Mitt Romney to target Hillary Clinton on Russia, job creation
As he eyes a 2016 presidential bid, Mitt Romney will use an address at Mississippi State University on Wednesday night to throw some elbows at likely Democratic candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton, according to excerpts of his planned remarks obtained by CBS News.
While her bid appears all but certain, Clinton, a former U.S. senator and secretary of state, has not yet said she's running. As she waits, though, she's already been targeted by a number of potential Republican candidates eager to showcase their fighting spirit.
In his prepared remarks, Romney links Clinton to President Obama's foreign policy, criticizing her effort to "reset" U.S.-Russia relations during Mr. Obama's first term.
"Secretary of State Hillary Clinton cluelessly pressed a reset button for Russia, which smiled and then invaded Ukraine, a sovereign nation," Romney is expected to say. "The Middle East and much of North Africa is in chaos. China grows more assertive and builds a navy that will be larger than ours in five years. We shrink our nuclear capabilities as Russia upgrades theirs."
Romney's remarks also showcase a new message focused on income inequality and middle class economics - two themes Democrats were able to successfully turn against Romney when he was the Republican presidential nominee in 2012.
In his speech text, Romney takes a swipe at Hillary Clinton for telling voters during the 2014 midterm campaign, "Don't let anybody tell you it's corporations and businesses that create jobs."
"How can Secretary Clinton provide opportunity for all if she doesn't know where jobs come from in the first place?" Romney is expected to ask. "We need a president who will do what it takes to bring more good paying jobs to the placement offices of our college campuses."
After her remarks sparked a round of mockery from her opponents on the right, Clinton claimed she misspoke and said she meant to say that the economy grows when companies create good-paying jobs in America, "not when we hand out tax breaks for corporations that outsource jobs or stash their profits overseas."
CBS News' Steve Chaggaris contributed to this report.