In a new campaign ad, President Barack Obama hits
back personally at Republican charges that he thinks entrepreneurs don't
deserve credit for building their own businesses. Obama's direct-to-the-camera
appeal may be a sign that the latest onslaught from his opponents has rattled
reelection strategists in Chicago .
"Those ads taking my words about small
business out of context - they're flat out wrong," the president says in
the 31-second pitch. "Of course Americans build their own businesses.
Every day, hard-working people sacrifice to meet a payroll, create jobs and
make our economy run."
"And what I said was that we need to stand
behind them, as America always has, by investing in education and training,
roads and bridges research and technology," he says. "I'm Barack
Obama and I approve this message because I believe we're all in this together."
For days, Mitt Romney has led Republican attacks on
Obama over his defense of the role government plays in fostering a climate in
which entrepreneurs can thrive. At a July 13 campaign rally in Roanoke ,
Virginia
The Republican ads take
Obama's words out of context. But the attacks seem potent at a time when
each candidate is trying to paint his opponent as out of touch—or worse—on the
issue that matters most to voters: the economy, which is still sputtering three
and a half years after Obama took office vowing to fix it.
The new Obama ad will air in pivotal battlegrounds Virginia ,
North Carolina , Florida ,
Ohio , Iowa
and Nevada , according to campaign
aides.
Team Obama has been hitting back at the Republican
accusations — with surrogates, with campaign videos and statements, on Twitter,
and even in the president's stump speech at a campaign event in Oakland ,
California
"I'm glad you asked," campaign
spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters aboard Air Force One on Tuesday. "We
are not going to stand by while Mitt Romney slices and dices and deliberately
takes out of context the President's remarks on businesses," she said.
OK, but are the attacks working?
"I think it's more that when you have a period
of time where our opponent, Mitt Romney, and his surrogates have tweaked and
taken apart to such a degree the President's remarks on an issue he's spoken
about many, many times, and Mitt Romney has made similar points, it was
important to us to ensure that people knew where the President was coming from,
how much he supports entrepreneurs and small business owners, and how their
records contrast," Psaki said.
So…is the president doing this himself because the
attacks are, you know, working?
"Well, look, I think the president is a pretty
effective communicator and an effective advocate for his policies," Psaki
said. "Entrepreneurs and small business owners, the people who run those
businesses on Main Streets across the country are the drivers of our economy.
He absolutely believes in that."
"It's, in fact, been a part of his stump
speech and his remarks for a very long period of time," she said.
But Romney's campaign isn't about to let this one
go. In a statement about the ad, Romney spokesman Ryan Williams told reporters:
"It's clear what President Obama believes because he told us: 'If you've
got a business -- you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen.' He
said it, and he meant it."
RACHI: The Karachi police chief has submitted a report of his department’s performance to the Supreme Court, showing a decline in street crime rate in the metropolis and a surge in extortion.