Romney just the latest politician to join ‘wait-let-me-explain’ club

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

Mitt Romney’s remark that he’s not worried about the very poor, the latest gaffe in a campaign rich with blunders, joins a long list of “wait-let-me-explain” episodes in presidential election history.

It’s been a banner year for campaign misfires: Rick Perry had an “oops” moment when he forgot one of the three government departments he wanted to eliminate. Herman Cain only made things worse after he fumbled a question about Libya by explaining he had “all this stuff twirling around in my head.” Michele Bachmann launched her campaign with a cringe-worthy misfire, declaring that both she and actor John Wayne had lived in Waterloo, Iowa, when it was actually serial killer John Wayne Gacy Jr. who’d lived there.

Vice President Joe Biden chimed in with a fresh flub Monday when he misspoke during an appearance in Tallahassee, Fla., and declared that he and President Barack Obama “refuse to accept the notion that the United States’ best days are ahead of us.”

There’s stiff competition in the pantheon of campaign misfires: Think of Howard Dean’s primal scream in Iowa during the 2004 primary. Vice President Al Gore’s overwrought sighs when debating George W. Bush in 2000. Vice President Dan Quayle’s botched spelling of potato in 1992. And, way back at the dawn of televised presidential debates, Richard Nixon’s profuse sweating on stage with cool-as-a-cucumber rival John Kennedy in 1960.

Some others with proven staying power:

THE OTHER ROMNEY

Mitt Romney knows only too well how devastating a single gaffe can be. Forty-five years ago, his father, George Romney, ended his presidential campaign after negative fallout from his answer to a question about why he he’d once supported the Vietnam War. In a 1967 TV interview, Romney referred back to his 1965 visit to the country and stated, “When I came back from Vietnam, I’d just had the greatest brainwashing that anybody can get.” He said he’d since done a lot more study of the matter and no longer believed the war was necessary.

Romney’s poll numbers sank amid a swirl of ridicule and questions about whether he was naive.

DEBATE DOMINATION

President Gerald Ford didn’t dominate when he falsely declared in a 1976 debate that “there is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe,” including Poland. Time magazine called it “the blooper heard round the world.” Ford only made things worse by refusing for days to retract the statement and offering clarifications that didn’t really clarify things.

Ford eventually apologized and said he recognized that the Soviets did dominate Poland.

CARTER CONSULTS

In the 1980 campaign, it was Carter who fumbled a Cold War question during a presidential debate by citing his 13-year-old daughter, Amy, on the subject of nuclear war. “I had a discussion with my daughter, Amy, the other day, before I came here, to ask her what the most important issue was,” Carter said. “She said she thought nuclear weaponry — and the control of nuclear arms. This is a formidable force.” The debate audience snickered. Carter allowed in his memoir that “it was obvious that I had not expressed myself well.”

DUKAKIS’ TWO-FER

Michael Dukakis’ run against President George H.W. Bush in 1988 yielded two lulus. His emotionally detached answer to a debate question about whether he would favor the death penalty if his wife, Kitty, were raped and murdered was a classic case of being too cool under pressure. “I think you know that I’ve opposed the death penalty during all of my life,” he calmly replied. “I don’t see any evidence that it’s a deterrent, and I think there are better and more effective ways to deal with violent crime.”

And then there was that unfortunate photo of a helmeted Dukakis taking a spin in a tank — the ultimate in what not to wear for candidates.