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Saturday, October 29, 2011
Off-the-cuff, Romney does himself few favors ••He’s•not•the•only• one•with•loose•lips• in•the•campaign. BY PHILIP ELLIOTT Associated Press
WASHINGTON• —• Mitt• Romney• may• need• a• censor.• For•himself. In• the• last• few• weeks• in• Nevada,• the• man• who• owns• several• homes• told• the• state• hit•tough•by•the•housing•crisis:• “Don’t• try• and• stop• the• foreclosure• process.• Let• it• run• its• course• and• hit• the• bottom.” At• one• point• in• Iowa,• earlier•this•year,•the•former•venture•capitalist•uttered,•“Corporations• are• people,”• with• the• country• in• the• midst• of• a•debate•over•Wall•Street•vs.• Main•Street.• At• an• event• in• economically• suffering• Florida,• the• retiree•—•who•is•a•multimillionaire• many• times• over• —• said,•“I’m•also•unemployed.” Over•the•past•year,•the•Republican• presidential• candidate•has•amassed•a•collection• of• off-the-cuff• comments• that• expose• his• vulnerabilities• and,• taken• together,• could•reinforce•a•perception• that•he’s•an•out-of-touch•elitist•who•lacks•a•core•set•of•beliefs. So• far,• the• foot-in-mouth• remarks• haven’t• seemed• to• affect• his• standing• in• the• nomination•race. Romney•has•run•a•far•more• cautious• and• disciplined• campaign•than•his•losing•bid• of• four• years• ago.• He’s• kept• the• focus• on• his• core• message:•He’s•the•strongest•candidate•able•to•beat•President• Barack• Obama• on• the• biggest• issue• of• the• campaign,• the• economy.• He• still• enjoys• leading• positions• in• public• opinion•polls•in•early•primary• states• and• across• the• nation.•Few,•if•any,•of•the•other• Republicans•in•the•race•have• turned• his• remarks• against• him. Texas• Gov.• Rick• Perry,• Romney’s•chief•rival•with•the• money• to• prove• it,• is• all• but• certain• to• try.• Perry• has• already•started•suggesting•that• Romney• lives• a• life• of• privilege• while• he• comes• from• humble•roots.•And•Romney’s• eyebrow-raising• comments• are• tailor-made• for• critical• TV•ads. Look• no• further• than• the• Democratic• Party• and• Obama’s• advisers• for• proof• of•that. Each• time• Romney• says• something• that• makes• even• his• closest• aides• grimace,• Democrats• quickly• put• together• a• Web• video• highlighting•the•remark•—•a•preview•of•certain•lines•of•attack• come• the• general• election.• “Mitt• Romney’s• message• to• Arizona?• You’re• on• your• own,”• says• a• new• ad• by• the• Democratic• National• Committee• that• jumps• on• Romney’s•foreclosure•remarks. Romney’s• team• publicly• dismisses• their• boss’s• occasional• loose• lips,• dismissing• them• as• inconsequential• to• voters• focused• on• an• unemployment• rate• hovering• around•9•percent.
GAFFES Mitt Romney: The former Massachusetts governor has been, for the most part, a polished campaigner, but when he strays from the script, his words sometimes have come back to haunt him. Recent stumbles include his famous “corporations are people” comment in Iowa, and other comments have appeared insensitive to people having troubles with their mortgages.
“It’s• a• long• campaign• and• at•the•end•of•the•day•people• are•going•to•judge•Gov.•Romney•and•his•ability•to•take•on• President• Obama• over• jobs• and• the• economy.• And• certainly• there• will• be• a• lot• of• back• and• forth• as• the• campaign• progresses,”• said• Russ• Schriefer,• a• Romney• strategist. “This• election• will• be• decided• on• big• issues• because• the• issues• are• so• big• and• so• important,”• Schriefer• said.• “And•not•on•a•gaffe•or•a•mistake• or• a• moment,• any• particularly•moment.” It•usually•takes•more•than• one• gaffe• or• one• mistake• to• undo•a•campaign.•And•other• candidates• have• made• their• own• potentially• problematic• comments. Take,• for• instance,• Herman•Cain’s•assertion•that•the• Wall• Street• protesters• are• in• the• streets• to• distract• from• Obama’s•record:•“If•you•don’t• have• a• job• and• you’re• not• rich,•blame•yourself.”• Or• Perry’s• suggestion• Div: CReserve• Chairthat• Federal• man• Ben• Bernanke• is• “alDate: 10/29/11
09-00150
Guest lineups for the Sunday TV news shows:
CNN’s “State of the Union”:
2012 GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul; David Axelrod, adviser to President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign. “Fox News Sunday”: 2012 GOP presidential candidate Rick Perry.
BY JACK GILLUM Associated Press
Obama’s• approval• ratings• have• slumped• to• 41• percent• in• a• recent• Gallup• poll,• and• steadfast• supporters• have• found• themselves• less• able• or• less• willing• to• open• their• wallets•again. “He• was• our• state• senator,•and•when•I•looked•at•the• Republican• side,• I• thought,• ‘We• need• some• fresh• blood• in•the•campaign,’ ”•said•Janet• Tavakoli,•58,•a•financial•analyst• from• Chicago• who• gave• $1,000• to• the• president• in• 2008.•“But•I•was•dead•wrong• about• it,”• she• said,• and• isn’t• supporting• any• candidate• this•time. Obama• faced• then-Sen.• Hillary• Rodham• Clinton• for• the• Democratic• nomination• in•2008.•This•time,•he•is•running• unchallenged• and• has• no• primaries• or• caucuses• looming,• as• the• Republican• candidates• do,• so• potential• Obama• donors• may• not• be• feeling•any•sense•of•urgency.• But• typically,• early• donors• tend•to•give•again,•as•money• is• a• sign• of• enthusiasm• —• something• Obama• had• in• spades•four•years•ago. For• its• analysis,• the• AP• compared• the• names• and• addresses• of• Obama• contributors• who• gave• between• $200• and• $2,500• from• April• to• September• 2007• with• those• who• gave• amounts• in• the• same• range• during• the• same• period• this• year.• The• AP• adjusted• its• analysis• to• compensate• for• contributors• who• might• have• moved• and•listed•a•new•address,•or• whose•name•or•address•was• listed•slightly•differently•last• time. The•Obama•campaign•said•
most•of•its•contributors•gave• small• donations• this• year;• it• is• not• required• under• federal•law•to•provide•names•of• donors• who• gave• less• than• $200.• About• 40• percent• of• total• fundraising• came• from• amounts• greater• than• $200• this• year,• not• adjusting• for• inflation,• compared• with• more•than•75•percent•during• the•same•period•in•2007. Obama’s•missing•contributors• live• across• the• country,• mostly• concentrated• in• the• Northeast• and• the• West• Coast.• Obama• also• missed• support• from• early• donors• in• parts• of• Texas,• Illinois• and• Michigan• —• areas• he• narrowly• won• in• 2008.• But• he•also•picked•up•some•new• sources•of•cash•in•those•places. “I• have• little• discretionary• money,• and• I• just• have• to• take• care• of• myself,”• said• Roger• Hodges,• 45,• an• urban• designer•in•Richmond,•Calif.• Hodges• gave• Obama• $250• four• years• ago• but• doesn’t• plan•on•donating•in•this•election.• Hodges• said• friends• in• the•liberal-leaning•San•Francisco•Bay•Area•have•become• disappointed•in•Obama. Romney,• a• leading• GOP• contender,• has• closed• in• financially• in• areas• of• the• country• that• gave• a• solid• stream• of• checks• to• Obama• in• the• 2008• campaign,• including•Southern•California,• Florida• and• New• England.• Records• show• a• handful• of• Obama• contributors• from• 2008• donated• to• Romney• this• time;• few,• if• any,• appeared•to•give•to•Texas•Gov.• Rick• Perry,• another• frontrunner.
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OETA’s “Oklahoma Forum”
(KOED channel 11, 12:30 p.m.): The topic is new findings about methods and results achieved in Oklahoma’s criminal justice system. Guests include Justin Jones, director of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections; Darrell Weaver, director of the Oklahoma Department of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs; Richard Dugger, chairman of the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board; and Greg Mashburn, district attorney for District 21. ABC’s “This Week”: 2012 GOP presidential candidate Michele Bachmann; Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. NBC’s “Meet the Press”: White House adviser David Plouffe. CBS’ “Face the Nation”: 2012 GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain.
••Some•former• contributors•have• given•to•Romney• instead.
WASHINGTON• —• President• Barack• Obama• has• lost• millions• of• dollars• in• support• from• former• donors• in• Democratic•strongholds•and• in•districts•that•he•won•narrowly•four•years•ago,•according• to• an• Associated• Press• most• treasonous.• If• this• guy• analysis• of• the• most• recent• prints• more• money• between• federal• campaign• finance• now•and•the•election,•I•don’t• data. what•y’all•would•do•to•him•in• Tens•of•thousands•of•supIowa,•but•we•would•treat•him• porters• who• gave• him• hunpretty•ugly•down•in•Texas.”• Or• former• House• Speaker• dreds• of• dollars• or• more• in• Newt• Gingrich• explaining• the• early• stages• of• the• 2008• his• infidelity:• “There’s• no• campaign• haven’t• offered• question• at• times• of• my• life,• him• similar• amounts• of• partially• driven• by• how• pascash•so•far•in•this•campaign.• sionately• I• felt• about• this• And• in• some• cases,• former• country,•that•I•worked•far•too• Obama• contributors• gave• hard•and•things•happened•in• to• GOP• candidates,• such• as• my•life•that•were•not•approformer• Massachusetts• Gov.• priate.” Mitt•Romney. But•a•string•of•unforced•erObama’s• re-election• effort• rors,•when•combined,•can•reis• hardly• hurting• for• cash:• inforce• unfavorable• percepHis•campaign•and•the•Demtions•of•the•candidate,•just•as• ocratic• Party• raised• more• John•Kerry•damaged•himself• than•$70•million•for•Obama’s• when• he• racked• up• a• series• re-election• in• the• July-Sepof• equivocating• comments• tember• period,• outstripping• on• a• series• of• issues• while• all•Republicans•combined•by• the• Democratic• nominee• in• tens•of•millions•of•dollars. 2004. But• the• AP’s• analysis• inPresident• George• W.• dicates• that• Obama,• beBush’s• re-election• campaign• leaguered• by• a• struggling• used•Kerry’s•waffling•—•coneconomy,•has•lost•early•supflicts• between• his• votes• and• port•from•some•of•his•larger• Size: 65 BW his•quotes•—•to•cast•him•as•an• financial• supporters• and• opportunist•who•would•shift• will• have• to• work• harder• DIV: 4 Mkts: DEM,SPR,SPT. his•positions•to•win•votes. to• win• back• party• stalwarts• and• swing• voters• alike.• DIV: 7 Mkts: CCC,FWS,LUB,OKC,TUS.
NEWS SHOWS FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
Obama loses donors from ’08
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