Mitt Romney: 'The Context Is Worse Than the Quote'

From Alana Goodman, at Commentary, "Obama Video on “Context” Doesn’t Even Play Speech Clip":

The Obama campaign is pushing back against attacks on the president’s “you didn’t build that” remark with a new web video claiming the Romney campaign took the line “out of context.” Obama’s deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter says the following:

“Mitt Romney recently launched a new TV ad that blatantly twists President Obama’s words on small business owners and entrepreneurs. Romney’s not telling the truth about what the president said and is taking the president’s words out of context. Romney claims the president told entrepreneurs they didn’t build their own businesses. Actually, he didn’t say that. And even the Washington Post called this attack ‘ridiculous.’ Anyone who’s seen the president’s actual remarks knows the truth. The president said that together, Americans built the free enterprise system that we all benefit from.”

Cutter then goes on to defend Obama’s record on small businesses, but doesn’t even play a clip of his comments in whatever “context” she claims is missing from Romney’s ad. Instead, viewers are asked to click a link over to the Obama website if they want to see it. Why? Probably because the campaign knows the context sounds just as bad as the line in question.

Mitt Romney touched on this point in one of his strongest interviews of the campaign so far:

Finish Goodman's post here.

Greg Sargent went after Romney last week, "Romney video deceptively edits Obama speech to make it sound anti-business." He provided the "missing" context, but again, you can't put lipstick on a pig.

Here's the whole thing, in any case:

And the caption at the video:

This is the same clip President Obama is using to try and recant his comments that denigrated small business owners, but we know the truth. He said it and he meant it. If you keep attacking success, you'll continue to have less of it. It's as simple as that. See for yourself -- you be the judge http://mi.tt/OCJ3Cv.

But wait!

Still more push back from the left!

Here's Sargent again, "What the war over `didn’t build that’ is really about." Sargent's a socialist spin doctor. Read it all at the link, if you want. And here's Obama's "rapid reaction" video released yesterday, which shows the president once again making the same argument that "you didn't build that" on your own, you had help, you had roads and bridges, etc., which is basically what Elizabeth Warren said some time back and has been taking grief for it. See: "President Obama Pushes Back On Romney Campaign's Small Business Attacks."

Americans aren't buying the Democrats' snake oil, which is why the Obama campaign is pushing back so hard, desperately trying to get out from the hole they've dug for themselves.