Romney claims unique background vs. Perry
LITCHFIELD, N.H. – Mitt Romney said today his blend of private sector and government experience makes him uniquely qualified to be president among his fellow Republican contenders – and Democratic incumbent Barack Obama.
Reacting to Rick Perry’s weekend entry into the GOP race, Romney said he liked the Texas governor personally but believed his own 25-year career as a venture capitalist left him better suited to create jobs.
Yet he also differentiated himself from the only other former business executive in the field, onetime Godfather’s Pizza CEO Herman Cain, by embracing his four-year tenure as governor of Massachusetts.
“I think understanding how the economy works by having worked in the real economy is finally essential for the White House, and I hope people recognize that,’’ Romney told reporters after touring and addressing employees at a small manufacturer in this Manchester suburb.
“I respect the other people in this race, but I think the only other person that has that kind of extensive private sector experience, besides me, in the Republican race is Herman Cain. And I respect Herman Cain, but I also think it’s helpful to have had that government experience that I’ve had,’’ said Romney.
Later, in concluding a town hall meeting in Plymouth, Romney said his experience with both small and big business development would be a special asset in any general election debate against Obama.
“When he says, ‘Oh, my stimulus worked,’ I’ll be able to say, ‘No, it didn’t; let me tell you why not. I understand how the economy works. Let me tell you what it did,’’ Romney told a crowd of about 40 people attending a town hall meeting at the Common Man restaurant in Plymouth.
Perry declared his candidacy on Saturday and jumped into a race reshaped by Michele Bachmann’s Iowa straw poll win and the Tim Pawlenty’s departure from the campaign on Sunday.
With Texas leading the country in job creation, Perry threatens to match Romney’s executive experience and undercut his jobs pitch, while also exuding the personal touch that some see the former businessman lacking.
Touring the Iowa State Fair, Perry said: “Take a look at his record when he was governor. Take a look at my record.’’
According the The New York Times, he added: “Running a state is different than running a business.’’
He also jabbed at Romney, who is largely skipping Iowa and its first-in-the-nation caucuses to concentrate on New Hampshire, which holds the first presidential primary and where he owns a vacation home and is better known because of his governorship across the border.
“If you’re not in Iowa, you ain’t happening,’’ said Perry, even though Romney was in the state two days last week before the governor entered the race.
Romney spoke at the outset of a week of campaigning during which he will also climb Mount Washington with former US Representative Jeb Bradley, now majority leader of the state Senate.
New England Small Tubeprimarily makes small tubes used in medical devices. It also made the probe used to poke a hole in the top of Keurig coffee concentrates before losing the contract to a Chinese manufacturer.
During his remarks to company employees, Romney said he will soon unveil a plan to trim the federal workforce and bring its pay and benefits in line with the private sector.
“We got too many of them and they’re paid too much,’’ he said in a statement sure to please small-government Tea Party backers.
Romney also chastised Obama’s handling of the Great Recession, saying his own lack of private sector experience, as well as his social agenda, has impeded the recovery.
“The president points out that he inherited a recession, and he did. But he made it worse,’’ said Romney. He cited the administration’s energy, health care, and financial regulatory policies to buttress that comment.
And he joined several other GOP contenders who have urged Obama to call Congress back early from its summer recess to address the fragile economy and high unemployment.
‘‘The president this week is in three states on a bus tour. And he’s going to be going on a vacation to Martha’s Vineyard for 10 days. I wish the president were in Washington calling back Congress and dealing with the challenges we have,’’ said Romney. ‘‘In some respects, I think he’s more concerned about keeping his job than spending the time necessary to help Americans get their jobs.’’
Romney’s focus on Obama came as the president launched his own counteroffensive amid record-low approval ratings.
The Democrat travelled to Minnesota today to launch a three-day bus tour that would also take him to Iowa tonight and then on to his home state of Illinois.
“We’ve still got a long way to go to get to where we need to be. We didn’t get into this mess overnight, and it’s going to take time to get out of it,’’ Obama said over the weekend in his weekly radio address to the nation.
Romney noted the approval rating with his own tweak.
“That is not because he is not campaigning; that is because he is not leading,’’ he said at New England Small Tube.
Romney tried to preempt the trip, which he dubbed “President Obama’s Magical Misery Tour,’’ by releasing a new web video this morning that featured Minnesotans complaining about the president and his policies.
“In the last election I voted for Barack Obama and I just feel like I can’t,’’ said one of those in the video, Joseph Bromley of Minnetonka, Minn.
Such videos have become a staple that either preview Romney’s appearance in a state or the president’s.
On Thursday, Obama is slated to fly to Martha’s Vineyard to begin a vacation with his family scheduled to last until Aug. 28.
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