Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan took a victory lap on the Hannity show tonight. Well into the interview, Hannity brought up Romney’s 47% video. “What would you have said if (President Obama) did bring it up?” Hannity asked. I’ve got to think Hannity knew that Romney wanted to address the matter. Otherwise, it’s way out of character for him to bring up something detrimental to his candidate at a time like this. Sure enough, it was time for some Romney Rehab - but in the form of a flip-flop. Suddenly, Romney is a man of the 100%.
Hannity raised the issue at about 7:19 into the video below, which is Part 2 of the interview. Romney responded:
Clearly in a campaign with hundreds, if not thousands, of speeches and question and answer sessions, now and then you’re going to say something that doesn’t come out right. In this case, I said something that’s just completely wrong. And I absolutely believe however that my life has shown that I care about 100%. And that’s been demonstrated throughout my life. And this whole campaign is about the 100%. When I become president, it will be about helping the 100%.
As I pointed out last night in the debate, the rich in this country are actually doing better under President Obama. The gap between the rich and the poor has gotten larger. The rich will probably do fine, even if he’s re-elected. It’s the middle class that’s in real trouble if President Obama’s re-elected. And the poor. I want the poor to get into the middle class… So this for me is all about the 100%.
This is quite a departure from Romney’s previous stance on his 47% comments. Last month, in a hastily-called press conference, he was unapologetic:
Well, you know, it’s not elegantly stated, let me put it that way. I’m speaking off the cuff in response to a question and I’m sure I could state it more clearly in a more effective way than I did in a setting like that. And so I’m sure I’ll point that out as time goes on… But it’s a message which I’m going to carry and continue to carry which is look. The president’s approach is attractive to people who are not paying taxes because, frankly, my discussion about lowering taxes isn’t as attractive to them and therefore I’m not likely to draw them into my campaign as effectively to those in the middle.
Hannity pretended he didn’t notice this latest flip-flop from Romney.
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bemused commented
2012-10-06 03:27:40 -0400
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Kathleen wrote: “… much of what is taken issue with here is also reported elsewhere.”
That’s why I find it so perplexing when Fox attacks the mainstream media for bias. CNN, for example, is pretty much on the same page as Fox, but other sources outside the USA (BBC, France24, RAI24, AlJazeera/English and even SkyItalia which is owned by NewsCorp) are often on entirely different pages with respect both to Fox and CNN. And those outside sources often concur.
On the subject of those jobs numbers: the data collection method does seem to be more “rule of thumb” than scientific, but it’s been accepted by all for such a long time that it’s silly to contest it now. Using the same method also makes it possible to define trends (I think that may be the main reason for not changing methods). I remember someone on this blog saying that the first numbers are subject to fine-tuning as more information comes in, hence their variability is actually part of the procedure. Everybody knows that so it shouldn’t be a problem.
What never changes, however, is the propensity of human beings to contest any findings perceived as “unacceptable”. Bearing in mind their skepticism about the polls when the latter showed President Obama in the lead, I eagerly await the foxy reaction to the post-debate polls. Never a dull moment on Fox.
That’s why I find it so perplexing when Fox attacks the mainstream media for bias. CNN, for example, is pretty much on the same page as Fox, but other sources outside the USA (BBC, France24, RAI24, AlJazeera/English and even SkyItalia which is owned by NewsCorp) are often on entirely different pages with respect both to Fox and CNN. And those outside sources often concur.
On the subject of those jobs numbers: the data collection method does seem to be more “rule of thumb” than scientific, but it’s been accepted by all for such a long time that it’s silly to contest it now. Using the same method also makes it possible to define trends (I think that may be the main reason for not changing methods). I remember someone on this blog saying that the first numbers are subject to fine-tuning as more information comes in, hence their variability is actually part of the procedure. Everybody knows that so it shouldn’t be a problem.
What never changes, however, is the propensity of human beings to contest any findings perceived as “unacceptable”. Bearing in mind their skepticism about the polls when the latter showed President Obama in the lead, I eagerly await the foxy reaction to the post-debate polls. Never a dull moment on Fox.
Kathleen Washington State commented
2012-10-05 17:29:08 -0400
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Sorry, @mj – the same one, I’m not a “Kathy” at all, nor am I one and the same as the person you mention. This is the only politically-related site I’ve commented on, having stumbled here quite by accident.
I’m not a liberal. I’m a conservative. That said, and as I’ve said in other comments, I’m not a rabid-tea-partying-lily-livered-idiot being lead about by a ring in my nose. I gather news from a variety of sources; and, while I’m not huge fan of Fox, much of what is taken issue with here is also reported elsewhere.
Anyway, I don’t believe the numbers are “cooked”. I merely challenge the way in which they’re interpreted given the many Economists that have said likewise.
I’m not a liberal. I’m a conservative. That said, and as I’ve said in other comments, I’m not a rabid-tea-partying-lily-livered-idiot being lead about by a ring in my nose. I gather news from a variety of sources; and, while I’m not huge fan of Fox, much of what is taken issue with here is also reported elsewhere.
Anyway, I don’t believe the numbers are “cooked”. I merely challenge the way in which they’re interpreted given the many Economists that have said likewise.
mj - the same one commented
2012-10-05 17:11:22 -0400
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@Kathleen Washington State:
Perchance, are you the same “Kathy” at PoliticusUSA.com who said,
Come on, people letâs not get all âRepublicans are thugs.â
I question the polls â especially because people who canât find jobs and have given up arenât counted. And really, how accurate can this be, doing surveys of people.
Sorry to dissapoint, but Iâm a liberal and I think the numbers are a joke.
http://www.politicususa.com/wing-conspiracy-theorists-attack-job-numbers-pathetic.html#comments
If so, may I direct you to Paws’ response in that same thread:
“The numbers are not âcooked.â It would be virtually impossible to fudge the numbers here and if the President could influence them, donât you think he would have been doing that all along? Donât you think Bush would have done it when we were losing hundreds of thousands of jobs a month?
“It is very sad that the right is basically rooting for the American economy to fail just so they can gain political points. Itâs quite disheartening to see lawmakers joining the chorus as well.”
I might add that while you claim to be a liberal, your leap to defend the possibility that the numbers aren’t accurate sounds suspiciously right-leaning.
âItâs just not good enough given that we have an unemployment rate close to 8%.â Mark Zandi, chief U.S. economist at Moodyâs Analytics
Keep moving those goalposts, guys.
After nearly two years of screaming about the UE rate being the same for “43 consecutive months,” rather than applaud a positive change, all the right can do is yell, “well, it STILL ain’t good enough!”
Hey, wingnuts — you’ve been wondering all this time what the “October Surprise” would be? I think the jobs numbers was it; it just turned out to be a surprise for RMoney . . .
.
Perchance, are you the same “Kathy” at PoliticusUSA.com who said,
Come on, people letâs not get all âRepublicans are thugs.â
I question the polls â especially because people who canât find jobs and have given up arenât counted. And really, how accurate can this be, doing surveys of people.
Sorry to dissapoint, but Iâm a liberal and I think the numbers are a joke.
http://www.politicususa.com/wing-conspiracy-theorists-attack-job-numbers-pathetic.html#comments
If so, may I direct you to Paws’ response in that same thread:
“The numbers are not âcooked.â It would be virtually impossible to fudge the numbers here and if the President could influence them, donât you think he would have been doing that all along? Donât you think Bush would have done it when we were losing hundreds of thousands of jobs a month?
“It is very sad that the right is basically rooting for the American economy to fail just so they can gain political points. Itâs quite disheartening to see lawmakers joining the chorus as well.”
I might add that while you claim to be a liberal, your leap to defend the possibility that the numbers aren’t accurate sounds suspiciously right-leaning.
âItâs just not good enough given that we have an unemployment rate close to 8%.â Mark Zandi, chief U.S. economist at Moodyâs Analytics
Keep moving those goalposts, guys.
After nearly two years of screaming about the UE rate being the same for “43 consecutive months,” rather than applaud a positive change, all the right can do is yell, “well, it STILL ain’t good enough!”
Hey, wingnuts — you’ve been wondering all this time what the “October Surprise” would be? I think the jobs numbers was it; it just turned out to be a surprise for RMoney . . .
.
Kathleen Washington State commented
2012-10-05 12:49:46 -0400
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“If” the indeces are correct, then I cheer with my liberal friends over the tide’s turn. If, on the other hand, they turn out to be a manipulation of numbers, as even sources other than Fox or the Romney campaign suggest, then my cheers will be far more lackluster.
There’s a number of ways to look at the indeces, as a number of leading economists report. i.e., "âIn the grand scheme of things, itâs not all good. Full employment is closer to 5% to 6%. We still have a deep hole to get out of.â âItâs just not good enough given that we have an unemployment rate close to 8%.â Mark Zandi, chief U.S. economist at Moodyâs Analytics
http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2012/10/05/sizing-up-the-september-employment-report/
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/10/05/162352854/unemployment-rate-drops-to-7-8-percent-114-000-jobs-added-to-payrolls
http://economywatch.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/05/14240541-unemployment-rate-falls-to-78-as-economy-creates-114000-jobs?lite
There’s a number of ways to look at the indeces, as a number of leading economists report. i.e., "âIn the grand scheme of things, itâs not all good. Full employment is closer to 5% to 6%. We still have a deep hole to get out of.â âItâs just not good enough given that we have an unemployment rate close to 8%.â Mark Zandi, chief U.S. economist at Moodyâs Analytics
http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2012/10/05/sizing-up-the-september-employment-report/
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/10/05/162352854/unemployment-rate-drops-to-7-8-percent-114-000-jobs-added-to-payrolls
http://economywatch.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/05/14240541-unemployment-rate-falls-to-78-as-economy-creates-114000-jobs?lite
mj - the same one commented
2012-10-05 12:26:27 -0400
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“I stand by what I said, whatever it was.” — Mitt Romney
@Visitor55, Re — the unemployment rate:
I turned on CNBC this morning, and some Romney campaign aide was already in spin mode.
ROFL — in less than 24 hours, the Rmoney campaign has gone from high-fiving each other over the debate to spinning good news for the President . . .
.
@Visitor55, Re — the unemployment rate:
I turned on CNBC this morning, and some Romney campaign aide was already in spin mode.
ROFL — in less than 24 hours, the Rmoney campaign has gone from high-fiving each other over the debate to spinning good news for the President . . .
.
Kathleen Washington State commented
2012-10-05 11:25:50 -0400
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@Football Fan 22, I often wonder at these incongruous alliances myself. I haven’t a clue as to why Sean Hannity remains on air, any more than I have a clue about why others of his same ilk do (both conservative and liberal). It baffles me why politicians feel compelled or comfortable using them as a conduit.
Then again, I don’t know why politicians play kissy-face with late night TV or The View, either. It all seems so disingenuous.
There is a blessing/curse where the present media is concerned. The blessing is that they provide many more vehicles for getting out one’s message. The curse is that they provide many more vehicles for geting out one’s message. Hence, there is a danger of compromising one’s own principles to gain ground with voters.
Then again, I don’t know why politicians play kissy-face with late night TV or The View, either. It all seems so disingenuous.
There is a blessing/curse where the present media is concerned. The blessing is that they provide many more vehicles for getting out one’s message. The curse is that they provide many more vehicles for geting out one’s message. Hence, there is a danger of compromising one’s own principles to gain ground with voters.
Thx4 Fish commented
2012-10-05 11:17:07 -0400
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I don’t know if Mitt flip-flops because he is lying about his true beliefs to get votes, of if he just has no real belief in anything. All of the mistakes he’s made in his campaign lead me to believe that he isn’t quick enough on his feet to be a liar. I think those who follow a strict religion in which every detail of their lives have rules and regs, tend to get lost in the unscripted world outside of religion.
GasGuzzler12 commented
2012-10-05 11:02:17 -0400
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After Romney’s solid debate, I really can’t believe he went on Scum Hannity’s show the next night! Talk about losing any momentum he had with decent people. He goes right back into the gutter with the worst type of racist and hate-mongerer out there. If Romney would stick to issues, he could win. Stick with scum like Hannity, he’s going down. For a second, I thought Romney had turned a corner by ignoring the right-wing crazies. Guess not.
Kathleen Washington State commented
2012-10-05 10:46:08 -0400
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This is not new, or even newsworthy beyond being present fodder for those among us given to hysteria. Today it’s Romney, tomorrow it’ll be Obama. There’s plenty of forked-tongue ramblings on both sides. http://news.yahoo.com/fact-check-presidential-debate-missteps-015421565.html
“All of us who are concerned for peace and triumph of reason and justice must be keenly aware how small an influence reason and honest good will exert upon events in the political field.” ~Albert Einstein
“What is conservatism? Is it not the adherence to the old and tried against the new and untried?” ~Abraham Lincoln
“All of us who are concerned for peace and triumph of reason and justice must be keenly aware how small an influence reason and honest good will exert upon events in the political field.” ~Albert Einstein
“What is conservatism? Is it not the adherence to the old and tried against the new and untried?” ~Abraham Lincoln
truman commented
2012-10-05 09:40:30 -0400
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Until the election, MagicUnderwear Mitt’s good twin will featured on Fux Noise with his newly minted views on taxes, immigration, health care and caring about all Americans.
Some say that MagicUnderwear Mitt may be a better liar that Lying Ryan or even KKKlannity.
Some say that MagicUnderwear Mitt may be a better liar that Lying Ryan or even KKKlannity.
Kent Brockman commented
2012-10-05 09:23:03 -0400
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BTW Mitt’s tactic of stating “what I say” and “what my campaign said” is a favorite of all despots throughout history.
Kent Brockman commented
2012-10-05 09:06:55 -0400
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@ Visitor 55 Yep & yep.
Is this Mitt? – A summary of symptoms from “Without Conscience” by R.D. Hare
Psychopaths lie a lot but they are not skilled liars. Their speech is filled with inconsistent & contradictory statements. Their thoughts & ideas are broken down into small mental packages and readily moved around. These packages are devoid of emotional meaning. They can recombine them in a variety of ways. They frequently change topic, go off track & fail to connect phrases & sentences in a straightforward manner. Psychopaths are notorious for not answering the question put to them or for answering in a way that seems unresponsive to the question.
Psychopaths lie a lot but they are not skilled liars. Their speech is filled with inconsistent & contradictory statements. Their thoughts & ideas are broken down into small mental packages and readily moved around. These packages are devoid of emotional meaning. They can recombine them in a variety of ways. They frequently change topic, go off track & fail to connect phrases & sentences in a straightforward manner. Psychopaths are notorious for not answering the question put to them or for answering in a way that seems unresponsive to the question.
Visitor 55 commented
2012-10-05 09:04:01 -0400
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O/T. The unemployment rate fell to 7.8%. This is good news for America and President Obama but bad news for the neocons. So today the FoxGOPTV pukes and the hatemongers on AM right-wing radio will lie and accuse the Obama administration of cooking the numbers.
Visitor 55 commented
2012-10-05 08:24:24 -0400
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@Bob Roberts, Yep, absolute setup. Etch-a-Sketch Rmoney was so hoping, in fact counting on President Obama to bring up the 47% in the debate so that he could spill his “I’m for 100% of Americans” lie to the 60 million people who watched the debate. Fortunately, President Obama is too smart to allow that kind of opening for Etch-a-Sketch Rmoney to exploit. But leave it to kkklannity to let the neocon lies go unchallenged.
During the debate, Etch-a-Sketch Rmoney spent about 38 minutes lying. Only the led-by-the-nose neocon/teabaggers saw that as a win. I wonder if any of them will admit that all day Thrusday, Etch-a-Sketch Rmoney and his campaign spent the day walking back his lies. For example, a couple of weeks ago, Rmoney said that people with pre-existing medical conditions should be denied insurance. Wednesday night he said that people with pre-existing medical conditions should not be denied insurance. Thursday his campaign put out a statement that Rmoney still believes that people with pre-existing medical conditions should be denied insurance. And it went like this all day on a number of issues. Gotta get the teabagger base back in line.
Rmoney supporters are too stupid to realize, or they just don’t care, that they’re being duped by Rmoney the liar.
During the debate, Etch-a-Sketch Rmoney spent about 38 minutes lying. Only the led-by-the-nose neocon/teabaggers saw that as a win. I wonder if any of them will admit that all day Thrusday, Etch-a-Sketch Rmoney and his campaign spent the day walking back his lies. For example, a couple of weeks ago, Rmoney said that people with pre-existing medical conditions should be denied insurance. Wednesday night he said that people with pre-existing medical conditions should not be denied insurance. Thursday his campaign put out a statement that Rmoney still believes that people with pre-existing medical conditions should be denied insurance. And it went like this all day on a number of issues. Gotta get the teabagger base back in line.
Rmoney supporters are too stupid to realize, or they just don’t care, that they’re being duped by Rmoney the liar.
Kent Brockman commented
2012-10-05 08:23:56 -0400
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@ Kathleen
The game changer was, as Ike said. the post WWII Industrial Military Complex.
“This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence â economic, political, even spiritual â is felt in every city, every Statehouse, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society.
In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist."
Everyone, conservatives included, should realize this ended the cause of small government. The wealthy take from everyone to maintain this State of Fear.
The game changer was, as Ike said. the post WWII Industrial Military Complex.
“This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence â economic, political, even spiritual â is felt in every city, every Statehouse, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society.
In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist."
Everyone, conservatives included, should realize this ended the cause of small government. The wealthy take from everyone to maintain this State of Fear.
Kathleen Washington State commented
2012-10-05 07:48:57 -0400
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With some trepidation I wade out here to denounce having a ring in my nose, or a lily-livered need to be enchanted by lies & flip-flops given my conservative preference for all things political. Never mind that I don’t much care for Sean Hannity (or Keith Olbermann, Chris Matthews, Rush Limbaugh and other rabid commentators), but when we start throwing stones at flip-floppers, I seriously doubt the pile’s big enough to include every single politician in our country. Worse, we pick & choose those cuddly little politicians we glady give a pass to – - those who make audacious statements that ought to be castigated but, because they’re so darned cute, we let pass. Furthermore, I’m not so sure everything deemed “flip-flop” is that. But even if it were, guess what? Welcome to politicis 101!
I’ll cut Romney no slack here. We stand or fall by our own words, and he’ll have to live with his statements regardless of explanation. We can either believe him or not. I’ve just decided to save my personal stash of tar & feathers for another day.
As for our current administration, I must say the entire four year debacle has been a flip flop on steroids. So much for “change”, or not being divisive. (Insert pictures of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid here)
I’ll cut Romney no slack here. We stand or fall by our own words, and he’ll have to live with his statements regardless of explanation. We can either believe him or not. I’ve just decided to save my personal stash of tar & feathers for another day.
As for our current administration, I must say the entire four year debacle has been a flip flop on steroids. So much for “change”, or not being divisive. (Insert pictures of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid here)
Kent Brockman commented
2012-10-05 07:39:37 -0400
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@ doors17 re: The only thing heâs really sorry for is he got caught on camera.
Mitt exhibits a pathology such that “getting caught on camera” is a non-issue. Mitt simply makes up reality as he goes along, no regrets. If Mitt is elected America will have it’s first Psychopath-in-Chief.
Mitt exhibits a pathology such that “getting caught on camera” is a non-issue. Mitt simply makes up reality as he goes along, no regrets. If Mitt is elected America will have it’s first Psychopath-in-Chief.
mlp ! commented
2012-10-05 07:37:51 -0400
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It’s becoming apparent that the ‘October Surprise’ will be Teflon Mitt having an epiphany and embracing the Baptist religion.
This ‘man’ will do anything to become president.
This ‘man’ will do anything to become president.
