Mitt Romney is sticking by his comments captured in a video at a fundraiser earlier this year in which he told donors that President Obama's base supporters are "reliant on government," don't pay taxes and "believe they are victims."

The Republican presidential nominee assembled a brief and to-the-point press conference Monday night to address the tape, which had been posted online by liberal magazine Mother Jones.

Romney, while saying his phrasing was not ideal, stood by the premise of his remarks, which reportedly came from a fundraiser in Florida. "It's not elegantly stated, let me put it that way. I was speaking off the cuff in response to a question," Romney said, adding he wants to help "all Americans."

But he continued: "It's a message which I am going to carry and continue to carry, which is that the president's approach is attractive to people who are not paying taxes because frankly my discussion about lowering taxes isn't as attractive to them. Therefore I'm not likely to draw them into my campaign as effectively as those in the middle."

The video was widely circulated after it was obtained by Mother Jones, though it had been on the Internet for weeks. It showed Romney speaking at a May 17 fundraiser in Boca Raton, Fla.

"There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what," Romney could be heard saying. "There are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe that government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you name it."

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Editor's Note: And with that, Mr. Romney should stay on the attack mode -- viciously, if need be -- for the rest of the days before the election. With every statement of illuminating specificity regarding his plans and policies (and he must start getting specific), he must batter Mr. Obama for his policies and the failures they have caused. As they say in Chicago, "It's time to go to the mats."


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