A new ad from President Obama’s campaign takes aim at both Mitt Romney’s "47 percent" gaffe and his 14.1 percent effective tax rate for last year. Called “Fair Share,” it builds on the Obama team’s campaign-long efforts to paint Romney as out of touch with middle-class Americans.
The ad is centered on a leaked video of Romney saying at a $50,000-a-head private fundraiser that 47 percent of Americans don't pay income tax, “believe they are victims,” and want government handouts. Those statements are an attack on "millions of hard-working people making 25, 35, 45 thousand dollars a year. They pay Social Security taxes. State taxes. Local taxes. Gas, sales, and property taxes," the spot says.
Romney's 2011 tax returns, released on Friday, show that Romney paid 14.1 percent in federal taxes on income of $13 million. The new Obama ad goes on to note the rate Romney paid, the amount of his income, and the fact that it came mostly from investments. "Instead of attacking folks who work for a living, shouldn’t we stand up for them?" the announcer asks.
The new ad will run in eight battleground states: Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, and Virginia.
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