A decidedly off-message statement from Ann Romney on Sunday’s Meet the Press was overlooked by the media, since everyone focused on Mitt Romney’s false claim that he would make sure people with prior conditions can purchase health insurance.
Ann Romney made a noteworthy admission in the same interview, and the Progressive Change Committee is launching a targeted online ad campaign in Ohio to make sure voters there see it. Ann said, “Mitt and I do recognize that we have not had a financial struggle in our lives.” This is a classic “Kinsley gaffe,” defined as a when a politician accidentally tells the truth. Of course, the Romneys—who grew up wealthy and became far wealthier—have not had a financial struggle.
But just two weeks ago when Ann addressed the Republican National Convention, she pretended otherwise. Recalling their newlywed days, as part of her speech’s effort to humanize her husband, Ann said: “We got married and moved into a basement apartment. We walked to class together, shared the housekeeping, and ate a lot of pasta and tuna fish. Our desk was a door propped up on sawhorses. Our dining room table was a fold-down ironing board in the kitchen. Those were very special days.”
Ann has been hawking a variation of the idea that they got by on very little money when they were young for years.
MORE: Ann Romney Contradicts RNC Speech, Admits Privilege | The Nation.