Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., who has been attacking Mitt Romney for comments made by supporter Ted Nugent had the rug pulled out from under her by President Obama’s spokesman today.
“We can’t be policing the statements of supporters across the board,” White House Press Secretary Jay Carney answered when asked if Obama wants Romney to denounce Nugent, who described the Obama administration as “vile” and “evil,” in addition to saying “If Barack Obama becomes the president in November again, I will either be dead or in jail by this time next year.”
Wassmerman Schultz, who chairs the Democratic National Committee jumped on the comments. “Threatening violence — or whatever it is that Nugent’s threatening — is clearly beyond the pale, but Nugent’s not the one running for president,” she said in a statement. “The question is: Does Romney agree with him? Right now, we don’t know.”
Obama doesn’t seem nearly as interested. “A lot of this other stuff is noise,” his spokesman said today. “[Obama] has made the point that we can’t, as a general rule, police the statements of every supporter.”
