Senior Romney campaign adviser Kevin Madden discussed with co-hosts Charlie Rose and Norah O'Donnell what to expect from tonight's Presidential debate in Denver, Colo., and shared his views on the recently released video of President Obama live today, Oct. 3, 2012, on CBS THIS MORNING on the CBS Television Network (7:00 AM – 9:00 AM).
Below is the transcript from the interview:
ROSE: There is much talk this morning and throughout this political community that Gov. Romney has to be both aggressive and at the same time relaxed recognizing the circumstances. Will we tonight see a new Mitt Romney that we have not seen before?
MADDEN: I think you're going to see the Mitt Romney that really cares about putting the American people back to work. I think that's the most important goal that the governor has. We spent these last few months of this campaign trying to clarify the choice that Americans have. And, I think we've summed it up very aptly with the question that we posed to the American public: Do they really want another four years just like the last four years? So on all the issues, debates that we're going to have in the debate tonight whether it's tax reform, how we lower energy cost, how we lower health care costs, that's going to be an important question that Gov. Romney poses, and essentially offer people that haven't made up their mind yet during this election the clear choice and contrast that with the failed record of the Obama administration.
O'DONNELL: I want to get to some of the specifics on the issues, but first I want to ask you about that video that Jan [Crawford] just showed in her piece, a speech Obama made in 2007 which was covered by all of the networks who had reporters there at the time. Do you think that video is relevant?
MADDEN: I think a lot of people – voters – have to look at that video and they have to make up their mind on that individually. I think what's much more important to this debate right now are the President's policies, the President's record over four years. I think that's going to be most important topic on stage tonight. The President's record on the economy and putting people back to work, that hasn't happened over the last four years. So I think that's the more important debate. Voters are going to be watching this conversation that we have tonight and they're going to ask themselves the question: Do I want another four years of the status quo that
President Obama is offering, or do I want to set the country on a new course as it relates to job creation, a new course as it relates to the economy.
O'DONNELL: Sean Hannity said last night he thinks this video is a "bombshell." Do you think it is a bombshell, and will the Romney campaign use it in television ads as the Obama team has used that 47 percent video in television ads?
MADDEN: Well, I think that it was covered in 2007. I think a number of folks are going to continue to cover it today. How they cover it in that context, I think, a lot of that is up to individual voters and whether they think it's relevant to the conversation that we're having today. We believe as a campaign and I think Gov. Romney believes what's most relevant are the President's policies and how they are affecting the economy today, how they're affecting people bottom line, how they're affecting household incomes. That's a much more relevant debate that we're going to be focused on as a campaign.
ROSE: If they do not see a new Romney, will they see a Romney offering specifics as to deductions that he might prefer in terms of what we do not now see in tax reform?
MADDEN: It's hard to get into a whole lot of specifics particularly when you're talking about something as complex as all the deductions that you would go through in part of broadening the base as part of tax reform. But on the issue of tax reform, I think Gov. Romney will offer a great deal of specifics about what he would do to lower the middle class tax-
ROSE: That we've not heard before?
MADDEN: Yeah. I mean a lot of that depends on the questions. But I think a lot of what the specifics that you're talking about as far as what tax reform looks like, whether it's lowering the corporate rate in order to make sure that we're more competitive as an economy in this global marketplace but also lowering middle class tax burdens, broadening the base and making the American economy more competitive as a result, I think that you'll hear a great deal of specifics. I think, most importantly, you'll hear the contrast because the president's reforms haven't done enough to help the economy.
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