Romney Unedited, GOP Lawmaker Loses It on TV, and More

Posted on Sep 18, 2012

The Full Picture: A 49-minute unedited version of the secret videotaped footage of Mitt Romney at a private fundraiser in May has been released. Excerpts of the video, which feature Romney writing off nearly half of the electorate and also making denigrating remarks about the Middle East peace process, made the rounds Monday, causing the candidate to hastily call a news conference in which he refused to apologize for his unscripted comments. (Read more)

Man Behind the Leak: The grandson of former President Jimmy Carter can be credited as the man responsible for the release of the full, unedited version of the Romney video. Jimmy Carter IV said he began his quest to track down the source of the footage last month, then encouraged the filmmaker to release the video to Mother Jones. Part of the reason for Carter IV’s quest was personal: Romney had frequently attacked his grandfather’s presidency. “It gets under my skin,” he said. “I just think it’s ridiculous. I don’t like criticism of my family.” (Read more)

Is the Election Over?: According to Bloomberg’s Josh Barro, the answer to that question is yes. Barro argues that the day the leaked footage of Romney revealing his disdain for 47 percent of eligible voters in this country came out is the day the Republican presidential nominee lost the race for the White House. Barro wrote: “Romney already has trouble relating to the public and convincing people he cares about them. Now, he’s been caught on video saying that nearly half the country consists of hopeless losers.” In short, it’s not the campaign message Romney’s people were hoping for when they announced a strategy shift over the weekend. (Read more)

Top Romney Flubs: The election may not be until November, but the San Francisco Chronicle would like to remind you that there have been many, many Mitt Romney gaffes since the beginning of the year. In its list of Romney missteps, the Chronicle counts down the top 20. (Read more)

Voter ID Law Update: Pennsylvania’s high court sent the voter ID issue back to a lower court, asking it to rule whether the state could make IDs available to all eligible voters by Election Day. If the Commonwealth Court can’t demonstrate that no voters would be disenfranchised by the ID law, it will be required to place an injunction on the law until after the election. The court has until Oct. 2 to rule on the heated issue. (Read more)

Video of the Day: Fact checks? New York GOP Rep. Peter King, known for his outlandish remarks and outspoken demeanor, wants people to know he doesn’t believe in fact checks (or, apparently, facts in general). King got into it with CNN’s Soledad O’Brien over his repeated claims that President Obama has been on an “apology tour” across the Middle East. (Fact checkers say that claim is based on a distortion.)

—Posted by Tracy Bloom.

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