50 Top 10 Lists of 2007

Top 10 Campaign Gaffes

#3. Romney's Hunting Accident

Apr. 5, 2007

"I'm not a big-game hunter. I've made that very clear. I've always been, if you will, a rodent and rabbit hunter. Small varmints, if you will. And I began when I was 15 or so and have hunted those kinds of varmints since then. More than two times."
— Mitt Romney, after saying just two days earlier: "I've been a hunter pretty much all my life," a comment that drew scorn after his campaign acknowledged that the former Mass. governor had only gone hunting twice in his life

Both remarks gave reporters a chance to look into Romney's history on gun rights, revealing a set of "evolutions" from moderate to conservative stances that matched his wavering views on abortion. A few days later a campaign spokesman said Romney wasn't trying to mislead anyone, and reiterated support of gun-ownership rights. Romney joined the National Rifle Association last August as a "Lifetime" member.

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