At last week’s debate for Republican presidential candidates, Mitt Romney was asked, “What is the biggest misconception about you in the public debate right now?” In theory, this is an easy, softball question, giving Romney a chance to knock down some nagging criticism, and tout his positive qulalities.
But he didn’t see it that way. Instead, Romney ignored the question entirely, giving a short summary of his campaign’s rationale. Reminded about what the question was actually about, Romney snapped, “You get to ask the questions you want, I get to give the answers I want. Fair enough?”
It was hard not to think of this exchange when Romney was asked today about his support for the anti-contraception Blunt Amendment. msnbc’s Andrea Mitchell ran this clip earlier today:
For those who can’t watch clips online, Romney told reporters, “I’m in favor of the Blunt Amendment.” Asked if he could elaborate, Romney replied, “Can I elaborate? Yeah, absolutely.”
He was being sarcastic, and Romney had nothing else to say on this.
After yesterday’s fiasco, it’s easy to understand why Romney would be a little prickly on the subject, but answers like these don’t exactly help his case. Romney’s the one who endorsed a right-wing policy that would allow all private-sector employers to deny any health services that businesses might find morally objectionable, empowering employers to cut off everything from contraception to STD screenings, prenatal care to mental health coverage, drug treatment to immunizations. If Romney didn’t want to talk about it, he shouldn’t have announced his support for it.
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