There was a lot of talk yesterday about a quote from Mitt Romney questioning why they can’t open windows on airplanes. Reporters who were there are now saying he was joking:
The Los Angeles Times story that relayed Romney’s airplane remark to the world was based off a pool report written by the New York Times‘s Ashley Parker. When we asked Parker this morning whether it seemed as if Romney made the mark in jest, she left no doubt. “Romney was joking,” she e-mailed. Parker told us that while the pool report didn’t explicitly indicate that Romney was joking, it was self-evident that he was. “The pool report provided the full transcript of his comments on Ann’s plane scare,” she said, “and it was clear from the context that he was not being serious.”
The Blaze hears the same thing from William Everitt, who attended the Saturday night Beverly Hills fund-raiser where the remark happened:
“Basically he was retelling the story and when he said ‘I don’t know why they don’t have roll down windows on airplanes,’ he looked at the audience and everyone laughed,” Everitt told TheBlaze. “It was a clearly delivered joke … There were 1,000 people there that will tell you the same thing.”
Apparently after George Bush both the media and bloggers are conditioned to believe that a president, or presidential candidate, is capable of saying the most idiotic things. After comments such as the trees being the right height in Michigan it is easy to believe reports of Romney saying virtually anything.
It is good to hear that someone who might become president doesn’t really think that it is safe to open windows on an airplane, but there are many more statements from Mitt Romney which worry me. As I said in my post on this report yesterday, I’m was more concerned about the ignorant comment Romney made on Sunday about going to ER as a solution for the uninsured.
I am perfectly willing to take back a report of Romney saying something stupid if it turns out it was just a joke. What is the point of attacking someone for a belief they do not really hold? Actually doing just that makes up the bulk of Mitt Romney’s campaign speeches. If only Mitt Romney would take back all the beliefs he falsely attributes to Barack Obama based upon misquotations and taking statements out of context.