Obama Campaign Pounces on Matt Romney Joke as Evidence Father Pandering to ‘Dead-Ender Fringe Extremists’
EmailIn a fundraising email, Obama 2012 campaign manager Jim Messina pounced like a jungle cat on a remark made by Mitt Romney’s son Matt, 40, seeking to paint his father as appealing to extreme elements.
“Friend,” wrote Messina in a mass email to supporters, “You’ve got to hear this. Asked at a Romney campaign event whether his father would follow decades of precedent and release his tax returns, Mitt Romney’s adult son Matt quoted the most recent Tea Party line, saying: ‘… As soon as President Obama releases his grades, and birth certificate, and sort of a long list of things, then maybe he will.’”
Asserted Messina, “This is how the Romney campaign thinks it’s going to win the Republican primary: by pandering to the dead-ender fringe of extremists who still question where the President was born. We can’t make them rewrite their talking points. But we can drive up the cost of this kind of politics.”
Earlier today Matt Romney made the remark in New Hampshire, as posted in video by the Concord, NH Patch site, saying that he had “heard someone suggest the other day that” when President Obama released that information then his father would release his tax returns.
Matt Romney, the 2nd of the five Romney boys, soon tweeted somewhat apologetically: “I repeated a dumb joke. My bad.”
Neither President Obama nor Mitt Romney has released college grades. Then-Senator Obama released his tax returns mid-way through the Democratic primary process, in March 2008; Romney has refused to do so.
As for his birth certificate, the president released it in short-form as a candidate three years ago and in long form in April.
Romney himself has yet to release his birth certificate. Earlier this year, Boston Globe columnist Joan Vennochi recalled the run-around the Romney campaign gave her when pursuing his birth certificate. There remains apparently some mystery about whether the candidate’s name is Willard Mitt Romney or Willard Milton Romney.
Messina reminded supporters in his email that the campaign sells “Made in the USA mugs that have the President’s birth certificate printed right on them — in case anyone else says they’ve never seen it.”
-Jake Tapper
Republicans Duke it Out in Arizona 
Rick Santorum Defends Earmarks
Republican politicians suck. They lower the quality of politics in the United States.
Posted by: Dave | December 30, 2011, 3:25 pm 3:25 pm
He pounced like a jungle cat…when asked for Obama`s report card.
Surely Mr. Obama`s grades couldn`t have been that bad.
Posted by: Romney Supporter | December 30, 2011, 3:36 pm 3:36 pm
Well, WHERE ARE THE GRADES?
Posted by: Nephron | December 30, 2011, 3:38 pm 3:38 pm
Well, WHERE ARE THE GRADES?
Posted by: Nephron | December 30, 2011, 3:38 pm 3:38 pm
——————————————————————————
Still being photocropped like the birth certificate
Posted by: hopeless and changeless | December 30, 2011, 3:51 pm 3:51 pm
Where are Romney Tax Returns? Why is he hiding them? Ask for Mitt B.C to, why not, his dad was born in Mexico an from Mexico. Sense when was Mexico part of the U.S? These kids are Home Schooled an not taught by their Parents to Respect the President! U know as well as Every one does the Birther thingy is a Political Gotcha Gemmic an nothing Alse. It is pitiful to teach your kids to use that to cover up for NOT releasing your Tax Return to the Public, an lavish lie’s all over the place. The Tax Return thingy must be a Family Secret they are all in on to hide!
Posted by: Jupitor | December 30, 2011, 4:12 pm 4:12 pm
So what, about all his personal stuff, if he does not want to show it who really cares.
The only thing I find strange is where are all the students he went to school with, not talking about their college days together. You would think those stories would be
exploited all over the internet.
Posted by: deadwrestler | December 30, 2011, 4:14 pm 4:14 pm
Mitt Romney is withholding his income tax records from publicly scrutiny by those who are supposed to vote for him? We know Romney was raised with a silver spoon in his mouth in Bloomfield Hills which consistently ranks as one of the top five wealthiest cities in the United States. Is he afraid we’ll find out he’s a filthy rich elitist like the Republicans are trying to paint President Obama?
Posted by: James | December 30, 2011, 4:41 pm 4:41 pm
Oh, get over yourselves. The President graduated with honors from an Ivy league school. His grades could not have been too shabby.
Posted by: msyellarose | December 30, 2011, 4:49 pm 4:49 pm
I wonder what is really in Obama’s BC to make him spend a $1 million to hide it, take special flight all the way to Hawaii to pull special favors to keep it hidden, have his buddies pass special laws to keep it concealed, and to have Hilliary’s attorney friend start this birther stuff to distract from whats reall in it without good reason.. I think they are hiding somethig else————is it that he was adopted out to Indonesia? Is it that he was listed as Muslim? Is it that his mother wasn’t married, while his Daddy was to another woman? All I know is that NO ONE would spend a $1 million to hide something that doesn’t have anything it, nor would Hilliary’s henchman waste his time unless there was something amiss.
Posted by: beensaidagain | December 30, 2011, 5:03 pm 5:03 pm
Posted by: beensaidagain | December 30, 2011, 5:03 pm 5:03 pm
When you have any proof of the allegations you have about ‘special flight’, ‘special favors’, ‘special laws’ and all the other crap you post, then please cite your source and the date.
Otherwise all you’re doing is attempting to smear someone with unsupported allegations. That’s the American way – if you’re a Republican.
Posted by: Dan | December 30, 2011, 5:22 pm 5:22 pm
A lot of you have forgotten that Mr. Obama was on drug, as he had admitted, during his school years. I am not sure what the effect of drug is on his grade, but I know what effect it has on his Presidency.
Posted by: young_voter | December 30, 2011, 5:30 pm 5:30 pm
At 40 years old, this manchild should know better than to repeat some crass repeatedly debunked remark about our duly elected President’s citizenship, and stop hiding behind empty apologies. He probably and unwittingly just single-handedly defeated his father’s bid for the 2012 Presidency. I hope he will be able to look Mitt in the eye in November after Romney has given his concession speech and say “Oops, my bad.”
Posted by: Maritza | December 30, 2011, 5:36 pm 5:36 pm
If Mr. Obama`s track record in office is any indication of his grades, his report card might look like:
Drama – A Golf – A+
Economics – C Finance – D
I get the sense that Romney knows what he`s talking about and my gut feel is that he`s a straight shooter who understands the real world and knows the value of a dollar.
Hope he gets in and gets something worthwhile done.
Posted by: Small Business Man | December 30, 2011, 6:44 pm 6:44 pm
I could care less about the birth certificate since I honestly believe that Hillary would have found the problem when she was campaigning!! However they try to present Obama as the intellectual and I highly doubt there is any truth to that statement. I would like to see his grades, thesis, scores on his law exams etc. So how is that Obama transparency working for you??? Are Democrats and Independents really this gulllible????
Posted by: whathappened08 | December 30, 2011, 6:57 pm 6:57 pm
So how is that Obama transparency working for you??? — WH
—————–
We’ve seen Obama’s birth certificate and tax returns.
We haven’t seen secretive establishment -candidate Mitt Romney’s.
Are conservatives, Republicans and independents really THAT gullible?
Never mind… we already know that conservatives and Republicans are indeed THAT gullible.
Posted by: Crystal | December 30, 2011, 7:24 pm 7:24 pm
While we’re doing report cards let’s do one for Mitt:
Packing up US firms and shipping jobs overseas………A
Creating jobs in this country……D
Posted by: Big business | December 30, 2011, 8:42 pm 8:42 pm
BIG BUSINESS | December 30, 2011, 8:42 PM, SAID:
“While we’re doing report cards let’s do one for Mitt:
Packing up US firms and shipping jobs overseas………A”
==============================================
Now that’s a true statement. In fact, here’s the record of USA “MADE IN AMERICA” manufacturing job losses between Republican and Democratic administrations over the past 34 years…
Republican administration LOSSES in U.S. Manufacturing Jobs over the past 34 years . . .
. . . . . . . . Reagan = -582,000
. . . . . . . . Bush # 1 = -1,266,000
. . . . . . . . Bush # 2 = -4,555,000
TOTAL = – 6,403,000 (6.4 million MADE IN AMERICA jobs LOST over the past 34 years)
Democratic administration GAINS in U.S. Manufacturing Job over the past 34 years . . .
. . . . . . . . Carter = + 836,000
. . . . . . . . Clinton = + 323,000
. . . . . . . . Obama = + 153,000 (in 2010) and + 146,000 (in 2011)
TOTAL = + 1,312,000 (1.3 million MADE IN AMERICA jobs GAINED over the past 34 years)
Posted by: Those Shallow "R's" Always Make Me Laugh! | December 30, 2011, 11:37 pm 11:37 pm
We want to see the papers that Obama wrote in college and law school. They are more important than the grades as the papers let us know what he thinks.
We know he hired Van Jones. Was Obama also an admitted communist? Of course people can change, but we want to see this stuff.
Posted by: welldirected | December 31, 2011, 12:39 am 12:39 am
Posted by: welldirected | December 31, 2011, 12:39 am 12:39 am
More of us would like to see Mitt’s tax returns. That is current information and his unwillingness to do something every presidential candidate has done since Nixon is shady. Btw, Mitt hasn’t released his transcripts, school papers, birth certificate or tax returns. We know he spent time in France and has helped lay off lots of people and ship jobs overseas. Is that his entire m.o.?
Posted by: Sarafina | December 31, 2011, 11:48 am 11:48 am
POSTED BY: DAN | DECEMBER 30, 2011, 5:22 PM 5:22 PM, i have to disagree with you on that one, the democrats have a monopoly on smear campaigns and will go after anyone who treathens their standing. What ever happend to the women who went public with the Cain alligation? How much money did they receive? David Axelrod is the master in dirty politics, look it up, he is and will ever be the man in the background who pulls the strings so that his man wins no matter what.
If Pres.Obama has such good grades in school, how come he spends millions to keep them hidden, how about the thesis he wrote in school, or did he not write any, you always want to see everything from a componant but you take his word for it. Is that called brainwashed.
Posted by: Lizzie | December 31, 2011, 12:45 pm 12:45 pm
Posted by: Lizzie | December 31, 2011, 12:45 pm 12:45 pm
You should look into the history of Lee Atwater and Karl Rove and the tactics they introduced – and the tactics Republican politicians continue to use today. You’ll remember all the smears against Obama from the last campaign spread, the attempts to demonize him as a a terrorist, a terrorist supporter, a foreigner, a Muslim a communist, anti-American, a woman hater, an anti-Semitic, etc. etc. etc. All of these smears originating from the right wing in America, the heart of the Republican supporters. That’s their level of moral integrity.
I’m surprised you’re not supporting the very simple and obvious call for Romney’s income tax records.
Posted by: John | December 31, 2011, 2:57 pm 2:57 pm
Lizzie | December 31, 2011, 12:45 pm post —– You are apparently too young to remember the ‘Swift Boating’ of John Kerry in the 2004 election. Or Bush Senior’s Willie Horton ad.
Posted by: A Cynic | December 31, 2011, 3:02 pm 3:02 pm
Matt, good stuff! We look forward to all the disclosures of the heroic actions of the Romney “MEN” , perhaps honorable discharge papers etc….While we are on the hilarious : I loved the pictures of the home where your daddy stayed while he was on his heroic actions during the Vietnam War, you know when the rest of the country was “brainwashed”. BTW was that Madeliene’s house or Marie Atoinette’s?
Posted by: Bob Pave | December 31, 2011, 11:57 pm 11:57 pm