Mitt Romney Goes Negative, Releases TV Ad on Obama's Doing Fine Comment
CINCINNATI - Mitt Romney is going on the air, and he's going negative.
The Romney campaign released its first negative television ad this morning that draws on President Obama's comments from last week in which he remarked that "the private sector is doing fine."
The 30-second television spot, titled "Doing Fine?" rolls the footage of Obama saying the line no fewer than four times.
The campaign - and the candidate himself - has been relentlessly hammering the president for the remark, arguing that it is proof Obama is "out of touch" with the American people, since he uttered the line on Friday morning during a press conference.
This is the fifth television ad released by the Romney campaign during the General Election, but the first that is overtly negative.
The video opens with video text over the screen reading "June 8, 2012," the date of Obama's remarks, along with "23.2 Million Americans Are In Need of Work," superimposed over footage of people waiting on an unemployment line.
The video text then changes to "40 Straight Months Over 8 Percent Unemployment" and "Middle-Class Struggles Deepen Under Obama" before asking, "The President's Response?"
Flashing the exact time of Obama's remarks on the screen, "11:01 am," the ad then plays Obama saying, "The private sector is doing fine," again, and again, and again.
The spot closes by posting text that reads, "How Can President Obama Fix Our Economy … If he Doesn't Understand It's Broken?"
The details of the ad buy were not immediately known, but Romney's prior four ads - the majority of which focus on what he would do on his first day in office - have been airing in the key battleground states.