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United States presidential election, 2012

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+#REDIRECT [[United States presidential election, 2012]]
-'''Romnesia''' is a term used by U.S. President [[Barack Obama]] late in the campaign for the [[United States presidential election, 2012|United States presidential election of 2012]], lampooning Republican opponent [[Mitt Romney]] for memory lapses.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/19/politics/election-lingo/index.html|title=Election spawns a new lingo, from 'Obamaloney' to 'Romnesia'|work=[[CNN]]}}</ref> The term is a [[portmanteau]] combining the last name of Mitt Romney with [[amnesia]] to suggest a condition of selective memory of prior policy stances that Romney took.
-==History==
-===Use by the Obama campaign===
-News sources reported on the Obama campaign's use of the term<ref name="autogenerated1"/><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/decision2012/obama-fires-up-crowd-in-virginia-with-romnesia-speech/2012/10/19/ddde9560-1a13-11e2-aa6f-3b636fecb829_story.html|title=Obama fires up crowd in Virginia with 'Romnesia' speech|date=19 October 2012|accessdate=19 October 2012|work=[[Washington Post]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Dann|first=Carrie|title=Biden: 'Romnesia' is a communicable disease|url=http://firstread.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/19/14562945-biden-romnesia-is-a-communicable-disease?lite|newspaper=First Read|date=October 19, 2012}}</ref> after its usage in a campaign speech by President [[Barack Obama]] in [[Fairfax, Virginia|Fairfax]], [[Virginia]] at [[George Mason University]] on October 19, 2012, making a character critique of [[Mitt Romney]]:
-<blockquote>"He’s forgetting what his own positions are, and he’s betting that you will, too. I mean, he’s changing up so much and [[backtracking]] and [[sidestepping]] - we’ve got to name this condition that he’s going through. I think it’s called 'Romnesia'.  That’s what it’s called. If you come down with a case of Romnesia, 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 running for President, here's the good news: [[Obamacare]] covers pre-existing conditions." - [[Barack Obama]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://2012.presidential-candidates.org/?news=President-Obamas-Romnesia-Speech-Transcript-and-Video |title=President Obamas Romnesia Speech Transcript and Video |publisher=2012.presidential-candidates.org |date=October 19, 2012 |accessdate=2012-10-22}}</ref>
-</blockquote>
-Alex Kantrowitz of Forbes described Romnesia as a "Made for [[Social Media]] Attack Line" and observed that the term spread rapidly through [[Twitter]], [[Facebook]], [[Tumblr]], and [[YouTube]] within 48 hours of its first public usage by Obama.<ref>{{cite web|author=Kantrowitz, Alex |url=http://www.forbes.com/sites/alexkantrowitz/2012/10/21/romnesia-a-made-for-social-media-attack-line/ |title=#Romnesia: A Made for Social Media Attack Line |publisher=Forbes |date=October 21, 2012 |accessdate=2012-10-22}}</ref>
-Danny Diaz, a senior advisor to Romney, responded on [[Twitter]] stating: "America doesn’t need a comedy routine; it needs a serious plan to fix the economy".<ref>{{cite web|author=Markon, Jerry |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/decision2012/obama-fires-up-crowd-in-virginia-with-romnesia-speech/2012/10/19/ddde9560-1a13-11e2-aa6f-3b636fecb829_story.html |title=Obama blames ‘Romnesia’ for opponent’s positions, as campaign skirmishing builds |publisher=The Washington Post |date=October 19, 2012 |accessdate=2012-10-22}}</ref> ''[[Washington Post]]'' blogger [[Alexandra Petri]] panned Obama's use of the term Romnesia for being reminiscent of comedian [[Jeff Foxworthy]]'s comedy album ''[[You Might Be a Redneck If…]]''.<ref>{{cite web|last=Petri |first=Alexandra |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/compost/post/romnesia-really/2012/10/19/95dbc824-1a12-11e2-aa6f-3b636fecb829_blog.html |title=ComPost: Romnesia? Really? |publisher=The Washington Post |date=October 19, 2012 |accessdate=2012-10-22}}</ref>
-===Coinage===
-[[Ben Zimmer]], Chair of the New Words Committee of the [[American Dialect Society]] (ADS), posted to the ADS listserv<ref>http://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind1210C&L=ADS-L&P=54161</ref> and Twitter<ref>http://twitter.com/bgzimmer/status/259406170857566208</ref> that the earliest documented use of the term on the web was by blogger Brian Rosman on the Health Care for All Massachusetts website in a blog post titled 'Romnesia' from April 4, 2011.<ref>{{cite web|http://blog.hcfama.org/2011/04/04/romnesia/|title=Romnesia|work=hcfama.org}}</ref>
-Other early uses of the term in major media include that of ''[[Mother Jones (magazine)|Mother Jones]]'' Washington Bureau Chief [[David Corn]], who wrote an article in June 2012 titled "A Case of Romnesia".<ref>{{cite web|author=Corn, David |url=http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/06/mitt-romney-history-problem |title=A Case of Romnesia |publisher=Mother Jones |date=June 20, 2012 |accessdate=2012-10-22}}</ref>
-In September 2012, [[George Monbiot]] of ''[[The Guardian]]'' published an article titled "Mitt Romney and the myth of self-created millionaires", which began by stating:
-<blockquote>We could call it Romnesia: the ability of the very rich to forget the context in which they made their money.<ref>{{cite web|last=Monbiot |first=George |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/sep/24/mitt-romney-self-creation-myth |title=Mitt Romney and the myth of self-created millionaires |publisher=The Guardian |date=24 September 2012 |accessdate=2012-10-22}}</ref></blockquote>
-== References ==
-{{reflist|33em}}
-== External Links ==
-* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2nupmbvlEo Video of Barack Obama's October 19, 2012, speech describing "Romnesia"] at [[YouTube]]
-[[Category:Mitt Romney]]
-[[Category:Barack Obama presidential campaign, 2012]]
-[[Category:Words coined in the 2010s]]
-[[Category:Internet memes]]
-[[Category:American political catch phrases]]