Rarely does the Obama campaign speak the truth about the economy. But a few days ago, they slipped up.
“The economy, you know, will continue to be a challenge as we continue to fight out this race over the next six months,” Deputy Campaign Manager Stephanie Cutter admitted at a May 12 forum at Harvard University.
Since Team Obama knows that their record on the economy is a losing issue for them, they are trying to win by distorting Governor Romney’s record of private sector job creation. They have taken to spewing a nonstop stream of false attacks against free enterprise.
The tactics are so appalling that they are making even some Democrats sick. Yesterday on NBC’s Meet the Press, Democrat Mayor of Newark, Cory Booker, called the campaign’s attacks on Bain Capital “nauseating.”
“If you look at the totality of Bain Capital's record,” he said, “they've done a lot to support businesses—to grow businesses.”
Now the Obama campaign is probably nauseous seeing their own surrogate expose the campaign’s falsehoods.
It’s bad enough the Obama campaign refuses to talk about their record on the economy. It’s worse that they’d distract from it with outright distortions.
Unlike President Obama, Governor Romney has an impressive record. He built his career in the private sector, so he understands how the economy works. He saved businesses and helped start new ones, many of which are household names like Staples and Sports Authority.
He then put that knowledge and leadership experience to good use when he turned around an Olympics and when he served as governor of Massachusetts.
In contrast, President Obama has zero experience in the private sector. As I told Candy Crowley yesterday on CNN’s State of the Union, “President Obama’s private business experience hasn’t seen the inside of a lemonade stand.”
And that’s the problem. How can a president understand how private business works if he’s never worked in private business?
After three and a half years of the Obama presidency, we’ve seen what this lack of experience produces. 23 million Americans are struggling to find work. Prices at the store are rising, but wages are shrinking. Government is growing, but opportunity is dwindling. And now, it is a challenge for many families just to make ends meet.
A president should be in the business of helping the economy thrive. He shouldn't attack free enterprise. He should promote it, and that’s exactly what a President Romney would do on Day 1.
