This post presents a video & the text of President Barack Obama's "Romnesia" speech that he gave at a campaign rally on October 19, 2012 in Fairfax, Virginia.
The content of this post is presented for historical, folkloric, motivational, political, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
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FEATURED VIDEO: President Obama in Fairfax, Virginia: "Romnesia"
Published on Oct 19, 2012 by BarackObamadotcom [4:42]
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President Obama breaks down Mitt Romney's case of "Romnesia."
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TEXT OF PRESIDENT OBAMA'S "ROMNESIA" SPEECH
The choice between going backwards and moving forward has never been so clear.
But now that we’re eighteen days out from the election, Mr. “severely conservative” wants you to think that he was “severely kidding” about everything he said over the last year.
He told folks he he was the ideal candidate for the Tea Party. Now, suddenly, he’s sayin “What? Who me?”
He’s he’s forgettin what his own positions are. And he’s bettin that you will too.
I mean he's he’s changin up so much -- backtrackin and sidesteppin-- we've gotta, we, we gotta name this condition that he's going through. I think I I I think it's called “Romnesia”.... That’s what it’s called...I think that’s what he’s goin through.
Now, I'm not I’m not a medical doctor, but I do I do wanna go over some of the symptoms with you. Because I wanna make sure nobody else catches it...
If-you know-if yah say-if you say you’re for equal pay for equal work, but you keep refusin to say that you would sign a bill that protects equal pay for equal work, you might have “Romensia”...
If you say women should have access to contraceptive care, but you support legislation that would let your employer deny you contraceptive care, you might have a case of Romnesia....
If yah say that you'll protect a woman's right to choose, but you stand up at a primary debate and said that you'd be delighted to sign a law outlying-ah outlawing that right to choose in all cases - man, you definitely got Romnesia.
And and ah this extends to other issues.
If if if you say if you say earlier in the year “I’m going to give tax cuts for the top 1 percent”, and then in ah debate you say, “I I don't know anything about giving tax cuts to rich folks.” then you you ah you you need to get ah ah thermometer, take your temperature, because you you probably got Romnesia...
And if if yah say if you say that you’re a champion of the coal industry while when you where Governor you stood in front of a coal plant and said “This plant will kill yah”.... that’s Romensia.
So so the I I I think you’re bein able, you’re being to be able to identify these symptoms.
And and if you come down with a case of Romnesia..Aha!... and you can't seem to remember- the policies that are still on your website …or the promises you've made over the six years you've been runnin for president, here's the good news- OBAMACARE COVERS PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS!....WE CAN FIX YAH UP!... WE'VE GOT AH CURE!...WE CAN MAKE YAH WELL, VIRGINIA!... THIS IS A CURABLE DISEASE!...
Ah ha! Women! Men! All of yah- these, these are family issues. These are economic issues.
I want my daughters to have the same opportunities as anybody’s sons.
I believe that America does better, that the economy grows more, we create more jobs when everybody participates. When everyone’s gettin a fair shot, everybody’s getting a fair shake, everybody’s playin by the same rules, everybody’s doin their fair share.
That’s why I’m running for a second term for President of the United States. I need you to help me finish the job.
-snip-
Transcription by Azizi Powell, 10/19/2012 from the video.
Code: "-" space between President Obama's words.
"..." applauds & other exclamatory responses from the rally attendees.
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NOTES
This transcription is given without the responses of the rally attendees. However, I believe that those responses are integral to the spirit of this speech, and may have influenced the prepared text of that speech.
For instance, it appears that President Obama altered his prepared statement after his words "This plant will kill yah" because someone or more than one person from the crowd followed his previous pattern and said something like "You know you've got "Romnesia".
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Portions of this speech can be found in multiple news reports such as http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/19/us-usa-campaign-idUSBRE89F07J20121019
Obama accuses Republican rival of suffering "Romnesia"
By Margaret Chadbourn; Fairfax, Virginia | Fri Oct 19, 2012 2:13pm EDT
(Reuters) - President Barack Obama turned his opponent's name into an ailment on Friday, accusing rival Mitt Romney of suffering from "Romnesia" for emphasizing moderate positions rather than the conservative ones he put forward in the Republican primary race.-snip-
However, as is the case with other news reports of President Obama's speeches, those news report present President Obama's words in Standard American English instead of the combination of one form of African American English and one form of Standard American English that President Obama used during that speech. I've chosen to transcribe President Obama's speech as I heard it, including the African American vernacular English and the words he stuttered.
It's my sense that the cadence and the pattern of repeating certain words such as "If____, then___" in President Obama's lighthearted but serious "Romnesia" speech reflect some of the traditions of the oratory of Black Baptist preachers. certain other speeches by President Obama also reflect this tradition. One other such speech by President Obama that immediate comes to mind is his comments addressing the "The Dark Knight Rises" movie theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado during a campaign visit to the Harborside Event Center in Fort Myers, Florida. Friday, July 20, 2012. http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/07/president-obamas-comments-dark-knight.html
I will leave it to those more knowledgeable than me to explore the similarities between President Obama's oratory practices and the traditional oratory of Black Baptist preachers.
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RELATED LINKS
The "Romnesia" speech is only a small portion of the speech that President Obama gave at that rally. Click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSq9srH5pxQ for a full video of that speech.
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Click https://twitter.com/search?q=%23ROMNESIA&src=hash for the "Romnesia" twitter account that was started by the Obama campaign.
Judging from tweets by persons on that page, "Romnesia" is not just a form of amnesia, that is to say "selective memory loss" which has caused Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney to constantly change his positions on issues and not remember that he has done so. Futhermore, "Romnesia" is contagious, and other politicians such as Republican Vice Presidential nominee Paul Ryan also exhibit symptoms of that condition.
[Update: http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/10/21/1055041/rubio-defends-romney-contraception/ article "Rubio Develops ‘Romnesia’ While Trying To Explain Romney’s Position On Contraception" provides another definition for "Romnesia":
"Last week, President Obama joked that some Romney surrogates are suffering from “Romnesia” — an ability to forget the candidate’s old positions on major campaign issues, in favor of his new positions."]
"Romnesia" can also cause people to act against their own best interest - for instance, the elderly who need health care voting for Romney although he has indicated that he would change Medicare to a voucher program.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND THANKS
My thanks to President Obama for his words, his actions, and his positive role modeling.
My thanks also to the attendees of that rally, and to the uploader of this video.
Finally, thank you for visiting pancocojams.
Viewer comments are welcome.
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