Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has said his remark
that 47% of Americans are government dependent victims was "completely
wrong". Romney, widely perceived to have won the first round of
presidential debates with Barack Obama in Denver, Colorado, addressed
the controversy in an interview on Fox News on Friday.
Up until now, Romney has said that he had chosen his words poorly, but had not disavowed his comment. The original remarks, secretly recorded during a fundraiser in May and posted online in September by the magazine Mother Jones, sparked intense criticism of Romney and provided fodder to those who portray him as an out-of-touch millionaire oblivious to the lives of average Americans.
Polls suggest he is back on track after a debate with President Barack Obama this week. Obama has urged him to reveal the true cost of his policies. "Clearly in a campaign with hundreds if not thousands of speeches and question-and-answer sessions, now and then you're going to say something that doesn't come out right," Romney said on Fox News.
"In this case, I said something that's just completely wrong." He is now viewed positively by 51 per cent of voters, the first time he has enjoyed a net positive in the presidential race, according to the poll released on Thursday. Romney also did not as far as Hannity in describing the Obama administration’s handling of the deaths of four Americans at the U.S. Consulate in Libya as “a cover-up.”
More than 16 million elderly Americans avoid federal income taxes solely because of tax breaks that apply only to seniors, the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center reports. Asked recently whether his TV ads had strayed from the facts, he said they had been "absolutely spot-on."
Fact-checking operations have argued otherwise. Obama demanded "truth" from the "real Mitt Romney" on Thursday at a campaign rally in Denver as his aides promised a "hard look" at strategy after his listless performance.
In the first presidential debate Wednesday, Obama surprised political observers by not going after Romney on the comments, as he has on the campaign trail in the last two weeks. Many of Obama's supporters are puzzled he chose not to bring up the 47% comments in the debate, although his campaign has used the remarks in a television advert.
Up until now, Romney has said that he had chosen his words poorly, but had not disavowed his comment. The original remarks, secretly recorded during a fundraiser in May and posted online in September by the magazine Mother Jones, sparked intense criticism of Romney and provided fodder to those who portray him as an out-of-touch millionaire oblivious to the lives of average Americans.
Polls suggest he is back on track after a debate with President Barack Obama this week. Obama has urged him to reveal the true cost of his policies. "Clearly in a campaign with hundreds if not thousands of speeches and question-and-answer sessions, now and then you're going to say something that doesn't come out right," Romney said on Fox News.
"In this case, I said something that's just completely wrong." He is now viewed positively by 51 per cent of voters, the first time he has enjoyed a net positive in the presidential race, according to the poll released on Thursday. Romney also did not as far as Hannity in describing the Obama administration’s handling of the deaths of four Americans at the U.S. Consulate in Libya as “a cover-up.”
More than 16 million elderly Americans avoid federal income taxes solely because of tax breaks that apply only to seniors, the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center reports. Asked recently whether his TV ads had strayed from the facts, he said they had been "absolutely spot-on."
Fact-checking operations have argued otherwise. Obama demanded "truth" from the "real Mitt Romney" on Thursday at a campaign rally in Denver as his aides promised a "hard look" at strategy after his listless performance.
In the first presidential debate Wednesday, Obama surprised political observers by not going after Romney on the comments, as he has on the campaign trail in the last two weeks. Many of Obama's supporters are puzzled he chose not to bring up the 47% comments in the debate, although his campaign has used the remarks in a television advert.
