[h=3]By DAMIAN PALETTA And ALAN ZIBEL[/h]WASHINGTON—Top Republicans on Sunday looked to move past last week's political setbacks and refocus the November election on the sputtering economy.
In a series of interviews on Sunday shows, lawmakers and party leaders said Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney needed to use the narrowing window before the Nov. 6 election to crystallize the choice voters face and to talk about key issues including the economy and federal deficit.
ReutersRepublican presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaks at a campaign fundraiser in Beverly Hills, Calif., Saturday.
"I think you've got to get off [your] heels and get out and charge forward," Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker said on "Fox News Sunday."
He said Mr. Romney's campaign has struggled to deal with one "distraction" after another, particularly the fallout from a secretly taped video released last week that showed Mr. Romney saying at a Boca Raton, Fla., fundraiser in May that half of the country didn't pay income taxes and had become dependent on the government.
Republican Party chairman Reince Priebus said on ABC's "This Week" that Republicans needed to make the election more than just a referendum on President Barack Obama's first term in office and instead should "consistently" highlight their plans for the future.
"Over the next 46 days, we have to lay out to the American people not just that we need to start having people in office that commit to the promises they make, but that we need to lay out the vision and lay out the specifics as we are doing, but more clearly and more consistently on a daily basis," he said. "I mean, we have to win the day. We have to win the mission on a daily basis."
Republicans emphasized the weak state of the economy and blamed Mr. Obama for not being able to fix it.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) speaking on CNN's "State of the Union," said that voters would focus on the economy, rather than Mr. Romney's personal finances. The election, he said, is going to be about "your bank account, not his Swiss bank account."
Top Democrats and advisers to President Barack Obama, for their part, continued their attacks on Mr. Romney for his comments at the fundraiser and attempted to portray the situation as a defining campaign issue that will endure through the first presidential debate on Oct. 3. Several criticized the Republican assertion that Mr. Romney's comments were "inelegant" but accurate.
Obama campaign senior adviser Robert Gibbs said Mr. Romney effectively described half of the country as "moochers" and Massachusetts Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick accused Mr. Romney of "turning his back on half the country."
Obama advisers said they weren't becoming complacent, despite a number of polls showing the president is in strong position heading into the election.
"We're prepared for a close race," the Obama campaign's senior adviser David Axelrod said. "I'm not going to get into the nuances of individual polls. Some have us much farther ahead, some have us more narrowly ahead, but we're prepared for a close race. And we're going to work every hour of every day until November 6th, because, as Chairman Priebus said, there is a lot at stake about the kind of future we're going to have."
Write to Damian Paletta at [email protected] and Alan Zibel at [email protected]
In a series of interviews on Sunday shows, lawmakers and party leaders said Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney needed to use the narrowing window before the Nov. 6 election to crystallize the choice voters face and to talk about key issues including the economy and federal deficit.
ReutersRepublican presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaks at a campaign fundraiser in Beverly Hills, Calif., Saturday.
"I think you've got to get off [your] heels and get out and charge forward," Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker said on "Fox News Sunday."
He said Mr. Romney's campaign has struggled to deal with one "distraction" after another, particularly the fallout from a secretly taped video released last week that showed Mr. Romney saying at a Boca Raton, Fla., fundraiser in May that half of the country didn't pay income taxes and had become dependent on the government.
Republican Party chairman Reince Priebus said on ABC's "This Week" that Republicans needed to make the election more than just a referendum on President Barack Obama's first term in office and instead should "consistently" highlight their plans for the future.
"Over the next 46 days, we have to lay out to the American people not just that we need to start having people in office that commit to the promises they make, but that we need to lay out the vision and lay out the specifics as we are doing, but more clearly and more consistently on a daily basis," he said. "I mean, we have to win the day. We have to win the mission on a daily basis."
Republicans emphasized the weak state of the economy and blamed Mr. Obama for not being able to fix it.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) speaking on CNN's "State of the Union," said that voters would focus on the economy, rather than Mr. Romney's personal finances. The election, he said, is going to be about "your bank account, not his Swiss bank account."
Top Democrats and advisers to President Barack Obama, for their part, continued their attacks on Mr. Romney for his comments at the fundraiser and attempted to portray the situation as a defining campaign issue that will endure through the first presidential debate on Oct. 3. Several criticized the Republican assertion that Mr. Romney's comments were "inelegant" but accurate.
Obama campaign senior adviser Robert Gibbs said Mr. Romney effectively described half of the country as "moochers" and Massachusetts Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick accused Mr. Romney of "turning his back on half the country."
Obama advisers said they weren't becoming complacent, despite a number of polls showing the president is in strong position heading into the election.
"We're prepared for a close race," the Obama campaign's senior adviser David Axelrod said. "I'm not going to get into the nuances of individual polls. Some have us much farther ahead, some have us more narrowly ahead, but we're prepared for a close race. And we're going to work every hour of every day until November 6th, because, as Chairman Priebus said, there is a lot at stake about the kind of future we're going to have."
Write to Damian Paletta at [email protected] and Alan Zibel at [email protected]