Has the Obama Campaign Gone Too Negative? >
Reince Priebus: Obama's Attacks Are An Excuse for His Poor Record
Barack Obama hasn't accomplished anything and refuses to hold himself accountable
June 4, 2012
President Obama has absolutely no record to run on, so he and his political advisers have resorted to running a shockingly divisive, negative campaign entirely devoid of substance.
The candidate of "hope and change" has become the president of hype and blame. He has no positive rationale for his candidacy—only a long list of excuses and attacks.
President Obama refuses to take responsibility for the effects of his misguided policies. Instead, he and his allies cast blame elsewhere, attempt to rewrite history, or attack and distort former Gov. Mitt Romney's record. These tactics are hardly what voters expected from the president who ran as a uniter just four years ago.
[See a collection of political cartoons on the 2012 campaign.]
As last week's jobs report made painfully clear, our economy is stagnating and weak. Americans are struggling to find work, and millions of families can barely make ends meet. Does President Obama hold himself accountable, like he promised to when he took office? No, he blames everything from ATMs and earthquakes to airport kiosks and "bad luck." Seriously.
Among President Obama's many broken promises is his 2009 vow to "cut the deficit in half" by the end of his term. Instead of admitting his failure, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney has on at least two occasions cited a dubious column to claim President Obama has shown fiscal responsibility—and attacked those who claim otherwise. The Washington Post fact-checked him and sternly refuted his claim. After all, a president that racks up over $5 trillion in debt could never be called fiscally responsible.
But the worst are President Obama's attacks on free enterprise. In attempting to distort Governor Romney's record in the private sector—a record former President Clinton called "sterling"—the president has actually attacked free market principles. Not only does this underscore the lengths President Obama will go to in order to win re-election, but it also explains why the economy is in such bad shape: He does not understand how the private sector works.
[Check out our editorial cartoons on President Obama.]
Republicans are committed to running a campaign based on facts, records, and policies for job creation. President Obama is running on division, hoping to pit Americans against each other in a desperate attempt to win at all costs.
It's not going to work. Voters can see right through the distractions to the disappointing record that defines the Obama presidency.
Americans deserve better. They deserve a president that knows how to lead and will stand by his record. That leader is Mitt Romney.
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- Other Arguments
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#110017
Yes — Barack Obama is campaigning on Mitt Romney's faults rather than his successes
FORD O'CONNELL, Republican Strategist, Conservative Activist, and Political Analyst
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#34711
Yes — Barack Obama's rhetoric is costing him important allies
MERCEDES SCHLAPP, Cofounder of Cove Strategies
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#41136
No — For Obama to not engage in the battle with Romney would be a drastic mistake
PETER FENN, Democratic Political Strategist and Head of Fenn Communications
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#51339
No — The Obama campaign must define Mitt Romney for what he is: a corporate vulture
BRAD BANNON, President of Bannon Communications Research
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#61138
No — Obama's attacks on Romney, as long as they are fair and factual, help voters see this election as the choice it is
MARK MELLMAN, CEO of The Mellman Group
