Biden rips Romney on outsourcing, Swiss bank account

(CBS News) WATERLOO, Iowa -- Resuming the mantle of attack dog, Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday laced into Mitt Romney for allegedly outsourcing jobs while at Bain Capital and reviving the charge that Romney is out of touch because he once held a Swiss bank account and investments in the Cayman Islands.

Biden's denunciation was part of a larger Obama re-election team strategy to try to define Romney as "outsourcer-in-chief." It ran attack ads in Virginia and Ohio as well as Iowa -- all key battleground states -- driving home that point.

"He said his experience as a businessman is what gives him the great understanding of what it takes to bring jobs back to the U.S. of America," Biden said as a crowd of about 400 people cheered. "That's his premise ... but like so many other things the governor talks about, there is a huge disconnect between what he says and what he means and what he has done."

The vice president cited a recent Washington Post article saying Bain Capital invested in companies that moved jobs overseas. In excerpted prepared remarks released by the Obama campaign, Biden also said, "Give Mitt Romney credit: He is a job creator. In Singapore. And China. And India."

In contrast, Biden said, the Obama administration "did all we could do" to end outsourcing, citing policies put in place to prevent companies from relocating abroad.

"We started off by betting on you -- literally, not figuratively, betting on you -- as the most productive workers in the world," Biden said.

Romney's campaign has heatedly denied that the candidate is to blame for outsourcing and instead has lodged the accusation against President Obama. It cited a 2011 news report in which the medical device industry contended it could lose 10 percent of its U.S. workforce because of a tax created by the health care law. It also cited a Wall Street Journal analysis that found around three-quarters of the jobs added by 35 major U.S. multinational companies in the past two years were overseas.

"Vice President Biden today doubled down on the Obama campaign's same misleading attacks in an effort to distract voters from the president's disastrous economic record," spokeswoman Andrea Saul said. "President Obama thinks that economic development means sending billions of taxpayer dollars to foreign-owned companies and rewarding donors with money from his failed stimulus program. President Obama has failed to meet his own standard for lowering unemployment, because he has no idea what it takes to get our economy moving again."

In the excerpted prepared remarks, Biden also took on the Romney campaign's contention that Mr. Obama is out of touch, which the Republican says was evident in the president's recent remark that the private sector is "doing fine."

"Romney called the president 'out of touch' for encouraging young people - you -- to try to get manufacturing jobs. 'Out of touch,''' Biden said. "Out of touch? A prospective president with a Swiss bank account and a retirement account in the Cayman Islands. Anyone here have a Swiss bank account? Did you ever think the nominee of a major political party running for president would have a Swiss bank account? Talk about out of touch."

Earlier this year, to satisfy the demands of his then-GOP rivals, Romney released a tax return from 2010 and an estimate for 2011. Campaign officials said his holdings included funds based in the Cayman Islands and other overseas entities, including a Swiss bank account that was closed in 2010.

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The day in politics: June 26

[Rmazz93]

The Youths Plan to Create Jobs:
A main problem with our economy today is that many corporations are outsourcing jobs that our high school and college graduates need to start their careers. This leaves a surplus of graduates who are unemployed or underemployed because they cannot find full-time work in their fields of choice.
Have you ever wondered:
Which companies are reducing or outsourcing American jobs?
Which companies are making an effort to keep jobs in America?
We have a solution with SaveOurWorkforce. It is a non-profit organization that tracks information about the American workforce by company, and provides public access to its database through a free website tool; Before-You-Buy, VERIFY. This tool empowers consumers to reward companies by directing their purchases towards those companies that support the U.S. workforce the most. Prior to making a purchasing decision, a consumer can easily access the database to verify if the company or the competitor has been making a strong effort to support the U.S. workforce by retaining jobs in America. Nearly 12.5 million Americans were unemployed as of April 2012, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. The tough job market is causing more and more job seekers to become discouraged. SaveOurWorkforce provides another, more hopeful perspective on the economy by highlighting the companies who are doing their best to provide jobs to the working families of America and by giving teenagers an active role in shaping their future. Teenagers who participate in the high school and college clubs research and reach out to local and national companies to collect information for the database. The SaveOurWorkforce database contains information about 100 large corporations. With help from students, SaveOurWorkforce plans to add 40 companies a month. Please visit the website www.saveourworkforce.org to find more information.

[meandeanKK]

If Joe Biden really believes his own words,
then Mitt Romney will be getting the votes
of one joe 'plugs without a brain' biden
and one barack' O'bama, cuz these two love
themselves some communist china'

[tvwatcher5345]

i don't understand why the dems are silent on romney getting extention on his taxes so he will not file/release his taxes until a few weeks before the election?????, i also still want to know what book romney would be sworn in on if he wins?????

[RollotheNorman]

Well, it prolly isn't that important. Mitt's daddy had the backbone and honesty to release his previous 10 years tax returns when he ran. Mitt doesn't have his old man's backbone and honesty, and there's no way to instill it in him at this point.

[VotePovertyVoteObama]

Is there anyone dumber than Joe Biden? Yes, Fascist Obama. Joe Biden said in a recent speech.....remember these three letter words....Jobs, Jobs, Jobs. They look like four letter words to me. Now you know why that 88% of all high school drop outs are Liberals.
VOTE DUMBAS*, VOTE LIBERAL.

[RollotheNorman]

Sure, Mitt Romney, Eric Cantor, John Boehner, Carl Rove, Dubya, all Tea Partiers, need I go on?

[Molly-Pchr]

Obama wants to dump Biden for Clinton?

[hypnotoad72]

Get 'em with this, too:

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/government/irony-gop-call-blasting-obama-for-unemployment-hosted-in-philippines/11257

[hillzhavays]

goofy blogger - this isn't information, it's opinion.

[RollotheNorman]

hillzhavays: Apparently reading comprehension isn't one of your strong point. The blogger was talking about this *fact*:

"So, where were the operators located that conducted the conference call? Someplace where property is cheap in America's flyover territory? Nope. In one of the red states where jobs are sorely needed, like Mississippi? Nope.

No, the operators the GOP used to blast President Obama about the unemployment problem in the United States were located — wait for it — offshore, in the Philippines."

My, my sure looks like off-shoring by the GOP to me. This must be an inborn trait of RepubliCONs and Willard's caught the bug to. Or maybe the Greedy Old Party caught it from Willard.

[calif7]

Romney still needs to man-up like his father, the President and Biden and release 10 years of tax returns. Only his 2010 returns were disclosed. What is he hiding? Tax rates are going to be an issue this fall and Mitt needs to fully disclose before he engages in the conversation.

[hillzhavays]

What does 10 years of tax returns matter? Are you going to read them? Or justt take a bloggers word for what they hold? Do you even know the difference between a marginal tax rate and an effective tax rate? Probably not since you're saying tax rates are going to be an issue. They will only be an issue for uneducated lefties who eat up the Lib blog drivel.

You might be interested to know that you pay a lower effective rate than most of the top 25% of earners. Surprised? If you don't believe me, I can give you a link to the IRS website where they summarize all of the tax return data.

[calif7]

I paid 5% more than Romney on significantly less income than Romney made. And I spend my money. I don't park it in Swiss and Cayman accounts. By the way, I'm a retired accountant. So don't give me your right wing BS.

[TimeToEvolve]

If you don't have a Swiss bank account and you have not become rich by outsourcing jobs, "Blame Yo'self" - Herman Cain, 2012.

[sjc_1]

Tear him a new one Joe!

[TimeToEvolve]

Thanks for the info. Every time there is a Republiclown administration they borrow and spend and we get into recession. Then they are able to blame the next administration for that. It's like clockwork. After the Reagan Bush disaster there was Clinton. After the Bush disaster there was Obama.

[JWinATL]

Reagan pulled the economy out of the grip of Jimmy Carter who was in charge when prime rates exceeded 20%, and Reagan saw borrowing interest rates return to single digits. It would be a good idea to do some research, TimeToEvolve. I lived it and was a lender at the time.