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Campaigning in Iowa yesterday, President Obama reflected on some of Mitt Romney's recent speeches, including last week's remarks in Iowa. "I know Governor Romney came to Des Moines last week; warned about a 'prairie fire of debt,'" Obama said. "But he left out some facts. His speech was more like a cow pie of distortion. I don't know whose record he twisted the most -- mine or his."
It was a rhetorical point, of course, but when it comes to Romney's falsehoods, I'm not sure whose record he twists more, either. Maybe you can help me decide by taking a look at the 19th installment of my weekly series, chronicling Mitt's mendacity.
1. In an interview with Mark Halperin, Romney argued about President Obama, "Did he hold unemployment below 8%? It's been, what, 39 months now. That hasn't happened. He promised it would happen by virtue of his stimulus."
As Romney surely knows by now, that's simply not true.
2. In the same interview, Romney asked, "Are people happy with ... the level of foreclosures?"
Romney was trying to attack the administration, but he's on record supporting more foreclosures, making this, at a minimum, wildly misleading.
3. Romney added, in reference to the president, " Look at him right now. He just doesn't have a clue what to do to get this economy going. I do."
Actually, Obama's jobs agenda, unveiled in September, included specific policy proposals that Romney had previously endorsed. If the president "doesn't have a clue," then Romney doesn't have a clue.
4. Romney went on to say, "I actually lay out a plan to get us to a balanced budget within eight years."
That's plainly false. Romney says his plan "can't be scored," but independent budget analysts have found his agenda would make the deficit bigger, not smaller, and add trillions to the national debt.
5. Romney also argued, in the context of talking about budget savings, "I'm going to take action immediately by eliminating programs like Obamacare, which become more and more expensive down the road -- by eliminating them, we get to a balanced budget."
He's lying. In fact, this is the polar opposite of the truth -- Obamacare's savings become greater in future years, and killing the law makes it harder to balance the budget.
6. Romney said, in addressing likely budget cuts, " I'd like my grandkids to be able to watch PBS. But I'm not willing to borrow money from China."
The implication here is that U.S. debt is financed by the Chinese. This isn't true -- China only holds about 8% of the nation's debt.
7. On taxes, Romney argued, "I'm not looking to lower the tax burden paid by the highest-income Americans. That's a fundamental principle."
That's a fundamental falsehood. Romney's plan slashes taxes on the wealthy.
8. On a related note, he added, "I'm looking, if there's any break at all, the break will go to middle-income Americans that have been most hurt by the Obama economy."
In reality, it's the rich, not the middle class, that primarily benefits from Romney's tax plan.
9. In a speech in Washington, Romney insisted, "President Obama has decided to attack success."
The Romney campaign has never been able to point to a single credible example of Obama attacking success.
10. In the same speech, Romney added, "When the President took office ... he faced a spending crisis. It's only gotten worse."
There is no universe in which this is even close to being true.
11. In making the case against Obama's student-loan reforms, the Romney campaign said it intends to "reverse President Obama's nationalization of the student loan market."
This is demonstrably false -- the market wasn't nationalized. Since all kinds of private-sector banks still make all kinds of student loans, the argument doesn't even make sense.
12. Romney told Fox News that "it certainly sounds like" the president is, as Rush Limbaugh put it, "running against capitalism." Romney added, "There's no question but that he's attacking capitalism."
No sensible person could possibly believe this is true, and neither Romney nor his aides have ever provided an example of the president attacking capitalism. Obama routinely does the opposite.
13. Romney argued in an op-ed that Obama "signed into law a budget scheme that threatens to saddle the U.S. military with nearly $1 trillion in cuts over the next 10 years," which the president's own Defense Secretary criticized.
That's not even close to being accurate.
14. Referencing Noam Scheiber's book, The Escape Artists, Romney argued, "In this book, [White House officials] point out that they said the American people will forget how long the recovery took. So that means they went into this knowing that when they passed Obamacare, it was going to make life harder for the American people."
That's not really what the book says, and it's not what the president's team argued.
15. Romney boasted this week, in a rare reference to his one term as governor, "[W]e didn't just slow the rate of growth of our government, we actually cut it."
16. The Romney campaign also argued this week that Romney created "well in excess of 100,000" jobs as an executive at Bain Capital.
Previous editions of Chronicling Mitt's Mendacity: Vol. I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII,XIII, XIV, XV, XVI, XVII, XVIII
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It ıs a good thıng Mr. Romney ıs wealthy because hıs pants catch on fıre so often wıth all of that lyıng, he must be spendıng a fortune on replacıng trousers every week.
Anyone that believes you can save money by spending it is absolutely delusional.
It's like my wife coming home from the mall on a full day of shopping exclaiming "I saved you soooooooooo much money."
huh?
No FDH it's like saying that you save money by buying a home or paying for college. In fact you do not dispute the fact that going to college or buying a home saves you money (given your previous posts) so I'm going to call hypocrisy on this comment.
Also seriously the sexist jab? Wow bravo man bravo (/snark)
8. On a related note, he added, "I'm looking, if there's any break at all, the break will go to middle-income Americans that have been most hurt by the Obama economy."
It is all about context. If you understand the context, Mittens is not lying about this one.
The Mittens Scale
Wealthy = Multi-Billionaires
Well Off = Billionaires
Middle Class = Fellow Quarter-Billionaires
Lower Middle Class = Professionals and other who provide direct support to the Wealthy, Well Off, and Middle Class and receive multi $100K incomes for doing so
Working Poor = Corporate Mid-Level Managers
The Very Poor = the rest of the peon class (for whom Mittens has express no concern)
Context, Steve, Context!
Nice try, but even the GOP standard "middle class means people making $250K" can't save him. In the proposals Mitt has endorsed, multi-billionaires still get more of a break than quarter-billionaires.
Again, just trying to toss a little Reality Check into the vast Conservative propaganda bubble... the bolded sections are links to the sources behind the fact checks.
Well, to be completely fair here, maybe he meant that he thinks people want more foreclosures, not less.
Perhaps he's worried that the President will "attack" his "success".
Again, in all fairness, given the circumstances the nation faced, there was a spending crisis when the President took office. In the absence of corporate and consumer spending, the government wasn't spending nearly enough to get the economy moving again...
;-)
Hey, Steve -- you know, I know it isn't polite to call someone a "liar," but lets be honest, most people don't know what "mendacity" means. IMHO, we should be worried more about making a case the most people can understand, rather than be clever / alliterative.
I do... if you still don't know what it means after 19 segments maybe you need a dictionary? Also I don't think most of the people who read this blog are the kind of people who need convincing about Mitt's mendacity; rather, they're the type who are intrigued by Mitt's ever-burgeoning ability to come up with brazen un-truths. Plus, I dig the title.
Hi, Wyatt -- I think you miss my point. This type of information needs to be more widely known, not just to people with big vocabularies who come to this blog. I think there is a benefit to calling a liar a liar at every opportunity, rather than writing things that those already on our side "dig."
Idiots_etc. -
To the extent that such things are to your taste (and I get your point, I really do), you should also listen to (or watch, now that it's carried on Current TV weekday mornings) Stephanie Miller's radio show - funny, and she never hesitates to call the likes of Willard "Reversible Mittens" Rawmoney a "lying sack of crap" when they deserve it. She even has a jingle about that which she plays whenever such liars say something particularly brazenly false... fun show. She's also had Dr. Maddow (and Dr. Maddow's parents!) as guests on several occasions... <G>.
Hey Rachel, you can add two more: 1. Mitt spoke of no need to help poor because they had a safety net nor the rich because they don't need help, then he endorses the Ryan plan that takes away the safety net and rewards the rich with more; 2. Mitt says Obama doesn't understand what productivity is yet understanding productivity will find it in context of our own work and existence has doubled in the last 35 years while wages have gone flat after historically being commensurate to that productivity Remember the lady who said in paraphrase that if you want more money then work more, be more productive. The lady actually made a great point which is the center of a capitalistic economy as outlined by Adam Smith, Keynes and others, and self-responsibility, that work is rewarded for itself which is determined by productivity measures.
one more time with emphasis: Rachel did not write this post !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hey Steve....
It's no wonder he acts this way, he's defending his Avaricious Economical Policies. First thing to remember when someone's accused of something he's guilty of, they'll blame someone else of something similar. Obama can relate to any American Citizen, even if you don't agree with him 100%, you can relate to him on another degree. Mitt on the other hand can only relate to a small amount of American Citizens, so he tries and "ACTS" like he can to the other larger amount...
I literally can't watch this creep speak for more than 15 seconds at a time.
How can you tell willard's lying?
His lips move.
The only thing worse, the lamestream media almost never calls him out on it.
Someone that lies to that degree is obviously a sociopath.
He lies so much he doesn't know it is a lie anymore?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kdkBIdUV-w&feature=related
He believes his lies...Lies are his control mechanism.
Romney has a Narcissistic Personality Disorder..A Narcissus is very in love with self and is incapable of having empathy or sympathy for others. This psychopathic disorder must control everything and everyone around them. Their only sense of right and wrong is what and how it affects them and their goals.
As long as the lies are accomplishing a sense of control for him which is what he wishes them to do. It they do not he flips them.
This ability to lie, maneuver and to manipulate others is a trade mark tool that all Narcissistic Personalities use to control the environment and people around them in the ways that they want.
They hide behind being a community leader, church goer, great neighbor and family man..What people think of them personally is very important to them. They crave the acceptance of others to reinforce their own sense of importance.
Our prisons are full of them who feel they have a right to control their own lives by taking from others.....Serial killers fall into this physiologic disorder.
We can only wish point 13 was true. Its hard to take a close look at the defense budget and not come away disgusted and amazed. As far as having a mature discussion as to what constitutes an appropriate level of defense spending is concerned, I'm afraid liberals are just as guilty of poisoning the well by linking any effort to make reasonable cuts to foolish pacifism at best, and downright anti-Americanism at worst.
Over-spending on unnecessary and redundant weapon systems has been legendary in all branches of the service. Private suppliers disperse manufacturing facilities, not to increase economy or value, but to gain congressional votes in as many districts as possible.
One incidental detail which speaks volumes: by my count, according to the U.S. Military's own website, we operate 150 military golf courses - 125 in this country and 25 abroad. What, exactly, does the game of golf have to do with national defense? Does shooting in the low 80's make you a better Admiral?
"...cow pie of distortion."
I LOL'd.
What vocabulary!
Obama will trounce Romney in debates!
Over and over again you accuse Memory Isn't There Today (MITT) of lying, when you've never offered any evidence that he can remember anything.
If we just take his word that he cannot recall anything at all about his own life (and there is plenty of evidence of that), then we can hardly say that he's lying.
Yes, we can.
Mitt Romney is a pathological liar!!!
Mitt Romney has a Narcissistic Personality Disorder..And needs to have a physiological profile done. He actually believes his own lies, because his reality is what he wishes it to be..
The Narcisstic Personality is controlling and has a very high opinion of self. They feel that it is not only their right, but an obligation as ordained by God that those who believe in Gods words and work hard will obtain prosperity and riches as the Bible says.
Those who do not obtain riches are not following the laws of God and are nothing,but sinners who have brought about their own hardship by their own actions or lack there of.
And the fact that Mitt believes that God is leading him only reinforces his believe that he is doing what God wants him to do. The Narcissistic Personality in men such as Hitler have brought about the worst crimes against humanity that has ever been.
The examples of fine upstanding members of churches and communities who have been fine family men for all the outside world to see. Now sit in prisons convicted of serial murders...
Their ability to lie and deceive is a trade mark ability of the Narcisstic Personality and they depend on it. In their own mind they are the only smart person and believe all other people are stupid.
Hmmmm...
Do extremist Muslims fall into this category too?
thank you for this service to your country.
As a Canadian, I've always followed US politics closely. You're our neighbour, and what happens in Washington affects us, and the rest of the world for that matter. Romney is a spineless, lying D-Bag, who would say ANYTHING if he thought it might help get him elected. His record at Bain Capital, his performance as Governor of Massachusetts and total lack of any core beliefs should be more than enough to ensure an Obama landslide in November. But years of observation have convinced me that this election is going to come down to the wire. Pointing out Romney's consistent struggles with the truth will do nothing to convince the forty-something percent of Americans who want Obama out of office at any cost. I'm not sure I can think of a weaker Republican nominee in my lifetime, and I'm in my 30s. Sadly, there's a good chance this clown could win. And should that happen, I suspect that he might make everyone look back on the Bush years with longing.
If that happens, the unemployment rate in Canada will drop to zero because everyone will be able to get a job at Immigration Canada processing refugee claims from liberals in the USA.
Or maybe move north of the border, eh? ;-)
Sorry, could not resist....seriously, your assessment is astute. Turnout will certainly be the key for Mr. Obama. I'm nearly twice your age and I don't recall a weaker GOP candidate either. And that includes Nixon, the man who created the EPA. When Nixon starts looking almost normal, you know the GOP has jumped off the proverbial right cliff!
It would be refreshing and possibly quite helpful to see a few well-written t v ads from Canadians against Romney.
I keep hearing republican talking heads along with Romney saying that corporations need more tax cuts.Is'nt sitting on over 2 trillion dollars enough.What part of consumer spending,consumer spending,consumer spending is it that they do'nt understand.Economists with any smarts and not just ideology will agree that putting money into the hands of people without millions in the bank are the key to job creation and lowering the debt.Tax cuts for the wealthy does not put money into the US treasury.But according to republican arithmetic it does.I think they must use Chinese arithmetic.
"Simply not true"... "patently false"... "he's lying"... "wildly misleading"... "fundamental falsehood"... "this isn't true"... "not even close to being accurate"... Do you guys ever get tired of having to come up with different ways of saying "Mitt lied"?
No, Just Saying!
The trouble is you are preaching to the choir...how to we get folks who are planning on voting against Obama [notice not for Romney] to read Romney's lies? The message needs to reach all of THEM!
Steve is giving us the seeds. It's up to us to plant them.
Unfortunately, I know too many people that would vote for Satan rather than Obama. Reasoned discourse is an anomaly in their day to day existence. When pinned down with facts, they resort to their usual methodology - the loudest and most obnoxious wins.
The Foxliterate are given seeds too, anti-factual, anti-truth, anti-Obama seeds. We can't fight that. Like StitchinKat says, it's a matter of turn-out.
Who can sit at home on election day 2012 and not pull the lever for Obama regardless of points of discontentment or dissatisfaction, after seeing the level of domestic and foreign idiocy Romney will bring to the White House? J-Rock is right, Mitt's degree of disingenuous hypocrisy is far deeper and more fluid than Bush II ever presented.
I doubt that you can reach the people who truly believe (what a concept) in Romney. I don't think I've ever seen a candidate with less content or specifics in his campaign. Whenever he's asked a serious question he just turns it around to an attack on Obama. He maintains that he "just knows" how to fix the economy because of his "25 years in the private sector", but when pressed for specifics its the same old drivel of tax cuts and deregulation. The more I read about him, it seems that in his years at Bain he was not really involved with the companies Bain bought, but basically a "face man" who dealt with the investors. In other words, a glorified salesman. Lies and vagueness are what he's selling now; hopefully he won't get enough buyers.
One should avoid talking about what Mitt Romney actually did and didn't do at Bain Capital because such talk is now considered to be an unjust attack upon the Free Market itself. his character. And any mention of his unpopular one-term governorship is deemed to be an unfair attack upon his character, so one shouldn't talk about that either. And reminding voters of Romney's countless shifting of positions is seen as a personal attack, so that's out of bounds as well. And pointing out Romney's questionable and offensive behavior throughout his life is considered to be below the belt, as those issues should be left for history to decide. And it is beyond the pale to raise the issue that Romney received several deferments for a war and a draft that he supported, allowing others to serve and to sacrifice instead, because that would be a reprehensible attack upon his patriotism. And no one should mention Romney's taxes or his off-shore accounts or his Swiss bank accounts because that's all regarded as unappealing attacks of envy. And one should avoid pointing out that Romney has said that the Supreme Court should overturn Roe v. Wade, that he wants to get rid of Planned Parenthood, that he supports the Blunt/Rubio ammendment, that he supports a constitutional ammendment to establish the definition of life at conception, endorsed the Ryan budget that ends Medicare as we know it, opposes the Dream Act, and opposes economic equality and marriage equality, because raising those issues would divert attention from the "real issues."
It is also recommended not to mention President Obama's successful mission of taking out Bin Laden, or asking the relevant question of what would Romney have done, because that's considered "despicable.” One should also refrain from talking about how under President Obama's leadership we have seen 26 straight months (and counting) of private sector job growth, because any positive talk about the economy is truly upsetting for many on the right. And one should avoid mentioning that President Obama saved the American auto industry, because on further review, that's what Romney wanted to happen all along when he argued to "Let Detroit go bankrupt." It's advisable to avoid talking about any of the many accomplishments achieved by President Obama and his administration because that is now considered to be divisive partisan politics. And it's also suggested not to remind voters of the historic mess that the Bush administration left behind because that would be playing the blame game.
It's probably best if one just talks about how Romney wonderously "saved" the Olympics. You know, the real issue of the campaign. But by all means, do not delve too deep into the issue, otherwise the uncomfortable inconvenient truths will be considered unfair partisan attacks upon Romney's character.
Protecting Mitt from his record is like saying 'without the murder and cannibalism Jeffrey Dahmer was a good neighbor.'
My dog told me to vote against Romney and thats good enough for me.
kaneblues, very well said.
But need I remind you & others that these are the exact same tactics Rove used while Bush was in office. "Either you are with us or against us." "Opposing the war is unpatriotic"or the equivalent of "committing treason."
Given that Romney is this adverse to questions not to mention the truth just think what he'd be like as ... god forbid ... gulp ... president. If we did not support Romney's policies would that, too, be considered an act of treason or unpatriotic! As crazy as that may sound it really does not seem so far fetched when you stop & think about it. After all it worked while Bush was in office.
Winning at any cost is too high a price to pay. because when the bill comes due we pay, the winner/s takes all thanks to Rove's despicable handiwork.
#6 is a non-sequitur extraordinaire. What in the world does watching PBS have to do with borrowing from China? PBS is not a government program.
PBS receives a some funding from the federal government. It's an infinitesimal portion of the federal budget, of course, yet Romney is suggesting it should be cut because of its impact on the debt--which he implies is all borrowed from China.
By eliminating funding to PBS will make it more difficult for PBS to put together shows that provide information to the American people. In the past I loved to watch Bill Moyers on PBS. I believe conservatives would love to make sure that shows like Bill Moyers can not be put on air. If cutting the funding doesn't work well enough then they will come up something else in addition.
Shorter Mitt: "I'm playing these bigots for fools, sure hope there's enough of 'em to put my clueless ass into the Oval Office."
There is no universe where this can come close to being true---
You're forgetting the Mitt-R-Verse! With the nice homey mormon-exclusive planet Kolob where caucasian-Jesus lives! With all the military spending you can fathom and none of the poor people!
The Republican strategy is so very simple it's almost genius in its stupidity:
They know they can't beat Obama by just discussing the basic facts and the reality of the situation, so instead of trying to beat him with real facts they make stuff up about him to paint him as wildly unsuccessful, then sit back and pray both that the media won't rigorously fact-check their nonsense, and that the average American is dumb enough to buy what the Republicans are selling.
Speaks a lot to their opinion of the average American, doesn't it? If someone considered me stupid enough to help elect to high office a man who lies to my face on a consistent basis, I'd be rather insulted.
Then again I'm an ocean away from all this with my own lying jerk politicians to concern myself with. So I'm not even sure why I'm so invested in the Presidential Election when it has no effect on me at all...
So what does Obama really offer other than increasing our national debt to the point of no return.
outlaw12, I believe that the national budget is over budget by 40%. Hopefully you are not one that believes we should cut next years budget by 40%. To solve the budget problems we need people to discuss which programs are necessary and how much we need to spend on them. I believe Obama is willing to work with congress to solve the budget problems. There are people in congress that are determined to see Obama fail even to the detriment of the American people. Also you should try a little harder with your post. Just posting a talking point doesn't cut it.
Gloria Borger on CNN was interviewing someone from the Romney campaign. I only caught
the last part of the interview and the surrogate for Romney was asked about
Romney's record in Massachusetts. He said that Romney created over thirty
thousand jobs and that was more than President Obama did in his three plus years
in office. Then he said that we are still losing jobs and it is worse than when
Obama came into office. Both are lies. The bad part is that Gloria didn't call
him on it.
Romney lies about Obama all the time. He says that he is always
apologizing for America. That is a lie! He stands on the stump and states that
the employment was bad when Obama took office and Obama made it worse. That is a
lie. He even has the nerve to say that he takes credit for the auto industry
getting back on track. another lie!
When he is asked about anything, he
doesn't answer the question. Instead he starts telling lies about how Obama did
it wrong. He never answered anything all through the debates. He is like a
cheating spouse that in fear of getting caught will start accusing the mate of
something to throw up a smoke screen to throw them off of the situation at
hand.
While writing this John king was interviewing Rick Perry. He told a lie
and wasn't called on it. It is at the least poor journalism to let the
Republicans lie about things and not being called out about them. Romney does it
every time he gets in front of a microphone. He tell the same lies so many times
that I think people will believe him.
I would say to anyone that hears Mitt
Romney talk to an audience or be in an interview to google what he said. You
will find that most of the time it is not the truth.
John D. Taylor
They are NEVER called on it by the 'MEDIA'...Nikki Haley was on this morning and said 'The War on Women was made up by the Democrats to distract from Obama and his spending spree!' It was a two-fer for the lying Guv.
Ya'll ain't being force-fed enough Fox, are ya? I got a hot dose twice just today, once at the garage, and again in the STATE CAPITOL BUILDING! Yes, the state capital is pumping Fox News into the minds of people trapped in their long lines. Brain-washing while you wait!
Guess what! Mitt is definitely not winning this election for Mitt, Fox is winning this election for Mitt. They are doing all his dirty work for him, while he runs a "clean" campaign or whatever.
The whole time I was sitting within earshot of force-fed TV, Fox spewed a negative stream of bull sh&t about the President, accentuated with laughter and smug "aren't we so much better" attitudes all delivered by a clutch of pretty talking heads who use low cut shirts and lots of nicely styled hair to round out their elevated opinions. Today they complained that Obama busted on Bain even as one of his own advisers was a hedge fund manager, asking why Obama is making a case over what Mitt did for a living when someone in his own circle does the same thing. This is an effort to exonerate Bain for those Republicans who might not vote for a guy who's been at least partially responsible for mass lay-offs. "Obama did it too!"...well, his adviser did and that is enough to convict the President of hypocrisy while NOT convicting Mitt of being a dirtbag.
Thus Fox "solves" another Mitt problem for him...
NeedMoreCoffee
Whenever Iam stuck somewhere & Fox is on, I always politely ask them to change the the channel. 99% of they time, they do.
Do you really want to go there on record, Do you really want to know Obama record.
F*%$ everyone who uses Christy Romer's highly speculative graphical projection of unemployment to claim that Obama promised unemployment below 8%. It was a projection, not a promise, hastily made based on incomplete information that proved to grossly underestimate the severity of the economic problems. Everyone except nutbag Austrians and Paultard goldbugs agrees that the fiscal stimulus had at least some positive effect, which means the error must have been in the severity of the underlying condition.
Jim, It's worse, even worse than the Carter Administration.
A lot of politicians both Dems and Reps need to get their heads out of their hands.The
American people should know that both parties profited from the lobbyists that promoted the Bush agenda in this country.
Politicians in general sold out this country and the American working people.
Are you afraid that the lobbyists will tell the people how you profited? How your vote was bought and for how much?
Democrats are hiding behind shallow nothing policies and closed door meetings. While the GOP are trying to skip stones across the muddy flood waters of their failed policies during the Bush years.
Mitt Romney is a glorified front man. A puppet being used by the top 1% to guarantee that their fortunes and influence around the world keeps growing.
In 1990, George H W Bush said (this may be a paraphrase, I don't remember the exact words) "I chose Dan Quayle for VP because he looks like Robert Redford and I thought the women would vote for him." This is ridiculous on so many levels I don't know where to begin except to remind this generation where these stupid ideas come from. 1) Women don't vote with their glands but apparently the Bush men do. 2) Why do you think you're having a problem with women voters anyway? Could it be that 3) You and your son have encouraged ignorance throughout your moments of power? Attacking teacher's unions is one way. Privatizing schools is another. Do you understand that President Obama knows better than to do that? About a month ago, when he spoke at a college, someone yelled "I love you" and without missing a beat he called out "I love you back". Women would turn themselves inside out for a man who can do that because of his heart, not his face.
B.O. did "I love you back" at least three times!
Give thanks to Michelle, Malia & Sasha for helping his heart