid racially charged remark. Romney is a loser of epic proportions. My God, could this crop of Republican wannabees be any worse?
The economic downturn that began with the Bush Administration is thankfully coming to an end thanks to President Obama. Mr. Romney is only interested in politics, it seems, not the welfare of America or it's citizens. Forget about his "hanging" phraseology, lets take a look at Mr. Romney, the man, and ask how trustworthy he is.
The high gas prices situations is just another Republican strategy...noticed how all the candidates and radio talking heads started using it last Wednesday,after the president made his birth certificate public?......We voters are not stupid, the Republicans need to tell us what they will do to fix the problem instead of telling us what the problem is!
Once again, GOP canidates say something that is really nothing but hate, to get crowd appeal from the far right and then claim it is not what they meant. Have they no shame?
Republicans are at it again using their "Code Words" and then attempt to clarify what it means. America has an ugly history that we must never forget but we must be respectful and loving of our brothers and sister as the creater intended. Enough is enough.
Just another right wing racist. But then again he's a Mormon and you've never met more of a racist than a Mormon.
I thought that this would happen, Romney and his pathetic cohorts trying to pin Gas prices on Obama..
The Republicans and their corporate buddies more than likely in bed together on gas prices that would help the GOP in their efforts to use Anything to derail the President. I think that the American people understand what is being attempted and it is mostly about systemic Racism in this country
" Your not sorry Mr.Romney,your Gop? Always remember Gop,'The Economy fell during the Bush years! Our President had the "Bravery" of trying to get us out of Bush-Cheney Wars, run away "White Collar" crime on Wall Street(which is still going on) and "Taking on the second Worst Economic Disaster in our History!! Thank the "Heavens for "A person of great intelligents in the Oval Office!!!!! 2012
Sorry , 8 years of GOP policys decimated the working class , the income gap has not been this high since the 20 s when we ironicly went into the great depresion
Poor Mitt... It doesn't matter what you say and it doesn't matter what you think. You're just George W. Bush with a vocabulary. You will never be President and that is a fact. Get over yourself.
I think he meant what he said! It a comment of common usage! It does not promote physical harm or racial overtones! So why is this news?
Who cares!!!! Gas prices are HIGH because the Republicans are causing that – With their "stock" in the oil companies and always wanting to give the "subsidies" and TAX BREAKS – Toppled with the fact that they will do anything to make President Obama a "one-term" president – Works well with what is going on now.
High prices in food – because gas is HIGH!!! High prices in GAS -because of NO REASON, but to make the American people ANGRY because of it. The outcome will put the blame on the president!! Forget about job-creation that was promised throughout all of 2010!!!
GAS should not be HIGH!! The ONLY reason why is because it's ELECTION season!!! The Republicans do not care about the middle class or the poor!! Their goals are to keep the RICH – RICH- the POOR – POOR – the Elderly Sick – the Lower Class "pregnant" and dying from "preventative" illnesses – And they will go through every means to do so!!! Please America – Realize this and WAKE UP!!!
I am in no way a republican, and not a fan of Romney either, but what he said was NOT intended as a lynching reference. If anyone implies that he meant it that way, or makes a big deal of it, then they are being as disingenuous as the right wing nuts are being about things Obama says and does. If we have to get stuck with a republican as our next president, and God forbid we do, Romney would at least be carrying the torch of sanity in that otherwise insane party. In other words, I could live with him in the White House.
I don't think Romney mis-spoke, it actually is what he was thinking. Most people are hiding behind the shield of: you can't criticize the president without being called a racist. When you look at how they are going at him(birther BS) you cannot help but believe that a majority(not all) of these people are TOTALLY RACIST!!! The president is further hampered by the Republicans, Tea Partyers and Conservatives trying to hamstring him every step of the way and then trying to heap more blame on him. The right(they should be called the wrong) are being bankrolled by very wealthy interests that they truly serve and not the average citizen. The goog people of this country need to realize that there is a concensus among those(not all, but most) who control the wealth in this country that the standard of living in this country is too high and that the first way to go is to attack the unions, then attack the worker in private industry and do away with the minimum wage and any and all benefits for the US worker. They feel they should have the right to pay us a buck a day. NO ONE can undo the damage done to this country in the eight years of the Bush Madministration in two or three years. If the average Joe in this country does not wake up to what Mr. Romney and his ilk have in mind for us, we will soon find ourselves crossing the border into Mexico for work.
I'll forgive Romney. We all say things that we instantly realize aren't phrased correctly as soon as we hear our own words.
Why is it Obama's fault that things are tough economically? Gas prices are being criminally manipulated, so to crush the economic recovery,.. Obama has launched an inquiry into it. The economy was in chaos 2 years ago,.. Obama has righted the ship,.. financial sector stabilized,.. jobs being created,.. the stock market is soaring, ..health reform,.. these are all positive accomplishments that the President needs to be lauded for achieving,.. the GOP/ TEA PARTY,.. and the special interest lobbyist, are trying their darnest to undo all that good, and being obstructionists,.. remember well the words of some on the Right..'We want the President to fail'.. how is that constructive?.. Romney needs to hang most of it around the collective necks of his own party members,.. and stop his lying and deception.
This country is much to sensitive. It was a metaphorical statement, and anyone that takes it as anything different is out of touch. And yes, I vote for President Obama!!!
Romney called the Massachusetts law "an experiment," admitting that "some parts didn't work," but he didn't directly answer a question on whether or not he regretted signing it into law.
AND this will be hanging around his neck.
That is not an apology, that is blaming 'these days' as the problem rather than apologizing for poorly chosen words. Let's blame sensitivities for your un-sensitivity? Let's blame how your words hurt because of hundreds of years atrocities because you have to be careful 'these days'? This is not about political correctness, Mitt! You screwed up and do not have the integrity to apologize for it.
Witless Mitt. Provides a list of problems which were created by a Republican administration and which are being perpetuated by Republicans in the House and Senate. The nerve.
Poor right-wingers, it must be so hard for them to understand what drives gasoline prices and what doesn't. Maybe the next time Romney and Cong. Joe Barton are performing fellatio on their BP and other oil industry sponsors, they can ask them to explain how the industry works.
Glad to know Mitt is pulling for the Country to pull out of our troubles.
yes...putting a "boot to the neck" is much more current. This simply proves Romney is passe.
Anyone that says anything about Obummie is a racist. I can't believe the fool got elected the first time. What happened? Did all the white folk stay home? No, 43% of us voted for him. It won't happen again, as we hate his POLICIES not him or his race.
I cannot wait until Romney is elected in 2012. The majority in the country are just counting down the days until the weak, clueless, incompetent, idiot that is currently renting our White House–is evicted in 2012. Can you imagine the debates between Romney and Obama? Romney-a business/financial/economic genius-versus Obama without his teleprompter. They will be hilarious!! Romney and Marco Rubio in 2012!!
But, will they admit that this is really the clean up after 8 years of Bush and 2 years of Republicans blocking as much as possible of what Obama was trying to do? Will the republicans tell us what they have done to create jobs since they were elected because of that promise? Will they tell us about how little they have done for the American people and much they have done To us?
Way to go Mitt. You dug yourself a hole with that one.
I'm not sure how they do it, but the economy was in free-fall when Obama took office, yet the republicans sure have success at hanging it on Obama. The housing market was in the toilet since early 2007, we were losing 750k jobs a month in Janurary, 2009, the near collapse of the financial systems and the gazillionaire bailout had occured under the Great Waste Bush administration.
The economy has steadily improved since Obama took office. So, while the misery index is high, it is the direct result of the last administration's policies, and it is improving.
Why don't you tell us another good one, mittens, like how evil RomneyCare 1.1, commonly called ObamaCare, is. Massachusettes has 98% of it's citizens covered by health insurance due to that insidious individual mandate. Such a bad thing! We are so much better off as a country with 40 million plus uninsured.
If only this country's attentions span would grow to more than 30 seconds, the neocon movement would be toast.
Uh, mittens, tax rates for those earning less than 250k are DOWN. Do you understand that? LOWER tax rates, as Obama promised.
Simply saying taxes are higher doesn't make it so.
I'm no Romney fan, but let's cut the guy a break here.
I don't remember Romney wanting to hang a Bush Misery Index around W's neck when gas prices were higher then they are now. Nor did he want to do it when W. lied and took us into 2 needless wars which helped put this country in the debt we are in today. Does the GOP really think that the majority of Americans have no memory? They are all a bunch of hypocrites!
Me thinks he doth protest to much.
Obama is the captian of the Titanic. He was flown in after the original captian hit the ice berg when the orginal captain was flown to safety. You can reasonalble assign some blame to Clinton to signed a bill/law ( I think ) allowing Financial company and banks to rig up all the crap that nearly brought down western civilization and then certainly bush unpaid tax cuts and 2 unpaid wars. Blame Obama for uping our involvement in Afganistan and not standing firm on letting those tax cuts go (of which I would be paying more but as a member of the great american society will be happy to pay)
Do Romney and his likes own the language thay they can use it any way to express subtly hateful and suggestive messages? Is whatever they say justifiable?
As usual, the repugnants don't seem to remember when our economic crash began, and who started it.
Let's see, who was it that started two wars, with costs off the books? Who gave his rich buddies big tax cuts, but gave no thought to how the costs would be covered?
Interesting to note that Romney belongs to a church that did not consider black people to be human until recent history. I suppose as BYU tried to make it without African American players they saw the light. He's got so much lying to do and so little time...
Jeez Romney, just quit. You couldn't buy the nomination the last time around, and your wishy-washiness isn't going to play with the fire and brimstone, phony bravado beats brains crowd you'll have to pander to get the nomination.
Romney should be hanging the "misery index" around Bush's neck–that's where it started. President Obama has been trying to dig us out of this, but of course no Republican is going to acknowledge that!
Like most Redumplicans, they don't know what they are saying either......enough said
what? These GOP thugs put and sent jobs to overseas, and China, now they are talking....whom they are talking....don't people know....Real thugs of the nation are "GOP & Tea Party" idiots....not obama nor clinton....Again, Gas is going up, because of china, and India...once we use Fuel efficient cars, and hybrid, and energy efficiency, these idiots know and know better....Walmart is already repenting....it is losing lot of its business...wake up Americans, I am telling the truth, because, "I love you" so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!God bless....Obama 2012...do not worry about color...nation is on right track fiscally, principle way...green energy, green energy, education, energy efficiency..transportation, bring back manufacturing.....o.k...
I think you'll lose badly Mr. Romney. All I hear from "presidential candidates" is a criticism and general talking point BS. You keep whining about jobs, maybe you should pull your head out and see that under Obama the monthly jobs report is turning solidly higher.
Please just shut up or give some concrete steps that clearly differentiate you from what Obama has done.
And it is so ironic you say the "misery index" as if Republicans care for the middle to poor class of this country. Shut up you "I want to be President so bad. I wish. I wish. I wish.", typical Republican trash.
The delusional Right slipping their pet subject of higher taxes on the Rich in with the price of gas, foreclosures and other economic pressures the middle and lower classes are dealing with. Nice try, Mitt.
Romney do not have a race problem he have a Obamacare problem.
How could Romney not be aware of the racial and historical context of 'Hangings' '? stupid! just another case of GOP foot and mouth disease.
He wants to pin all the economics problems with this country on the President. Politics as usual. If he knew how to fix the economics problems why doesn't he tell the republican party how to fix it. Oh, wait ! he wants to be elected FIRST.
Romney is a joke how can you put the economic mess on Obama when the jackass before him put us here. People this is a guy who put healthcare reform in place in his state similar to the new federal healthcare reform, but now is backing away. The republicans want all to suffer unless you can poke up enough money to lobby some great corporate empire.
Well, he's in the public eye and whatever he says will be scrutinized...and taken as however one will define it. So, watch what you say and think before you speak.
Again, the Republican campaign is all about smearing Obama without articulating a clear replacement policy.
So far, they are changing "Repeal and replace" for ACA, but where are the hearings and proposals for the replacement?
They have proposed revisions for Medicare that will effectively repeal the program in 25 to 50 years due to chronic under-funding.
Their jobs program is little more than tax breaks for the rich and big business.
Before I'll vote for you or any other Republican, I need to know what you propose to do - not just vague slogans.