Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney claimed Wednesday he's the candidate who can help the middle class. Romney alleged President Barack Obama believes in a government-centered society whereas he would create wealth for all rather than redistribute wealth. Pundits see Romney as trying to recover from the release of a video Monday in which he told some wealthy campaign donors the 47 percent of Americans who support Obama feel entitled to government handouts.
This is not the first time comments about the middle class have gotten Romney in hot water.
* Last week, Romney raised eyebrows with comments about the income brackets that constitute the middle class. He told ABC's "Good Morning America" the middle class consists of taxpayers earning $200,000 to $250,000 per year and less, the Chicago Tribune noted. According to the Census Bureau, median income is slightly more than $50,000.
* Statistics aside, almost 90 percent of Americans self-identify as members of the middle class, according to the LA Times. That's why Romney created "Middle-Class-Mitt" going into the Republican convention, the report opined.
* Romney likewise suggested most of America is middle class when speaking with Soledad O'Brien in February. He said, "I'm in this race because I care about Americans. I'm not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there. If it needs repair, I'll fix it. I'm not concerned about the very rich, they're doing just fine. I'm concerned about the very heart of the America, the 90 percent, 95 percent of Americans who right now are struggling."
* In August, Romney faced heat when Tax Policy Center analyzed his tax plan and concluded it would hike middle class annual taxes by $2,000 to $4,000.
* Middle class disenchantment with Romney may have ripple effects on Wall Street. While Romney's philosophy resonates with Wall Street and it has provided him strong financial backing in this election cycle to date, a commentary by MarketWatch's David Weidner on MSN Money notes that support seems to be waning. The reason, he says, is Wall Street always casts its bets with a perceived winner, citing history as proof.
