New Romney ad hits Obama on "doing fine" remark
UPDATED 12:07 p.m. ET
(CBS News) Mitt Romney unveiled his first negative television attack ad of the general election against President Obama on Thursday, using the president's own words and line of attack against him.
The 30-second ad opens with the screen showing a slew of statistics about the current state of the U.S. economy: 23.2 million Americans "in need of work," 40 straight months of unemployment above 8 percent and millions of homeowners "underwater on mortgages."
The only voice heard is the president's, from his June 8 press conference, saying the "the private sector is doing fine" and replaying that soundbite three times in a row.
The screen then flashes with the simple question in black and white text: "how can President Obama fix our economy if he doesn't understand it's broken?"
The ad is a near replica of a September 2008 ad the Obama campaign used against Republican Sen. John McCain for saying "the fundamentals of our economy are strong" as the nation was in the midst of a massive financial crisis that led to the worst recession since the Great Depression.
That ad played a clip of McCain and closed with the question "How can John McCain fix our economy if he doesn't understand it's broken?"
The ad comes as the two men are set to appear campaigning in the same state for the first time today, with dueling speeches on the economy scheduled to start within minutes of each other.
Taking place about 250 miles apart -- Mr. Obama in Cleveland, Romney in Cincinnati -- in a state widely considered one of the most crucial battleground territories in the country, each candidate is attempting to sell his fiscal vision to voters as America's most promising path toward renewed prosperity.
Meanwhile, the outside group supporting Mr. Obama, Priorities USA Action, unveiled an ad it plans to run in New Hampshire on Friday, hitting Romney for his tenure at private equity firm Bain Capital.
Citing an investment in picture frame maker Holson Burnes, the ad charges that hundreds of New Hampshire workers lost their jobs as Bain cut costs and more than doubled its $10 million investment.
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The private sector IS doing fine when it comes to job creation, profits and cash on hand. The more the GOP harps on this the sillier they look. People will look at what was said and wonder what they are ranting about.
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Not many people, other than a fringe element on the left, holds this opinion sjc. Those who say what you say are the ones who look silly. That's why the big uproar over Obama's gaffe.
Please spell out exactly how the private sector is doing just fine. Because the only people I see saying that don't have the slightest clue about how to run a business.
The 4.5 million jobs were created in only 16 states.
The other 34 states lost a collective 1.4 million, bringing the net to 3.1 million and meaning that most of the country has not begun recovery yet.
20 U.S. states have unempoloyment above 9%...still
474,000 jobs Obama is claiming were created in Texas and are a result of policies in place because of Republican gov Rick Perry, not Obama.
North Dakota has the fastest job growth in the nation - due not to Obama but the Bakken Oil Boom. Obama did not put the oil in the ground and in fact is responsible for lagging permits for the Bakken Oil Field, which is creating jobs despite his efforts.
Employment peaked last in Jan 2008. 57 months later, the workforce is still 5 million people smaller - and no end is in site.
These are the facts - verify them at the BLS.
Obama can say whatever he wants, but unless he's saying what I've disclosed above, the facts don't support him.
If we are suffering because of it, it's perfectly fair to bring it up.
As an American I know that today the biggest movement in the states stems from The Plot to Overthrow by Mohammad Goldstein this man bluntly tells the world who a Jew IS and what a Muslim really IS; Obama senators, and congressmen all have copies, and you can get it for nuttin on the net it will blow your political mind about Americas role and is laced with "inside" truth about Washington.
There is a real intelligent change taking place in America and it took this one man to bluntly tell the world about the inner working of Washington. This document about Washington is so revealing that he has gone into hiding. There is no valid answer or reason for a discussion until we tell the world the truth who started this so called Arab Spring? Go get the document it will knock the silly out of your politics.