How We See It
Gray Clark – Conservative
Earlier this month, the Romney campaign was hit with a new scandal. A video was leaked of Mr. Romney in which he said, among other things, that he would have a better shot at the election if his parents were Latino and not whites born in Mexico, and that he was not going to try to sway the 47 percent of Americans “who believe that they are victims, who believe that government has the responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing.” Here, I think Romney is just stating the facts.
Mr. Romney isn’t going to be able to appeal to those who rely on social programs like welfare and Medicare. Mr. Romney isn’t going to waste his time trying to get the vote from those who rely on the programs he wants to reform or disband. In my opinion, too much press has been focused on this matter, and people are freaking out and overreacting about this.
Mr. Romney’s statement about being “Latino” was not the best move, but he is from a family that was forced out of the country because they were different. This press leak is not only disrespectful to Mr. Romney’s privacy, but also has been given too much press.
Robert Wilkins – Liberal
With the election closing in fast, Mitt Romney seems to just be digging himself into a deeper and deeper hole. He could win this election, but each political gaffe just makes it more and more difficult. First, his hastily prepared comments on Libya belied his inexperience with foreign policy, and now, this video, where he calls nearly half the nation moochers, could alienate voters.
One of the main problems of Romney’s political image is that normal Americans can’t relate to him. He says he understands the middle class, but at the same time, he has Swiss bank accounts, elevators for his cars, and a horse in the Olympics.
No one disputes that Romney worked hard, but he never had to work his way up from the lower class like his father, for example (who, in the ultimate irony, was on government welfare as a child). These comments further isolated him from millions of struggling Americans who do work hard and still can’t get ahead. Romney has stood by his comments, calling them “not elegantly stated,” but true. “Not elegant” is an understatement; even Republican staffers say this just gave the Obama campaign more ammo against him.
I believe this is Romney’s strike two; after the Libya incident, and now this, I don’t think he can recover from another hit to his campaign. Instead of talking about this video now, he needs to really start focusing on Ohio and Florida if he wants to be the next president.
