How the Romney Campaign Scrambled to Respond to Secret Video

COSTA MESA, Calif. — Around 4 p.m. Monday here, an aide to Mitt Romney showed him a grainy video that had been circulating online all afternoon.

It was not pleasant viewing.

On a day freighted with symbolism and expectancy, the 50th until the election, Mr. Romney quietly watched himself deliver words at a fund-raiser — about the “47 percent,” “victims” and “dependents” — that would cast a new cloud over his campaign.

Mr. Romney and his advisers quickly grasped the severity of the footage, shot surreptitiously in Florida a few months ago and suddenly dominating the cable news airwaves and political blogs.

A decision was made: Mr. Romney must go in front of cameras that night to explain himself, lest questions about the video linger and overshadow two full days of his campaign at a crucial stage in the general election.

But there was little time. It was already 7 p.m. on the East Coast, after the evening newscasts, and Mr. Romney was scheduled to attend a major fund-raiser in Costa Mesa in a few hours........


SNIP


http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/18/how-the-romney-campaign-scrambled-to-respond-to-secret-video/