Mitt Romney has been criticized here on RedState and in other places for this statement, issued by Romney spokesman Kevin Madden to the Huffington Post, which criticizes Rush Limbaugh on the basis of what he did not say. As regular readers of this site will know, nobody is quicker to knock Mitt Romney than I am, but I was encouraged last night to contact the campaign and get their statement on the matter, in the interest of fairness. I was interested to see if perhaps the campaign was speaking from an incorrect understanding of the facts about what Rush actually said, and if they would stand behind the original statement if they were apprised of the true facts in this case.

The response I got from the campaign directed me to this YouTube link, which documents Governor Romney’s appearance on the Hugh Hewitt show last night, in which he discussed the Rush Limbaugh brouhaha. A transcript of the relevant portion of the interview is below the fold. I have been told by the campaign that these statements are the true feelings of Governor Romney on the matter, and should be interpreted as the campaign’s actual position. To the extent that Kevin Madden’s statement to the Huffington Post contradicts the Governor’s own words, of course the Governor’s own words should control.

Although the Romney campaign has not said this, I’m guessing that Madden was ambushed with a question that went something like, “Rush Limbaugh said that soldiers in Iraq who are criticizing the Iraq war are ‘phony soldiers.’ Does the Governor support such rhetoric?” My personal feeling is that if you get a question like that from the Huffington Post, the answer should be, “Let me get back to you,” so that I could check to make sure that the basis of the question was accurate, but this mistake - if that is indeed what happened - should not, in fairness be imputed to Romney. I think, in fairness, that what appears below the fold is probably what he would have said all along, if he knew the facts of the case.

More below the fold…