The White House on Tuesday criticized statements made by GOP nominee Mitt Romney in a secret video released by Mother Jones.
“When you’re president of the United States, you are president of all the people, not just the people who voted for you. You’ve heard the president say, so many times, because he deeply believes it, that we’re all in this together—all of us,” White House press secretary Jay Carney said.
Without criticizing the Republican nominee by name, Carney made it clear that President Obama does not share the sentiments Romney expressed: namely, that 47 percent of the population are dependent on the government and back Obama as a result.
When Obama makes decisions, such as saving the auto industry or pushing for health care reform, he doesn’t ask whether Democrats or Republicans will benefit, Carney said.
“The president certainly doesn’t think that men and women on Social Security are irresponsible or victims, that students aren’t responsible or are victims—he certainly doesn’t think that middle-class families are paying too little in taxes,” Carney said.
Carney dodged a question on whether Romney’s behind-the-scenes remarks to donors were any different from Obama’s controversial 2008 statement that small-town voters “cling to their guns or religion,” which he made behind-the-scenes to Democratic donors last cycle. “I think that happened four years ago and was discussed in abundance at the time,” he said.
Carney also said that Obama believes that a two-state solution in the Middle East is possible. In the video, Romney says that peace between Israel and the Palestinians is “almost unthinkable.”
Asked if Obama had watched the video, Carney said, “I haven’t asked him.”
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