Romney Campaign Dismisses 2007 Obama Video

Lara Seligman and Matt Vasilogambros

A senior adviser to Mitt Romney on Wednesday dismissed a 2007 video unearthed on Tuesday that shows President Obama making controversial statements on Hurricane Katrinia and the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, saying that Romney will instead focus on policy during the debate on Wednesday.

Kevin Madden said on CBS’s This Morning that the content of the video, from a June 2007 speech to black ministers at Virginia’s Hampton University, was sufficiently covered in 2007. Madden added that the Romney campaign views the president’s statements, including a shout-out to his controversial former pastor and remarks criticizing the administration for insisting that New Orleans contribute its share after Hurricane Katrina, as irrelevant to Wednesday’s debate on domestic policy.

“What’s most relevant are the president’s policies and how they are affecting people’s bottom line,” Madden said, adding that Romney will offer new details on his tax reform proposal during the debate. “That’s a much more relevant debate that we’ll focus on."

The Obama campaign earlier on Wednesday called on Romney to get specific during the faceoff.

“Romney can use tonight’s debate to fill in those details and finally, for the first time, explain his proposals or readjust his positions,” Obama campaign spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter wrote in a memo. “Or he can spend 90 minutes doing what he does best: attacking the president, distorting his own record, and avoiding any and all details on his plans for this country.”

Cutter urged the Romney campaign to denounce the 2007 video, saying that allies of the GOP candidate were responsible for its release.

“They have the responsibility to stand up and say it was wrong,” she said on CNN’s Starting Point.

Cutter continued, saying she found it interesting that conservatives were pouncing on a public speech from the president after previously denouncing the release of a video of Romney at a private fundraiser.

“[This was an] already public, released speech that the president gave five years ago," she said.