While Mitt Romney fends off the press, after he was secretly recorded denigrating 47% of Americans, let us not forget that his rival, Barack Obama, and other illustrious politicians, have also forgotten that we live in a world of inescapable transparency. For a bit of balanced perspective (and delightful diversion), we’ve collect some of the best political gaffes caught on tape and released into the YouTube jungle.
*Update: In the time it took me to write this post, another video was released of Romney admitting that he doesn’t really think Palestinians are interested in peace. Video at the bottom.
Mitt Romney Denigrates Half Of America in front of His Rich Donors
At a “private” fundraiser dinner in May, Republican contender Mitt Romney was caught with some candid opinions about the less fortunate who support President Obama:
“There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what…There are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent on government, who believe that, that they are victims, who believe that government has the responsibility to care for them. Who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing.”
Romney has since admitted his words were “not elegantly stated.” Watch the video, which already has about 1.4 million views in 24 hours, below:
Obama Reassures The Russians He’ll Have “Flexbility” After His Re-election
Romney is not the only person who made the mistake of thinking we have secrecy anymore. Obama was famously caught with a “hot” mic, explaining to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev at a press conference that he’ll have more “flexibility” to work with the Russians on missile defense after his election.
“On all these issues, but particularly missile defense, this can be solved, but it’s important for him [Prime Minister Vladimir Putin] to give me space,” whispered Obama. “This is my last election. After my election I have more flexibility.”
Do Not “Meeow” At A Lady
Australian parliamentarian David Bushby was caught in an ungentlemanly moment, “meeowing” at an opinionated female colleague during a heated debate. At first, he attempted to defend the sneer, saying that she was acting like an angry cat–neither male nor female–but was later forced to apologize:
Lawmakers Vote Often
Members of the Texas legislature were caught voting for their absent colleagues
Don’t Call Indian Americans “Macaca”
Former Senator George Allen political death knell came when he referred to an opposition interloper at a campaign rally as “Macaca.” Soon after, he lost his election by 10,000 votes. Please note the irony: this was Allen’s “listening” tour:
Obama And Sarkozy Gripe About Netanyahu
At the G-20 summit in 2011, President Obama and then-French President Nicolas Sarkozy were caught belly-aching about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“I don’t want to see him anymore, he’s a liar,” said Sarkozy, reportedly overheard by reporters. To which Obama responded, “You’ve had enough of him, but I have to deal with him every day!”
Allen West Thinks Democrats Are Communists
During a town hall, Florida Congressman Allen West made a rough estimate there are a couple dozen active communists in the Democratic party
Question: “What percentage of the American legislature do you think are card-carrying Marxists or International Socialist?”
Answer: “It’s a good question. I believe there’s about 78 to 81 members of the Democrat Party who are members of the Communist Party. … It’s called the Congressional Progressive Caucus.”
Romney On Palestinians
At the same fundraiser, another video was just released, which apparently shows Romney saying that Palestinians aren’t interested in peace. The video is below and you can read the full transcript on Mother Jones
I’m torn by two perspectives in this regard. One is the one which I’ve had for some time, which is that the Palestinians have no interest whatsoever in establishing peace, and that the pathway to peace is almost unthinkable to accomplish…