Obama, Romney Back in Attack Mode

July 23, 2012 RSS Feed Print

The truce between President Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney lasted only three days in reaction to the Colorado shootings. On Monday, both sides were back at it, lobbing criticism and launching attacks at each other, just as they had before Friday's horrific rampage at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado.

[READ: Campaign Resumes After Pause for Colorado Shooting.]

David Axelrod, Obama's chief strategist, resumed hostilities with a tweet that said, "Tax returns. Bundlers. Bain. MA records & now key docs from Olympics. When it comes to secrecy, Mitt takes the gold!"

The Democratic National Committee sent reporters a series of emails attacking Romney over his tenure at Bain Capital, a private-equity firm, and for not releasing his full tax returns covering recent years, suggesting again that he has something to hide.

Romney's campaign was also back in attack mode. In advance of Obama's scheduled speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Reno, Nevada Monday, Romney spokesman Ryan Williams said, "In no region of the world is our country's influence any stronger than it was four years ago. President Obama has failed to restore our economy, is weakening our military with devastating defense cuts, and has diminished our moral authority. Governor Romney will restore the pillars of American strength to secure our interests and defend our values."

[See a Collection of Political Cartoons on Mitt Romney.]

Romney's campaign sent reporters another email that said, "Millions of middle-class Americans are struggling in the Obama economy and there's no relief in sight. After three and a half years, the results of President Obama's policies are clear: businesses aren't hiring, poverty is climbing, and manufacturing is weakening."

Ken Walsh covers the White House and politics for U.S. News. He writes the daily blog, "Ken Walsh's Washington," and is the author of "The Presidency" column in the U.S. News Weekly. He can be reached at kwalsh@usnews.com and on Facebook and Twitter.