Former Gov. Mitt Romney charged President Obama with not wanting to “share his real plans” before the election with the public or the media, saying that Obama is “intent” on playing hide and seek with voters on his record in the office.
On March 26, Obama told Russian President Dmitry Medvedev that he will have more “more flexibility” after the next election. On Wednesday, Romney used the “deeply troubling” exchange to highlight a president who won’t “answer questions” or take “true” positions on key issues until after he wins re-election.
“That incident calls his candor into serious question. He doesn’t want to share his real plans before the election either with the public or with the press,” Romney said at the Newspaper Association of America conference during the American Society of Newspaper Editors annual luncheon in Washington on Wednesday.
“By flexibility, he means that what the American public doesn’t know won’t hurt him. His intent is on hiding. You and I are going to have to do the seeking.”
Romney said Obama’s comments, heard over a hot mic, raise “all sorts of questions once he’s no longer accountable to the voters.”
“On what other issues will he state his true position only after the election is over?” the former Massachusetts governor asked. (RELATED: Full coverage of the Romney campaign)
Romney, speaking before a large audience of media professionals, continued, “Instead of answering those vital questions, the president came here yesterday and railed against arguments no one is making and criticizing policies no one is proposing. It’s one of his favorite strategies – setting up straw men to distract us from his record and while I understand the president doesn’t want to run on his record, he can’t run from his record either.”
Obama, he said, did not cause America’s economic crisis: He made it “worse.”
“When he took office millions of Americans looked to him to turn around the economy and to lead us back to full employment. He failed these Americans,” said Romney.
“The first three rules of any turnaround are ‘focus, focus and focus.’ But instead of focusing on the economy, he delegated the stimulus to Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. The $787 billion stimulus included a grab bag of pet projects that languished in Congress — for good reason — for years.”
