Mitt Romney appeared on “Fox News Sunday” and said he lost the 2012 campaign for the presidency because of “the Obamacare attractiveness” to “lower incomes.”
“We did very well with the majority population, but not with minority populations, and that was a failing, that was a real mistake,” Romney told Fox News host Chris Wallace.
“I think the Obamacare attractiveness and feature was something we underestimated, particularly among lower incomes. And, uh, just didn’t do as good a job in connecting with that audience as we should have.”
“The president had the power of incumbency, ‘Obamacare’ was very attractive, particularly to those without insurance, and they came out in large numbers to vote,” Romney said. “So that was part of a successful campaign,” TPM reports:
Romney first made comments to this effect on a conference call with donors after the November election, when he said Obama had been “very generous†in doling out “big gifts†to “the African American community, the Hispanic community and young people†as well as women during his first term. Asked about them in the Fox News interview, recorded earlier this week in his California home, he reiterated that belief.
Ian Millhiser at Think Progress adds:
During the course of the interview, Romney agreed with Wallace that his “47 percent†comment — his claim that 47 percent of the country will vote for Obama because they are “dependent upon government†and “believe that they are victimsâ€Â — hurt his campaign by leaving the impression that he did not like many voters. Nevertheless, this explanation of his loss is reminiscent of the explanation he gave his donors for his defeat shortly after the election — Obama won because of “the gifts†he gave to African-Americans, Latinos and young voters.
Note that Romney doesn’t use the word “people” in his comments. They are not even “voters,” but, “populations.”
Romney had no moral right to be president of the American people because he never saw them as people. They are “populations,” or an “audience.”