At a friendly town hall event Wednesday in Bowling Green, Ohio, Mitt Romney faced a questioner who referred to President Barack Obama as "this monster," which he quickly corrected.
"That's not a term I would use," the former Massachusetts governor said lightly.
"I can use it. I'm an angry mom," she shot back.
The exchange was reminiscent of a May town hall, also in Ohio, where Romney stood by as a questioner asserted that Obama should be tried for treason. Romney did not correct her and answered her question about the U.S. Constitution. Only after the event did Romney say he "of course" did not agree with her.
The event was a minor dustup for the presumptive GOP nominee, who has sometimes struggled to connect with conservatives. Most recently a chorus of conservative voices has called on Romney to release more years of his tax returns, a move that he has refused to do.
But he connected with his audience this time around. After having attacked Obama on Tuesday, Romney hammered him again by repeating the president's recent comment, "If you've got a business, you didn't build that, somebody else made that happen."
Taken out context, Obama's line might appear to be anti-business. But the context of Obama's remarks makes it clear that the antecedent of "that" is "roads and bridges" and the "American system," not the "business."
It didn't matter for Romney.
"Did you build your business? If you did, raise your hand! Take that, Mr. President; this is what's happening in this country," he said. "This is the height of foolishness. It shows how out of touch he is with the character of America."
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