Obama Aide Admits Bain Attacks on Romney Haven’t Stuck
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Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Alex Wong/Getty Images(CHICAGO) — A top Obama campaign strategist made a surprising admission Wednesday about Democrats’ efforts to undermine Mitt Romney’s economic chops: they haven’t worked.
“No one has a good understanding of what Mitt Romney’s economics are or what Mitt Romney’s business experience really was,” said deputy Obama campaign manager Stephanie Cutter on a conference call with reporters.
She was asked to explain why the former governor and private equity executive holds an edge over Obama in some public polling on who Americans believe would better improve the economy.
“In a rare moment of candor a few months ago, Mitt Romney admitted that his job was not about job creation, it was about wealth creation,” Cutter said. “So, what we have been doing today, and all week, is explaining that that ‘wealth creation’ came at a price.”
“I think that over time people will become aware of these things,” she added.
Democrats have spent months hammering Romney’s economic record as governor of Massachusetts, his lack of transparency with tax returns and his business dealings at Bain Capital — through online and TV ads, social media campaigns, and local and network news interviews. The problem, she said, is that a clear message has yet to break through.
The Obama campaign is amplifying their case about Romney this week, through a coordinated TV ad campaign, a tour by Vice President Joe Biden through Ohio, and other public events in key states featuring laid-off workers from former Bain-owned companies.
And aides appear to be trying to further simplify their message — avoiding the nuances of the practices of private equity — casting Romney as a ruthless wealth seeker, not a job creator.
“You can take it from me: Mitt Romney is no job creator. He was a corporate raider. He tried every way possible to create profits for himself and his buddies instead of trying to create jobs for American workers,” Cutter said.
She underscored later, “As the CEO of Bain, Romney’s first priority was creating wealth for himself and making return on his investment for his investors, not building companies that created jobs for hard-working Americans. As president Romney would do the same.”
And again, hammering the same point home: “As a corporate buyout specialist like Mitt Romney…was very successful at one thing: creating wealth for himself and his investors, getting a return for that investment. He wasn’t successful at ensuring that people get to keep their jobs.”
The question now is whether persuadable voters are listening, and agree.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio