Mitt Romney Clarifies Mid-Gaffe That He Does Not Intend To ‘Hang’ Obama

Mitt Romney, who has been battling for airtime with 2012 presidential maybe-hopefuls much more rambunctious and gaffe-prone than he, it’s about time he got into the “outrageous statements” game. Try as he might, he may have succeeded at a recent dinner. Speaking to Americans for Prosperity, Romney suggested we “hang” President Obama, before realizing there was a very necessary “metaphorically” missing from that sentence.

Speaking to the group on the quality of life in the nation during the Obama administration, Romney recalled President Ronald Reagan‘s “misery index,” a metric which he used to attack President Jimmy Carter‘s administration and point to the detriment the nation suffered under him. “He hung that around Jimmy Carter’s neck and that had a lot to do with Jimmy Carter losing,” Romney noted. So far, so good– the “hanging around the neck” idiom goes back to the albatross in Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “Rime of the Ancient Mariner.” But then he tried to reapply the saying and got woefully lost: “We’re going to have to hang the Obama misery index around his neck… we’re going to hang him with that.” Fortunately, Romney caught himself midsentence and switched gears: “–so to speak, hang him metaphorically… you have to be careful these days.” He tried to laugh it off, and many most certainly will, but it’s the sort of soundbite that makes for great campaign ad fodder.

Romney’s comments at the dinner below:

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!