Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H), a top surrogate to Mitt Romney, on Sunday defended the GOP nominee's comments this week that 47 percent of the country was dependent on government support.
Ayotte said Romney's comment was simply "political analysis."
"That certainly was a political analysis at a fundraiser, but it's not a governing philosophy," she said on NBC's "Meet The Press." "He absolutely has a vision for 100 percent of America. And that is very different from this president."
Asked by moderator David Gregory if 47 percent of the country sees themselves as "victims," Ayotte replied: "What I see is what the governor sees. I see 15 million more people on food stamps that don't want to be there. I see 47 million overall Americans on food stamps that want a good job, they don't want to be on unemployment."
Gov. Deval Patrick (D-Mass.), who sat beside Ayotte on the Sunday show, added that it was "just shocking to me that a candidate can aspire to be president by turning his back on half the country. And I think that's what came through."
