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Mitt Romney’s Advisers Proclaim Misleading Anti-Obama Ad ‘Worked’

» 92 comments

Mitt Romney stumbled a bit in his ad debut this week, releasing a spot that disingenuously quoted the President and receiving the expected heat for it. But you wouldn’t know the campaign flubbed judging from his advisers’ comments in the spin room after Thursday night’s debate, where the group was celebrating the attention received for it.

The ad is bringing Romney more bad press than he has gotten in some time– at least compared to candidates like Rick Perry and Herman Cain– as it misuses President Obama’s words to make it appear as if he has said of this campaign, “if we keep talking about the economy, we’re going to lose.” In saying that, the President was actually quoting someone on Sen. John McCain‘s staff during the 2008 election; the ad does not give any indication that the words are not President Obama’s.

While some in the media are calling it a faux pas and the DNC has already released a response to the ad, the reaction from the Romney team appeared collected and, as Slate‘s Dave Weigel noted, almost victorious:

Romney adviser Ron Kaufman, an RNC committee member and longtime operative, simply said that the ad “worked.”

“They always squeal the most when you hold a mirror up to them,” he said, “and they overreacted, clearly. All they did was make the ad more effective.”

“There was a time when the Obama campaign had real discipline,” joked Stuart Stevens, a senior Romney strategist. “Today was a total meltdown. You had the press secretary to the president of the United States talking about an ad that was running on one station in New Hampshire. There was a time when Jay [Carney, a former reporter for Time] wouldn’t even have written about this. Total meltdown. It’s as if you have somebody on a witness stand, accused of anger management issues, and he jumps off the stand and comes after you.”

What about the tough response from Politifact?

“Do you know how many times they did that to Barack Obama in 2008?” he said. “Quite a few. And that’s utterly absurd. Did he say this? Yes. Did we say he said it in a certain context? No.”

The fact that his staff seems to not only not be concerned about the backlash, but to actually be happy with the ad’s reception gives the impression that Team Romney is almost deliberately committing faults in the hope that it will generate more buzz for their candidate, which is a tactic whose viability the voters will eventually determine.

But aside from being a bizarre (at best) way to go about promoting a candidate, this ad mishap should sound uncannily familiar to anyone who watched Saturday Night Live this weekend. It wouldn’t be the first time SNL preempted the Romney campaign, either; remember when New Jersey governor Bobby Moynihan endorsed Jason Sudeikis‘s Romney, several days before the actual Governor Chris Christie held the real-world version of that press conference? Conspiracy theorists: get to work.

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  • Anonymous

    Obama caught in yet another lie – just last week, or was it the week before, he proclaimed “we are not going to respond until there is a candidate” (or something similar to that).  And now, the press secretary is making a big deal out of a small ad…..and the media’s attack on Romney over this while giving Obama so many passes on all his lies, well — just too darn funny.

    Happy Thanksgiving all.

  • Anonymous

    Of course it “worked” in the wingnut world where up is down and down is up. Face it Mitt, you got caught, but this is just a start. I simply can not wait for your explanation that “Romneycare” is not “Obamacare”.

  • FunnyTonyMase

    Don’t blame Romney for the misquote.  His audio input module hasn’t been the same since last week’s software patch.

  • cdnhawk

    All his lies? Examples please. Don’t just throw it out there. You see, when Republicans lie, which is often, we quote them.

    Happy Thanksgiving to you too

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_FSPIVAFYI672OH5NOKVRTEZA4U MadCharles

    The left lies about every gop candidate and the gop daily.  Lying is no big deal. Stop whining

  • Valkyrie101

    The election cycle has hardly got rolling and already Mitt has lost his integrity. Amazingly, Newt, of all people, is on the cusp of stealing this fiasco because Willard has turned out to be far less than advertised, repeatedly. And I think his biggest problem is having some very bad advisers. These end justifies the means dicks have gotten in Mitt’s head. Which is too bad, because I think Mitt is otherwise, a fundamentally good and capable man.

    Newt now has the luxury of stealing both the right and the moderate republicans, being the peace maker in the republican middle, while Mitt is stuck over pretending to be a hard ass right winger. Of course the tea party folk are laughing at Mitt and do not buy it. Mitt is the corporate choice, however, and that will be most important.

  • Anonymous

    It is pretty funny that just NOW…and in THIS case…the Leftist media is howling over something that was supposedly ‘disingenuous’ and ‘selectively edited.’

    Pot, meet Kettle.

  • musa qala

    It wasn’t misleading if you were informed.  It was clear from the part they played Obama was talking about what was being said in the recent 2008 campaign for Presidency.  Romney made his point to Obama: What goes around comes around.

  • musa qala

    So in 2008 Obama mocked Senator McCain’s campaign comments about losing the campaign if they (the McCain camp) runs on the economy. 

    Now in 2011 Romney replays the mocking Obama did about McCain’s point with the obvious point that now Obama can’t run on the economy either or he loses – and SOMEHOW ROMNEY IS THE BAD GUY because he is taking Obama out of context? 

    Oh give me a break.

  • cdnhawk

    oops….this was a response to Tina in Tampa

  • Valkyrie101

    Perhaps, but here we are talking about a potential presidential candidate not just lying, but bragging about it. That speaks lack of integrity. So much for those superior Mormon values…

  • Valkyrie101

    That is the main reason the tea party folk do not like Mitt because tea party candidates running as republicans will not be able to go after their opponent and Obama over the new health care law without vicariously going after their own candidate. The issue is therefore effectively cancelled out.

  • cdnhawk

    Really? How was it made clear that he was quoting someone else? Please enlighten us. 

  • Anonymous

    Please do not challenge them on the facts, after all, it is Thanksgiving.

  • PRINCESAGE

    ALL U GUYS DO IS WHINE WHINE WHINE

  • CC_Citizen

    Fake outrage by the left and main stream media (one in the same) to divert attention from what the add points out which is Obama’s record on the economy which is piss poor. Until Obama gets removed from office there will be no recovery, he is too anti-business.

  • http://mediamatters.org/ Leedog

    Lol!! Now that is “Chicago style” politics when you campaign admits to misleading voters!! I wouldn’t mind seeing Mitt get tough but he should be upholding some basic political standards!!

  • cdnhawk

    We are not going to respond…yes to policies! (yes he did respond to the waterboarding question by saying all who were for it were wrong).  They have every right to respond  to a blatant lie in a political ad. 

  • Anonymous

    The Roots wasted “Lyin’ Ass Bitch” on Bachmann.  They should have saved it for Romney.  No apology necessary.

  • joe

    i love the “quote” and then the LIE of (or something similar to that)

    see–you just lied…
    when you “quote”–that is verbatim…
    too darn funny? yes you Conservatives are really too darn funny..
    every argument or attack is a direct reflect of YOUR ignorance and incompetence.. are real testimony  to IRONY~
    CONSERVATIVE = impede progress.deny and inhibit,exclude, withhold and prevent…
    that is not what our country needs right now~
    Happy Thanksgiving

  • Anonymous

    So Obama is SO anti-business that corporate profits have never been higher? It’s more like corporatations are anti-Amerivcan in their hiring (or lack thereof) practices.

  • joe

    yes because mitt is lying…
    see in 2008 obama people really did quote what mccain said..
    2011 romney MISQUOTED what obama said…for instance let me show YOU…

    MUSA QALA SAYS, “ ROMNEY IS THE BAD GUY”
    is that what you said? is that fair? 
    Happy Turkey Day-the economy has gotten better and if not for the worst congress in our history with 9% approval headed by the gop–it would have been better~

  • joe

    then why are businesses having record profits?
    funny how what you guys say–really has no evidence to support it…

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_VK7U6RFTAUIPW2JR2NGPBP2IYA super

    Obama fell for the trap.  Mitt had wanted Obamas team to start attacking them.  That way it becomes Mitt vs Obama right now , right away.

  • Anonymous

    Super Idiot……nuff said

  • Kent Paul Dolan

    Somehow you managed to change the subject from Willard “Mitt” Romney’s lies. Was that an uncomfortable topic for you to discuss?

    xanthian.

  • Kent Paul Dolan

    Just FYI, documenting GOP lies is not, in itself, “lying”.

    It is more “public service”.

    It is also a task with limitless input material.

    xanthian.

  • Dr2380

    wow..this is the best of the GOP candidates???? lolol Obama can cause world war 3 and still be reelected

  • Anonymous

    The left is really upset that the right is learning to use their tricks against them. They don’t even get that Romney was only pointing out that what he used to distroy McCain is what will distroy him this time.

  • labman57

    Once again, Republican politicians and pundits demonstrate that when reality conflicts with their (frequently irrational and hyperbolic) rhetoric, they opt to ignore reality.

    Romney and the other GOP candidates really don’t give a crap whether their talking points are factually accurate — all that matters is whether they can successfully sell their tripe to the American voting public.

    The character and ethical conduct of candidates on the campaign trail is likely a reflection of the manner in which they would run the Executive Branch should they be elected POTUS.  If they blatantly lie so easily in order to garner a few votes, they will no doubt conduct themselves in a similar unethical, Machiavellian manner when promoting public policy while in the White House.

  • Anonymous

    If the Romney camp really believed this worked they’re not even going to win the GOP nomination, let alone the presidency

  • Anonymous

    Joseph Smith would be so proud!  Gather up your underwear!

  • Anonymous

    This guy and his shoe polish hairdo is as phony as they get. Big time.

  • Anonymous

    This isn’t a Romney misquote.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPk4NTp-Lmk

  • Anonymous
  • Chris

    You know, I don’t get the uproar about this ad.  So what if BO was quoting someone else?  He quoted it to make a point – that he wasn’t going to just “talk” about the economy.  But the ad implies that’s all he has done – talk.  So Romney is calling BO out.  What’s the big deal?

  • Anonymous

    Team Romney knows that Republicans do not have a problem with compulsive liars.  They even admit it.

  • Anonymous

    ITS YOUR MONEY THEIR SPENDING? ENACT ‘THE LEGAL WORKFORCE ACT.’

    If you’re frustrated with the 20 million illegal alien
    occupation, then join the tens of millions of members in the TEA PARTY. There
    are thousands of branches across America who disagrees with former Speaker Newt
    Gingrich standing. Learn what you can do to assist your fellow American
    workers, by demanding that the House of Representatives co-sponsor the Mandatory  ‘THE
    LEGAL WORKFORCE ACT. Out of hundred lawmakers, we only need 34 to be introduced
    to the floor of the House. E-Verify will hold employers accountable nationwide,
    for hiring unlawful migrants and immigrants and can be fined or sent to prison.
    In Alabama that has started enforcing its policing policies, has seen a drop in
    unemployment as foreign nationals flee to refuge state. Make yourself known by
    contacting Washington at 202-224-3121,
    or you can read about this outrage at NumbersUSA website
    of the $113 billion dollars spend yearly on illegal’s, when our  people
    suffer. Obviously its not the super committee’s none reduction to the
    $15 Trillion deficit, but severing the immense amount to illegal
    foreigners would aid the economic mess we are in?   As Michelle Bachman
    said, Cut off welfare to all illegal immigrants, secure the border and
    demand E-Verify for every nationwide business, to replace jobs for
    citizens and residents.

    THE TEA PARTY HAS NO IDENTITY WITH THE ‘OCCUPY’ PEOPLE. THE TEA PARTY IS THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.

    Study federal court unfunded
    mandates of money being robbed from our senior citizens,
    to pay for the hospital care, education given to some of the 300.000
    pregnant mothers from across
    the globe, which taxpayers are supporting. Learn how the Liberals are
    planning
    a mass Amnesty, to encourage even more economic illegal nationals to
    claim
    entitlements from our welfare system. No new legislation will be passed
    by the majority TEA PARTY members, until the double fence from
    Brownsville, TX to San Diego, CA is constructed. Not the poorly fence
    that remains uncompleted, with nothing more than some ancient barbed
    wire and shallow rivers to protect the American people, the ranchers
    and land owners. To really defend the Southern border, deploy a
    permanent National Guard, along the border region.

  • fyonalon

    The right wing has lost its moral compass about lying and goes about lying as though it is interchangeable with truth.  Society flourishes when truth is valued and it comes to grief when lying is accepted by its leadership.  Today, propaganda and half truths spew out of right wing TV like some king of moral outrage.  The Republican party has become infected with this disease and corporate leaders, like Rupert Murdoch, have said it is ok for the ends to justify the means.  

  • fyonalon

    Seems Romney’s people are making ads for the Obama camp to watch.  Strange.  You would think a republican presidential nominee would think of maybe pitching an ad at the american people.

  • fyonalon

    Perhaps if the ad had done that without seeking to misrepresent the president you might have a point.  You have to wonder at a campaign approach that doesn’t to appear to think actually setting the record straight about Obama will have any impact.  How weak.    

  • fyonalon

    “Lying is no big deal”.  This is the problem with the Republican party.

  • fyonalon

    That, you describe, is a change of mind.  It’s not a lie – as many divorced people will tell you.

  • Anonymous

    Oh pleaseee, how many times will obama do the same thing to the eventual GOP nominee ?? And how many times has the obama press an media especially nyts has fond this to Republicans, to many to count so please you libs quit the crying poor obama has all the press and media to go ballistic after Romney. This is almost laughable.

  • Anonymous

    I worked on a presidential campaign. I saw evidence that despite how much the media may fact check an ad, or claim it is wrong or even tells lies, if people see it and keep seeing it, they will believe it.

    Notice that Republicans keep saying Obama is a Socialist. Actually, he is a Marxist, but the more “Socialist” and “failed policies” are said about him, the more the narrative builds that Obama is a Socialist and a failure. Fact checking, or however much CNN and MSNBC want the ads to be “not true,” they resonate. That is mission number one for any ad.

    Romney’s ad is hard-hitting because all of it, not just the one clip that the media centered on, is true, and fits into the narrative that Obama’s policies have failed. Even the American people say that: his approval on the economy is at 33%, and 37% among independents.

    So Obama, and his minions in the media (and spokesmoron John King) can fact check Romney’s ad all they wish – in the end, the issue is Obama and what he has done with, and has done TO, the economy. And on that issue, Obama loses, hands down.

  • Anonymous

    Liberal:

    LYING
    IDIOTIC
    BRAIN-DEAD
    EMPTY-HEADED
    RETARDED
    ASSININE
    LOSERS

    Happy Thanksgiving, liberals. Next year at this time, you will choke on your meal, as Obama and his wife The Moocher start packing to leave the White House.

  • Anonymous

    Maybe you didn’t hear that The Cancer in the White House needs 50% of independent voters to win, and now he is at 36%.

    If I were you, I wouldn’t worry about Obama and “winning.” I would worry about Obama being overtaken in an electoral landslide and the entire Democrat downticket getting washed out to sea. Remember that the Dems have 23 US Senate seats up next year, while the GOP only has 10, and all of the pollsters show that none of the 10 are in any electoral danger, while 12-15 Dem seats could swing.

  • Anonymous

    Nice to see the usual intellect of the right wingers on here. You all honestly seem to be low IQ basement dwellers.   

  • Anonymous

    You can say that, but it told me and my entire family that as a President, we could expect Mitt Romney to be a liar.  Only we didn’t express it in those gentle terms.

  • Anonymous

    It was a lie.  Mitt Romney is a liar.  Is that the kind of president you want?  A president who so blatantly lies like that?

  • Anonymous

    It’s “asinine”.

  • Anonymous

    Mitt is going to be rather surprised when Newt Gingrich gets the nomination.  Mitt should have made “integrity” as an important thing in his campaign.  Yes, should of listened to Jon Huntsman.

  • Anonymous

    I know.  The kind of ad that would tell them “WHAT MITT ROMNEY WOULD DO” – especially since his “job creator” as governor was #47.

  • Anonymous

    Apparently you had a problem with the ad.  It didn’t say that Obama was quoting McCain.  That was why it was nothing but a lie – a real lack of integrity on the part of Mitt Romney.  A real piss poor ad.  If he thinks he is so damn good creating jobs, why was his record at Massachusetts #47 ??????

    Think about what type of job he has been doing for Bain Capital.  He has been taking companies, laying off all the employees, sending parts of the company over to China and then offering some jobs of old employees back at half the wages they were making with no benefits.

    That is how Mitt Romney raped companies.

  • Anonymous

    It wasn’t clear.  In fact, that is nothing but a lying ad and we now know that Mitt Romney has NO INTEGRITY.

  • Anonymous

    Please explain how Newt Gingrich will be able to go after “Obamacare”?  Wasn’t it the cap and trade bill that he even did a commercial in support?    Newt has a long history in congress and out of congress and there are lots of visual records of his ideas including the support of a national health plan.

  • Anonymous

    Apparently the press secretary didn’t make a big deal about it which obviously infuriated the Romney campaign.

  • Anonymous

    They sure aren’t nice people.  Disrespectful pieces of s8*t.

  • Anonymous

    A Marxist, you say?
    You, are the biggest fool of them all. All the more reason to see why think this is a win for team Romney.
    Example: The more you say Obama is a Marxist, the less we believe you!

  • JaredHendricks1

    But it wasn’t what McCain said… It was an anonymous source that may or may not have been part of his campaign.

  • Valkyrie101

    Yea, that sounds about right. No way Newt is anything but a “at least he is not willard” choice to tea partiers who want a true tea partier not an old guard republican. And I heard that Sarah Palin was leaning toward endorsing Newt. Why is that since Newt is not really a tea partier? Anybody but Mitt, and anyone is better than Obama.

  • Valkyrie101

    But Newt or Mitt, either one, are no match for Obama. Not even close.

  • JaredHendricks1

    Left and right both have that problem.

  • Anonymous

    Teapublicons self-destruct. Just watch any debate for proof.

  • Anonymous

    The outrage is NOT FAKE.
    This burns the entire Teapublicon brand.

  • Danciora

    Tina_Tamps – you posted a weird comment about President Obama lying . . . are you being satirical?  Clearly Mitt Romney lied.  I guess it’s okay for Mitt Romney to lie because Mitt Romney is a Republican.

    Although doesn’t Mitt Romney believe that it is a sin to lie?

    And what was the expression about wrongs?  Something about “two wrongs don’t make a right”?  

    But that’s why your just being ironic . . . because NO ONE can actually believe that President Obama’s claim that he won’t respond to Republican candidates is anything like the lies of Mitt Romney.

  • Danciora

    Mitt Romney lies but gideonssword79 calls liberals liars . . . weird

  • Anonymous

    GRBSPR says it was disingenuous and selectively edited.

  • Anonymous

    MadCharles, says lying is no big deal.

  • Jon B

    Jimmy McMillan, ‘rent is too damn high’ candidate, faces eviction

    Read more: http://bit.ly/g8y5nI

  • Anonymous

    Who gave you a thesaurus?
    Or did you just look at a dictionary to find the false negatives?

  • Anonymous

    Beats the hell out of lying!!

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Wendilynn-Kerezman/623542914 Wendilynn Kerezman

    What amuses me is that the media and people making comments are acting like this type of “lets generate any type of press” stuff doesn’t happen with anyone else.  This is OLD SCHOOL politicking.  All these jaded commentators getting pissed over something ALL the candidates do in every ad we see.  They all misquote their opponents.  As an independent I get to see all the absurdity that both parties do to each other while claiming they don’t do it themselves.  You people are hilarious.

    Mitt doesn’t have a sex scandal or anything really bad that you can say about him.  You can disagree with him changing positions, you can disagree with whether he did a good job giving his state the healthcare reform they wanted, or disagree with how he ran a business, but none of them are terrible acts of evil.  Nothing to really keep the media attention on him, but misquote an opponent and suddenly EVERYONE is talking about you. 

    From a promotions perspective, its all the free press you can ask for.

  • Tolerate Nothing

    It is readily apparent that liberals are scared sh itless of Romney and 2012. They will all be fired.

  • cdnhawk

    he just added an “s” to make it ASS…because he is one.

  • ASAP

    And lie, lie, lie.

  • ASAP

    Got any evidence?  Usually when I make accusations, I present evidence.  That’s why people take me seriously when I make a point. 

  • ASAP

    When Mitt breaks 30% let me know.

  • Bob

    says the party of Breitbart and O’Keefe

  • Bob

    “distroy”
    LOL
    Ladies and gentleman, your Republican base

  • Bob

    The rightwing are so sure of themselves and their victory, despite polls that say other wise (Obama leads all challengers).
    Kind of reminds me of the way the right acted after 2008, and why they became so unhinged when they lost. They couldn’t believe the country they thought was as wingnutty as they were voted for a black man with the middle name Hussein. I mean, Rush told them the Democrats were doomed and this was a conservative nation. How could this have happened?
    There are going to be some majorly disappointed rightwingers come Nov. 2012, when the president they thought for sure would be defeated wins a 2nd term.

  • Marie

    It’s funny how the wordds OBAMA and WINNING are like Oil and Vinegar – THEY DON’T MIX.
    Adios dumbama.    You are the biggest lying black racist friggen lying JACKASS in HISTORY.  And it will go down in the books.

  • Marie

    Romney came out the WINNER — WINNER – WINNER.     DUMBO WITH THE BIG EARS AND HIS BIG FAT MAMA ARE………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
                D  -  O  -  N  -  E  —— THIER FAT ASSES ARE COOKED.  AND HE CAN LIE AND LIE AND LIE AND LIE AND IT WON’T DO HIM A BIT OF GOOD.      HE  IS  HISTORY.  HE’S  BOILING IN HIS OWN OIL RIGHT NOW AND DESERVES EVERY BURN HE GETS.

  • Marie

    HAHAHAHAHAHAHA   WAHHHHHAAAAAAA!!!!    YOU AND THE DEMO-RATS ARE DONE!!!!!!!!!!

  • Marie

    WELCOME    TO   THE    PIN HEAD  LEFT  WING COMMUNIST  PARTY  SITE.   ALL  LOSERS.   HOW FAR LEFT CAN YOU ALL GET????     YOU ARE ALL NUTS ….

  • Anonymous

    YAY!!! our dishonesty worked. Everyone’s talking about us and our dishonesty. YAY!!   I get to be president.

  • Anonymous

    Actually, I was thinking of you.
    ASSHOLE.

  • Anonymous

    No, we’re not nuts.  If we were nuts we’d write in all caps and use extra punctuation. 

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_VK7U6RFTAUIPW2JR2NGPBP2IYA super

    you should stop insulting yourself like that.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_VK7U6RFTAUIPW2JR2NGPBP2IYA super

    Romney is john kerry but with better hair ;)

  • cdnhawk

    weak

  • Frizzymstarbaby2

    Is this any way to run a country?  The Romney team knows dishonesty, deceit, and downright lying will get them votes with a certain class of people.  Look at Huckabee.  Look at Trump  What bothers me is what kind of people would want to vote for deceivers and liars to represent them.  Water seeks its own level.  Doesn’t America have any wise men, sages, Christian men to lead a nation?  Must our leaders use four letter words and cheat others ?  What does this say about America and its people?  Why aren’t we better than this.             frizzymstarbaby2

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