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Yes, the statement was fine if the entire sudience were moderate Republicans. Unfortunately for Mitt, most people are NOT moderate Republicans. Even worse for Mitt, this ham-handed statement will absolutely be taken out of context in print, on audio and in video.
"I’m not concerned about the very poor...I’m not concerned about the very rich, they’re doing just fine." - Mitt Romney on January 31,2012
Anything else Mitt said either before, after or in-between those two sentences will be ignored by the media. Any explanation that tries to put that statement in context will be ignored by the media. The average independent or moderate voter will not be provided the proper context by the media.
The news soundbite that will be played over and over and over again on most TV and cable networks will be:
"I’m not concerned about the very poor...I’m not concerned about the very rich, they’re doing just fine." - Mitt Romney on January 31,2012
The soundbite that will be played over and over and over again in President Obama's class warfare re-election campaign commercials will be:
"I’m not concerned about the very poor...I’m not concerned about the very rich, they’re doing just fine." - Mitt Romney on January 31,2012
Worst of all, this gaffe will only reinforce the Democrat's warped caricature of Republicans to indedependents and Democrats. For conservatives, this gaffe only reinforces their very real and accurate opinion that Mitt Romeny is the living, breathing embodiment of Establishment Republicanism (or RINO, for short).
This gaffe effectively ends any chance Mitt Romney might have had to become President.
Stick a fork in him, Romney's done.
My point was simply that his entire statement was ok. I agree that we should be concerned with the 95% who are struggling.