If Romney Misspoke About 'Poor' Why Did He Later Repeat Statement?

In an interview Thursday, Mitt Romney said he "misspoke" when he infamously said earlier in the week that he was not concerned about the very poor because they had a safety net, and the very rich but, instead, was focused on the middle class.

Speaking of the CNN interview that has caused Romney a world of trouble, the Republican presidential frontrunner told Jon Ralston of the Las Vegas Review-Journal during an interview program called Face to Face:

"Jon, it was a misstatement. I misspoke. I've said something that is similar to that but quite acceptable for a long time. And you know when you do I don't know how many thousands of interviews now and then you may get it wrong. And I misspoke. Plain and simple." (Romney's speaks about his controversial statement at the 8:00 mark.)

That explanation would make more sense, however, if, after his earlier comments caused a firestorm, Romney hadn't told the traveling press corps on his charter jet nearly the exact same thing he said to CNN's Soledad O'Brien.

In Romney's airborne attempt to clarify his remarks, he repeated his earlier statement virtually verbatim. He never said that he had earlier misspoken.

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