One day after decisively winning Florida — and coming one step closer to becoming the Republican Party’s nominee for president — Mitt Romney rocked the sound bite universe: “I’m not concerned about the very poor.” 

Whoa!

As fair-minded citizens, we looked at the context of his statements. In full, Romney said: “I’m not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there. If it needs repair, I’ll fix it. I’m not concerned about the very rich. They’re doing just fine. I’m concerned about the very heart of America, the 90 to 95 percent of Americans who right now are struggling.”

Well, he’s half-right. The very rich are doing just fine. 

With a little context, we understand Romney is simply trying to advocate for the middle class. He’s trying to appeal to the middle-income Americans who feel slighted by President Obama’s policies. But, time and time again, through these unconscious slip-ups that his opponents attack and his supporters brush off, he reveals how he will govern. 

Mitt Romney truly believes there is not a problem with the very poor here in America. According to the U.S. Census, more than 46 million Americans in 2010 were living below the poverty line. That’s a record and an increase for the fourth consecutive year. The “safety net” is obviously failing, and instead of acknowledging the problem, the multi-millionaire says, sure, he’ll fix it — only “if it needs repair.”

“But we have food stamps, we have Medicaid, we have housing vouchers, we have programs to help the poor. But the middle-income Americans, they’re the folks that are really struggling right now.”

A poor choice of words? Maybe. Does he really like firing people? Perhaps. Are corporations people? 

All we’re saying is, Romney is in denial if he thinks he can ignore the really poor as president. Then again, he has never been on the other side of the housing voucher.

The above editorial is the consensus

opinion of the Daily Kent Stater editorial

board.