Last updated on July 16th, 2012 at 12:54 pm
The Obama campaign has responded to Mitt Romney’s demands for an apology with a new video that tells him to shove it where the sun doesn’t shine.
Here is the Obama campaign’s response to Romney’s demands for an apology:
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Mitt Romney demanded an apology from President Obama for his campaign’s Bain related attacks, and what he got was a big giant middle finger from the Obama campaign. The Obama camp didn’t just say no. They put together a highlight reel of Romney’s attacks on Obama. The greatest hits collection included Rev. Wright, Obama apologizes for America, and Romney’s claim that Obama is somehow anti-capitalism and freedom.
The video closes with the script, “Mitt Romney. He sure asks for a lot of apologies. When he’s not busy launching attacks.” It ends with Newt Gingrich explaining that Romney’s policy is not to build himself up, but to carpet bomb his opponent and tear them down.
For good measure, the Obama campaign also released a new television ad that hits Romney on his outsourcing of jobs to China and Mexico and his overseas bank accounts:
In a statement debuting the ad the Obama campaign said, “Obama for America released a new television advertisement today titled “Firms” that highlights Mitt Romney’s record of shipping jobs overseas and owning offshore accounts in foreign tax havens. As a businessman, Romney shipped jobs to Mexico and China. As a governor, Romney outsourced jobs to India. And as a presidential candidate, Romney should explain to the American people his mysterious corporation in Bermuda, his funds in the Cayman Islands, and the Swiss bank account he opened.”
Like all bullies, Mitt Romney can dish it out, but he can’t take it. There has always been a perception surrounding Romney that he has a glass jaw. He is soft. He can’t take the heat, and he cracks under pressure. The Romney campaign’s pathological demands for retractions and apologies lend credibility to this perception.
What Romney and his campaign don’t seem to understand is that they are playing in the big leagues now. His opponent has been through all of this before and won. Romney’s attacks on Obama look like an ice cream social compared to the political war that was the 2008 Democratic primary against Hillary Clinton.
Most of the attacks that the Romney campaign and his super PACs are running are old news. Much of it was heard by voters in 2008 and 2010. In some cases, like the attack ads on the ACA, voters have been hearing these same old lines from the right for three years. Running more of the same attacks carries the risk of voters tuning them out. Political science research has shown that airing too many negative ads will result in a voter backlash against the candidate that is doing the attacking.
Romney’s declining approval ratings in places where he ran the largest amount of negative ads during the 2012 GOP primary suggests that in many parts of the country the Romney campaign has already been, and continues to be hurt by their unrelentingly negative campaign tone.
Mitt Romney’s demands for an apology are the political equivalent of crying uncle. He is getting annihilated by these attacks, and he still has no effective counter to them. In his television interviews he alternated between Clinton like parsing, of the difference between a manager and owner, whining about Obama’s questions about Bain, and attacking the president.
The cherry on top of the whole debacle came when the Republican nominee completely sabotaged his whole performance and gave the media a bigger headline, by refusing to release more tax returns.
Romney tried to claim the moral high ground by demanding an apology. The Obama campaign responded with a new TV ad airing in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia hitting the Republican on Bain, outsourcing, and his offshore bank accounts.
Mitt Romney didn’t get his apology, but he did get a giant f**k you from the Obama campaign today.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
