GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s controversial comments about the 47 percent of Americans “dependent on government” lays a heavier burden on him to ace the upcoming debates, former President Bill Clinton said.
Clinton, in an appearance on CNN, was commenting on Romney’s secretly recorded comments at a Florida fundraiser where he said his "job is not to worry about" that 47 percent of Americans.
"I think it puts a heavier burden on him in the debates to talk about what he meant," Clinton said in the interview according to
The Hill.
Romney has backpedaled a bit since the recording surfaced earlier this week saying his comments were “not elegantly stated” but generally defending them. However, he has been hammered for them by commentators on the left and right.
"The 47 percent, those that are adults, they do pay taxes. They pay Social Security taxes. They pay Medicare taxes. They pay state and local taxes," Clinton said, according to The Hill.
"But all of those people who don't pay ordinary income tax would love to be back paying ordinary income tax. They'd love to have a full-time job instead of a part-time job, or any job at all, or be able to get a pay raise."
Despite the uproar, Clinton said he believed the race for president will continue to “be a close race.”
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