Since most Americans (regardless of their political stripes) seem more disillusioned than ever with about our national politics, Romney's idea of keeping the focus on Obama and the lack of jobs is a smart one.
But it also open up Romney to criticism that we haven't heard his GOP challengers say much of yet, but expect to when the next debate occurs soon, and that is Romney's lame record on job creation.
The Wall Street Journal reports that though Romney touts himself as a pro-business job creator, he's anything but that: or how else do you explain the fact that Massachusetts ranked 47th in job creation during his time as governor?
In fairness, unemployment went down from when Romney took over in January of 2003 to when he left office in January 2007 (from 5.6 percent to 4.6 percent)
But some economists and business groups say Mr. Romney did little to lower the high cost of doing business in Massachusetts, and changed the tax code to raise additional revenue that businesses saw as tax increases.
Faced with a projected $3 billion shortfall for fiscal year 2004, Mr. Romney eliminated certain tax preferences, and he made similar changes the following two years. The moves were condemned by businesses. The Obama campaign has questioned why Mr. Romney is opposing a federal deficit-reduction deal that includes business tax-loophole closures when he supported similar moves as governor.
"We expressed our concern and opposition to those because we were, again, imposing new taxes on companies at a very difficult time," Mr. Lord said.
Andrew Sum, director of the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University in Boston, said Mr. Romney's tenure lacked a broad economic strategy to remain competitive with other states or to lower business costs.
"There were just no major initiatives that came out," Mr. Sum said.
Then there's the whole issue with his tenure as head of the private equity firm Bain Capital, where Romney was buying and selling companies to make money for investors. As Bloomberg News reports:
At Dade Behring Inc., a medical-testing company based in Deerfield, Ill., Bain cut at least 1,600 jobs during a series of acquisitions before the firm entered into bankruptcy in 2002. Romney foreshadowed those cuts in a speech to employees shortly after Bain acquired the firm.
DDi Corp., an electronics company in Anaheim, Calif., filed for bankruptcy in 2003 after Bain sold shares in the company generating at least $85.5 million and billed $10 million in management fees.
GS Industries Inc., a steel company in Charlotte, N.C., filed for bankruptcy in 2001 after workers said a chief executive hired under Bain made missteps, including installing managers who lacked industry expertise, former employees said.
Employees who lost jobs at Bain-controlled companies more than a decade ago say they still hold Romney responsible.
"I would not vote for him for anything," said Phyllis Detro, 68, who lost her job at a Bain-owned office paper products factory in Marion, Ind., closed in 1995. "I'd like to see the jobs that he's created. He has taken away jobs.
Actually, we recommend you read the entire piece by Bloomberg's Lisa Lerer, for it gets in depth about what Bain was all about (maximizing profit for its investors), which unfortunately for Mitt in a campaign, will be easy for his opponents to seize upon. Will it get any traction? Who knows, but unlike some other GOP opponents, working in the private sector, Romney's business record will be scrutinized extensively, in particular about the issue of job creation.
