Candidates focus on the economy
Romney stresses his business experience; Obama says Bush failed to ensure oversight of lenders. Pa. governor backs Clinton.
With the stock market tanking again today, presidential candidates stumping in Florida, South Carolina, Pennsylvania and New Jersey pivoted their messages toward voter worries about the economy.
On the Republican side, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney called the Federal Reserve's decision to cut its benchmark lending rate "a wise move." In an interview with Bloomberg Television this morning, Romney also touted his own proposal to expand the Federal Housing Administration as an important step to "help stabilize our housing markets."
Romney, a venture capitalist before he entered politics, has been pitching his experience in business as a key. His campaign released an ad today in which he says, "I know how America works because I spent my life in the real economy."
On the Democratic side, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama told syndicated radio talk show host Steve Harvey this morning that the Bush administration had failed to ensure proper oversight of lending institutions that targeted African American and Latino homeowners. "We have to have a president to intervene short-term to keep people in their homes and long-term saying to banks that they have to invest in their communities," he said.
Stumping in Florida, which holds its primaries Tuesday, GOP candidates endorsed an economic stimulus package like the one being hammered out by the White House and congressional leaders, which could top $150 billion.
Sen. John McCain of Arizona said the need for a stimulus is "obvious," but he repeated his pledge to cut pork barrel projects and shame their authors. With tax cuts and spending curbs, said McCain, the economy can "come back stronger than ever."
Republican Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former New York mayor who has staked his campaign on a win in Florida, recently unveiled a proposal for large tax cuts and 10% spending cuts in federal agencies.
Meanwhile today, Obama sought to distance himself from a controversial supporter, Antoin "Tony" Rezko, a developer who has been indicted on federal extortion charges. In an interview with ABC's Diane Sawyer, Obama said he regretted doing business with Rezko but added: "Nobody had an inkling that he was involved in any problems. When those problems were discovered, we returned money from him that had been contributed."
Two days after he and New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton traded insults in a South Carolina debate, Obama said he hoped the rhetoric between them -- and former President Bill Clinton -- would now cool down.
