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CBS News
Boehner:
I
can’t make you love Mitt Romney
By Lucy
Madison
When House
Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, endorsed Mitt Romney for president in
April, he
pledged to do “everything I can to help him win.”
In his
words, however, the one thing he can’t do is make voters “fall in love”
with
the candidate.
Speaking
last week at a fundraiser in Wheeling, W.Va., Boehner was surprisingly
candid
in his characterization of Romney’s candidacy when asked, in a
question-and-answer session: “Can you make me love Mitt Romney?”
“No,” he
answered, as first reported by Roll Call. “Listen, we’re just
politicians. I
wasn’t elected to play God. The American people probably aren’t going
to fall
in love with Mitt Romney.”
He added
that the presumptive Republican nominee had “some friends, relatives,
and
fellow Mormons... some people that are going to vote for him,” but
suggested
that at the end of the day, Republicans would be voting against
President Obama
rather than for Romney.
“I’ll tell
you this: 95 percent of the people that show up to vote in November are
going
to show up in that voting booth, and they are going to vote for or
against
Barack Obama,” Boehner said. “This election is going to be a referendum
on the
president’s failed economic policies. “
Calling
Romney a “solid guy,” Boehner went on to say that the former
Massachusetts
governor is “going to do a great job, even if you don’t fall in love
with him.”
Asked about
the comments on Saturday, Boehner spokesperson Cory Fritz pointed out
that the
Speaker had attended campaign events for Romney in Ohio that very
morning. He
also opened up a campaign office for Romney in Ohio on Saturday.
“Four years
ago, President Obama was greeted as a celebrity, but that hasn’t
resulted in
jobs and growth for families and small businesses,” Fritz said in an
e-mailed
statement. “Americans are going to be voting this November based on who
can get
our economy moving, and Mitt Romney - with his experience as a
private-sector
job creator and a governor - is the best candidate to do just that.”
Responding
to the comment, Romney adviser Kevin Madden said Saturday that “John
[Boehner]’s right in that speeches and lofty rhetoric haven’t gotten
the job
done for the American people in the Obama era, and that Governor
Romney’s
dedicated focus on the economy can and will put the country back on
track.”
“This is an
election about fixing the American economy, putting Americans back to
work and
putting the country back on track towards a brighter future,” he said.
“It’s an
election about competence, particularly after three and a half years of
incompetence and a total lack of leadership on the economy.”
Jill
Jackson and Caroline Horn contributed to this report.
See the
video, and read other stories at CBS News
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