Clinton: Romney?s '47 percent' remark could haunt him in debates

Clinton (CNN)

Bill Clinton thinks the upcoming presidential debates are crucial for Mitt Romney, and that the Republican candidate's controversial "47 percent" remarks could come back to haunt him.

"I think if he's going to double down on that 47 percent remark, that will cause difficulties," the former president told Piers Morgan on Tuesday in an interview taped at the Clinton Global Initiative. "Because we now know the overwhelming number of those people work and have children, and the reason they don't pay federal income taxes is that median income is as low as it was in 1995 now, and until the current election season, Republicans and Democrats supported both the child tax credit and the earned income tax credit."

In a secretly taped video published by Mother Jones last week, Romney told attendees of a fundraiser that President Barack Obama's core supporters?47 percent of voters, according to the GOP hopeful?"believe they are victims" and "are dependent upon government."

"This is a rejection of basically more than three decades of bipartisan policy to support working families," Clinton said. "It's not a bunch of freeloaders."

[Related: Obama sees 'real problem' with Seahawks/Packers call]

The 42nd president was also asked to weigh in on the controversial call by NFL replacement referees that ended the "Monday Night Football" game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Green Bay Packers.

"I did not think it was a touchdown," Clinton said of the Hail Mary pass. "And I thought the pass was intercepted. I thought the defender hit the ground before there was joint possession. And, yes, it means that we need to get the strike over and get more experienced [referees] in there."

More election video from Yahoo! News:

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/bill-clinton-romney-47-percent-190701930--election.html

herniated disc sacramento kings luke scott tom benson royals nicole richie lyme disease symptoms