In a week where the Obama re-election campaign has hammered on Mitt Romney to be more forthcoming on his financials, accusing him of either lying or committing a felony, the president laid into his challenger further during an interview with CBS’ Charlie Rose.
The president said “there are questions that need to be asked,” about Romney’s record on job creation and his plan for stimulating the economy during an interview Thursday morning, which will air in its entirety later this week.
“If you’re a head of a large private equity firm or hedge fund, your job is to make money. It’s not to create jobs. It’s not even to create a successful business—it’s to make sure that you’re maximizing returns for your investor. That’s appropriate.” Obama said, echoing a line of attack he has issued before. “But that doesn’t necessarily make you qualified to think about the economy as whole. As president, my job is to think about the workers. My job is to think about communities, where jobs have been outsourced.”
The president, who appeared in the interview with the first lady, said he didn’t think business experience “disqualifies” Romney as a presidential candidate, but he wants “to make sure we know what your theory is about how to grow the economy.”
Clearly the Obama campaign does not expect to let up on its attacks on Romney’s record at Bain Capital, the firm he co-founded. The president also admitted his presidency hasn’t been perfect, saying he failed to inspire Americans when he first entered the White House. “The mistake of my first couple of years was thinking that this job was just about getting the policy right,” Obama said. “That’s important, but the nature of this office is also to tell a story to the American people that gives them a sense of unity, and purpose and optimism especially during tough times.” Daily Rundown’s guest host Luke Russert discussed the new interview Friday (above), noting the Romney campaign had already issued a counter-statement that read in part: “Being president is not about telling stories. Being president is about leading.”
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