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Evan Vucci / AP
Republican presidential candidate greets supporters Friday during a campaign rally in Orange City, Iowa.
ORANGE CITY, Iowa -- In his first rally since President Barack Obama accepted the Democratic nomination for president, Mitt Romney on Friday called Obama's speech in Charlotte, N.C., "extraordinarily disappointing" and castigated Obama for not proposing how to solve joblessness.
"I read that this morning, you perhaps got the chance to do that," Romney said of the speech, suggesting he didn't watch the event live on television Thursday night.
"But if you did, perhaps like me you found it extraordinary disappointing -- surprisingly disappointing," Romney continued, adding later, "I was surprised by his address because I expected him to confront the major challenges of the last four years, which is an economy which has not produced the jobs that the American people need."
Romney made the remarks to several thousand people inside a basketball gym at Northwestern College, a small Christian liberal arts school here in conservative northwest Iowa.
Campaign officials said 2,600 people were inside the gym, and another 800 to 1000 people were inside an overflow room, which Romney visited briefly afterward.
The event came on the same day the Labor Department released a sour jobs report showing employers added 96,000 jobs in August and that more than 350,000 people had stopped looking for work.
"It’s just simply unimaginable," Romney said of the numbers. "The president said that by this time we’d be at 5.4 percent unemployment. 5.4 percent. Instead, we’re at about 8 percent."
Romney said the difference accounts for 9 million people who could be working.
Earlier Friday, Romney called the report a "hangover" after the Democrats' "party" in Charlotte.
"This is a tough time for the middle class of America," Romney told reporters on a tarmac in Sioux City. "There's almost nothing the president has done in the past three and a half, four years that gives the American people confidence that he knows what he's doing when it comes to jobs and the economy."
Before Romney took the stage here in Orange City, campaign aides tossed to the crowd blue foam gloves designed to look like baseball mitts.
A scoreboard inside the gym had been programmed to list one team as "Mitt" and the other "Romney." Scores were listed as 11 and 6, a reference to the Nov. 6 general election.
Romney was introduced by two Iowa Republicans, Gov. Terry Branstad and Rep. Steve King, who represents the 5th district here and is running for re-election.
Making an apparent pitch for Romney's conservative credentials, King told the crowd that Obama "undermines" the values of northwest Iowa "day after day after day."
"Don't doubt this man's faith. Don't doubt his conviction," King said of Romney. "Do not doubt his patriotism or his faith, and his love for Jesus Christ, our savior."
Romney later urged the crowd inside the overflow room to re-elect King.
"I wanna make sure he's in Washington when I get there so we can do the things we're promising doing," Romney said.
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Hey Fisted Dead Head, Is Deb Wasserman an fine example of DNC honesty?
She is the chair right? How many bold faced lies has she been caught
in this year and when it's proven the (_!_) lies about that even when
confronted with the video.............
OK now flame me hard and deflect the question....
Will it be crickets or the Chihuahua attack?
Obama Improved the Economy, Prevented a Bush Depression
*. Pushed through and signed the Democratic-sponsored “ stimulus package.” Only three Republicans voted for it.
* The Bush-led Great Recession was costing the economy nearly 800,000 jobs per month by the time President Obama took office. But by the end of his first year, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act created and sustained 2.1 million jobs and stimulated the economy by 3.5%.
*. Not only did he complete the massive TARP financial and banking rescue plan, he also leaned on the banks and others, and recovered virtually all of the bail-out money.
* He created the Making Home Affordable home refinancing plan.
* Oversaw the creation of more jobs in 2010 alone than Bush did in eight years.
* Along with Democrats, and almost no Republicans, implemented an auto industry rescue plan, and saved as many as 1 million jobs. Many are of the opinion that he saved the entire auto industry, and even the economy of the entire Midwest. This resulted in GM returning to its place as the top car company in the world. Willard Romney, on the other hand, advocated for the entire industry to go belly-up.
If no President has control over jobs, then why did Obama claim in his first campaign for President that his Tax reform will create middle class jobs?
If no President has control over jobs, why is Obama running TV/Internet ads in this campaign claiming his tax reform will create middle class jobs?
A. If that is true, it might explain why he push for and got the tax cuts to the rich extended to the rich in 2010 rathe rthan implement his tax reform.
B. He's trying to deceive the public into voting for him.
C. He's so out of touch with the realities of his tanking economy he will promise anything.
D. He think the voting public are gullible.
E. Its not true and he's knifing his supporters in the back.
"Romney...9 million people who could be working." IF it weren't for the lost OFFshoredOUTsourced Rommoney Republican tactics of class warfare on American families and children of USA. As long as it is "Legitimate Rape" it is Republican gold standard.
the reason Obama can't creat jobs fast enough because Mr Bain companiess closed factory and lay off american workers faster than obama can creat jobs, thank Mr Bain more unemployment #
Breaking News Foxnews ALERT: more RomneyLie SPIN OUT OF ZONE
what is GOP plan for recover AMERICA in their convention speech? ZERO..only Mr Bain plan for the RICH! how HONEST GOP party? no Mr Bain taxreurn? job creation
Clint Eastwood remind us How Mit Romney is, they both make up story but they don't know how to begin with so they start out with talking to the empty chair, Bruce Lee said: YOU TALK TO THE CHAIR.....IT NOT TALK TO YOU BACK! DUMMY
sowhat we did learn from GOP convention? a LONNEY and a EMPTY CHAIR? YEP
John Hynansky, Biden's Buddy received MILLIONS in Gov loan to sell Porches in the Ukraine. Which Country was that money stimulus for and how many jobs did it create here?
I love the picture in this article.
It looks like Mittens is saying "pull my finger"!