IRWIN, Pa. -- Mitt Romney accused President Barack Obama on Tuesday of insulting business leaders as the GOP presidential hopeful tries to shift attention away from his business record and his tax returns.
Meanwhile, Obama, worried about losing his fund-raising edge to Romney, turned to Republican-tilted Texas to raise millions from gay, Latino and big-dollar donors.
Speaking in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, Romney framed the presidential contest as a battle for America's soul.
"Do we believe in an America that is great because of government, or do we believe in an America that's great because of free people allowed to pursue their dream?" Romney asked a crowd gathered in a gas and oil services company warehouse.
"President Obama attacks success and therefore under Obama we have less success. And I will change that."
Campaigning in San Antonio, Obama offered his familiar vision of a government that supports the middle class. He spoke of a nation in which hard work is rewarded, but also in which the government takes on endeavors that help everyone, from building roads to expanding educational opportunities.
As he put it: "We rise or fall as one nation."
"I believe in bottom-up economics. I believe in fighting on behalf of working families," Obama said. "Because when we do that, everybody does better. ... That's what built this country."
[h=3]Sununu apology[/h]Romney accused Obama of engaging in cronyism, citing federal grants and loan guarantees to alternative-energy companies run by Obama backers and donors.
Former New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu, a Romney supporter, raised eyebrows Tuesday when he questioned Obama's patriotism.
"The men and women all over America who have worked hard to build these businesses, their businesses, from the ground up is how our economy became the envy of the world," he told reporters during a conference call arranged by Romney's campaign. "It is the American way, and I wish this president would learn how to be an American."
Asked to clarify that incendiary remark, Sununu later said: "I shouldn't have used those words. And I apologize for using those words."
In Texas, Obama was expected to sustain his offensive against Romney, claiming the Republican's tax policies would benefit rich people and cost jobs. His re-election campaign continued to draw attention to Romney's time at Bain Capital, the private equity firm he founded in 1984. But Obama's central goal in Texas was to draw in money; he was holding two fund-raisers in San Antonio and two in Austin, with an estimated haul of at least $4 million.
Near Pittsburgh, Romney seized on a comment Obama made last week in which he suggested government plays a role in private enterprise's success.
"Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive," Obama said in Virginia on Friday. "If you've got a business -- you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen. The Internet didn't get invented on its own. Government research created the Internet so that all the companies could make money off the Internet."
Romney said: "I find it extraordinary that a philosophy of that nature would be spoken by a president of the United States. To say something like that is not just foolishness, it's insulting to every entrepreneur, every innovator."
[h=3]Running mate, taxes[/h]The events came a day after a top Romney aide floated the possibility that Romney might name his vice presidential candidate by week's end. But the timing was uncertain.
The adviser, Eric Fehrnstrom, initially said the selection could be announced in the coming days. Fehrnstrom later downplayed his remark, and suggested the decision could come any time between now and the Republican National Convention in August.
The Obama campaign is trying to pressure Romney to release his tax returns, suggesting that Romney has benefited from offshore accounts and investments in foreign tax havens and that he has not been forthcoming on the amount of time he ran the private equity firm Bain Capital, which took over companies and sent American jobs overseas. At issue is whether such moves happened after Romney left power.
Romney has released his 2010 tax return, which showed he paid an effective tax rate of about 15%, and has said he will release his 2011 return later this year. But he said no more.
Meanwhile, Obama, worried about losing his fund-raising edge to Romney, turned to Republican-tilted Texas to raise millions from gay, Latino and big-dollar donors.
Speaking in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, Romney framed the presidential contest as a battle for America's soul.
"Do we believe in an America that is great because of government, or do we believe in an America that's great because of free people allowed to pursue their dream?" Romney asked a crowd gathered in a gas and oil services company warehouse.
"President Obama attacks success and therefore under Obama we have less success. And I will change that."
Campaigning in San Antonio, Obama offered his familiar vision of a government that supports the middle class. He spoke of a nation in which hard work is rewarded, but also in which the government takes on endeavors that help everyone, from building roads to expanding educational opportunities.
As he put it: "We rise or fall as one nation."
"I believe in bottom-up economics. I believe in fighting on behalf of working families," Obama said. "Because when we do that, everybody does better. ... That's what built this country."
[h=3]Sununu apology[/h]Romney accused Obama of engaging in cronyism, citing federal grants and loan guarantees to alternative-energy companies run by Obama backers and donors.
Former New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu, a Romney supporter, raised eyebrows Tuesday when he questioned Obama's patriotism.
"The men and women all over America who have worked hard to build these businesses, their businesses, from the ground up is how our economy became the envy of the world," he told reporters during a conference call arranged by Romney's campaign. "It is the American way, and I wish this president would learn how to be an American."
Asked to clarify that incendiary remark, Sununu later said: "I shouldn't have used those words. And I apologize for using those words."
In Texas, Obama was expected to sustain his offensive against Romney, claiming the Republican's tax policies would benefit rich people and cost jobs. His re-election campaign continued to draw attention to Romney's time at Bain Capital, the private equity firm he founded in 1984. But Obama's central goal in Texas was to draw in money; he was holding two fund-raisers in San Antonio and two in Austin, with an estimated haul of at least $4 million.
Near Pittsburgh, Romney seized on a comment Obama made last week in which he suggested government plays a role in private enterprise's success.
"Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive," Obama said in Virginia on Friday. "If you've got a business -- you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen. The Internet didn't get invented on its own. Government research created the Internet so that all the companies could make money off the Internet."
Romney said: "I find it extraordinary that a philosophy of that nature would be spoken by a president of the United States. To say something like that is not just foolishness, it's insulting to every entrepreneur, every innovator."
[h=3]Running mate, taxes[/h]The events came a day after a top Romney aide floated the possibility that Romney might name his vice presidential candidate by week's end. But the timing was uncertain.
The adviser, Eric Fehrnstrom, initially said the selection could be announced in the coming days. Fehrnstrom later downplayed his remark, and suggested the decision could come any time between now and the Republican National Convention in August.
The Obama campaign is trying to pressure Romney to release his tax returns, suggesting that Romney has benefited from offshore accounts and investments in foreign tax havens and that he has not been forthcoming on the amount of time he ran the private equity firm Bain Capital, which took over companies and sent American jobs overseas. At issue is whether such moves happened after Romney left power.
Romney has released his 2010 tax return, which showed he paid an effective tax rate of about 15%, and has said he will release his 2011 return later this year. But he said no more.