Romney Hammers Economy Ahead Of Florida Trip
DES MOINES, Iowa (CBSMiami) – Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney sought to draw a sharp line between himself and President Barack Obama on the economy Tuesday as he prepares to visit the Sunshine State Wednesday.
Romney's best trait according to polls is that many see him as more able to lead on the economy, but no other issue. Romney said Tuesday the debt is out of control and "every day we fail to act, we feed that fire with our own lack of resolve."
The White House responded immediately saying Romney's critique was off base because of tax cuts for the wealthy, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, plus the Medicare drug program were all paid for by spending against the national debt.
The problem for Romney is that experts on both sides of the aisle predict his extension of the Bush tax cuts along with an increase in spending and no new revenue will continue to explode the deficit and the national debt.
Romney's speech addressing the economy came at a critical time as voters began doubting big banks again after JP Morgan Chase announced last week that it had lost more than $1 billion in bad bets in schemes similar to the ones that brought down the economy in 2007 and 2008.
For Romney, he has to paint himself as a compassionate conservative who, even though he has great means, understands the plight of every day voters. The Obama campaign has sought to paint Romney as out of touch and part of the 1 percent that rule the country with their money.
The Obama campaign released an ad in several battleground states Tuesday using workers from a failed Kansas City steel mill that was bought by Romney's Bain Capital to discuss his approach to the economy. The ad said Bain failed to restructure the company and instead cut jobs and benefits for the workers.
Romney's visit to Florida Wednesday will come after President Barack Obama held a $40,000 a plate fundraiser in Hollywood that earned more than $10 million. Romney will attend a fundraiser at a private home Wednesday night where the cost is reportedly $50,000 a plate.
