WASHINGTON — Mitt Romney is prepared to fend off attacks during Wednesday's debate by President Barack Obama on the Republican's derisory remarks about the 47 percent of Americans who pay no federal income tax, a Romney aide said.
Romney has been hounded over a video secretly recorded at a May fundraiser in which the Republican presidential nominee said nearly half the population would never vote for him because they are too dependent on big government.
Analysts warn the video, which went viral after Mother Jones magazine published it two weeks ago, could dog Romney all the way up to election day on November 6, and Obama is sure to exploit his rival's ill-phrased remarks when they square off for the first debate in Denver, Colorado.
"We wouldn't be surprised obviously if that came up in the debate, and the governor is prepared obviously to respond to that," senior Romney adviser Ed Gillespie told reporters Monday on a campaign call.
Gillespie and adviser Kevin Madden, who was also on the call, both disputed arguments that Romney's campaign message has lost focus in recent weeks, insisting the candidate will spend the next 36 days framing the broad message that Obama's economic plan has failed Americans.
"Our message is very clear, which is we cannot afford four more years like the last four years, and we need a real recovery," Gillespie said.
"Whether it's health care, energy, taxes and spending or debt, the message is we cannot afford four more years like the last four years."
And yet the Romney campaign has seemingly lurched from one relatively minor issue to another, battered by relentless Democratic attacks on multimillionaire Romney's personal finances, tax plans, and Medicare overhaul proposals.
In the wake of the video release, team Romney hit back with a video from 1998 that showed a young Obama addressing the benefits of "redistribution."
Romney then seized on a comment from Obama in which he admitted he could not change Washington "from the inside," and in recent weeks the Republicans have heavily criticized Obama's foreign policy in the wake of Middle East violence that led to the death of the ambassador to Libya and three other Americans.
With polls showing Obama with a clear lead in the roughly 12 swing states that will determine the election, Madden said Romney is fighting for every last undecided voter.
"Our opponents will agree right now that this is a close race," he said.
"The reason these voters right now are undecided, is because they've watched President Obama for four years, and they haven't concluded that he's worthy of their support right now."
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