Politics
Election 2012: Obama aims to keep pressure on Romney in Florida
Obama has repeatedly criticized Romney’s private equity firm, Bain Capital, arguing that it promoted the outsourcing of jobs to countries like China and India. And Democrats want Romney to make public past tax returns, noting that the one year for which he has released returns showed investments and offshore accounts in Switzerland and the Cayman Islands.
Several Republicans have joined in the call for more transparency, including several GOP senators and Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who challenged Romney for the GOP nomination earlier this year.
In an interview aired Thursday on WTOL-TV in Toledo, Ohio, Romney said one reason not to release more of his returns was that “the Democratic party and the opposition has all these people that comb through and try and find anything they can to distract from the issues people care about, oftentimes in a dishonest way.”
In recent days, Romney has pointed to Obama’s record on the economy and noted that the Democrat hasn’t met with his jobs council in more than six months. He told supporters in Bowling Green, Ohio, on Wednesday that Obama’s priority “is trying to keep his own job. And that’s why he’s going to lose it.”
The president was starting his day with a campaign event in Jacksonville, home to a large swath of veterans and military members connected to Naval Air Station Jacksonville. Before military audiences, Obama has talked about his efforts to bring home U.S. combat troops from Iraq and wind down the conflict in Afghanistan and pressed Congress to promote job opportunities for veterans.
Obama is expected to make a pitch to seniors in West Palm Beach, where he’ll visit Century Village, a condominium complex home to thousands of retirees, long a bastion of reliable Democratic voters. Obama and Democrats have warned that Romney would seek to implement a budget plan authored by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., that includes an overhaul of Medicare that would change it into a voucher-like program for those who retire in 10 years.
“Under the Romney-Ryan budget, Florida seniors would be left on their own,” said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee.
