Obama tells Ohio voters: Romney will take us back to the bad days of Bush

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jun/14/obama-ohio-romney-tax-bush

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Barack Obama offered a stark choice for American voters on Thursday as he invoked the spectre of a return to George Bush's failed economic policies "on steroids" if Mitt Romney wins the election.

In duelling speeches at opposite ends of the swing state of Ohio, the rival candidates – who are neck and neck in national opinion polls – sought to paint each other as driving the country toward economic armageddon.

At a campaign rally in Cleveland, the president portrayed Romney's plan for tax cuts for the wealthy, public sector job cuts and the slashing of public spending as a flashback to the Bush administration's disastrous economic strategy. Obama said the in contrast he has bolstered America's middle class with policies such as the bailout of the car industry, infusions of cash for schools and investment in infrastructure.

"There's one place where I stand in complete agreement with my opponent. This election is about our economic future," he said in an hour-long speech.<br />"This election presents a choice between two fundamentally different visions … I have said that this is the defining issue of our time and I mean it. I have said this is a make-or-break moment for America's middle class and I believe it."

Obama said that the "basic bargain at the heart of our country" of a growing middle class eroded under Bush's now discredited economic theory – a policy Romney intends to return to.

"We were told that huge tax cuts, especially for the wealthiest Americans, would lead to faster job growth. We were told that fewer regulations, especially for big financial institutions and corporations, would bring about widespread prosperity. We were told that it was OK to put two wars on the nation's credit card. That tax cuts would create enough growth to pay for themselves," said Obama. "So how did this economic theory work out? For the wealthiest Americans it worked out pretty well … but prosperity never trickled down to the middle class."

The president said that Romney and his allies in Congress "believe deeply in the theory we tried in the last decade" which amounts to "stripping down down government to national security and a few other basic functions".

"They promise to not only keep all of the Bush tax cuts in place but add another $5tn in tax cuts on top of that," he said.

Obama has derided Republican attempts to paint themselves as fiscally responsible by saying they "suddenly get religion" in talking about deficits and government spending when they were the ones who ran up the country's massive debts.

But while the White House talked up the speech ahead of time as a landmark on economic policy, Obama did little more than emphasise his differences with Romney and restate his policies.

The president did not offer a fresh vision of how he would break through the political logjam in Washington. He simply blamed the Republican-controlled House of Representatives for failing to pass his jobs and deficit reduction bills which may not prove persuasive to swing voters increasingly drawn to Romney because of the economy.

Earlier this week, a group of Democratic party strategists warned the president that it was a mistake for him to focus on telling voters that the economy is getting better, even as unemployment is again rising, when so many people continue to feel the effects of the recession. They recommended that he should express more understanding of the difficulties they are enduring.

Romney, speaking in Cincinnati, launched a frontal attack on Obama's record by reminding the president that when he was elected he said that if he could not turn the economy around in three years, he would be "looking at a one-term proposition".

"And he's right. He is looking at a one-term proposition," said Romney. "He's been president for three and a half years, and talk is cheap. Actions speak very loud."

The Republican candidate accused Obama of being an obstacle to job creation. He said the president has no new ideas about how to fix the economy beyond more spending, more taxes and more regulation.

"Almost everything that the president has done has made it harder for entrepreneurs to create jobs," said Romney listing the stimulus, healthcare reform and banking regulation as obstacles to new employment.

Romney has also sneered at Obama's campaign slogan – "Forward" – as "absurd" when the "American people are having such a hard time".

Both candidates are pouring large amounts of money into political advertising in Ohio. Obama has visited the state more than 20 times as president.

The state has suffered badly through the recession with large numbers of middle class people losing their homes. But unemployment has fallen sharply to below the national average. Both sides are claiming credit. The Democrats attribute the new jobs to White House initiatives. The Romney camp credits Ohio's Republican governor.