After facing criticism last week for bungling his response to anti-U.S. protests in the Arab world, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is refocusing by talking primarily about the economy.
In a series of campaign appearances and new television ads airing in battleground states this week, Romney plans to sharpen his attacks on President Obama’s economic record and tout how he would create 12 million new jobs.
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The first of two new ads accuses Obama of helping drive down median household income by roughly $4,000, while allowing the national debt to surpass $16 trillion. The second message amounts to one of Romney’s most direct appeals to television viewers, as he quickly recaps how he would revamp U.S. trade policy, trim the federal deficit and make it easier for smaller firms to hire new workers.
Romney travels Monday to Los Angeles to address the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the first of two attempts this week to woo the nation’s Hispanic voters, with whom he has struggled to make inroads. Aides said Romney will use his speech Monday and an appearance Wednesday on the Spanish-language television network Univision to talk about his plans to help small-business owners and why he thinks Obama’s health-care overhaul hurts Hispanic entrepreneurs.
In his remarks Monday, Romney will adapt his general economic message to his Latino audience, noting that while the nation’s unemployment sits at 8.1 percent, unemployment among Hispanics hovers at 10 percent.
According to excerpts of Romney’s speech released by his campaign, the candidate will say that “in 2008, candidate Obama promised us a world of limitless hope. What we got instead is a world where hope has painful limits — limits that make it harder to start a business, to grow a business, or to find a job.”
Romney also plans to say that Obama “wants government to tax more and regulate more because he believes government can do a better job than you can. I believe in you. I believe you can do a better job than government. I believe that you, and that your dreams and freedoms, will build a stronger future for all of us, and for our children. This belief in free people and free enterprise is the American heritage. This is why America has outperformed the world.”
Obama, meanwhile, kicks off a busy campaign week by returning to the critical battleground of Ohio, with appearances scheduled Monday in Cincinnati and Columbus. Recent polling suggests Obama is opening a slim lead over Romney in Ohio: An NBC/Wall Street Journal/Marist poll released last week showed Obama leading Romney 50 percent to 43 percent there, while an Ohio polling average calculated by Real Clear Politics pegs Obama at 48.5 percent to Romney’s 44.3 percent.
While in Ohio, Obama plans to discuss his administration’s plans to file formal complaints with the World Trade Organization against China. Specifically, the White House is concerned that China is subsidizing elements of its auto-manufacturing industry, which the administration believes puts U.S. manufacturers at a disadvantage and encourages global firms to outsource auto-parts jobs to China.
In a series of campaign appearances and new television ads airing in battleground states this week, Romney plans to sharpen his attacks on President Obama’s economic record and tout how he would create 12 million new jobs.
Graphic
Follow President Obama, Mitt Romney, their running mates and spouses on the campaign trail
More from PostPolitics
Chris Cillizza and Aaron Blake THE FIX | Reports of infighting within the campaign are just what this uber-disciplined effort had done well to avoid up to now.
Sean Sullivan THE FIX | Friday's decision blocking Wisconsin law could impact the political sphere in a few key respects.
Glenn Kessler FACT CHECKER | The president of Libya and the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. disagree. Let’s look at the evidence.
The first of two new ads accuses Obama of helping drive down median household income by roughly $4,000, while allowing the national debt to surpass $16 trillion. The second message amounts to one of Romney’s most direct appeals to television viewers, as he quickly recaps how he would revamp U.S. trade policy, trim the federal deficit and make it easier for smaller firms to hire new workers.
Romney travels Monday to Los Angeles to address the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the first of two attempts this week to woo the nation’s Hispanic voters, with whom he has struggled to make inroads. Aides said Romney will use his speech Monday and an appearance Wednesday on the Spanish-language television network Univision to talk about his plans to help small-business owners and why he thinks Obama’s health-care overhaul hurts Hispanic entrepreneurs.
In his remarks Monday, Romney will adapt his general economic message to his Latino audience, noting that while the nation’s unemployment sits at 8.1 percent, unemployment among Hispanics hovers at 10 percent.
According to excerpts of Romney’s speech released by his campaign, the candidate will say that “in 2008, candidate Obama promised us a world of limitless hope. What we got instead is a world where hope has painful limits — limits that make it harder to start a business, to grow a business, or to find a job.”
Romney also plans to say that Obama “wants government to tax more and regulate more because he believes government can do a better job than you can. I believe in you. I believe you can do a better job than government. I believe that you, and that your dreams and freedoms, will build a stronger future for all of us, and for our children. This belief in free people and free enterprise is the American heritage. This is why America has outperformed the world.”
Obama, meanwhile, kicks off a busy campaign week by returning to the critical battleground of Ohio, with appearances scheduled Monday in Cincinnati and Columbus. Recent polling suggests Obama is opening a slim lead over Romney in Ohio: An NBC/Wall Street Journal/Marist poll released last week showed Obama leading Romney 50 percent to 43 percent there, while an Ohio polling average calculated by Real Clear Politics pegs Obama at 48.5 percent to Romney’s 44.3 percent.
While in Ohio, Obama plans to discuss his administration’s plans to file formal complaints with the World Trade Organization against China. Specifically, the White House is concerned that China is subsidizing elements of its auto-manufacturing industry, which the administration believes puts U.S. manufacturers at a disadvantage and encourages global firms to outsource auto-parts jobs to China.