Mitt Romney was raked over the coals for saying this in Iowa last week when he was asked why his sons did not sign up to serve their country:
First his campaign tried to say the remarks were “taken out of context.” If you watch the above video, that didn’t pass the smell test. So today, he had to clarify those remarks.
“It’s remarkable how we can show our support for our nation, and one of the ways my sons are showing support for our nation is helping to get me elected, because they think I’d be a great president. My son, Josh, bought the family Winnebago and has visited 99 counties, most of them with his three kids and his wife. And I respect that and respect all of those in the way they serve this great country”
“I misspoke,'’ the former Massachusetts governor said today on “Fox News Sunday.'’ “It’s not service to the country, it’s service for me, and there’s just no comparison there.'’***…Romney said today that he “didn’t mean in any way to compare service in the country with my boys in any way. Service in this country is an extraordinary sacrifice being made by individuals and their families.'’
Mitt’s a bit on the ropes, even though he bought off walked away the most votes in the Iowa straw poll this weekend (31%). Second-place finisher, covenant marriage advocate and Baptist minister Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas took a few potshots at the former governor of Massachusetts.
Hmmm…wasn’t the whole “flip-flop” campaign against Kerry all the right wing rage in 2004, Mitt?
“Republicans are looking for a conservative who has had consistency in his principles,'’ Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor, said on the CBS “Face the Nation'’ program. “There are not going to be any ‘YouTube’ moments saying something different.'’
YouTube, a Web site with videos submitted by the public, contains clips of Romney expressing support for abortion rights during his term as Massachusetts governor. Now he describes himself as “pro-life.'’
Romney today defended his abortion-rights turnabout on “Fox News Sunday,'’ saying he expects voters to see through political attacks about his change of position.
“People want to look beyond the attacks and understand what is it that a person stands for,'’ Romney said. “I changed my position on abortion. I was effectively pro-choice, given the statements I had made, but I am pro-life. I’m proud of that.”
This can’t make him happy either:
A fund-raiser for Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign resigned from his volunteer post last week after being indicted in Maryland for allegedly defrauding companies of $32 million.
Alan B. Fabian, 43, a Maryland businessman who cochaired the national finance committee for Romney’s campaign, was indicted Wednesday by a Maryland grand jury on 23 counts of mail fraud, money laundering, bankruptcy fraud, perjury, and obstruction of justice, according to the US attorney’s office in Baltimore.
22 Responses to “Mitt says he ‘misspoke’ about his sons and military service”
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And yet, if he wins the nomination, which is entirely possible, conservatives will flock to him under the notion that he’s better than whoever the Democratic nominee is. Humans have a wonderful capacity for self-delusion and for rationalization.
I feel sorry for this man’s adult children.
Giving such an answer is bad enough, but it also sucks because it implies that their very existance is only and all about HIM. These people are adults!
He could have shown respect for their choices and for their independent personhood if only he had answered “You’ll have to ask them - as their father I advise them, but I don’t call the shots anymore”. That would have been perfectly acceptable given the volunteer nature of the military. It isn’t like he pulled strings to keep them out.
“You’ll have to ask them - as their father I advise them, but I don’t call the shots anymore”
I saw an interview with Bill Clinton recently on Nightline. He was asked who will fill the shoes of Hillary’s “first lady” — will he do all that stuff, or what? He expressed a degree of interest in some aspect of it, and the follow up question was whether maybe Chelsea would step up. His response here was exactly what one would hope Romney’s would be: to paraphrase, “Chelsea is an adult now, with a career and a full life of her own. If she really wanted to, of course we’d be happy for her to do that, but I have a feeling it’s not what would make her happy.”
Not that I’m comparing his campaign to military service, but maybe he should pull out as soon as possible because this campaign’s done …
Mitt really did misspeak in a manner of speaking. He put his ego on full display, something people try to avoid (especially political candidates). Presidential candidates usually have enormous egos, and Mitt just forgot to keep his sidelined, and he forgot to stop talking. Had he just stopped at my sons are adults, it would have been the perfect answer. Someone could have even gone to the sons, and the sons could say “we think our dad would make an excellent president, so we are serving our country,” Mitt could have escaped without egg on his face. It might be a good idea to send your brain trust to coach the sons on their answer though, but that’s hypothetical.
Blasphemed too fast. About egos: what do you guys think; do you think Americans like to pretened presidential candidates don’t have enormous egos, or don’t care, or disagree with me? Because that’s the unspoken element of the sons things, Mitt put his ego on full display (I don’t think that’s his cardinal sin here, that would be Mitt’s callousness).
You mean I wasted 20 years of my life on a ship in the middle of the ocean when I could have done the country a greater service by getting relatives elected?
Dang, if I had only known.
Don’t feel bad Hawker Hurricane, this only applies to people who really ought to president, like Mitt Romney and other egoistic blowhards who don’t know when to stop talking.
“Misspoke”== weasel-wording for “I just got my foot down my throat so far I’m walking on it again and HEEELP!!!”
God, I’ve gotten so tired of that “misspoke” clause. Heck, I’d vote for any politician who got up and said “I sounded like a jerk and I’m sorry about it.”
It says a lot about the quality of candidates that I was actually surprised that he admitted he said something stupid.
The Alan B Fabian thing is almost funny. He set up a “not-for-profit” organization that’s supposed to help other nfp orgs with their IT needs. If you check out their website it’s full of bullshit.
http://cmat.org
“Proprietary SMARTORG ™ process.” “SMARTperform™ software and methodology.” “Please click here for more information on SMARTgivingsm.”
Oh, and a nice “powerful” pic of the founder.
http://cmat.org/aboutcentre/leadership.asp
Their offices are in a rather expensive office right on the Inner Harbor.
How, exactly, did this guy manage to win two (three?) elections in Massachusetts?
It was one. (admittedly, I was living and voting in MN at the time.)
He ran as a moderate. He ran as pro-choice. He ran claiming he favored some rights for same-sex couples. He ran as a balance to one-party rule on Beacon Hill (the R’s are a non-factor in the legislature). And, until this past election, Dems in the state haven’t really run any inspiring candidates, or run good campaigns.
This political iteration of Mitt Romney didn’t get elected in Massachusetts.
And then, when he got the Corner Office, he immediately began his presidential campaign by running against the state he was governing. The SJC’s decision in Goodridge put him on the map, and while he fought the decision, he didn’t do anything extra-legal to block it’s implementation, and required JoPs to perform ceremonies equally. However, it also made it possible for him to say he fought the decision, which gave him a way of covering up his statements during the campaign for Senate in which he said he’d be better for gay people than Teddy Kennedy.
Mitt stands for Mitt.
Mitt’s cultural contributions to Retro Leisure Mobile Americana just grow and grow.
First there was that scandal of the family Irish setter on the roof rack, which picture I still can’t get out of my head. The “reasoning” behind Mitt’s take-charge executive decision — to strap a dog onto a roof rack (!!!!) — was that he did it to keep the inside of the Romney transport tidy (seeing that it was overflowing with Romneys).
Now it’s the RV bulging with square-jawed Romney sons ever poised to fight the enemy … except in Iraq. On wheels!
Actually, I’d have more respect for the moron if he hadn’t backed down. Let’s face it, if he DIDN’T think that electing him, personally, was one of the smartest and best things the country could do, he wouldn’t be there. By extension, that DOES make “trying to get him elected” a valid public service, assuming they agree with him.
Personally, I think agitating for the removal and incarceration of any and all neocons is a very valid approach to public service. It’s the same principle - we both want what’s best for the country, and working toward that end IS public service. The only real difference is that dumping the neos IS good for the country and electing Mitt wouldn’t be.
So he’s an egoist, an asshole, and now a coward.
I’d tell him to go home, but I’ve friends in Massachusetss, so I’ll ask him to go to hell.
I’m from Massachusetts and I want to apologize to the entire country because my state gave this dunce a platform from which to run for president.
Hell, I think he spent more time in New Hampshire than he did in Massachusetts.
God, I’ve gotten so tired of that “misspoke” clause.
Maybe we should start using the term “lingual malfunction”?
You know it’s a slow news month when this is an “issue.”
If you want really ignorant and stupid, you have to go to Mike Huckabee. From Wiki.
“He graduated magna cum laude from Ouachita Baptist University, completing his bachelors degree in 2½ years before attending Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.[1]”
“Prior to his political career Huckabee was pastor of several Southern Baptist churches in Arkadelphia, Texarkana, and Pine Bluff, Arkansas. He served as President of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention from 1989 to 1991 and as President of a religious-oriented television station.”
We all know about Mitt Romney’s 5 military-allergic sons. Huckabee has 3 children. I don’t know their ages, but it is possible that one of more is of military age too.
Another wingnut religious star is Sam Brownback. He has 5 children. Are any of them of military age, and if so, have any of them joined?
Then there is nutcase(literally)Tom Tancredo who got a 1-Y Mental Health deferment from the army so as not to go to Vietnam. He apparently claimed to have a history of mental illness.
Tancredo has 2 children and 5 grandchildren. I don’t know if any of them are of military age or have served. Maybe their forebear’s mental illness is hereditary.
I haven’t looked up all the others, but only McCain and Hunter seem to be credible on the military service question.
Bernarda, it might matter if there were a draft and these candidates were intervening to keep their kids out. As it stands, their children are adults if they are of military age and they make their own decisions, not their parents.
Given the “volunteer” military, I think a better question to ask is something along the lines of “what are you doing to make sure that all Americans have the choices your children do”. “Why don’t you make your kids serve so your political clout is larger?” is not relevant or valid.
Brownback isn’t particularly hawkish (he opposed the surge), so he’s somewhat less vulnerable to charges of hypocrisy on that front.
Interesting that Tancredo got a mental health deferment for Vietnam. I didn’t know that.
only McCain and Hunter seem to be credible on the military service question
Ron Paul served in the Air Force in the 1960s, though I gather he wasn’t deployed to Vietnam.
As for Romney’s ego, I think the point is that while we might expect our presidential candidates to have enormous egos, we also expect them to follow social norms in displaying them. Claiming that his sons are doing *us* a service by promoting him for the presidency is spectacularly narcissistic and clearly out of bounds.