Mitt Romney's leaked comments about his beliefs that the 47 percent of Americans on government assistance (technically it's 46 percent) will vote for President Obama, thus his message of tax relief doesn't matter to them, has created an enormous buzz in the political world.
At his University of Tampa speech earlier today, Arizona Sen. John McCain told CL that reporters shouldn't go overboard with the comments, clandestinely recorded in Boca Raton back in May.
"I think what Gov. Romney was saying is what a lot of people have said, it's that sometimes it's difficult go get certain segments of the population to support his candidacy," McCain said. "I think he later said he obviously wants the votes of every American and I totally agree with that. And there was a time in 2008 when President Obama said people were clinging to guns and Bibles. I think occasionally we have got to put our statements in context."
Some conservatives took pleasure in Romney's comments. The Drudge Report had a headline Tuesday morning that read, "Romney Gets Real: Obama supporters 'dependent on government.'" Others pointed out the obvious: that many people who no longer pay income taxes, which is what Romney was referring to, do so because of policies installed by Republican presidents.
This article appears in Sep 13-19, 2012.