It was one of the strangest moments in last night’s debate. I watched it live, rewound it on Tivo and watched it again, and then rewatched it again and I still can’t figure out what happened.
Last night, in the middle of a question from Tim Russert to Mitt Romney about Ronald Reagan.
Here’s the text of the question and Romney’s response:
MR. RUSSERT: Governor Romney, you are a big fan of Ronald Reagan. Will you do for Social Security what Ronald Reagan did in 1983?
MR. ROMNEY: I’m not going to raise taxes. What I’m going to do –
MR. RUSSERT: Well, Ronald Reagan raised the payroll tax, and he also raised the retirement age, and he saved Social Security with Alan Greenspan and Tip O’Neill and Bob Dole and Pat Moynihan.
MR. ROMNEY: Yeah –
MR. RUSSERT: Would you do what Ronald Reagan did?
MR. ROMNEY: No, I don’t want to raise taxes. I’ve pointed out that — that of the four ways to solve the — the shortfall in Social Security, the worst idea is to raise taxes on the American people, because it has a double — double whammy.
And here’s the YouTube video:
You heard it too huh ? Someone whispered “he raised taxes” in the background.
So what was this ? Was someone feeding Romney an answer ? While that’s certainly what the lefty blogs are thinking.
Well, I’m no Romney fan but that explanation doesn’t make sense to me. First of all, even if Romney was wearing an earpiece, there’s no way a microphone would’ve picked it up unless it was hanging out of his ear. Second, given how the state was set up last night the only person who could’ve been feeding Romney that line would’ve been John McCain — and I don’t see the Arizona Senator helping out his principal rival.
The more likely explanation, as suggested by Dan Riehl:
You can hear it plainly - “raised taxes.” What it was, was Brian Williams or someone off-air coaching Tim Russert, as he asked a question that without the raising taxes component made no sense at all. It appears Romney didn’t need the coaching during the debate. But media all-star Tim Russert certainly did.
Makes sense to me.
Update @ 3:00pm: MSNBC says it was all a “microphone malfunction”:
The mysterious whisper that could be heard just before an answer from Mitt Romney at Thursday’s Republican debate was the result of a microphone malfunction, an MSNBC spokesman tells RAW STORY.
“We had some audio issues and Gov. Romney’s mike wasn’t working momentarily. Simple as that,” MSNBC VP for Communications Jeremy Gaines said in a one-line e-mail response to questions about overheard whisper.
Now that explanation makes no sense at all.
Update 1/26/08: Another Romney whisper ?
January 25th, 2008 at 2:59 pm
MSNBC clarifying their blooper …
http://rawstory.com/news/2007/MSNBC_blames_Romney_whisper_on_microphone_0125.html
January 25th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
Sources at MSNBC have denied that the comment came from the moderators’ table, claiming that, according to a sound analysis (which Giuliani’s people requested immediately following the debate), the “raised taxes” voice was on the same channel as Romney’s microphone. Attention is now being turned to the Secret Service, which regularly performs EM-wave sweeps of any area that they are protecting (an important function, since they also depend on the ability to communicate with earpieces).
January 25th, 2008 at 3:41 pm
How does “Brian Williams or someone off-air coaching Tim Russert” make any sense? Russert was obviously trying to get Romney with a “gotcha” question to see if Romney actually knew what Reagan did in 1983.
If it was indeed Brian Williams whispering, it was directed to the stupefied Romney to bail him out, not to Russert.
January 25th, 2008 at 8:10 pm
You write “there’s no way a microphone would’ve picked it up unless it was hanging out of his ear.” But wouldn’t it be possible for Romney’s microphone to pick up the same radio signal that was going to Romney’s earpiece?
January 25th, 2008 at 8:45 pm
The analysis of this whisper will clearly show that Romney was fed the answer.
Further, it is also apparent to anyone that was watching the debate that Romney was given advanced notice of the questions that would be asked, and his responses were thoroughly prepared by his staff.
This was a staged debate, people. Manipulation by the mainsteam media, pure and simple. Romney was their chosen candidate this time.
Don’t rely on television for your answers - dig, read and learn for yourself. The future of our country depends on it.
January 25th, 2008 at 8:46 pm
Everyone else on earth recognizes that MSNBC was coaching Mr. Magic Underpants, because they want him to “win”. Perhaps you should try to find two neurons to rub together?
January 25th, 2008 at 8:58 pm
If you listen to the tape more carefully and on high volume, you can actually hear a SECOND piece of the whisper right as Romney begins to respond. So the full whisper is, “He raised taxes. I’m not–”, and then Romney says “I’m not going to raise taxes.” This additional evidence seems to preclude any possibility that the whisper came from Brian Williams or another neutral member of the audience or film crew. There are also other moments during the debate when a faint whispering can be heard, although the words are inaudible. Furthermore, the sheer fact that Romney’s language directly mirrored the whisper indicates that it was likely a prompt, and that he must have been listening closely.
January 25th, 2008 at 9:34 pm
Now I’m pretty anti-GOP, but it seems obvious that nobody was prompting Romney here. I mean, this was clearly a WHISPER — if he had an earpiece, it might sound faint, but his prompter wouldn’t be whispering. And the idea that his prompter was close enough Romney could hear him whispering is clearly absurd.
The malfunctioning-microphone story is pretty silly, but the prompting idea is just absurd on its face.
January 25th, 2008 at 10:37 pm
Tim Russert needed coaching? Oh brother. It was more likely a producer’s mic, reminding Russert that he hadn’t said the word “raised taxes.” Because Russert knew the question in his mind, so didn’t realize he hadn’t said the word out loud. We all do that in conversation all the time, then have to add some detail we didn’t realize we didn’t express out loud.
The producer probably said it and his mic was accidentally potted up. Or maybe it was Williams doing the same things, but that’s hardly “coaching.”
Funny how both sides prefer to leap to conclusions.
January 25th, 2008 at 11:04 pm
The MSNBC answer leads me to believe they truly do think we’re stoopid. By the way we react to campaigns i understand their supposition.
January 25th, 2008 at 11:08 pm
I have listened to the whisper over 100 times, visited the FAU campus and I have discovered the obvious answer. The whisper was the work of a second questioner who was speaking from the “grassy knoll” outside of the building on the FAU campus. The voice went directly into Tim Russert’s microphone, bounced off of his body and hit Romney’s left wrist, then into his microphone. There can be no question that there was a second questioner from the “grassy knoll”.
January 25th, 2008 at 11:13 pm
why does Russert jump in right after Romney starts to answer the question and talk about the “raise taxes” portion of the question? Makes me think it was Williams who tried to help Russert, but if the poster above is right then this is not possible cause the audio came from the same channel as roMNEY’S.
January 25th, 2008 at 11:56 pm
I think it was actually Chris Matthews or one of his talking head geniuses in the analysis booth. When the debate cut to commercial a couple of times you could hear them talking, at one point they clearly stated, “this is unbelievable.”
January 26th, 2008 at 1:01 am
For the love of everything sacred and holy, will you please stop mocking Mitt’s religion? Is America so jaded and cynical and mean-spirited and bitter that I can’t go to one comment board on politics without someone ripping Mitt’s faith? What the crap is wrong with America?
(Temple garments are considered sacred, like a rosary. Not “magic.)
January 26th, 2008 at 4:57 am
Republicat is right– it makes no sense whatsoever to say that Russert was being coached. Russert was indeed probably setting up a question to make Romney look ignorant. And even if you don’t believe that, why would Russert have asked Romney if he would copy Reagan if Russert himself didn’t even know what Reagan did?
January 26th, 2008 at 5:32 am
That voice heard whispering is none other than Mitt’s. Now the MSM needs to admit for a FACT that all of the candidates are provided with the questions IN ADVANCE.
Clearly he was provided the questions in advance, and this was his own prepared reminder - played back to him when he wanted to hear it.
Mitt likely had a wireless ear piece and a transmitting device in his hand that he alone could activate - which contained prerecorded brief prompts to get him heading in the right direction with his answers. His own wireless microphone channel (on the podium) picked up the signal that was transmitted from his recorded answer to his ear piece as a digital audio signal and it played through the house speakers and on television.
That whispered voice IS Mitt Romney.
January 26th, 2008 at 10:21 am
[…] The Romney Whisper [link] […]
January 26th, 2008 at 10:21 am
Romney’s whisperer - most likely suspects:
Hugh Hewitt
His favorite author, Ron Hubbard
Matt Drudge
His bling-bling mojo adviser, Grillz Nelly
K-Lo
Varmit hunter, Elmer Fudd
Washington outsider, Dick Cheney
January 26th, 2008 at 11:09 am
Also mysterious is why Russert interrupted so clumsily just afterward as if to cover up a botched incident. His question would have been unaswerable if the candidate didn’t know what Regan did in ‘83, then he explains a second later exactly what Regan did. It makes me think that Russert heard the whisper too and just started blabbing in a hopeless effort to retractively cover up the sound. Could the two have been in cahoots?
January 26th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
It doesn’t make sense to believe that that Mitt Romney would not have known the details of the so-called Social Security bailout during the Reagan administration, or that an aide wouold have thought he needed help with that question.
I’ve heard it happen many, many times - someone has to let the person sitting next to him what a question means and, thinking no one will hear his “whisper”, blurts out something like, “he raised taxes”. In fact, I have had the embarrassing experience of doing it myself. It is likely that someone near a microphone, who didn’t think Romney would accuse Reagan of raising taxes, couldn’t contain hinself.
January 26th, 2008 at 11:40 pm
I think it is quite clear what is happening here.
Someone in the audience was prompting him using highly directional speakers / audio beamforming. They have developed recently to the point where sound can be projected at a very fine point.
Quoting http://www.holosonics.com
“The Audio Spotlight is a revolutionary new audio technology that creates sound in a narrow beam, just like light. Aim the flat, thin speaker disc to your desired listening area, and provide all of the sound — with none of the noise.”
Romney, however, was likely using something from http://www.browninnovations.com
It would be far too obvious if he had worn an earpiece–and the whisper did not seem to have any electronic distortion (i.e. of RF/interference origin). Therefore, the evidence points to audio beamforming.
Martin McCormick
Electrical Engineer
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
January 28th, 2008 at 4:34 am
He raised taxes… I’m not…
You absolutely can hear the whisper say “I’m not…”
The “He” is very faint and the two words “raised taxes” stick way out and grab the most attention, but just before Romney speaks you can clearly hear the whisper start again. If you listen a little closer you can tell the words are “I’m not-”
Romney interrupts the whisper and says “I’m not going to raise taxes.” Clearly following the lead of the whisper.
January 28th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
This was someone near Russert’s mic. Probably a crew member answering another crew member who didn’t know what ronald reagan did in whatever year. There is a lot of cross talk on headsets at events like this… the crew generally chatters away to each other, makes jokes and whatnot. The more rigid the format of an event the more chatter cause the cues are pretty much the same over and over.