Romney: Obama Engaged in Character Assassination

realclearpolitics ^ | 9/27/12 | Romney

[pabianice]

CRAWFORD: Governor Romney, a lot of your conservative supporters are getting anxious, they're imploring you, I've heard your supporters on the rope line, they're telling you, "Be ruthless, be more aggressive." Do you think you haven't been aggressive enough? Do you plan on being more aggressive?

ROMNEY: This is a campaign, not about character assassination, even though that's what I think has come from the Obama camp by and large.

CRAWFORD: Character assassination? Do you think the Obama camp engaged in character assassination?

ROMNEY: Oh yeah, sure, they try and completely misrepresent my point of view, along with why I'm in this race, but I think fundamentally the American people are interested in who can make their life better? Who can make people get better jobs and better incomes. And I can. He's proven that he does not have the capability to do that. I do, I've proven that throughout my career. I think that's what it's going to come down to, so I listen to a lot of advice but frankly I'm going to keep on my message, which is I know how to get this economy going, create jobs, more take home pay for the American people.

CRAWFORD: What do you think, I mean, we hear this over and over again from your conservative supporters, be more aggressive. What do you think they mean by that, why are the feeling that frustration, that anxiety?

ROMNEY: Well, I can't speak for the viewpoints of all the commentators, and people I meet from place to place. Some people say, "Just be who you are!" Others say, "Get tougher! Attack!" And my own view is this; I'm going to be who I am...

[pabianice]

Someone call the Whaaambulance. Poor Mitt is being attacked. Too bad he refuses to hit back.

[Buckeye McFrog]

Can’t help but being alarmed by how smugly confident the Romney camp seems to be in this rope-a-dope strategy.

[McGruff]

So who you going to vote for?

[muawiyah]

It’s almost like deja vu all over again.

[DuncanWaring]

Before it’s over, it won’t be just “character” assassination.

[TomGuy]

Romney will take the high road, just like McCain did — and we just might see a repeat of 2008.

Romney needs to realize that Team Obama wouldn’t hesitate to engage in such tactics.

See the Dems.

See the Dems wave the race card.

Wave. Wave. Wave.

See the race card.

See the Dems call you a murderer.

See the Dems call you a tax cheat.

See the Dems call you a felon.

==

Wake up, Mitt!!!!

[hampdenkid]

I am sadly arriving at the conclusion that Mitt Romney is just too nice a guy to win the presidency. When you’re as soft as Romney, you need to surround yourself with Dobermans. Instead, Romney has surrounded himself with Mini Pincers — who sound as ridiculous as they look.

[chrisnj]

Wouldn’t it be great if the Dems accuse Romney as ineligible to be the president because he is not a natural born citizen, and Romney says: oh well, it does not matter a bit that they make such false accusation. I don’t have to prove them wrong. All I have to do is tell the Americans I can help them bring home a bigger pay-check....
(joking!!)

[Waryone]

Funny thing about that being too nice bit, Mitt did not seem to have that problem when he ran against Newt down here in Florida. He had no problem whatsoever lying in order to besmirch a conservative’s character. But he seems to have had a change of heart when it comes to running against a socialist everyone wants to see gone.

[Elle Bee]

I'm hoping this is a rope-a-dope

and he comes out swinging in the debates

I'm hoping

.

[Buckeye McFrog]

I am sadly arriving at the conclusion that Mitt Romney is just too nice a guy to win the presidency.

That's my feeling as well. If he wins he is certainly too nice a guy for tearing apart the Federal Government leviathan, a job that desperately needs doing.

[caprock]

I believe it is. We want Romney to fight back every time he's attacked, but that's not possible. My fear was Mclame - - - the sequel. However, I've seen glimpses of adequate resolve in the few brief news clips that are available. The debates will offer him sufficient time to show his backbone even with the commies running the show. His “nice guy” demeanor will only help keep the focus of audience he needs to reach. I predict the pinko moderators will be foaming at the mouth if they aren't interrupting him for "corrections."

[livius]

Newt Gingrich said the same thing yesterday, and even Karl Rove had an article this morning saying that, if nothing else, Romney has got to call Obama out on the blatant lies his campaign is making about Romney personally.

One of the things that brought Bush down and really prevented him from achieving many of his better ideas was that he never responded to attacks, and this not only made him look weak, but made it look as if the attacks might be justified. He obviously thought it was more dignified not to respond or defend himself, and would perhaps makes his opponents less vicious; but all it did was incite them, because they felt they could say anything and get away with it.

The same is true with Romney now. He doesn’t have to go on the attack the way Obama is (although Romney had no trouble doing this in the case of his Republican primary opponents!), but he should at least challenge Obama on a few of the more outrageous lies.