Vice President Joe Biden took to the pages of the Des Moines Register this morning to go on offense - not against some generic Republican candidate - but against Mitt Romney directly.

"Romney appears satisfied to settle for an economy in which fewer people succeed, while the majority of Americans are left to tread water or fall behind," Biden writes, turning Romney's own words back on him.

The vice president also blasted Romney for blaming him and President Obama for creating an "entitlement society." Instead, Biden blamed Romney's policies an "economic catastrophe."

"The only entitlement we believe in is an America where if you work hard, you can get ahead," he writes. "And we know from recent experience that his policy prescription for an 'Opportunity Society' leads to less, not more opportunity for middle class Americans. How can anyone forget the economic catastrophe brought about by the same policies Mr. Romney's proposing? His are the same policies that deregulated Wall Street and turned it into a casino that gambled recklessly with hardworking Americans' money. As a consequence, Americans saw the equity in their homes evaporate and their 401(k)s plummet in value. Millions of jobs were lost."

The former Massachusetts governor was quick to respond, calling Biden's comments delusional and "another gaffe."

"You wonder in some respects what fantasy land he lives in. He needs to get out and meet with people. He seems to think that he and the president have made things better. They haven't made things better," Romney said at the Tilt'In Diner in Tilton, N.H. "I don't think they understand from fantasy land what's happening in real America. They need to get out to diners like this and meet with people, talk to small business people."

On Thursday, Romney made a rather unusual promise to a college student, telling her students like her should vote for him because "when you get out of college, if I'm president you'll have a job. If President Obama is reelected, you will not be able to get a job."