Here’s what he said:
“I’m in this race because I care about Americans. I’m not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there. If it needs repair, I’ll fix it. I’m not concerned about the very rich; they’re doing just fine. I’m concerned about the very heart of America, the 90 percent, 95 percent of Americans who right now are struggling.”
When O’Brien gave him a chance to clarify, Romney got testy and dug himself in a bit deeper: “We will hear from the Democrat party [about] the plight of the poor … And there’s no question it’s not good being poor, and we have a safety net to help those that are very poor … My focus is on middle-income Americans.”
This set off a predictable firestorm within minutes. It resonated because it seemed to perfectly capture the unfair caricature of Romney as a distant, out-of-touch plutocrat—not just Mr. 1 percent, but Mr. 0.1 percent. And whenever a quote riffs off established narratives, it quickly takes on a life of its own.
But what’s more deeply interesting might be the intended message he mangled. It offered a glimpse into Romney’s presumably poll-tested general-election strategy—he has essentially accepted President Obama’s terms of debate. This election will be about which candidate can better protect the great American middle class.
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