Mitt Romney 'Wishes He Could' Take Back Birther Joke

[Penny Lane 8,159]

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican who was rumored to be on the shortlist for the vice presidential nod, said Tuesday that he suspects GOP candidate Mitt Romney "wishes he could take" his birther joke back.

"I think if he had to do it over again, he wouldn't make the joke, but you know what? When you're on camera 12, 14 hours a day and you're out at big rallies and you're just going off the cuff, there are going to be times when you're going to say stuff you wish you could take back," Christie told Matt Lauer on NBC's "Today Show." "Believe me that, I could put together a catalog for you of things I wish I could take back."

Romney told a crowd in Michigan on Friday that "no one's ever asked to see my birth certificate," a clear nod to the birther controversy over whether the president was born in the United States and is eligible to serve that office. President Barack Obama released his long-form birth certificate in April 2011 and sometimes references the birther movement in jest, including campaign mugs and buttons with his birth certificate on them.

But the Obama campaign and others didn't see Romney's joke as the same thing, considering the racially charged nature of the birther effort to take away his presidency.

Christie strayed a bit from the party line in saying it was a regrettable choice of words. The Romney campaign insisted on Friday that it was an unplanned remark and a reference to the candidate's Michigan roots. The candidate himself said Friday the joke was "fun about us, and coming home," adding, "we've got to have a little humor in a campaign."

Party Chairman Reince Priebus , said Sunday the joke controversy was "a nothing" and "making the point that we're ahead in Michigan, we're doing well in these battleground states and he's making a point that, 'I'm from Michigan, I was born here.'" Other Republicans echoed his argument.

Christie also dismissed the notion that the remarks were a play to the fringe groups behind the birther movement, despite the clear reference in Romney's joke.

"He has been the clearest and most affirmative of all the Republican candidates who were running for this nomination in saying he doesn't think that was an issue," he said, "he believes the president was born here in the United States and that it shouldn't be discussed."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/28/chris-christie-birther-joke-mitt-romney_n_1835720.html

Poor Mittens ... every day, a new thing he wishes he hadn't said.

For our birther friends on these forums:

http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/birthers/birthcertificate.asp

[X Factor 1,112]

Yep - loose lips sink ships

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

[^_^ 5,021]

Yep - loose lips sink ships

So do really really heavy people.

[X Factor 1,112]

So do really really heavy people.

I thought they can float easier

[SMOKE 1,426]

Poor Mittens ... every day, a new thing he wishes he hadn't said.

i think you miss read that. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Tuesday that he suspects GOP candidate Mitt Romney "wishes he could take" his birther joke back.

[Penny Lane 8,159]

i think you miss read that. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Tuesday that he suspects GOP candidate Mitt Romney "wishes he could take" his birther joke back.

Well of course he's not going to come out and say he wish he hadn't said it. I can read.

There's no way he doesn't regret it, considering the negative attention it got.

[^_^ 5,021]

Well of course he's not going to come out and say he wish he hadn't said it. I can read.

There's no way he doesn't regret it, considering the negative attention it got.

It has gotten very positive reviews on websites frequented by RWNJs.

Don't believe everything you hear inside the librul echo chamber.

[Penny Lane 8,159]

It has gotten very positive reviews on websites frequented by RWNJs.

Don't believe everything you hear inside the librul echo chamber.

Of course it has.

[JohnR! 5,495]

Poor Mittens ... every day, a new thing he wishes he hadn't said.

For our birther friends on these forums:

http://www.snopes.co...certificate.asp

His platform is crumbling under his feet...

[^_^ 5,021]

Of course it has.

RMoney doesn't need your vote to win.

He just needs to get out the RWNJ base + swayable independents who will be swayed by the barrage of ads that are to come.

It's so easy even a caveman like RMoney can do it.

[Penny Lane 8,159]

RMoney doesn't need your vote to win.

Hope not, because I can't vote.

[SMOKE 1,426]

Well of course he's not going to come out and say he wish he hadn't said it. I can read.

There's no way he doesn't regret it, considering the negative attention it got.

he hasn't said he regrets it, because he doesn't regret it. it was a targeted remark to the republican base & they liked it. the negative attention the left threw at it only made it that much better within the targeted base.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

he hasn't said he regrets it, because he doesn't regret it. it was a targeted remark to the republican base & they liked it. the negative attention the left threw at it only made it that much better within the targeted base.

Liberals only make up 20% of the electorate. Nobody cares what they think. Everybody is focused on the 40% in the spongy middle, that really doesn't trust anybody, and that is why negative ads work. If Romney can get his base out to vote, and suck in better than one in four of the moderates, he wins.

Edited August 28, 2012 by The Patriot

[Penny Lane 8,159]

he hasn't said he regrets it, because he doesn't regret it. it was a targeted remark to the republican base & they liked it. the negative attention the left threw at it only made it that much better within the targeted base.

Cool, thanks for letting me know how he really feels.

His base loved it. But it's not his base he's trying to impress or win over, is it?

To people OUTSIDE of his base, birthers = crazy. Why associate yourself with those people by pandering to them in an attempt to win over the people who aren't sure who they want to vote for?

Considering poll results showing a drastic divide in how likeable he is compared to Obama, you'd think he'd pander to different people than the birthers who are already voting for him, no?

Edited August 28, 2012 by Evylin