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Obama looks to move on from not-so-great week
(CBS News) WASHINGTON -- The race for the White House still has five months to go.
But this has been a week President Obama might want to forget.
Just about everything that could go wrong for Democrats, did.
Presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney has sounded confident on the campaign trail this week.
"As your president, starting on day one, I will do everything in MY power to end these days of drift and disappointment," he told one crowd.
And why not?
In his first head-to-head fundraising battle with the president, Romney came out on top.
In May, Romney's first month as the only Republican running against Mr. Obama, Republicans hauled in $76.8 million, outpacing the Democrats' $60 million.
That's unsettling news for the president.
But the fundraising numbers were just the latest example of a not-so-great week for his re-election bid.
There was the high profile, so-called "misstatement" by former President Clinton, who was forced to apologize for comments that seemed to undercut Mr. Obama's economic plan.
Where does the week leave the Obama campaign? CBS News chief Washington correspondent and "Face the Nation" host talked about it with "CBS This Morning" co-host Charlie Rose Friday. To see the discussion, click on the video below:
Mr. Clinton said the Bush tax cuts should be extended - a position Mr. Obama opposes.
"I think what it means is they will have to extend - they will probably have to put everything off until early next year," the former president said.
He wasn't the only high-ranking supporter to go off message this week.
On "CBS This Morning," former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell evoked the other Clinton - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton - and it wasn't especially flattering to the Obama campaign.
"I think she would have come in with a lot more executive experience," Rendell said. "I think the president was hurt by (having been) a legislator only. For example, healthcare and stimulus. ... I think Hillary Clinton would have sent (Congress) a bill saying, "Here's what I want."
And if that weren't enough, there was the recall election in Wisconsin, which Gov. Scott Walker won handily.
Many saw that race as a proxy for the president's re-election bid.
Unions wanted Walker out, and the defeat is a bad sign for Mr. Obama. Unions have long been important organizing and fundraising forces for Democrats.
To see Jan Crawford's report, click on the video in the player above.
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Jan Crawford Jan Crawford is CBS News Chief Political and Legal Correspondent. She is from "Crossroads," Alabama.
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