CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Republican challenger Mitt Romney on Wednesday suggested that President Obama is not taking his job seriously enough and accused him of spending too much time golfing and traveling the world while the economy struggles to rebound.
“I must say I scratch my head at the capacity of the president to take four hours off on such a regular basis to go golfing,” Romney said during an interview with conservative radio host Bill Cunningham, who asked Romney about Obama’s more than 90 rounds of golf since becoming president. Romney added, “I would think you could kind of suck it up for four years, particularly when the American people are out of work.”
Citing the high unemployment numbers and decline in both median incomes and housing values, Romney said the president should put down the clubs and “focus his energy on getting people back to work.”
He also questioned the vacation choices of the first family, an apparent reference to Obama’s annual trips to Hawaii, where he grew up, as well as a much-criticized vacation to Spain taken by Michelle Obama and their youngest daughter Sasha. Romney said if he becomes president, he would take better advantage of Camp David, the presidential country retreat located in Maryland about an hour from Washington.
“I know prior presidents have gone to Camp David and have been able to get a little rest and get away from the demands of Washington, bring some of their key advisers there and focus on solving tough issues,” he said. “I would not be jetting around the world and using four years in office to see the world, but instead I would consider the four to eight years in office as a time to get America back on track.”
When the Romney family goes on vacation, the likely GOP nominee has a choice between a rambling, luxury home with horse stables that he owns on a lake in New Hampshire and another multimillion-dollar vacation home he owns on the California coast. Romney also has taken his family on overseas getaways.
The topic of the Obama family’s vacation habits was recently raised when a St. Louis television reporter told Obama that some of his viewers were upset to see him “jetting around” on vacations while they struggled. The president said he believes the American people understand that he is working hard on their behalf.
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