Mitt Romney is giving a town hall in Bowling Green, Ohio Wednesday, and in response to a woman's assertion that President Obama is a "monster," Romney replied "that's not the term I would use." The woman responded, according to TPM, "Well, I can. I'm an angry mom," to crowd laughter. These kinds of moments where Romney interacts with an angry member of the base get attention from folks looking for a dramatic moment like the one when John McCain chastised a woman for calling Obama a Muslim in 2008. Romney got a bit of flak back in May when he didn't address an audience member's assertion that Obama should be tried for treason.

"That's not the term I would use" isn't as direct a repudiation as McCain's "No, ma'am. He's a decent family man, citizen that I just happen to have disagreements with..." Though it is the near-exact wording Romney used when he responded to Rush Limbaugh's attacks on Georgetown Law student Sandra Fluke, after days of anticipation about whether he'd stand up to the right-wing host. "I'll just say this, which is, it's not the language I would have used," he said at the time, and though some pundits called this a weak response, it seems he liked it well enough to use it as a stock response to awkward moments with his own base.

Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at erandall at theatlantic dot com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.