Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney held his second Google+ Hangout on Tuesday, taking questions from supporters on a wide range of issues. Right off the bat, Romney was asked about how he would handle cybersecurity, digital intellectual property theft and software piracy.
“Both at the government level and the corporate level there is concern that there is hacking going into our computers,” said Romney. “The damage from those types of breaches of intellectual property are incalculable.”
Romney went on to talk about a meeting with Microsoft officials, in which they told him that they see more intellectual property theft in China than anywhere else. He argued that software piracy gives China a two-fold economic advantage over the U.S.
“People in the U.S. are paying for [Microsoft's] software,” said Romney. “People in China may not buy that software, so Microsoft doesn’t make money for it and the competitor in China has an advantage of not having to pay for it.”
Romney suggested the creation of what he called the “Reagan economic trade zone,” which would have exclusive membership. Membership would only be granted to countries that comply with copyright bylaws and don’t “manipulate their currency,” as Romney accused China of doing.
That answer seemed to satisfy a supporter, who said he’s traveled to Asia and seen pirated copies of American software being sold for “pennies.”
The candidate also answered questions about the Affordable Health Care Act, gas prices, business regulation and the appropriate size of government. According to Reuters’ Sam Youngman, Romney chose to ignore questions about Trayvon Martin, the young African-American boy recently shot and killed in Florida, and the Pell Grant reductions in Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-Wis.) economic plan.
Some observers criticized the questions lobbed at Romney for being too soft:
Soft ball question if there ever was one: "Do you believe in a smaller, more responsible government?"
Matt Lira, who runs House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s (R-Va.) new media efforts, tweeted out a defense of Romney’s Google+ Hangout:
@nancyscola "First crawl, then walk, then run, then fly"
The Hangout was moderated by Kevin Madden, executive vice president at JDA Frontline, a communications firm. Madden served as Romney’s national press secretary from December of 2006 until March of 2008.
Do you think Romney’s Hangout was a success? Sound off in the comments below.
Thumbnail image courtesy of Flickr, Gage Skidmore
Source: Mashable
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