Posted on 12/21/2007 10:29:56 PM PST by ellery
I had given Mitt Romney the benefit of the doubt on his claim to have seen his dad march with Martin Luther King Jr. No one questions that George Romney supported the civil rights movement and did participate in a civil rights march in Detroit a few days after one led by Dr. King. I’d assumed that when Romney said his dad marched with Dr. King he meant that his father joined a civil rights march, not that his father literally marched beside King. That would be true, and I think an understandable phrasing. But that’s not the explanation Romney offered.
He actually said “if you look at the literature, look at the dictionary, the term ’saw’ includes being aware of in the sense I’ve described. It’s a figure of speech, and very familiar, and it’s very common. And I saw my dad march with Martin Luther King. I did not see it with my own eyes, but I saw him in the sense of being aware of his participation in that great effort.”
I think the reaction from those paying attention will likely be along the lines of: “Um, whatever, man.”
I still think even that awkward explanation could have been salvaged were it not for The Boston Globe’s reporting that in 1978 Romney told the globe that not only did his father march with Dr. King, but that Mitt did too:
“My father and I marched with Martin Luther King Jr. through the streets of Detroit,” he said.
Not true. “Mitt Romney did not march with Martin Luther King.” Why says? Romney’s spokesman.
Of course, the obvious explanation Romney could have offered is that he didn’t mean Martin Luther King Jr. at all.
“I saw my father march with Martin Luther King,” Romney said in the speech. Obviously, he meant MLK’s dad. And by “march” he meant spend some time together in the month of March.
Mitt, sometimes less is more. Quit running your yap—it keeps getting you into trouble.
This is starting to remind me of Kerry’s imaginary mission to Cambodia — and that’s not good.
How would you like all of your political enemies, parsing every syllable you uttered, day in and day out. I guess it is very hard not to go there when they keep bring it up. The are like a bunch of hound dogs, fighting over a bone....or at least trying to find one.
Mitt has avoided many of these pitfalls. He is indeed impressive.
It's the same meaning as when, as a kid, Bill Clinton "saw" all those black churches burning in Arkansas.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1207/7524.html
Shirley Basore, 72, says she was sitting in the hairdresser’s chair in wealthy Grosse Pointe, Mich., back in 1963 when a rumpus started and she discovered that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and her governor, George Romney, were marching for civil rights — right past the window.
With the cape still around her neck, Basore went outside and joined the parade.
“They were hand in hand,” recalled Basore, a former high-school English teacher. “They led the march. We all swung our hands, and they held their hands up above everybody else’s.”
She remembered the late governor as “extremely handsome.”
Until this week, that was just a vivid memory for a sweet retiree who now lives in Pompano Beach, Fla.
But Basore’s memory became important this week when news accounts questioned the recollections of the late Michigan governor’s son, Mitt Romney, the Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts governor.
News stories suggested that Romney was exaggerating. It turns out that he may not have attended the Grosse Pointe march, but it certainly happened.
The campaign posted citations quoting one author as writing that “George Romney made a surprise appearance in his shirt sleeves and joined the parade leaders.”
Stephen Hess and David S. Broder also wrote about the march in their 1967 book, “The Republican Establishment: The Present and Future of the G.O.P.”
Basore said she was very angry about how the issue has been covered on cable television.
“This very arrogant guy on TV questioned Mitt Romney, and I marched with them,” Basore said. “I hope that the campaign demands an apology. I want him to publicly apologize to me. That was a personal insult, and an insult to Mitt Romney.”
Basore said she called the campaign, and the campaign supplied her contact information.
Another witness, Ashby Richardson, 64, of Massachusetts gave the campaign a similar account.
“I’m just appalled that the news picks this stuff up and say it didn’t happen,” Richardson, now a data-collection consultant, said by phone. “The press is being disingenuous in terms of reporting what actually happened. I remember it vividly. I was only 15 or 20 feet from where both of them were.”
Nice try , you have a tireless job . There is a pattern with Mitt the Storyteller ....
Pandering , flip-flops , and now tall tales ....gotta love it ...
Have you noticed that drudge is not mentioning anything negative about Romney lately, including this, even though this story (and others this week) are national news?
Since you support another candidate....anything you say needs to be taken with a grain of salt.
Calling someone a liar is big. If your post is true then people need to get back to the reality of whom we are going to elect.
Good find! The Anti-Mitters really knock themselves out trying to make something stick to Mitt!
Incidently, Mitt drove the liberal press in Mass, absolutely nuts tring to make these kind of corn ball attacks hurt him.
Just like Joseph Smith. How apt.
No one here is putting words into Mitt’s mouth . He tells his stories and gets caught repeatedly ....
Shall we take Mitt’s “stories” with a grain of salt ?
Probably, because Drudge is intelligent enough to see that this politic attack is stupid, lame, and has no legs.
First, he and his daddy marched with MLK
Second, just his daddy marched with MLK
Third, his daddy figuratively marched with MLK
And now, his daddy marched with a 72 year old woman and MLK.
Yes, Mitt gets caught by a bunch of political hacks, running a lame story to death, in the hopes of advancing their candidate, who is probably getting their behind kicked.
“Probably, because Drudge is intelligent enough to see that this politic attack is stupid, lame, and has no legs.”
The first meaningless rebuttal that came to you and you posted it.
Don’t know if its true or not, but they claim to be eye witnesses. What are these others? What I find compelling is what a bigger than life figure George Romney was! Those were some proud days for the Republican Party. Attacking Mitt by focusing attention on his father actions is a brain dead strategy.
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