The Wall Street Journal editorial page published excerpts of what it calls a “draft†of a speech provided to the newspaper by the Romney campaign at some point in the past, but apparently was never delivered by Mitt Romney. In it, Romney touches on the same topics that drew criticism this week, but goes in the opposite direction, saying that he has “never believed†that Americans are divided between “makers and takers.â€
“You’ve probably also heard some people—some even in my own party—divide Americans between ‘makers’ and ‘takers,’†the speech reads. “As if half the country wants to live off the other half. I’ve never believed that. That’s no different from the kind of divisive politics that the President practices when he pits the wealthy against everyone else.â€
The speech also takes note of those on food stamps, disability and the unemployed: “This is a national scandal. Not because those fellow Americans are free-loaders, but because they aren’t able to get a good job that pays enough to be self-sufficient and lets them fulfill their human potential. “