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Ann Romney says that she blames the media for her husband's loss in the 2012 presidential election because the "universally felt opinion" is that reporters wanted President Barack Obama to be re-elected.

"I'm happy to blame the media," Ann Romney told Fox News host Chris Wallace in an interview that aired on Sunday.

"Do you think the media was in the tank for Barack Obama?" the Fox News host wondered.

"Anytime you're running for office, you always think you're being portrayed unfairly," Ann Romney explained. "And of course on our side, we believe that there's more bias in favor of the other side. I think that's a pretty universally felt opinion."

She added that the the president had not portrayed her husband fairly during the campaign.

"He is an exceptional, wonderful person," the former candidate's wife insisted. "He really is a selfless person that really, truly cared about the American people... And for him to be portrayed in a very negative light -- in another way -- was very hard."

"He has enormous skill sets in dealing with difficult issues, and I totally believe at this moment if he were there in the office that we would not be facing sequestration right now."

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An election worker in Oregon is facing a criminal investigation for allegedly altering multiple ballots to benefit Republican candidates.

In a press release on Monday, Clackamas County spokesperson Tim Heider said that 55-year-old Deanna Swenson had been "relieved of duty immediately after the alleged ballot tampering was discovered."

Swenson, who was registered as a Republican, was accused of filling in a Republican straight ticket on ballots where voters did not specify a choice.

Contacted by Willamette Week, Swenson tearfully insisted that it was "only the two" ballots that had been altered.

The Oregon Department of Justice began an investigation last week after an elections official reportedly observed ballots being altered.

"At this point, it is unclear how many ballots the employee at issue had access to, or what will be done with those ballots," the sheriff's office said on Monday.

At a Monday emergency meeting, officials in Clackamas County announced that the altered ballots would not be counted. Since ballots were anonymous, disenfranchised voters would not be given a chance to re-cast their votes.

Swenson has worked in elections since at least 2000, according to the Clackamas County spokesperson.

Blue Oregon's Kari Chisholm reported that the Oregon City woman's Facebook page indicated she "liked" various conservative personalities, candidates and organizations including the Republican National Committee, The Tea Party, Paul Ryan VP, the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), Ann Romney and Fox News.

If convicted of a Class C felony for ballot tampering, Swenson could face five years in prison and a fine of up to $125,000.

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After Mitt Romney's son, Tagg, said recently said that he wanted to punch President Barack Obama for insulting his dad, MSNBC host Lawrence O'Donnell on Thursday invited the younger Romney to "take a swing at me."

Following Tuesday's second 2012 presidential debate, Tagg Romney explained how he wished he could to react when he felt like the president was calling his dad "a liar."

"Well — jump out of your seat and you want to rush down to the debate stage and take a swing at him," he told radio host Bill Lumaye. “But you know you can’t do that because, well, first there is a lot of Secret Service between you and him but also because this is the nature of the process, they’re going to do everything they can do to make my dad into someone he is not.”

On Thursday, Ann Romney pointed out that her husband and five sons had not served their country by joining the military because they found "different ways of serving" by going on religious missions in France, England, Australia and Chile as part of their obligation to the Mormon church.

"Serving in war is not against the Romney family religion, but it is against the Romney family tradition of safely and always pursuing self interest," O'Donnell charged during his Thursday show, noting that the Romney men had refused "to serve in the military while championing every war that comes along and urging us to another one in Iran right now."

"The flawlessly consistent, intergenerational combat cowardice of Romney men makes today's threat of physical violence from a Romney man all the more surprising," the MSNBC host added, referring to Tagg Romney's desire to deck the president.

O'Donnell then looked into the camera and spoke directly to "Taggart":

When I hear you talking about taking a swing and taking punches, why do I get the feeling that you've never actually taken a punch? Or thrown a punch? I didn't have that luxury in the part of Boston that I grew up in. But in your rich, suburban Boston life, with your father filling a $100 million trust fund for you, I don't know, I just get the feeling that things were kind of different for you.

Now, I know you've got a lot -- a lot to be pissed off at these days, starting with the name Taggart, which you got every right to be wicked pissed off at for every day for the 42 years of your life. So, let me try to help you deal with all this aggression you're feeling right now.

You're mad at President Obama for calling your father a liar? Well, let's get something straight, he didn't call your father a liar, I did. The president just said that what your father said isn't true. I've been saying all year that your father is a liar, I've repeatedly said that your father lies and is trying to lie his way into the White House.

You want to take a swing at someone for calling your old man a liar? Take a swing at me. Come on, come on. And don't worry, there won't be any Secret Service involved. Just us. And I'll make it easy for you, I'll come to you. Anytime, anywhere."

"Go ahead, Taggart, take your best shot," O'Donnell concluded.

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The wife of Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney on Thursday said that her husband and sons had not joined the U.S. military but had found "different ways of serving" by going on religious missions as part of their obligation to the Mormon church.

During an interview on ABC's The View, co-host Whoopi Goldberg asked Ann Romney how she would explain to the families of fallen soldiers why her husband and sons had not served their country.

"When I read about your husband, what I had read -- and maybe you can correct this -- is that the reason he didn't serve in Vietnam was because it was against the religion," Goldberg said.

"That's not correct," Ann Romney insisted. "He was serving his mission, and my five sons have also served missions. None served in the military, but I do have one son that feels that he's giving back to his country in a significant way where he is now a doctor and he is taking care of veterans."

"So, you know, we find different ways of serving," she added. "And my husband and my five boys did serve missions, did not serve in the military."

The candidate's wife explained that Mormon missions were like military service in that "you're going outside of yourself, you're working and you're helping others. And it changes you. And are we so grateful in this country for those people -- men and women -- that are volunteering, they're sacrificing their life for us, and we cannot forget that or we have to acknowledge that always."

"So, when you're facing these mothers whose children have not come back, how will you explain to them that your sons haven't gone?" Goldberg pressed. "Will you talk about the missions they've gone on?"

"I would say it's probably the hardest thing that a president and a first lady probably do is to comfort those that have lost a love one and have gone in harm's way," Ann Romney replied, not directly answering the question. "It is an amazing country, we have the most extraordinary fighting men and women, and we have to be so grateful for them. Of course, it's hard, and I don't think that any of us can understand the sacrifice that are being made by families."

Mitt Romney announced earlier this week that he had canceled his Thursday appearance on The View due to "scheduling problems."

In a secretly-recorded video released by Mother Jones last month, the former Massachusetts governor told wealthy donors that going on The View was a “high-risk” proposition because the “sharp-tongued” co-hosts were not conservative enough.

“Apparently the idea of sitting next to Whoopi Goldberg was just a little too intimidating,” media critic Howard Kurtz told Daily Download founder Lauren Ashburn. “Doesn’t this make Romney look like he’s avoiding a confrontation with the ladies of The View? He said he would go.”

“It opens him up to the argument that, how is he going to negotiate with Vladimir Putin if he’s afraid of sitting down with Whoopi Goldberg?” Kurtz continued. “When he agreed to go on, he was down in the polls. And now: Bye, bye, Barbara.”

(h/t: Mediaite)

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They just can't stop themselves from completely disrespecting this President, can they? Here's Queen Ann on Fox News in an interview which will air in full Wednesday, calling the President of the United States a child because his campaign has dared to call out her husband for lying his ass off during the debate last week. Way to keep it classy.

So much for Willard saying his wife's views were not "terribly relevant" to his campaign. She's been inserting herself more and more as time has gone on, without terribly wonderful results as we saw again here. She's just as much of a nasty piece of work as her husband, if not worse.

Ann Romney accuses Obama of showing 'poor sportsmanship' :

Mitt Romney's wife, Ann, equated President Obama's campaign to a petulant child during an interview Tuesday after being asked about charges from the president's campaign that her husband had "lied" during last week's debate.

“I mean, lied about what? This is something he’s been saying all along. This is what he believes. This is his policy, these are his statements," Ann Romney said in an interview set to air Wednesday on Fox News. "I mean, lie — it’s sort of like someone that’s, you know, in the sandbox that like lost the game and they’re just going to kick sand in someone’s face and say, ‘you liar.’ I mean, it’s like they lost, and so now they just are going to say, OK, the game, we didn’t like the game. So to me, it’s poor sportsmanship.”

In an interview Sunday with CBS News, Obama adviser David Axelrod said Romney's debate positions were "uprooted" from what he had said on the campaign trail.

"I think [the president] was a little taken aback at the brazenness with which Gov. Romney walked away from so many of the positions on which he's run, walked away from his record,” Axelrod said.

Ann Romney said she "knew right away" that her husband was winning the first presidential debate.

"I knew after the first question," she said. "I turned to my son after 50 minutes, and I gave him a nudge, and I said it’s 100 to zero right now. "

She added that she hoped his performance would attract the support of more female voters, a crucial demographic headed into Election Day and one that the president has thus far dominated.

Yeah, good luck with that. Hey Ann, if you don't want your husband called a liar, why don't you ask him to quit lying day in and day out on the campaign trail as well?

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"Hey, wealthy ladies!" the Republican presidential nominee is now doing it "Mitt Romney Style!"

The comedy website College Humor on Tuesday published a parody of Psy's number-one YouTube video "Gangnam Style" featuring Matt Walton as Mitt Romney, Brandon J Sornberger as Paul Ryan and Jeanne Taylor as Ann Romney.

The Romney character begins: "I got a horse in the Olympics girl but I don't even watch 'em / In and out of tax loopholes cause I'm so fuckin' awesome / Bitch it's Friday night you know we benefit hoppin'."

After a few verses, the chorus adds: "Affluent, Extravagant, that's Mitt (hey!) / Yeah that's so Mitt (hey!) /Profits, investments! That's Mitt! (hey!) / Yeah that's so Mitt! (hey!) You should elect / me cause I got so much mon-ay AY AY AY AY."

And the Ryan character also gets some screen time: "Yo I'm the vee pee nominee and yo budget I be cuttin' / I got the eyes and body so you know I'm gon be struttin' / I'll cut ya social safety net you losers ain't got nothin'/ Gotta stop snoozin' start hustlin'."

The video ends in a similar fashion to the original "Gangnam Style," with an epilogue of Romney and Ryan awkwardly dancing in a garage "Mitt Romney Style!"

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From this Tuesday evening's The Colbert Report, Stephen Colbert had a bit of fun mocking Mitt Romney for one of his latest gaffes, where he apparently is unaware that it's not exactly safe to be opening the windows on airplanes.

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I'm not sure if the Romney campaign actually thought continuing to ask questions about his tax returns was going to distract from the dismal news cycle he's had for the last week or two, and is somehow better than talking about his "47 percent" remarks at that fundraiser, but here we go with a Friday news dump and the release of his 2011 returns.

As David Cay Johnston pointed out on Ed Schultz's show this Friday evening, the poorly worded press release just leaves more questions unanswered than answered and the 14.1 percent rate he paid could easily be amended down later if he fails to win his bid for the presidency.

Here's more from Think Progress on the subject -- 10 Questions Romney Should Answer About His Taxes:

On Friday afternoon, the Romney campaign released the candidate’s 2011 tax return, which showed that he paid a tax rate of approximately 14 percent on more than $13 million of reported income. The campaign also disclosed that Romney voluntarily forfeited about $1.8 million in charitable deductions to inflate the tax rate he would have to disclose to the public. The campaign continues to refuse to release returns prior to 2010, flunking an accepted standard of transparency, first established by Mitt’s father George Romney, of releasing multiple years’ returns.

In a blog post, Romney’s lawyer and the trustee of his “blind trust” said, “After you have reviewed all of the newly-posted documents, you may have further questions.” Yes, we do. Lots.

Here are 10 unanswered questions about Romney’s taxes:

1. After the election, when the subject of your tax returns is outside of the public glare, will you file an amended tax return to claim your full deduction of charitable contributions? Was the tax rate you reported for other years similarly manipulated?

2. Why was your 2011 income $7 million lower than you estimated it to be in January? How does someone overestimate their income by $7 million?

3. Financial disclosures show that you have as much as $82 million in your tax-deferred Individual Retirement Account, despite the fact that tax rules limited contributions into such accounts to $30,000 per year. Did you lowball the value of the assets you put into your IRA, as tax experts suspect? And did you do the same with gifts into your sons’ trusts?

4. What was the purpose of your Swiss bank account and the myriad offshore entities shown on your return, based in countries like the Cayman Islands and Luxembourg, if not to avoid taxes?

5. Can you explain what one tax expert has called a “mysterious one-time infusion of foreign tax credits” in 2008?

Follow the link above to read the rest. Rough transcript of Johnston's interview with Schultz, who had some similar questions, below the fold.

Continue reading »

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Lawrence O'Donnell played what I thought was a telling clip from a radio interview with Ann Romney yesterday. The complete sense of entitlement is galling in the extreme. We're "lucky" to have Mitt Romney running for President?? Shut the front door.

“Stop it. This is hard. You want to try it? Get in the ring. This is hard. And, you know, it’s an important thing that we’re doing right now and it’s an important election and it is time for all Americans to realize how significant this election is and how lucky we are to have someone with Mitt’s qualifications and experience and knowhow to be able to have the opportunity to run this country.”

MSNBC's Krystall Ball called the Romney campaign a "complete disaster", while The Nation's Ari Melber called Romney "a defective product" that no amount of marketing can help.

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If this is the Romney campaign's idea of damage control, they're in trouble -- Romney campaign releases video titled: "Mitt Doesn't Disdain the Poor" (seriously):

This is for real. (Click then scroll down, the video is still there - the first version was pulled by the Romney campaign, Buzzfeed has a second version they got from the TV station and it's still live.)

Wow, it sounds like an Onion piece. Titling it "Mitt doesn't disdain the poor." What's next? "Mitt doesn't rip the heads off bunnies?"

If you have to say it, you've already lost.

And using Mrs. Romney again! She's like the red-shirted characters on Star Trek. When they show up in a scene you know something bad is about to happen, though in her case it means it's already happened. To bring her out every single time the campaign makes a disastrous mistake. At this point she's not fixing the problem anymore, she's telegraphing it.

Buzzfeed reports that the Romney campaign has pulled the video (someone figured out that "I'm really not a monster" (or a witch) videos don't tend to go over terribly well with the voters).

Mitt doesn't really hate poor people. Just ask queen Ann if you don't believe him.