Bill Clinton was famous for debating the meaning of the word "is".
Now Mitt Romney should be famous for debating the meaning of the word "sentence".
Unfortunately, so far no one is calling Mitt on this. These are THREE sentences NOT ONE.
From the official CNN transcript:
I'm not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there. If it needs repair, I'll fix it.
Sensing a problem, in the very same interview, Mitt claimed this was all one sentence:
Well, you had to finish the sentence, Soledad. I said I'm not concerned about the very poor that have the safety net, but if it has holes in it, I will repair them.
It was three separate sentences Mitt, not one. From a candidate with such unusually good grammer, this is surprising. Nonetheless, the press keeps repeating this fantasy. I just heard Al Sharpton and a few others using the phrase "the rest of the sentence" when they describe what were actually two subsequent sentences. This is ridiculous.
UPDATED - Why not include the previous sentence, instead?
And, by the way, I'm in this race because I care about Americans. I'm not concerned about the very poor.
Oh, I guess that's why. More pathetic examples below.
UPDATED - From CNN:
"No, no, no, no," Romney said. "You've got to take the whole sentence, all right, as opposed to saying, and then change it just a little bit, because then it sounds very different. I've said throughout the campaign my focus, my concern, my energy is gonna be devoted to helping middle income people, all right? We have a safety net for the poor in, and if there are holes in it, I will work to repair that. And if there are people that are falling through the cracks I want to fix that."
From the New York Times:
OK, got it. Everyone should focus on the whole sentence.
Greg Sargent pointed out on the Plum Line blog that it’s ludicrous for Mr. Romney to whine about people taking him out of context, when much of his campaign against President Obama, and Newt Gingrich, has been based on taking remarks out of context and twisting them, or just making stuff up. (Mr. Obama has never “apologized for America,” as Mr. Romney likes to claim.)
But let’s take him at his word and look at the whole sentence. Actually the whole several sentences, which David Firestone quoted in full, and in context, earlier today. What he said was quite clear, which was that the poor have a safety net, and that the “Democrat party” will talk about their plight. He failed to mention his opposition to just about every Democratic proposal to alleviate poverty, his support for budget cuts that shred the safety net, and his own plans for making it even less robust.
From the Washington Post:
You’ve got to take the whole sentence? Interesting. That rule did not apply when Romney personally approved an ad attacking Obama that lifted his words out of context in a hilariously dishonest way, implying that Obama said something about himself he’d actually attributed to a McCain adviser. The Romney campaign subsequently boasted about all the media attention the ad’s dishonesty earned.
Nor did Romney’s call for context apply when he blasted Obama for not believing in American exceptionalism by cherry-picking a line from an Obama speech in which the President actually did proclaim his belief that America is exceptional. Romney has a whole history of decontextualizing remarks.
For reference, here is the full excerpt from CNN:
ROMNEY: You know, just let people get to know you better. The nice thing about what happened here in Florida is I got a chance to go across the state, meet with people. They heard what I am concerned about. They understand how I will be able to make things better.
I think people want someone who not just throws an incendiary bomb from time to time but someone who actually knows how it takes to improve their life, get home values rising again, to get jobs again in this country, and to make sure when soldiers come home they have a job waiting for them. And make sure people who are retired don't have to worry about what's going to happen at the end of the week.
This is a time people are worried. They're frightened. They want someone who they have confidence in. And I believe I will be able to instill that confidence in the American people. And, by the way, I'm in this race because I care about Americans. I'm not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there. If it needs repair, I'll fix it.
I'm not concerned about the very rich, they're doing just fine. I'm concerned about the very heart of the America, the 90, 95 percent of Americans who right now are struggling and I'll continue to take that message across the nation.