Mitt Romney and the 47 percent

September 19, 2012

Hour 1

In a video secretly recorded last May at a private fundraiser, Mitt Romney told donors that nearly half of all Americans support the President because they rely on government entitlements.   He went on to say that these U.S. voters "believe that they are victims" and that it was not his job "to worry about those people."  Over the past few months, Romney has been working hard to overcome the perception that he is unable to relate to lower- and middle-class Americans and that he lacks empathy for their economic plight.  The video released earlier this week only complicates things for campaign which is still reeling from other gaffes and a strange convention speech by Clint Eastwood.  During the 2008 campaign, President Barack Obama got into a similar fix when he attempted to explain why some voters, who were left feeling bitter about government "cling to guns or religion…" as a way of explaining their frustrations.  So can a candidate overcome such controversy?  How do they diffuse the negative reaction and get their campaigns back on track.  Do they talk differently in private settings and is that OK?  Our guests include political campaign veterans CHRIS NICHOLAS, NEIL OXMAN and HOWARD GLECKMAN of the Tax Policy Center.

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Photo Credit: AP Images