- Text
"Face the Nation" transcripts, July 15, 2012: Cutter, Madden, Rep. Ryan
BOB SCHIEFFER: Today on FACE THE NATION, from negative to downright nasty, how low can they go?
MIT ROMNEY: If you want a President who will make things better in the African-American community, you are looking at him.
BOB SCHIEFFER: Mitt Romney got roundly booed at the NAACP Convention, but in a week like this that was almost a pleasant interlude. In so many words the Romney campaign called the President a liar.
(Excerpt from Romney Campaign Ad)
BOB SCHIEFFER: The Obama campaign suggested even worse about Romney in a conference call with reporters.
STEPHANIE CUTTER (on phone, Obama 2012 Deputy Campaign Manager): Either Mitt Romney through his own words and his own signature was misrepresenting his position at Bain to the SEC, which is a felony, or he was misrepresenting his position at Bain to the American people.
BOB SCHIEFFER: Romney fought back in five separate interviews and called for an apology.
MITT ROMNEY: This is reckless and absurd on his part and it is something which is beneath his dignity-- dignity.
BOB SCHIEFFER: Back and forth it went. In the cruelest slap of all the Obama campaign rolled out an ad featuring Mitt Romney singing.
(Excerpt from Obama Campaign Ad)
BOB SCHIEFFER: Today we'll hear from Stephanie Cutter who made the allegations against Romney. Kevin Madden, senior Romney advisor, and Paul Ryan, the Wisconsin congressman said to be on Romney's short list of possible running mates.
We'll get analysis from Moody's Mark Zandi, former Clinton Labor Secretary Robert Reich, John Fund of the National Review, Rana Foroohar of TIME magazine, New York magazine's Frank Rich, Michael Gerson of The Washington Post and our own John Dickerson and Norah O'Donnell.
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: This feels kind of good. I need to cool off a little bit. It was a little warm.
BOB SCHIEFFER: Well, he may have something there and we'll try to make sense of all of it because this is FACE THE NATION.
ANNOUNCER: From CBS News in Washington, FACE THE NATION with Bob Schieffer.
BOB SCHIEFFER: And good morning again. Stephanie Cutter, who's emerged as one of the main point people for the Obama campaign, and Kevin Madden, the long-time top advisor to Mitt Romney are at the table together with us. And I must say this campaign did get down and dirty last week.
And I want to start with the very latest, Stephanie. I want to play some more of that new ad going on the air in some of the key battleground states--
STEPHANIE CUTTER: Mm-Hm.
BOB SCHIEFFER:--that your people have put out.
(Excerpt from Obama Campaign Ad)
BOB SCHIEFFER: Let me put you at ease, first, Kevin. We will leave the musical reviews to other critics who would be more qualified to comment on that. But, Stephanie, really, the message here seems to be that Mitt Romney is a hypocrite. Are you trying to say he-- he's un-American--
STEPHANIE CUTTER: Oh, of course not, Bob.
BOB SCHIEFFER:--unpatriotic?
STEPHANIE CUTTER: Of course not. You know, the-- the ad pokes fun a little bit, tries to have some fun with it, but then it walks through exactly what Mitt Romney's record is. You know The Washington Post reported that he invested in firms that became the pioneers of-- of outsourcing. It's well documented that as the governor of Massachusetts he used taxpayer dollars to outsource jobs to India. And now you know his tax policies now encourage that same type of outsourcing. So, this is a legitimate discussion about Mitt Romney's record in the past but also what he wants to do now for this country.
BOB SCHIEFFER: All right. We'll get back to that--
STEPHANIE CUTTER: Mm-Hm.
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