stuck in the mittle

We Don’t Think Ann Romney Said ‘You People’

Ann Romney.

As a rule of thumb, “you people” is not a very nice way to address a group of people.  Sometimes, it comes off as racist. Or it can seem scornful and condescending when the utterer is, say, extraordinarily wealthy and “you people” refers to the American public. So when Ann Romney told Good Morning America today that she and her husband had released “all you people need to know and understand about our financial situation,” it was the verbal equivalent of watching her trample a homeless man on her dressage horse, and predictably, the quote went viral.

The only problem is that, after watching the video, we’re pretty sure she never said it. The remark in question comes twelve seconds into this clip:

Sounds more like “We’ve given all [stumble] people need to know,” if you ask us. The letter y definitely makes an appearance in there, but the word you does not. Maybe Romney was going to say, “We’ve given all you need to know,” and decided at the last moment to replace “you” with “people.” Maybe she was going to say, “We’ve given all Yosemite National Park visitors a free Romney bumper sticker.” Admittedly, that would be a completely nonsensical thing to say at that moment.

The point is, while it’s obviously fair to criticize Mitt Romney for bucking political tradition (a tradition started by his own dad!) by stonewalling on his tax returns, we’re not sure it’s time to form a plebeian mob and storm the Romney estate with pitchforks and torches.