Mitt Romney released a new television ad Wednesday in which he speaks directly to the camera for a 60-second pitch to the Americans “living paycheck to paycheck.”
“President Obama and I both care about poor and middle class families,” Romney says in the ad. “The difference is, my policies will make things better for them.”
The Romney campaign is doing all it can to rebound from leaked footage of a campaign fundraising event where the candidate lashed out against 47% of the electorate, calling them “victims.”
Although the Republican candidate for president has in recent days doubled down on his rhetoric against entitlement programs, his tone is notably softened in this ad.
“We shouldn’t measure compassion by how many people are on welfare,” he says. “We should measure compassion by how many people are able to get off welfare and get a good-paying job.”
News reports and fact checkers have skewered Romney in the past for running ads on welfare that not only distort the facts, but are blatantly false. This time around, the candidate eases back slightly on his direct attacks against the president, by suggesting that compassion lies in weaning Americans off of social programs. Romney’s running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan, came out with his own television ad on Wednesday, mapping “A Choice of Two Futures.” The ad is another spot defending the congressman’s House seat, rather than a Romney-Ryan piece. Yet, Ryan stays on message and calls Obama’s handling of the economy into question while reinforcing Romney’s critiques of social programs. “We must take action to prevent the most predictable economic crisis in our country’s history,” Ryan says in the ad, referring to the country’s debt woes and the looming fiscal cliff. “Washington promotes a culture of dependency; we need a culture of accountability and personal responsibility.”
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