Romney Calls Obama 'Hide and Seek' Candidate - East Idaho News
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Romney Calls Obama ‘Hide and Seek’ Candidate

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Getty 011812 RomneyObama?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1333567950506Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Alex Wong/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — One day after sweeping three primaries, Mitt Romney said he hopes the Republican nomination will be “wrapped up as soon as possible,” but stopped short of calling for his opponents to drop out.

Rather, he focused his criticism squarely on President Obama, previewing the likely general election matchup and framing the president as the “hide and seek” candidate.

“He wants us to re-elect him so we can find out what he will actually do,” Romney said Wednesday in Washington, D.C. “With all the challenges the nation faces, this is not the time for President Obama’s hide and seek campaign.”

Romney spoke from the same stage that President Obama spoke at on Tuesday. In front of the Newspaper Association of America, Romney said the president’s speech included multiple “distortions” and ”rhetorical excesses.”

Romney defended Congressman Paul Ryan, whose budget plan President Obama dismissed Tuesday as “nothing more than a Trojan Horse.”

“Congressman Paul Ryan – who, unlike this president, has had the courage to offer serious solutions to the problems we face,” Romney said Wednesday.

“President Obama came here yesterday and railed against arguments no one is making – and criticized policies no one is proposing,” Romney continued, “It’s one of his favorite strategies – setting up straw men to distract from his record.”

Romney said that President Obama will have a “hard time defending” his record in office in a general election.

“I don’t think this has been a great presidency,” Romney said. “As you look at the pieces of legislation he enacted, they did not get the economy working again.”

Romney said on the economy the president has presented a “grand total of zero” ideas and will try a series of “election-year conversions,” to win another term in office.

Following the lead of others like Sen. John McCain, R-AZ., and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-FL., who have called on the others in the Republican nomination to drop out, Romney was asked if he would now call on his Republican opponents to drop out as well.

“No, I haven’t, but now that you bring it up,” Romney joked to laughter in the room.

Then, he shifted towards more diplomatic language when speaking about his competitors for the Republican nomination, but emphasized that his hope would be to have this nomination race wrapped up soon.

“Actually, I think people are free to make their own decision and I respect them to do so,” Romney said. “I hope we are able to resolve our nomination process as soon as possible. Of course because I’d like to focus our time and attention on those key battleground states.”

Romney will spend the rest of the day Wednesday and Thursday in Pennsylvania, looking ahead to the next set of primaries on the April 24.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

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