Romney: 'Corporations are people, my friend'

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, clearly irritated by a handful of hecklers amid supporters at the Iowa State Fair, insisted yesterday that "corporations are people," a comment Democrats gleefully predicted would be a defining moment of his campaign.

Hours before he was to face most of his primary opponents in an Iowa debate, the former Massachusetts governor was outlining options for reining in the federal deficit and overhauling entitlement programs. He acknowledged that raising taxes on individuals was an option but he opposed it.

That's when about a dozen hecklers started shouting at him.

"Corporations! Corporations!" they said, seemingly suggesting that corporations should take the brunt of new taxes.

"Corporations are people, my friend," Romney said with uncharacteristic pique.

Several people in the front of the crowd - they identified themselves as linked to the liberal Iowa Center for Community Involvement - interrupted: "No, they're not."

Romney, who had already faced tough questions from the group's members who arrived early and claimed the best seats, plowed right ahead.

"Of course they are. Everything corporations earn ultimately goes to people. Where do you think it goes?" said Romney, a wealthy businessman who has struggled with an aloof and elitist image as he tries for the GOP presidential nomination a second time.

His critics were not buying it and shouted back that the money goes in corporate pockets.

"Whose pockets? People's pockets? Human beings, my friend," Romney said.

Typically unflappable, Romney grew agitated as he kept calling on members of the group. After one question, he asked the questioner which group he was from and not where he lived, suggesting the questions were planted to embarrass him.

Democrats didn't hesitate to seize the moment.

"It is a shocking admission from a candidate - and a party - that shamelessly puts forward policies to help large corporations and the wealthiest Americans at the expense of the middle class, seniors and students," said Democratic National Committee Chairman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Florida congresswoman.

Hours later, Democrats paired Romney's quote with Barbra Streisand's rendition of "People" ("People, people who need people, are the luckiest people in the world"). The imagery switched between Romney and luxury jets and post offices in the web video.

An adviser to Obama's re-election bid, David Axelrod, told MSNBC: "I guess the next time you see a corporation you should take them out to lunch."

Romney's team similarly tried to pitch forward after the exchange, citing the incident in an email to supporters looking for donations hours later.

"Today, Mitt rose to the occasion and I'm writing to ask you to join him and our cause as we fight to take back our country," campaign manager Matt Rhoades wrote. "Governor Romney made his stand today. Will you stand with him?"

Romney's terse back-and-forth was just the latest example of why his advisers are limiting his public events. When he ran four years ago, he packed his days with events and weighed in on every topic. Now the front-runner, he instead prefers more controlled environments where he is less prone to gaffes.