The Romney campaign circulated a memo on Friday that asserts that President Obama has “no discernible rationale” for his reelection campaign and accuses him of dodging a discussion of his record.
“We now know that only one campaign is going to run on President Obama’s record of the past three-and-a-half years in office—and it’s not the Obama campaign,” Mitt Romney's campaign manager, Matt Rhoades, said in the memo. "Without the ability to run on a record of achievement, the incumbent is reduced to a campaign based on scattershot attacks on Governor Romney in particular and Republicans in general.”
Rhoades compared Obama’s campaign to “one of those gyrating, intermittent lawn sprinklers, spewing out attacks in seemingly random directions” in order to avoid discussing the nation’s high unemployment rate, soaring federal debt, high gas prices, and rising health insurance premiums.
Obama has been highlighting some parts of his record, including the revival of General Motors and Chrysler; the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, and the killing of Osama bin Laden. His campaign said on Friday that Romney is the one who won't talk about his record—in the private sector or in public office—and offered its own take: “As a corporate buyout specialist, [Romney] profited by laying off workers and outsourcing jobs and as the governor of Massachusetts, his record was one of few jobs, higher taxes, more debt, and bigger government,” Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt said.
Rhoades also took a few digs at Obama’s public appearances, noting that he spent the week “slow-jamming the news” (a reference to his appearance on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon) and “striking a Heisman pose" (the stance of the football player in the famous Heisman trophy, which Obama mimicked at the request of U.S. Air Force Academy athletes when they appeared at the White House to be honored for their achievements).
Republicans frequently try to slap an image on the president of being too cool for school—and unprepared for the presidency. In 2008, Sen. John McCain’s campaign aired a famous ad called “Celebrity” that suggested Obama was little more than an airheaded icon like Britney Spears or Paris Hilton. Earlier this week, the Republican super PAC American Crossroads mocked Obama’s Fallon appearance in an ad that suggested his policies didn’t help young Americans.
“Of course, this election will be decided by adults casting ballots in their precincts, not teenagers texting votes from in front of their television sets,” Rhoades wrote in the memo, which was released the same day Romney held a roundtable with college students in Ohio.
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