Here is the interview where the admission occurred (from Real Clear Politics):
(Skip ahead to the 11:55 point to get to where the context begins)
First, let me say, in advance, you’re welcome. I cannot STAND Sean Hannity and listening to his grating voice for 13 minutes gave me a headache.
Anyway, this is what was reported in AP, Reuters, etc:
Initially, Romney defended his view, telling reporters at a news conference shortly after the video was posted that his remarks were “not elegantly stated” and that they were spoken “off the cuff.” He didn’t disavow them, however, and later adopted as a response when the remarks were raised that his campaign supports “the 100 percent in America.”
In an interview Thursday night with Fox News, Romney was asked what he would have said had the “47 percent” comments come up during his debate in Denver on Wednesday night with President Barack Obama.
"Well, clearly in a campaign, with hundreds if not thousands of speeches and question-and-answer sessions, now and then you’re going to say something that doesn’t come out right," Romney said. "In this case, I said something that’s just completely wrong."
**
**
He added: "And I absolutely believe, however, that my life has shown that I care about 100 percent and that’s been demonstrated throughout my life. And this whole campaign is about the 100 percent."
Critics of Romney’s “47 percent” remarks noted that many of those who don’t pay federal incomes taxes pay other forms of taxes. More than 16 million elderly Americans avoid federal income taxes solely because of tax breaks that apply only to seniors, the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center reports. Millions of others don’t pay federal income taxes because they don’t earn enough after deductions and exemptions.
The rest of Romney’s answer to the question (not reported in any of these accounts) was:
When I become President, it will be about helping the 100%. As I pointed out last night in the debate, the rich in this country are actually doing better under President Obama. The gap between the rich and the poor has gotten larger. The rich will probably do fine if he’s re-elected. It’s the middle class that’s in real trouble if President Obama is re-elected and the poor.
I want the poor to get into the middle class. So many have fallen into poverty by virtue of his policies. So this for me is all about the 100%. And the President can talk about the things he he’d like to talk about. I’m going to talk about how I’m going to get America working again and help all the people of this country.
In other words, the way the press is reporting on this interview makes it sound like Romney issued a major mea culpa. Listening to the interview, itself, I didn’t get that.
