Mitt Romney TV ad: Serving a dishonest Obama quote?
Mitt Romney's campaign denies the out-of-context quote by Obama is dishonest. Mitt Romney officials stand by the TV ad.
This Mitt Romney presidential campaign ad entitled: "Believe in America" that is running in New Hampshire.
(AP Photo/Romney Presidential Campaign)
Washington
Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney's campaign said on Wednesday it will not pull a television ad criticized for being dishonest in its use of an out-of-context quote by President Barack Obama.
Gail Gitcho, communications director for the Republican Romney, said the campaign stands by the ad, which shows Obama speaking during the 2008 presidential race.
In the clip, Obama said, "If we keep talking about the economy, we are going to lose." The ad appears to be an admission that his stewardship of the economy is failing.
But Obama was actually quoting an adviser to then-Republican rival Sen. John McCain at the time.
The weak economic recovery from the 2008-2009 financial crisis and the stubborn 9 percent unemployment rate are so far the key issues heading into the 2012 race for the White House.
"We were upfront about the content of the ad - we sent out e-mails, cited the quote in our press release, talked to reporters about it, etc," Gitcho said in an e-mail. "We were very upfront. We included that portion intentionally."
