"I'm not familiar precisely with what I said, but I'll stand by what I said, whatever it was." - Mitt Romney, May 17, 2012
One week from today the 2012 presidential election will (hopefully) be history, so it is fitting that we pause briefly to remember some of the best – by which I mean stupidest, most tactless, and most offensive - quotes from that veritable font of stupid, tactless offense, Mitt Romney. Voters, take heed: These verbal road apples from the campaign trail offer a glimpse of what awaits in – God forbid - a Romney presidency.
On America:
"I believe in an America where millions of Americans believe in an America that's the America millions of Americans believe in. That's the America I love." - January 21, 2012
"There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. ... My job is not to worry about those people.” - May 17, 2012
On the Auto Industry:
"I'll take a lot of credit for the fact that this industry's come back." – May 7, 2012
On Corporations:
"Corporations are people, my friend ... of course they are. Everything corporations earn ultimately goes to the people. Where do you think it goes? Whose pockets? Whose pockets? People's pockets. Human beings, my friend." - August 11, 2011
On Ecology:
"I love this state. Um, the trees are the right height." – February 24, 2012
On the Economy:
"...Borrow money if you have to from your parents, start a business." - April 27, 2012
On Education:
"We have a president, who I think is a nice guy, but he spent too much time at Harvard, perhaps." – April 5, 2012; Obama has a law degree from Harvard, Mitt has two.
On Employment:
"I should tell my story. I'm also unemployed." – June 15, 2011
"I like being able to fire people who provide services to me." - January 9, 2012
"As president, I will create 12 million new jobs." – October 16, 2012
"Government does not create jobs. Government does not create jobs." – 45 minutes later, Oct. 16, 2012
On Foreign Policy:
"We have a potentially volatile situation but we sort of live with it, and we kick the ball down the field and hope that ultimately, somehow, something will happen and resolve it." - May 17, 2012
"Hugo Chavez has tried to steal an inspiring phrase 'Patria o muerte, venceremos.' It does not belong to him. It belongs to a free Cuba." – invoking Cuban dictator Fidel Castro’s motto, "Fatherland or death, we shall overcome," July 11, 2012
“It’s hard to know just how well [the 2012 London Olympics] will turn out. There are a few things that were disconcerting. The stories about the private security firm not having enough people, the supposed strike of the immigration and customs officials, that obviously is not something which is encouraging.” – July 25, 2012
“Kiss my ass.” – to foreign journalists asking questions during Romney’s visit to Poland, July 31, 2012
On Health Care:
“We don't have people that become ill, who die in their apartment because they don't have insurance.” – October 11, 2012
On the Homeless:
"Go home and call 211." - to a Louisiana woman whose home was destroyed by Hurricane Isaac, August 31, 2012
On Illegal Immigrants:
“I don't think I've ever hired an illegal in my life... We had a lawn company to mow our lawn, and they had illegal immigrants, and when that was pointed out to us, we let them go... So we went to the company and we said, "Look, you can't have any illegals working on our property. I'm running for office, for Pete's sake. I can't have illegals." – October 17, 2011
On the Latino Community:
"My dad, as you probably know, was the governor of Michigan and was the head of a car company. But he was born in Mexico... and had he been born of, uh, Mexican parents, I'd have a better shot at winning this. … It would be helpful to be Latino” - May 17, 2012
On the Middle Class:
“Middle income is $200,000 to $250,000 and less." - September 14, 2012
On Poverty:
"I'm not concerned about the very poor." - January 31, 2012
On Religion:
“I think there is a desire to establish a religion in America known as secularism.” – April 3, 2012
On Science:
"When you have a fire in an aircraft, there's no place to go, exactly, there's no -- and you can't find any oxygen from outside the aircraft to get in the aircraft, because the windows don't open. I don't know why they don't do that. It's a real problem." - September 22, 2012
On Taxes:
"I pay all the taxes that are legally required and not a dollar more." – January 24, 2012
“The fascination with the taxes I pay, I find it to be small-minded compared to the broad issues that we face.” – August 15, 2012
On Teachers and First Responders:
"He [Obama] says we need more firemen, more policemen, more teachers. …It's time for us to cut back on government and help the American people." - June 8, 2012
On the Wars in the Middle East:
“Barack Obama is facing a financial emergency on a grander scale. Yet his approach has been to engage in one of the biggest peacetime spending binges in American history.” – April 24, 2011, at a time when the United States had troops fighting in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya
"When you give a speech you don't go through a laundry list, you talk about the things that you think are important." – responding to a question on why he failed to mention the troops in Afghanistan during his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention, September 7, 2012
On Women in the Workplace:
“I went to a number of women's groups and said 'Can you help us find folks?' and they brought us whole binders full of women." - October 16, 2012
“We’re going to have to have employers in the new economy, in the economy I’m going to bring to play, that are going to be so anxious to get good workers, they’re going to be anxious to hire women.” – October 16, 2012
On Living in Mitt's World:
"I'll tell you what, ten thousand bucks? $10,000 bet?" - to Rick Perry during a debate about health care, December 10, 2011
“Ann drives a couple of Cadillacs." – February 24, 2012
"I have some great friends who are NASCAR team owners." - February 26, 2012
"I'm Wolf Blitzer and, yes, that's my real name." - CNN's Wolf Blitzer, Republican presidential debate, November 22, 2011
"I'm Mitt Romney—and, yes, Wolf, that's also my first name." – Willard Mitt Romney