Did Mitt Romney cheat his way to an unofficial victory Wednesday night during the season’s first presidential debate? A YouTube video suggests the Republican candidate may be guilty of foul play.
Barack Obama supporters on Twitter, Tumblr, and Reddit have been quick to note that Mitt Romney may have brought a cheat sheet to the stage when he stepped up to the podium Wednesday night.
The accusations remain unconfirmed, but they’re based on a short clip that shows Romney circling his podium and turning to face the crowd.
Just as he completes the turn, he pulls something from his pocket and places it onto the lectern.
Opponents are considering it some type of helping hand.
“Debaters are provided with paper and pen,” Democratic Underground commenter cleduc wrote Thursday morning. “You can see the paper on each of the debaters podiums at the start of the video. They’re not supposed to bring notes into the debate.”
According to a memorandum of understanding published in 2004, rules and regulations forbid candidates from bringing “props, notes, charts, diagrams, or other writings or tangible things” into any presidential debate.
Romney’s camp has downplayed the accusations, saying that Romney was pulling out a handkerchief that he’d later use to wipe his face an hour-and-a-half into the debate.
Whether or not that’s the case remains to be determined, but I own handkerchiefs, and if that’s a Romney family handkerchief, it’s as rigid as Mitt’s sense of humor.
Photo via Mitt Romney/Facebook