President Barack Obama has had his share. And so has Mitt Romney.

Most recently, a video of Romney speaking at a fundraiser back in May has made the rounds. The event was held at the Boca Raton mansion of a hedge fund honcho. Guests paid $50,000 a plate for the privilege of attending.

Romney was asked how he could win in November.

“There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it. That that’s an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what . These are people who pay no income tax . My job is is not to worry about those people. I’ll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives,” he replied.

Since the video got noticed last week, Romney has faced a firestorm over his comments, not only from the Democrats but from members of his own party. Even his own running mate says Romney’s answer was “obviously inarticulate.” Media outlets are buzzing with stories and analysis. TV comedians are having a field day.

And some pundits are even saying this will cost Romney the election.

Not so fast. People are blowing this way out of proportion.

Right now, there are a number of Americans who are going to vote for President Obama. And nothing Romney can do will change that.

And there are a number of Americans who are going to vote for Romney_or at least against the president_and nothing will change that.

That leaves the undecided and those who don’t care much but could be motivated to vote. And frankly, a good number of those agree with everything Romney said_even if they never figure out Romney was talking about campaign strategy and not saying how he would govern.

This is the kind of thing that makes good headlines, but in the end won’t have much of an effect at all.

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The Daily Citizen, Sept. 19

AAA punts on weather-shortened games

If you’re surprised to still be reading about high school football games that happened 13 days ago, you are not alone. We’re shocked that we’re still writing about them.

Lightning in the area required the cancellation or shortening of all six White County teams’ games on Friday, Sept. 7. We started the following Monday with a modest goal — find out whether games would be ruled wins, losses or no-contests.

In the Harding Academy home game against Heber Springs, play was stopped with 4:31 left in the first half and the Wildcats on the Panthers’ 3-yard line. We were informed that the game would be ruled a no-contest that night, and we called both schools’ coaches and athletic directors the following Monday to be certain. Both schools confirmed that the game was a no-contest.

Case closed, right?

Wrong.

Despite receiving reports from both schools confirming the no-contest, the Arkansas Activities Association (AAA) ruled the game to be a Heber Springs win. The reason was because — get this — the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported the score as 6-0 Heber Springs the weekend after the game. The Democrat-Gazette did not report the game as a win or a loss, mind you. The newspaper simply reported the score as it appeared when play was stopped.

Don’t get us wrong. We believe in power of the press. But the ability to determine the outcome of sporting events is outside our job description. That should be left to a governing body, and we should report accordingly.

Even after a reporter from The Daily Citizen informed AAA that the Democrat-Gazette now reports Harding Academy’s record as 2-0, Director Lance Taylor said the outcome would not be changed until he “heard from the administrators.”

Taylor said he had not seen the game reports, and would not comment on whether anyone else at AAA had seen the reports.

Which raises the obvious question: Why not just read the reports? This question was never answered. In fact, Taylor became so exasperated talking about the issue on Tuesday that he hung up on a Daily Citizen reporter. Chasing down something that should have been decided weeks ago is no picnic for us either, Mr. Taylor.

Even under the most modest expectations, determining game outcomes should be a basic function of the Arkansas Activities Association. Instead, AAA officials have shown that they’re only interested in passing the buck to the print media, superintendents, principals — anyone but themselves.

For Pete’s sake, AAA, read the game reports. Call the referees. Call school officials. Do whatever you have to do to clear this situation up once and for all.

The time has come for everyone to stop talking about Week 2 and focus on the remainder of the season.

This situation was confusing two weeks ago. Now, it’s just downright embarrassing.

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Southwest Times Record, Sept. 20

Editorial: Midway, Performers Offer Something For All

Autumn is our favorite season, for many reasons: The air is crisp, the sunshine is bright, the holidays are within sight, and the activities are plentiful. It wouldn’t be fall without football, apple cider, pumpkin-spiced treats — and the Arkansas-Oklahoma State Fair.

The annual fair begins Friday at Kay Rodgers Park in Fort Smith; this year marks the 76th anniversary celebration of the event that started as the Fort Smith Livestock Exposition.

Organizers of the fair often say “there’s something for everyone” — and as we look at the schedule for this year’s event, we agree. The offerings certainly target families with children of all ages. The midway, of course, offers rides and tasty fair food both traditional and unique. Old McDonald’s Farm allows youngsters to interact with animals. The Arkansas Valley Antique Tractor Club will sponsor an antique tractor pull Sept. 29. FFA and 4H Youth Day activities will be Wednesday.

Did we mention the performances? Nightly, the Choctaw Casino stage will provide a venue for myriad free performances by singers, dancers and even gymnasts. The always popular Youth Talent Contest finals will be Sunday evening. At Harper Stadium, country musician Jake Owen will take the stage Saturday night; the Casey Donahew Band will perform country music Tuesday night; pop and hip-hop duo Karmin will play Wednesday night; Jake & Elwood’s Blues Revue will perform next Thursday night; Canadian rock band Theory of a Deadman will perform Sept. 28; and the close-out performance of the fair will be the All-Star Monster Truck Tour on Sept. 29.

The fair has been a fall tradition for many of us in western Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma for more than 75 years; more than 175,000 people are expected to attend this year. “The Arkansas-Oklahoma State Fair is important because it’s one of the longest-running traditions in Fort Smith,” fair chairwoman Sherry Shumate told us this summer. “We want to keep that tradition alive today and for many more generations.”

The midway opens Friday at 4 p.m. and will be open daily through Sept. 29. We’ll be there daily, reporting and photographing the fun for the printed newspaper and swtimes.com. And we’re already planning which days to take the kids; you should be, too.