Obama capitalises on Romney gaffes Barack Obama's campaign has moved swiftly to take advantage of leaked video footage of remarks made by his Republican rival, Mitt Romney, by asserting that the president does not make decisions on the basis of which Americans vote for him. Mr Obama's spokesman was responding to Mr Romney's statement to a closed-door fundraiser in which he said Mr Obama could count on the support of 47 per cent of Americans who are "dependent on government," don't pay tax and "believe that they are victims." The video clips were posted on the website of Mother Jones, a liberal magazine, throwing the Romney campaign off course at a time when many Republicans already fear that their candidate is losing the election debate. In one clip, Mr Romney says: "There are 47 per cent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what . . . who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe they are entitled to healthcare, to food, to housing, to you-name-it . . . He added: "My job is not to worry about those people. Within hours of the release of the tapes, the Republican nominee held a press conference conceding his comments were "not elegantly stated," but stressing his core concern about the need to get people off government benefits and into the workforce. In further excerpts from the video released on Tuesday morning, Mr Romney suggested that forging peace in the Middle East was not possible and nor was the establishment of a separate Palestinian state alongside Israel. "I look at the Palestinians not wanting to see peace anyway, for political purposes, committed to the destruction and elimination of Israel, and these thorny issues, and I say there's just no way," he said. Jay Carney, Mr Obama's spokesman, said pointedly that the president did not consider whether anyone who might benefit from his healthcare reforms were Democrat or Republican. "The way you have to approach this job is with a keen understanding that you are out there fighting for every American," he said. He does what is right for the country - that is his guiding principle. He added that the president certainly did not consider those who relied on social security and students receiving loans were "victims."