There’s a bit of controversy brewing today over Mitt Romney — apparently the Boston Phoenix and the Detroit Free Press are reporting that Romney’s father George, the former Governor of Michigan never actually marched with Martin Luther King Jr. as had been previously claimed. (Though by all accounts George Romney was supportive of King’s efforts.) In his now famous speech in College Station, Romney said “I saw my father march with Martin Luther King.” The New York Times asked him about his statement today and this was his response:
Mr. Romney said today that he had been using the word “saw” in a “figurative sense.”
“If you look at the literature, if you look at the dictionary, the term ‘saw’ includes being aware of in the sense I’ve described,” he said. “It’s a figure of speech and very familiar and it’s very common and I saw my dad march with Martin Luther King. I did not see it with my own eyes but I saw him in the sense of being aware of his participation in that great effort.”
Geraghty has a lot more on this here.