Mitt Romney stands by remarks in video leak

The Associated Press

Mitt Romney neither disavowed nor apologized Tuesday for his remarks to wealthy donors at a private fundraiser, which included an observation that nearly half of the country believe they are victims and entitled to a range of government support.

Instead, Romney cast his comment as evidence of a fundamental difference with President Barack Obama over the economy, adding the federal government should not "take from some to give to the others."

Obama shot back that the occupant of the Oval Office must "work for everyone, not just for some," jabbing back at Romney's statement that as a candidate, he doesn't worry about the 47 percent of Americans who pay no income taxes.

As the rivals sparred, two GOP Senate candidates -- Linda McMahon in Connecticut and Sen. Scott Brown in Massachusetts -- publicly disavowed Romney's remarks. Privately, some Republicans were harshly critical of Romney's most recent comments and his overall campaign to date. They also noted that with seven weeks to go and early voting already under way in some states, the time to recover was smaller than might appear.

The newest controversy was ignited by a video from the May fundraiser in which Romney said 47 percent of Americans pay no income taxes and "believe the government has a responsibility to care for them . . . believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you name it. That that's an entitlement." He said, "I'll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives."

Romney told reporters Monday night that his fundraising remarks in the video posted by the left-leaning magazine Mother Jones were "not elegantly stated." In an interview Tuesday on Fox, the network of choice for conservatives, Romney said he didn't intend to write off any part of a deeply divided electorate, including seniors who are among those who often pay no taxes. Instead, he sought to reframe his remarks as a philosophical difference with Obama.

"I'm not going to get votes from Americans who believe government's job is to redistribute wealth," he said, adding that was something Obama believes in. He also said he wants to be president so he can help hard-pressed Americans find work and earn enough so they become income taxpayers.

Obama responded during an appearance on the David Letterman show.

"One thing I've learned as president is that you represent the entire country," he said. As for Romney's statement about the 47 percent, he said, "There are not a lot of people out there who think they are victims" or simply entitled.

Some Republicans said Romney can still regain the initiative.

"I don't expect the negative headlines of this week will be what we're talking about a week from now," said Fergus Cullen, the former GOP state chairman in New Hampshire and a Romney ally. "It's incumbent on the Romney campaign to make it (the election) about Obama's handling of the economy."