| Romney Goes Big In Iowa |
| Oct-26-2012 |
| Keywords: obama, romney, campaign, big ideas, small things |
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney today described himself as the candidate of big ideas, while President Obama's campaign focuses on small things.
In Ames, Iowa, Mr. Romney used the words "big" or "biggest" 13 times in a single speech, arguing that his is the campaign of big ideas and Mr. Obama's vision is too small to meet the challenges facing the country.
Refreshingly, the Republican contender also used pronouns "we" and "us" rather than "I" while describing the challenges we face and what he brings to the table in putting our economy back on a path to prosperity.
"The president's campaign falls far short of the magnitude of these times, and the presidency of the last four years has fallen far short of the promises of the last campaign," Mr. Romney said. "Our campaign is about big things, because we happen to believe that America faces big challenges."
The Obama campaign takes issue with the Republican candidate's big-picture message, saying Mr. Romney is hoping voters will forget the conservative stances he took earlier this year on a range of issues.
"You have never seen a major party nominee this close to an election try to fudge what he's going to do as president," Obama adviser David Plouffe said this week. "Talk about something big-it's as big as anything gets."
In Ames, Mr. Romney reiterated his pledges to strengthen Medicare and move toward a balanced budget.
In Washington, Mr. Obama sat for 10 interviews, including seven with outlets in battleground states.
Talking with talk-show host Michael Smerconish, a conservative who endorsed Mr. Obama in 2008 and continues to support him, the president suggested that polarization in Washington would dissipate if he is re-elected.
Asked if he would make the first move to try and bridge the divide with Republicans, Mr. Obama said he would but wasn't specific about how. "I'll wash [House Speaker] John Boehner's car. I'll walk [Senate Minority Leader] Mitch McConnell's dog," he said. "I'll do whatever's required to get this done."
He also addressed the attacks that killed four Americans at the consulate in Benghazi, Libya. His administration has sent mixed messages about whether the attacks originated in a spontaneous protest or were the result of a preplanned terrorist attack.
"The intelligence was coming in and evolving as more information came up," he said. "As information came in we gave it to the American people. And as we got new information we gave that to the American people."
For a week after the attack, Mr. Obama was told in his daily briefing that the attack had evolved from a protest. That despite numerous reports the intelligence community and State Department had live audio and video feeds of the 7 hour terrorist attack. An attack that President Obama himself told "60 Minutes" the day after the attack that he believed elements involved were targeting Americans. |
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Posted by Lou Dobbs Staff at 1:30 PM Email to a friend |
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