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BOWLING GREEN, OH -- Mitt Romney looked to get back on his economic message and to put President Obama on the defensive today, lashing out at the administration for not convening a meeting of his jobs council in more than six months.
Evan Vucci / AP
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney gestures during a campaign stop on July 18 in Bowling Green, Ohio.
Romney also criticized the president for what he claimed was Obama's attempts to "denigrate and diminish" individual success.
"In the last six months, [Obama] has held 100 fundraisers and guess how many meetings he has had with his jobs council. None. Zero," Romney said. "Zero in the last six months, so it makes it very clear where his priorities are. His priority is not creating jobs for the American people. His priority is trying to keep his own job and that's why he is going to lose it."
The Obama campaign did not refute Romney's claim directly, but said the president has offered a jobs plan which "incorporates ideas from the Jobs Council," a non-partisan group of business leaders whose stated mission is to provide "non-partisan advice to the President on continuing to strengthen the Nation's economy."
The Romney campaign does not divulge it's complete fundraising schedule, making a direct fundraising comparison impossible.
Romney also hammered the president -- for a second-straight day -- over the president's comments Friday in which the president said (in part of a larger argument about the importance of education and infrastructure to the success of business): “If you’ve got a business -- you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen.”
"Barack Obama's attempt to denigrate and diminish the achievement of the individual, diminishes us all," Romney said. "We all, of course, recognize the power of all of us working together. We're a united nation. He divides us. He tries to divide America, tear America apart. He tries to diminish those who have been successful in one walk of life or another. It's simply wrong."
Romney also fed the vice-presidential rumor mill today, telling a questioner here that he has not yet made a vice presidential selection, but identifying one key characteristic of his eventual pick.
"I can assure you that even though I have not chosen the person who will be my vice president, that person will be a conservative. They will believe in conservative principles," Romney said in response to the first question at today's town hall.
As is often the case at town hall events like this one, the crowd itself became part of the story today, when one questioner referred to President Obama as a "monster" in her question.
"That’s not a term I would use," Romney told the woman.
Romney also engaged in a bit of audience participation here today, urging business owners to stand up and be applauded for creating jobs, and commenting on signs that dotted the venue here, painted with slogans like "I built my own business."
"These are fun," Romney said, reading from the signs. "‘I created my business, not the government.’ These are fun. These are fun signs here. You guys in back can’t see them. But those who made those signs, thank you for reminding us who it is in America that creates jobs.”
In interviews with attendees here it became apparent that "those who made those signs," were campaign volunteers who passed them out to attendees who identified themselves as business owners when they arrived at the event.
If the signs weren't a reflection of true anger at the president, the voices of some business owners in the audience afterwards were.
"You put a dagger through every businessman's heart when you say what [President Obama] did," said Wayne Michaels, a retired orthodontist who proudly held one of the Romney campaign's signs. "That got my blood boiling."
Leave a Comment:
"Barack Obama's attempt to denigrate and diminish the achievement of the individual, diminishes us all," Romney has that right! BHO's insult is Obama's admission that he would be incapable of starting a successful business.
Candidates that are incapable of achieving personal success, will be even less capable of achieving national success.
Well if that's what he actually said it would be bad but since it's not even close, it looks like you are a moron. The text of his speech is in the article I suggest you read it.
Melo-D - You shouldn't have skipped that remedial reading class. Check paragraph six of the article. There it is. Word for word: "Romney also hammered the president ... over the president's comments Friday in which the president said ... “If you’ve got a business -- you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen.”
Still waiting for dems to defend why Obama has had no job council meetings for over 6 months, which is the topic of the article. The lib deflection is typical when faced with a troubling situation.
I'm "plugging" Romney tinyurl.com/7lv49e8
That's right Lib Tards its pretty obvious that Obama cares more about his own pathetic ass than the "laser" focus he promised to create jobs....on the economy, Barack is HOPING that someone will CHANGE the subject so he can continue moving FORWARD spewing his hot air and empty rhetoric.......HA HA HA. What a bunch of dopes.......
Yesterday, when Obama's lib tard mouth piece was asked "Why Barry hadn't met with his jobs council for the past 6 months?", the lib tard replied, there was no need to.....well, I'd say the fact the unemployment rate has been over 8% for over 40 months straight is a pretty good reason.....what a hoot? And, believe or not, you still have lib tards out there that believe this stuff......HA HA HA.
A campaign already too negative and too lacking in substantive proposals becomes even more so.
Maybe I missed it, but I don't see any news stories about Romney's response to Michelle Bachmann and flunkies' (Reps. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, Thomas Rooney, R-Fla., and Lynn Westmoreland, R-Ga.) crazy accusations that Huma Abedin (longtime aide to Hilary Clinton) is a Muslim Brotherhood mole in the U.S. government or R's response to John McCain's truly admirable defense of Ms. Abedin. Surely, reporters have asked the campaign to respond. Haven't they? This is important. How Romney responds to these insane Tea Party wingnuts' allegations will tell us a lot about the kind of President R would be. Of course, he will try to avoid, avoid, avoid--and that tells a lot right there: no spine there. But if he does not follow McCain's lead, if Romney wavers and gives some non-answer to the question, trying to deflect it, then we will know what most of us already know: Romney is no leader; as President, he would simply be a Tea Party sycophant. The Tea Party would be in control of the United States government. If that doesn't make you piss in your pants, I don't know what would.
jerry - Deflecting off topic is typical of dems.
nospin1, all politicians use deflection. What's at issue here is the use of deflection when facing a question about behavior so heinous or so absurd that deflection amounts to an endorsement of the behavior. That's what you would have here, if Romney does not come out, like John McCain has done, and denounce Bachmann and cronies' outrageous and harmful allegations.
jerry - So you have no answer (just like the WH) on why no job council meetings in 6 months.
You could have said so instead of saying "All politicians use deflection". And to think Obama promised change.
Your still running away from the reason you want to be elected Mittens...
Where is your Jobs plan... Remember Jobs plan you promised everyone because you are so smart...You wanted to let the Auto Companies go bankrupt....All those workers are now thanking Obama, not you.......
Where is any plan...???
All your party does is dump on the President and show us nothing your party will do
I am waiting for the debates where you have to answer questions from a moderator...you can't back down, you really have to tell us what you will do...in front of everyone...let's see who will have ideas that are useful..not Ryans plan to get rid of Medicare and make old citizens use a voucher program...how uncaring can you REPS be...
Or yes, I forgot, to hell with the old and poor...you are only for the rich..!!
If you get elected by your GOP people...They are going to be very unhappy at how you lied to them, take everything from them and give it to your rich friends.
How blind can they be...????
How uncaring can you be...your 5 sons are taken care of, (they have 100 million put away) you have a horse in the Olympics and money is stashed everywhere....except America.....
Yup, you understand what everyone is going through.....!! hahahaha
It's the tax returns, stupid!
READ YOUR HISTORY "THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION"!!!
UNIONS ARE OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE AND FOR THE PEOPLE!!
WITHOUT UNIONS WE WILL BE SLAVES TO THE RICH!!!!
Ask yourself does the C.E.O. of a company get his hands dirty, NO!! NO!! NO!!
During WWII who built the tanks, guns to fight the war NOT THE C.E.O. THE WORKER!!
WHO DESIGNED TOOLS AND MACHINES NOT THE C.E.O. THE WORKERS!!!!!
Romney commented about Henry Ford he had the idea for the car, BUT WHO MADE THE CARS, "MIDDLE CLASS WORKERS"
Liberals still don't have an answer for how we will avoid the fate of Greece, Italy, Spain, etc.
Those countries found out after it was too late that decades of over-promising can now not be paid for because there just aren't enough rich people to go around.
How do we avoid this fate? I'm asking the liberals and Democrats.
Months ago I and many others were predicting that harsh European austerity while their economy was still weak would result in another recession there. Conservatives cheered that austerity, were ecstatic that the continent had finally "seen the light" and America would be forced to follow suit.
Now the recession is back, it's threatening the US economy, and Conservative pretend austerity had nothing to do with it.
Remember, Conservatism isn't about consistency of thought or principle. It's an independent series of talking points designed to sell policies beneficial to the wealthy elite.