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Breaking . . . Mitt Romney Has Scheduled Interviews With Major Networks Today

Posted: July 13, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: 2012 presidential campaign, Breaking News, U.S. Politics | Tags: , , , , |87 Comments

According to Buzzfeed,

Mitt Romney will sit down for interviews with all of the national networks today, according to a network source.

The source said Romney will sit down with ABC, NBC, and CBS, and will air on the nightly news broadcasts. The interviews will likely not be in person, the source said.

The news was confirmed by a Romney staff member.

Talking Points Memo has more detail:

Mitt Romney, beating back a wave of new reports and political attacks concerning his record at Bain Capital, is making a primetime media blitz Friday. He plans to give interviews to all three major networks, plus two cable networks.

Romney will speak from Laconia, New Hampshire with reporters for CBS, ABC, NBC, Fox News and CNN Friday afternoon, with each segment possibly airing as soon as that night’s broadcast, the Romney campaign confirmed to TPM. Romney has typically been cautious in granting interviews, making his first appearance this election cycle on a non-FOX Sunday show just last month.

No interview for MSNBC. Gee, I wonder why Romney doesn’t want to be questioned by Rachel Maddow?

A little more info from the Caucus Blog:

Mitt Romney will submit to five network and cable television interviews this afternoon after several days of being hammered by President Obama’s campaign on his personal wealth and his time at Bain Capital.

The brief interviews — on CNN, CBS, ABC, Fox and NBC — will give Mr. Romney an opportunity to end the week on message. His campaign has been angrily accusing the president of lying about Mr. Romney’s record.

But it also will provide the networks an opportunity to press Mr. Romney on the accusations from Mr. Obama’s campaign, including questions about the timing of Mr. Romney’s departure from the private equity firm he founded.

This is interesting:

The interviews may in part be designed to bolster the reach of Mr. Romney’s advertising campaign, which has been hampered by a quirk in financing which has temporarily left Mr. Romney without the resources to mount an overwhelming response to the Democratic attacks, according to sources close to the campaign.

Most of the money that Mr. Romney has raised in the last several months can only be used in the general election, which begins after the party’s national convention later this summer, the sources said. The long and contentious Republican primary drained Mr. Romney of much of the money he could spend before then.

See, I told you Obama actually has more money than Romney so far. This makes it sound like Romney is going to try to dance around a little longer and try to pass off some bullsh*t to some weak interviewers. Too bad he doesn’t have to guts to talk to Rachel Maddow or Lawrence O’Brien.

I will continue to update in the comments as I get more information.

87 Comments on “Breaking . . . Mitt Romney Has Scheduled Interviews With Major Networks Today”

  1. bostonboomer's avatar bostonboomer says:
    July 13, 2012 at 2:20 pm

    The Romney campaign has hired “two seasoned political hands” in the midst of all the criticism.

    Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign is adding two seasoned political hands to bolster the communications operation, moves that come in the wake of high profile criticism of the former Massachusetts governor’s operation from the likes of Rupert Murdoch and the Wall Street Journal editorial page.

    Danny Diaz and Kevin Sheridan have both signed on to the campaign as senior advisors in an effort to strengthen an expanding Romney effort in the final four months (or so) before the November election.

    Diaz, a former Republican National Committee communications director and deputy communications director for John McCain’s 2008 presidential bid, will help guide the campaign’s rapid response effort while Sheridan, a senior vice president at Edelman and a former RNC spokesman, will work hand in hand with communications director Gail Gitcho on long term communications planning for events like the national convention and the general elections debates.

  2. bostonboomer's avatar bostonboomer says:
    July 13, 2012 at 2:22 pm

    NPR: Romney’s Bermuda Account Raises Questions.

    “If it’s registered here, it’s registered here for a reason … maybe to the benefit of the shareholders of that company,” policeman Andy Morgan says of Romney’s investment.

    For a $20 fee, you can check out the documents that established Romney’s own corporation at Bermuda’s Registrar of Companies. The folder is slim — just 10 pages.

    Romney’s name does not appear anywhere. The entity he created in October 1997 is described as a holding company initially authorized to have 12,000 shares worth $1 each. Within three years, seven other Sankaty investment funds were also established in Bermuda.

    U.S. records show at least $25 million worth of stock — most of it for Domino’s Pizza — was sold from Romney’s holding company while he was governor of Massachusetts.

  3. bostonboomer's avatar bostonboomer says:
    July 13, 2012 at 2:27 pm

    Charlie Pierce says the media is asking the wrong question about Mitt’s Bain tenure. Bain was doing bad stuff all along, not just after Mitt supposedly left. It is all on Mitt.

  4. ANonOMouse's avatar ANonOMouse says:
    July 13, 2012 at 2:30 pm

    Romney must be seriously feeling the damage. He might want to wait until tomorrow, today is Friday the 13th.

    🙂

  5. bostonboomer's avatar bostonboomer says:
    July 13, 2012 at 2:32 pm

    Mitt’s Story Doesn’t Add Up — Steve Kornacki

    http://www.salon.com/2012/07/13/why_mitt%E2%80%99s_story_doesnt_add_up/

    • dakinikat's avatar dakinikat says:
      July 13, 2012 at 2:50 pm

      Ann Romney herself explained in an interview that Mitt was spending about half his time in Salt Lake and the other half back in Boston in meetings.

      In a Boston Globe interview with Ann Romney from November 2000 the reporter learned that Mitt Romney was dividing his time between running Bain and running the Olympics project. “The [Olympics] project is running smoothly now, though still requiring so much of Mitt Romney’s time that he has had to lessen his involvement with Bain Capital, his investment firm.” (“West Wings Sprout,” Boston Globe 11/11/2000). Please note: not end his involvement with Bain, but “lessen it”-precisely as Romney acknowledged in shifting to part-time management involvement in l999.

      Romney’s own personal lawyer as stated that he only became a passive investor in Bain in August of 2001: “[Bradley] Malt, who was designated by the campaign to address Romney’s time at Bain, said Romney finally resigned and reduced his role at the company to that of a passive investor in 2001 when it became clear that he was going to run for Massachusetts governor after the Olympics.” (“Cash, Advice on Tap at Romney’s Old Firm” Washington Post 10/21/2007)

  6. bostonboomer's avatar bostonboomer says:
    July 13, 2012 at 2:34 pm

    Think Progress: the Bain Job Losses Romney Doesn’t Want You to Know About.

  7. bostonboomer's avatar bostonboomer says:
    July 13, 2012 at 2:46 pm

    The CNN interview is in 15 minutes — 4PM Eastern.

    • ANonOMouse's avatar ANonOMouse says:
      July 13, 2012 at 2:48 pm

      thanks, I don’t want to miss that. Who will be interviewing him?

      • bostonboomer's avatar bostonboomer says:
        July 13, 2012 at 2:54 pm

        Correction. Blitzer just said the interview will air at 6PM. The NYT had said it would be 4.

  8. bostonboomer's avatar bostonboomer says:
    July 13, 2012 at 2:49 pm

    Brad DeLong says that Glenn Kessler’s defense of Romney today is “the silliest thing Kessler has ever written.”

    Give it up, Glenn.

    It would be very unusual for somebody to have the titles of not just “CEO” but “President”, “Chairman of the Board” and be “sole stockholder” and to have no responsibilities whatsoever. In fact, I defy Glenn Kessler to come up with any example of anybody anywhere–save for Mitt Romney–who has been characterized to the SEC as “sole stockholder, chairman of the board, chief executive officer, and president” and also claimed to have no responsibilities whatsoever and to have merely been a passive investor.

    Why oh why can’t we have a better press corps?

    • bostonboomer's avatar bostonboomer says:
      July 13, 2012 at 2:51 pm

      And from a commenter (as Dak already mentioned yesterday)

      Perhaps the Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002, which mandates that senior executives(CEO & CFO) take individual responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of corporate financial reports, came just a bit too late?

      (Or did it prompt Romney to resign, just in time?)

      • dakinikat's avatar dakinikat says:
        July 13, 2012 at 3:09 pm

        Could be why he left because you have to actually certify you know what’s going on via section 320. It’s one of the reasons my sister retired from MIcrosoft. She said she was having to certify things she couldn’t actually certify and didn’t want the implied liability.

  9. bostonboomer's avatar bostonboomer says:
    July 13, 2012 at 3:00 pm

    Business Insider: Here’s One Of The Clever Financial Tricks Mitt Romney Used To Become Dynastically Rich

  10. dakinikat's avatar dakinikat says:
    July 13, 2012 at 3:00 pm

    I’m still in a meeting. Hopefully, some one can tell me what he’s saying if this runs long?

  11. janicen's avatar janicen says:
    July 13, 2012 at 3:06 pm

    bb, thank you for all of these links. I have read through a few and will get to them all but I wanted to say thanks for gathering them all in one place. No wonder his campaign is scrambling! It could blow up before he even gets the nomination.

  12. bostonboomer's avatar bostonboomer says:
    July 13, 2012 at 3:37 pm

    HuffPo:

    Romney will speak with ABC’s Jon Karl, NBC’s Peter Alexander, CBS’ Jan Crawford and CNN’s Jim Acosta, network sources confirmed to The Huffington Post’s Michael Calderone. The interviews are scheduled to take place between 3 and 4 p.m. BuzzFeed reports that the exchanges will air on nightly news broadcasts.

    The candidate will also sit down with Fox News’ Carl Cameron in an exchange that will air on Friday’s “Special Report,” according to Bret Baier.

    • Beata's avatar Beata says:
      July 13, 2012 at 3:43 pm

      Are any of the above reporters known for asking tough questions?

      • Beata's avatar Beata says:
        July 13, 2012 at 4:09 pm

        Jan Crawford is an attorney and the chief legal correspondent for CBS. I’m going to look forward to her interview.

      • bostonboomer's avatar bostonboomer says:
        July 13, 2012 at 4:20 pm

        The only one I have heard of is Carl Cameron. I guess I’ll watch the CBS one then.

      • RalphB's avatar RalphB says:
        July 13, 2012 at 4:55 pm

        Jan Crawford is also personal friends with Scalia and Thomas, thus her scoop on Roberts changing his mind about Obamacare. She may throw only soft balls.

      • Beata's avatar Beata says:
        July 13, 2012 at 5:00 pm

        BB, I’ve been looking at some of Crawford’s past interviews with Romney. Pretty puff ball stuff. I was hoping with her legal background, she might ask tough questions tonight, but now I’m not sure. I don’t know which interview to watch.

  13. List of X's avatar List of X says:
    July 13, 2012 at 4:06 pm

    Here’s hoping that Mitt Romney will announce that he’ll drop out of the campaign “to spend more time with his family”. I’d take that even though I was planning to write many more entertaining posts about him.

  14. RalphB's avatar RalphB says:
    July 13, 2012 at 4:20 pm

    Ed Kilgore beats up on Romney’s spokesmodels:

    The “Unraveling”

    One of the habits of political spinmeisters that I dislike the most is the tendency to claim that close contests are invariably about to break wide open into a complete debacle, a historic humiliation, a defeat of biblical proportions for their opponent. I don’t know what this sort of stupid, transparent, self-conscious lying is supposed to accomplish. Intimidation? Exciting “the base?” Discouraging the other “team’s” “base?” Working the refs? Beats me.

    • bostonboomer's avatar bostonboomer says:
      July 13, 2012 at 4:50 pm

      I saw those headlines this morning and concluded that Romney’s campaign is unraveling and has begun hurling wild accusations. LOL

  15. bostonboomer's avatar bostonboomer says:
    July 13, 2012 at 5:00 pm

    CNN interview on now.

  16. bostonboomer's avatar bostonboomer says:
    July 13, 2012 at 5:02 pm

    He’s claiming he left in 1999, but that isn’t what he said at the time or in 2002 when he ran for governor.

  17. bostonboomer's avatar bostonboomer says:
    July 13, 2012 at 5:02 pm

    Now he’s bashing Obama. Obama doesn’t write for the WaPo or the Boston Globe.

    • bostonboomer's avatar bostonboomer says:
      July 13, 2012 at 5:04 pm

      The reporter is just letting him talk.

      • Beata's avatar Beata says:
        July 13, 2012 at 5:08 pm

        Acosta seems sympathic to Romney. I expect him to fluff Mitt’s pillow before the interview is over.

        • dakinikat's avatar dakinikat says:
          July 13, 2012 at 5:16 pm

          These are the reporters who are following him around on the campaign trail. They won’t get anything in the future if they antagonize him.

      • dakinikat's avatar dakinikat says:
        July 13, 2012 at 5:14 pm

        I saw the racist trash in the trash. I guess they should start talking about getting a national ID tatoo’d on their asses.

    • ANonOMouse's avatar ANonOMouse says:
      July 13, 2012 at 6:12 pm

      Acosta wasn’t interested in anything but letting Romney have his way with him. I wonder if Acosta shared a Cigarette with Romney when the interview was over.

  18. bostonboomer's avatar bostonboomer says:
    July 13, 2012 at 5:05 pm

    “Is this the level that the Obama campaign is willing to stoop to?” Bla bla bla…

    He got free airtime for this?!

    • bostonboomer's avatar bostonboomer says:
      July 13, 2012 at 5:06 pm

      They’re going to have to give Obama equal time, because this is no more than a campaign commercial.

    • dakinikat's avatar dakinikat says:
      July 13, 2012 at 5:09 pm

      Yup, no answers … it’s only complaining it’s bashing him for some reason. How can people vote for some one this Shady? Mitt Shady!!!!

  19. Beata's avatar Beata says:
    July 13, 2012 at 5:12 pm

    Wow, Acosta even left a mint on Mitt’s pillow. Wolf says he did an excellent job. 🙄

  20. Beata's avatar Beata says:
    July 13, 2012 at 5:30 pm

    At least none of you have to watch Mike Pence ads while waiting for Mitt’s interviews. Nauseating.

    • ANonOMouse's avatar ANonOMouse says:
      July 13, 2012 at 6:14 pm

      Beata….Check out this website, you can watch a lot free TV there. It might take awhile to figure out how to use it, but i know several folks who use it regularly to watch CNN PBS and MSNBC.

      http://www.oleoletv.com/

  21. Beata's avatar Beata says:
    July 13, 2012 at 5:39 pm

    On CBS, Romney demanded an apology from Obama for “these baseless claims” .

    The interviews I saw were nothing but free campaign ads for Romney, as BB said upthread.

    • dakinikat's avatar dakinikat says:
      July 13, 2012 at 6:15 pm

      Mitt Shady’s entire Bain response: “Obama shouldn’t attack me”.

      • bostonboomer's avatar bostonboomer says:
        July 13, 2012 at 6:22 pm

        On CNN, they are saying Mitt didn’t answer any real questions and this isn’t going to go away. Paul Begala advises a superpac, and he says, this is going to haunt Romney to the bitter end. He didn’t solve anything with a few softball interviews.

      • bostonboomer's avatar bostonboomer says:
        July 13, 2012 at 6:23 pm

        He seemed to imply that it was OK for him to call the POTUS a liar, but not OK for the POTUS to do it because it’s beneath the dignity of the presidency. WTF?!

  22. RalphB's avatar RalphB says:
    July 13, 2012 at 5:50 pm

    While this was going on both Dave Weigel and another reporter found more evidence of him at Bain until at least 2002. It’s even in his own damn book that he only took a leave of absence. This is just fucking ridiculous.

  23. RalphB's avatar RalphB says:
    July 13, 2012 at 6:08 pm

    MSM really shouldn’t let that lying ass get away with things this blatant!

    Romney Interview Directly Contradicts His Previous Statements About Bain Tenure

    Mitt Romney told CBS News‘s Jan Crawford Friday evening that he did not attend Bain Capital meetings after he left the company in February of 1999 to run the Winter Olympics. But this answer appears to contradict sworn testimony he delivered in 2002 “as part of a hearing to determine whether he had sufficient residency status in Massachusetts to run for governor”:

    – In 2002, Romney told the Massachusetts board: “[T]here were a number of social trips and business trips that brought me back to Massachusetts, board meetings, Thanksgiving and so forth.”

    – On Friday evening, Romney said he didn’t recall coming back to Bain: “I was in Salt Lake City for three straight years. I don’t recall even coming back once to go to a Bain or management meeting. We were, I was out there running the Olympics and it was a full time job, I can tell you that.”

    “Jan, I had no involvement with the management of Bain Capital after 1999,” Romney insisted on Friday.

  24. bostonboomer's avatar bostonboomer says:
    July 13, 2012 at 6:26 pm

    David Corn said on MSNBC that he is getting hundreds of tips “over the transom,” that there is so much public record on Romney that you could research for a hundred years and not get through it all. Corn says the story is not coming out of Chicago. He’s had tips from corporate people, lots of people. He hasn’t gotten anything from the Obama administration.

  25. bostonboomer's avatar bostonboomer says:
    July 13, 2012 at 6:31 pm

    DailyKos diary: 1999 Bain press release said Romney was “part-time” during his work on the Olympics.

    http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/07/13/1109623/-Bain-Capital-press-release-described-Romney-as-part-time-in-July-1999

    Did any of the interviewers ask Romney why he was taking a salary from Bain if he wasn’t doing any work?

  26. RalphB's avatar RalphB says:
    July 13, 2012 at 6:38 pm

    Obama answered a question the Bain mess in Virginia.

    PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Well, here’s what I know, we were just talking about responsibility and as president of the United States, it’s pretty clear to me that I’m responsible for folks who are working in the federal government and you know, Harry Truman said the buck stops with you.

    Now, my understanding is that Mr. Romney attested to the SEC, multiple times, that he was the chairman, CEO and president of Bain Capital and I think most Americans figure if you are the chairman, CEO and president of a company that you are responsible for what that company does.

    Ultimately Mr. Romney, I think, is going to have to answer those questions, because if he aspires to being president one of the things you learn is, you are ultimately responsible for the conduct of your operations, but again that’s probably a question that he’s going to have to answer and I think that’s a legitimate part of the campaign.

    http://www.wjla.com/articles/2012/07/president-obama-says-romney-should-answer-bain-capital-questions-77842.html

  27. RalphB's avatar RalphB says:
    July 13, 2012 at 6:41 pm

    Definition from a commenter at Balloon Juice:

    Kesslering: the ability to lavishly lick the balls of the rich and powerful while simultaneously typing.

  28. RalphB's avatar RalphB says:
    July 13, 2012 at 6:44 pm

    Another Obama ad:

    • Fannie's avatar Fannie says:
      July 13, 2012 at 7:59 pm

      Per Wikipedia – Chief Executive Officier (CEO) is the highest ranking corporate officer of admnistrator in charge of the total management of an organization………………..Does Romney want to change Wiki’s definition?

  29. minkoffminx's avatar JJ Lopez Minkoff says:
    July 13, 2012 at 7:08 pm

    Just catching up with the MSM Romney love fest, seems like they really gave it to him good…check their faces for shit stains.

  30. bostonboomer's avatar bostonboomer says:
    July 13, 2012 at 7:14 pm

    I put a fresh thread up top, because this one is getting too long.

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