Mitt Romney turned his focus today to the national political party conventions, urging voters in Ohio to ignore all the “marvelous things” President Barack Obama will say in his convention speech and focus on the still- struggling economy.
“I can almost read his speech now. It will be filled with promises and tell people how wonderful things are,” the Republican presidential candidate told about 5,000 voters gathered for an outdoor rally in Powell. “It is not his words that people have to listen to it is his actions and his record.”
The comments mark Romney’s latest effort to overcome a series of distractions to his campaign message heading into the Republican National Convention in Tampa next week. A remark he made yesterday referred to the discredited rumor that the president was born abroad, overshadowing Romney’s economic comments at a campaign event in Michigan yesterday.
During his last scheduled campaign appearance before the Republican gathering begins on Aug. 27, Romney returned to the economic pitch that has been the central message of his candidacy.
[h=2]Women Voters[/h]In an effort to shore up support among female voters, Romney made a direct appeal to women business owners.
“If we become president and vice president we want to speak to you,” he said. “Women in this country are more likely to start businesses then men. Women need our help.”
He also gave the audience a peek into his convention preparations today, telling voters that he spent last night studying the president’s 2008 address at the Democratic national convention in Denver.
“I happened to pull out his speech last night -- I’m not kidding,” he said. “It’s really a brilliant speech.”
Romney said he plans to spend the weekend finishing his convention address at his lakeside home in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. The speech is still at a “kind of early stage,” he told radio host Hugh Hewitt in an interview last night.
Republicans designed their convention to be a made-for- television display of Romney’s economic credentials and a party rallying around his candidacy.
Yet Republicans found themselves spending much of the past week fending off questions about “legitimate rape,” after comments by Representative Todd Akin, a Missouri Senate candidate, touched off a national debate about abortion that has splintered the party.
[h=2]Bain Capital[/h]The Aug. 23 posting on the website Gawker of hundreds of pages of investment and tax documents from Boston-based Bain Capital LLC created another distraction for Romney’s campaign, fueling Democratic criticism about the private-equity firm Romney helped create.
Tropical Storm Isaac continued to churn toward Florida today, heightening fears among organizers that it could snarl the arrival of thousands of attendees at the Tampa convention.
Vice President Joe Biden canceled plans to visit Tampa during next week’s convention because of concerns that his trip might disrupt disaster planning for the storm.
Biden’s plan to stop on Aug. 27 in the Florida city hosting the Republican convention was postponed so that local emergency management authorities “can stay focused on ensuring the safety of people who might be impacted by the storm, as well as those attending the activities in Tampa,” President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign said in an e-mailed statement last night.
Obama is spending the weekend at Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland. He will spend next week countering Romney’s message, scheduling campaign appearances in Iowa, Colorado and Virginia for Aug. 28-29.
To contact the reporter on this story: Lisa Lerer in Washington at [email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jeanne Cummings at [email protected]
“I can almost read his speech now. It will be filled with promises and tell people how wonderful things are,” the Republican presidential candidate told about 5,000 voters gathered for an outdoor rally in Powell. “It is not his words that people have to listen to it is his actions and his record.”
The comments mark Romney’s latest effort to overcome a series of distractions to his campaign message heading into the Republican National Convention in Tampa next week. A remark he made yesterday referred to the discredited rumor that the president was born abroad, overshadowing Romney’s economic comments at a campaign event in Michigan yesterday.
During his last scheduled campaign appearance before the Republican gathering begins on Aug. 27, Romney returned to the economic pitch that has been the central message of his candidacy.
[h=2]Women Voters[/h]In an effort to shore up support among female voters, Romney made a direct appeal to women business owners.
“If we become president and vice president we want to speak to you,” he said. “Women in this country are more likely to start businesses then men. Women need our help.”
He also gave the audience a peek into his convention preparations today, telling voters that he spent last night studying the president’s 2008 address at the Democratic national convention in Denver.
“I happened to pull out his speech last night -- I’m not kidding,” he said. “It’s really a brilliant speech.”
Romney said he plans to spend the weekend finishing his convention address at his lakeside home in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. The speech is still at a “kind of early stage,” he told radio host Hugh Hewitt in an interview last night.
Republicans designed their convention to be a made-for- television display of Romney’s economic credentials and a party rallying around his candidacy.
Yet Republicans found themselves spending much of the past week fending off questions about “legitimate rape,” after comments by Representative Todd Akin, a Missouri Senate candidate, touched off a national debate about abortion that has splintered the party.
[h=2]Bain Capital[/h]The Aug. 23 posting on the website Gawker of hundreds of pages of investment and tax documents from Boston-based Bain Capital LLC created another distraction for Romney’s campaign, fueling Democratic criticism about the private-equity firm Romney helped create.
Tropical Storm Isaac continued to churn toward Florida today, heightening fears among organizers that it could snarl the arrival of thousands of attendees at the Tampa convention.
Vice President Joe Biden canceled plans to visit Tampa during next week’s convention because of concerns that his trip might disrupt disaster planning for the storm.
Biden’s plan to stop on Aug. 27 in the Florida city hosting the Republican convention was postponed so that local emergency management authorities “can stay focused on ensuring the safety of people who might be impacted by the storm, as well as those attending the activities in Tampa,” President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign said in an e-mailed statement last night.
Obama is spending the weekend at Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland. He will spend next week countering Romney’s message, scheduling campaign appearances in Iowa, Colorado and Virginia for Aug. 28-29.
To contact the reporter on this story: Lisa Lerer in Washington at [email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jeanne Cummings at [email protected]