The Mittens Gaffe Machine gives us another hit!

[Landslide Lyndon]

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2012/03/09/bonus_quote_of_the_day.html

"I want regulators to see businesses and enterprises of all kinds as their friends, and to encourage them and to move them along."

-- Mitt Romney, quoted by National Journal.

[H.E. VOLODYMYR ZELENKSYY]

Some might not see that as a gaffe, though.

[TheGlobalizer]

Not a gaffe.  Effective regulation is a partnership, not a war on businesses.

[Beet]

It should be an adverserial relationship. When regulators are too dependent on businesses, they become captured by the industry and begin doing nothing but the industry's bidding. If regulation is too burdensome, the solution is to repeal the regulations, not make regulators more chum-chummy with those they are supposed to be regulating.

[J. J.]

It should be an adverserial relationship. When regulators are too dependent on businesses, they become captured by the industry and begin doing nothing but the industry's bidding. If regulation is too burdensome, the solution is to repeal the regulations, not make regulators more chum-chummy with those they are supposed to be regulating.

It shouldn't be adversarial, but it shouldn't be chummy either.  It can be sitting together, and figuring out how to achieve the goals of regulations in a cost effective manner.

[Likely Voter]

I think it is somewhere in between. You want government to work with business, but government regulation is in place on behalf of the people in order to ensure businesses dont do things to the detriment of the whole. You don't want a situation like when the Office of the Minerals Management Service were caught partying and doing cocaine with oil lobbyists.

so i would say it is on the border of being a gaffe and depends on what Mitt means by "friends"

[Wisconsin+17]

Eh, I was convinced this wasn't a gaffe.

Now after 'Couple of Cadilacs' post, I am convinced.

Romney's used to the government being his friend.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

"I want regulators to see businesses and enterprises of all kinds as their friends, and to encourage them and to move them along."

-- Mitt Romney, quoted by National Journal.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

Like many things Romney has said, this may very well come back to haunt him in the general. But, I don't think this particular one hurts his chances of getting the nomination.

[Likely Voter]

For the record, here is the Obama campaign's reply to Romney's comments (where Romney also talked about how Obama was stifling gulf oil production)

You must be logged in to read this quote.

if there is tape of Romney talking about business being "friends", I could see the Obama campaign making an ad about how Romney wants to return to the cozy days when oil and gas companies were "friends" with the regulators, where they were partying and not preventing things like the gulf oil spill.

This would go along with their ads about how Romney and his Wall Street budies want to get rid of new regulations and go back to the era that led to the financial crisis.

The Obama team will essentially paint Romney as too "friendly" to unpopular businesses (Wall Street fat cats and gouging/polluting oil companies), whereas Obama was friendly with the Auto industry to save American jobs that Romney wanted to outsource to China after liquidating Detroit.

I'm not saying it is a fair  attack or I agree, but it is what will happen and this "friends" thing will just feed into that narrative.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

A mild gaffe at worst.  As others have pointed out, this won't cause him damage in the generally business friendly GOP primaries.  It might be able to spun into something for the general election, but it isn't a low-hanging fruit like some of his gaffes are.

[© tweed]

this is not a gaffe. stop grasping for/at straws

[Lincoln Republican]

At least when I criticize Santorum, my criticisms are warranted and valid, unlike this desparate attempt to find fault where there is no fault to be found. 

[Torie]

The business of America is business. No, that bon mot is not original with me. Thanks.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

The business of America is business. No, that bon mot is not original with me. Thanks.

Your use of French when there are perfectly acceptable English alternatives shows that you are a natural Romney voter.

[Torie]

The business of America is business. No, that bon mot is not original with me. Thanks.

Your use of French when there are perfectly acceptable English alternatives shows that you are a natural Romney voter.

Mittens voters have large vocabularies? 

LOL though. Maybe your dig qualifies for that Joe inspired Sulfur Mine thread.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Maybe your dig qualifies for that Joe inspired Sulfur Mine thread.

Maybe, tho the dig was aimed more at Mittens than you. However, as often as Al's posts show up there, it probably should have been named the Sulphur Mine instead.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

Not a gaffe.  Regulators should want businesses to do well, but have the sense to step in when businesses are doing something harmful / against the law.