Caught on candid camera, whispered into a hot mic or blurted out on the campaign trail, gaffes are what make a presidential race hum. Here’s TIME’s running tally of some of the biggest verbal blunders this year.
A video posted on Mother Jones‘s website on Sept. 17 showed Romney at a fundraiser, unaware he was being taped, calling the 47% of Americans who do not pay federal income taxes “entitled.” They “believe that they are victims” and that “the government has a responsibility to care for them,” he said. “My job is not to worry about those people. I’ll never convince them that they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.” The Obama campaign used the remarks as evidence that Romney is out of touch.