DEFIANCE, Ohio — Mitt Romney is trying to close the deal with voters by promising to revitalize the economy, an area where polling shows the Republican presidential nominee has an edge heading into the final days of the campaign.
As President Barack Obama takes a break from the campaign trail, Romney was promoting an economic address in swing state Iowa to help win the dwindling number of voters yet to make up their minds. While the speech was not expected to break new ground, Romney’s campaign said he would use it to help crystalize the differences between his and Obama’s economic approaches.
“If Paul Ryan and I are elected as your president and vice president, we will endeavor with all our hearts and energy to restore America,” Romney said in prepared excerpts his campaign released hours before he was scheduled to deliver the speech. “Instead of more spending, more borrowing from China and higher taxes from Washington, we’ll renew our faith in the power of free people pursuing their dreams.”
Romney argues in the speech that Obama has no proposals that can meet “the challenges of the times.” He dismisses the president’s signature legislative achievement as “his vaunted Obamacare” and says he would instead focus on saving Medicare and Social Security. He repeats many of his standard campaign themes: that Obama is focusing on small issues like “characters on Sesame Street and silly word games” and that Romney will improve kitchen-table concerns like health care, job creation and school choice. His signature refrain is that America can’t afford another four years like the past four years.
The speech comes the same day the government reported a slight pickup in economic growth in the final such report before the Nov. 6 election.
Meanwhile, a top adviser to Romney is backing away from his suggestion that fellow Republican Colin Powell endorsed Obama because both men are black.
Former New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu issued a statement late Thursday night saying Powell is a friend and he respects the endorsement. He said he doesn’t doubt that Powell’s backing of Obama is based on “anything but his support of the president’s policies.”
Appearing on CNN earlier Thursday, Sununu said he wondered whether Powell had “a slightly different reason for preferring President Obama.”
Host Piers Morgan asked what reason that would be.
Sununu said, “Well, I think when you have somebody of your own race that you’re proud of being president of the United States, I applaud Colin for standing with him.”
Sununu served as White House chief of staff under President George H.W. Bush. Powell is a retired four-star Army general who was secretary of state for President George W. Bush.
Read tomorrow's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.