“I’m not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there. If it needs a repair, I’ll fix it. I’m not concerned about the very rich — they’re doing just fine,”
Romney was assailed for saying he doesn't care about the poor, and defended on the ground that he also said he wanted to make sure the safety net was well patched, so his remark was "taken out of context."
But I don't think Romney misspoke at all. His saying he doesn't care about the poor is actually a dog whistle to the far right, who hate the poor and think that they are coddled by welfare. But he is basically decent, too, so he added that he wants to preserve the safety net, saying that as if it's a simple item on his to-do list. In saying that, Romney dog-whistled in reverse, because the right doesn't much like the safety net, or honestly think it's counterproductive. They are also very suspect of decency. So Mitt said two things, meaning them to balance each other. But he managed to offend everyone, even the people to whom he was actually pandering.
