Romney staying out of public eye this week for debate prep

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (L) and his wife Ann Romney talk on the campaign plane on September 1, 2012, en route to New Hampshire.

/ Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

(CBS News) As the Democratic National Convention swings into full gear, new Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney plans to spend much of the week in private preparing for the fall's debates with President Obama, with no public appearances currently planned.

After spending Sunday and Monday at his summer home on New Hampshire's Lake Winnipesaukee, Romney will travel to Reading, Vt., for several practice sessions at the home of Kerry Healey, who served as his lieutenant governor in Massachusetts. Joining them will be Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio, who was tapped recently by the Romney campaign to portray Obama in the mock sessions after the rave reviews he received for playing Obama during GOP nominee John McCain's debate prep in 2008.

Romney's campaign previously had said he would be making public appearances this week during the Democratic convention, but senior adviser Kevin Madden told reporters on Saturday that no public events are now on the schedule. However, he acknowledged that events could be added in the coming days.

While Romney will spend the week studying up, vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan will kick off his week a mere 250 miles from Charlotte with a trip to the eastern side of North Carolina, where campaign aides say he will ask voters, "Are you better off now than you were four years ago?"

Complete coverage: Campaign 2012

After leaving North Carolina, according to news reports, Ryan will hold an event in the Cleveland area before taking his campaign to the place where Obama's presidential bid took off in 2007: Iowa. There he is expected to hold events in Cedar Rapids and Des Moines.

Ryan will then travel to the West Coast to raise money. News reports of various fundraisers place the Wisconsin lawmaker in Utah on Sept. 5, the night before Vice President Joe Biden and President Obama address the convention, and in Northern California three days after that.

Although neither Romney nor Ryan will be in Charlotte, the Republican National Committee plans a robust effort there to counter Democrats' messaging. Several top Republican officials will hold a "counter-convention," including RNC Chairman Reince Priebus, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, and Govs. Nikki Haley of South Carolina and Mary Fallin of Oklahoma.

In addition to having a rapid-response team and releasing daily videos that will counter the Democratic message, the RNC plans additional gimmicks, such as a Romney-Ryan NASCAR race car (painted with a number 12 for 2012) as well as "You Build It" Lego sets and Monopoly games. Several staffers will also hand out tissues throughout Charlotte, because, the RNC says, "Breaking up is hard to do."

"We will ensure that voters hear the record of failed policies of this administration and provide a clear contrast with the Romney plan to get the economy moving and get people back to work. Team Obama can't say the country is better off after four years of Obama, and his top surrogates say the answer is no," said RNC Communications Director Sean Spicer.

[RollotheNorman]

Hey Weird Willard: Here's a plan. Just lay low until the election. Have Ryan go out and do all you're talking for you. He's gonna be responsible for most of the votes you get anyhow, and it keeps you safely at home and out of public sight. Don't even show for the debates, you're gonna look like a fool anyway, and that will keep you from falling on your nose three times. Just go jet-skiing or move cars around in your garage and let Ryan do all the work.

[jmn122736]

jgg000010 said; Obama is endorsed by both the US Communist and Socialist parties. I don't need to read a book to know that I'd vote for a potted plant before I ever voted for obama.

Translation: I don't need to read a book to know that I'd vote for a potted plant before I ever voted for a black man.
----

To posters like jgg000010, hatred comes before their country or even their own future.
Why else would ANY intelligent American vote for a pair like Romney and Ryan?

As a Republican congressman Ryan has voted against every bill that would fairly reduce the budget deficit.
He cosponsored a bill that would prohibit women from having an abortion, even in cases of rape or to save her life.
He also sponsored a bill that would virtually destroy Medicare and obviously he would also destroy SS.
His convention speech was filled with false claims (lies) and utter distortions.-------

Romney has taken both sides of every issue he has ever faced.
He is a high-ranking leader of the Mormon Church, a church that was founded on lies by Joseph Smith, a convicted con man.
Lying is not a sin in Romney's religion, as long as it helps the church (read Romney).
Mormonism is cloaked in secrecy, Just like Romney's true situation with Bain capital and his refusal to release his tax returns. Lying is actually no problem for Romney, like promising months ago to release his 2011 tax returns while claiming, "they are not ready yet". Does anyone really believe they will be released before the election?
If it helps Romney, it is not a lie.
Also, according to his religion, Romney believes he will become a god and rule over his own world. He just wants to get a head start as president.

[signseeker1717]

Mayb not race, but definitely the "red" card. All those nasty Commies. Hate to break it to YOU, but Joe McCarthy's been dead for decades, and the Cold War is OVER.

[1988JAck]

Maybe he can "reintroduce" himself at the debates again. What a joke Romney is as a candidate.

[Kestrel88]

Lay low for a week? Sounds good, no one will notice.

[andie52]

Ryan needs to get some new material

While Romney will spend the week studying up, vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan will kick off his week a mere 250 miles from Charlotte with a trip to the eastern side of North Carolina, where campaign aides say he will ask voters, "Are you better off now than you were four years ago?"

Are You Better Off Today Than You Were Four Years Ago?

Ronald Reagan asked this question at the end the debate with President Carter on October, 28 1980.

[Kestrel88]

Maybe Ryan can give a motivational speech about marathon running and how easy it is to improve your race time by lying.

[RollotheNorman]

Wise of Willard, he will always need more time than he has available to prep to step into the ring. It's easy to get him off message because he has no message. I think Willard will look like a beached whale at the first debate. That's setting the bar too low, he should look Presidential, when he doesn't he should pay in the polls.

[patkelly99]

It is amazing that republicans can demand with a straight face that Obama should clean up the mess in 4 years that it took a republican president and his administration 8-years to create. Remember, when Bush took office, Clinton left him with a thriving economy operating at a surplus. Just eight years later, Bush handed Obama an American economy on the verge of catastrophic financial collapse. So much for republican visions of free and unrestrained capitalism that has thrown the entire world into a recession. Clearly republicans are a party ruled by the elite for the elite. What boggles the mind is how so many can claim to align themselves with republican ideals for no other reason than to hope they will become part of the elite merely by pretending they share the same elitist ideals. But this is the fallacy and false promise republicans are deluded with because the truth is that as the rich get richer everyone else including most of the rich themselves eventually get poorer and poorer. The obvious outcome is a few trillionares taking huge pieces of the single pie we all must eat from. And as the super-rich take bigger and bigger pieces of the same pie we all much share it doesn't take any great genius to realize that our pieces are going to keep getting smaller and smaller. Sure the wealthy top 2 percent might create a lot of jobs but at what cost. For every million they earn they hire another one or two employee at $40,000 each to help them make another million. This is not the American dream. Hello Republicans... Anybody home???

[qyeteye]

Republican led obstructionist Congress equivalent of fighting the clean-up crew and blaming them for the mess.

Vote obstructionist Congress back to the private sector they claim to best represent. Let them pretend to earn their living instead of sucking from the government while they bash, block and blame it as their public "service".

[patkelly99]

It is amazing that republicans can demand with a straight face that Obama should clean up the mess in 4 years that it took a republican president and his administration 8-years to create. Remember, when Bush took office, Clinton left him with a thriving economy operating at a surplus. Just eight years later, Bush handed Obama an American economy on the verge of catastrophic financial collapse. So much for republican visions of free and unrestrained capitalism that has thrown the entire world into a recession. Clearly republicans are a party ruled by the elite for the elite. What boggles the mind is how so many can claim to align themselves with republican ideals for no other reason than to hope they will become part of the elite merely by pretending they share the same elitist ideals. But this is the fallacy and false promise republicans are deluded with because the truth is that as the rich get richer everyone else including most of the rich themselves eventually get poorer and poorer. The obvious outcome is a few trillionares taking huge pieces of the single pie we all must eat from. And as the super-rich take bigger and bigger pieces of the same pie we all much share it doesn't take any great genius to realize that our pieces are going to keep getting smaller and smaller. Sure the wealthy top 2 percent might create a lot of jobs but at what cost. For every million they earn they hire another one or two employee at $40,000 each to help them make another million. This is not the American dream. Hello Republicans... Anybody home???

[MB-1234]

by jgg000010 September 3, 2012 1:17 AM EDT
it's so funny to read these attacks on romney that he can't multi-task.

Apparently he can't "run for office" (what's it been, 9 years now?) and file his TAX RETURNS on time like the vast majority of hard working Americans do. Seems to me like he can't multi-task AT ALL. I've run a small business for 25+ years and my taxes are pretty complicated, but I've NEVER had to FILE FOR AN EXTENSION like Willard did this year.

He wants the American People to hire him, but he can't even get his taxes done ON TIME - hardly seems like much of a multi-tasker does he? Or is he hiding something?

[TJphoto]

I have listened to Mitt, Paul & the republican machine. Their general theme has been "It's all Obama's fault"! The party of obstruction, the party of NO, and the party of the 1%. OK, it's a free country, say what you want. But now there will be debates, and Mitt, you better prepare hard, because this is going to be a 15 round Title Bout with a Seasoned Veteran and there is no place to hide in the ring of public opinion. Hey! Anything yet on those tax returns????