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Romney Campaign Press Release - Four Years Later, A Different Barack Obama

August 15, 2012

"From his broken promise of positive campaigning to his failure to condemn outside groups, President Obama is everything he promised he wouldn't be. Instead of hope and change, he's running a campaign based on anger and divisiveness that won't create jobs or fix the economy. Americans deserve better than a president who's just another Washington politician." — Andrea Saul, Romney Campaign Spokesperson

Candidate Obama Promised To "Walk The Walk" On Condemning Outside Groups — But He's Fundraised For And Avoided Criticizing The Obama Super PAC:

Candidate Obama, On His Opposition To Outside Political Groups: "You Can't Just Talk The Talk. ... I Walk The Walk." OBAMA: "We found out today that there's an outside group spending $750,000 that just bought three-quarters of a million dollars' worth of television time. And the individual who's running the group used to be John Edward's campaign manager. You can't say yesterday, you don't believe in 'em, and today, you're having three-quarters of a million dollars being spent for you. You can't just talk the talk. The easiest thing is to talk about change during an election time. Everybody talks about change in an election time. ... My track record is strong on this. I walk the walk." (Senator Barack Obama, Remarks, Oskaloosa, IA, 12/22/07)

The Obama Re-Election Campaign "Has Refused To Disavow" The Obama Super PAC And Their Disgraceful Ads. "Despite that, the Obama campaign has refused to disavow the ad, despite repeated calls from the Romney campaign to do so, claiming they were unfamiliar with the man's situation." (Zeke Miller, "Obama SuperPAC Ad Accusing Romney Of Contributing To Woman's Death Now On TV," BuzzFeed, 8/14/12)

  • Obama Campaign Spokesman Ben LaBolt: "We Have Been Crystal Clear In Expressing Our Support For Priorities USA Action ... Officials Have Participated In And Will Continue To Participate In Their Events..." "'We have been crystal clear in expressing our support for Priorities USA Action and its mission: re-electing the President,' campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt said. 'Campaign and White House officials have participated in and will continue to participate in their events across the country.'" (Steven T. Dennis, "Cabinet Members A Super PAC No-Show," Roll Call, 7/10/12)

Candidate Obama Warned Of Politics Intended To "Divide And Distract" — But His Vice President Now Claims Republicans Want To Put Americans "In Chains":

Candidate Obama Warned Of "Slash And Burn, Say-Anything, Do-Anything Politics That's Calculated To Divide And Distract." OBAMA: "So I expect we're going to see a lot more of that over the next few days. More of the slash and burn, say-anything, do-anything politics that's calculated to divide and distract; to tear us apart instead of bringing us together. Well, that's not the kind of politics the American people need right now." (Senator Barack Obama, Remarks, Columbus, OH, 11/2/08)

Vice President Biden "Raised Eyebrows" When He Made Divisive Remarks Claiming Republicans Wanted To Put Americans "In Chains." "Vice President Biden raised eyebrows today when he referred to the Republican party as wanting to put voters in chains. ... 'Every Republican's voted for it. Look at what they value and look at their budget and what they're proposing. Romney wants to let the — he said in the first hundred days he's going to let the big banks once again write their own rules, 'unchain Wall Street.' They're going to put y'all back in chains.'" (Jake Tapper, "VP Biden Says Republicans Are 'Going To Put Y'all Back In Chains'," ABC News, 8/14/12)

  • Obama Deputy Campaign Manager Stephanie Cutter: "The Bottom Line Is That We Have No Problem With Those Comments."  MITCHELL: "Now, 'back in chains,' I guess is what the Romney campaign is now objecting to strongly, saying it's a new low, it's a suggestion that is not acceptable political discourse. President Obama should tell the American people that — This is from Andrea Saul, one of your counterparts — whether he agrees with Joe Biden's comments." ... MITCHELL: "The bottom line that the President agrees with Joe Biden's sentiments but not his comments?" CUTTER: "The bottom line is that we have no problem with those comments." (MSNBC's "Andrea Mitchell Reports," 8/14/12)

Candidate Obama Claimed Negative Ads "Do The American People A Disservice" — But He's Running An Intensely Negative Campaign For Re-Election:

Candidate Obama, On Negative Ads: "Do The American People A Disservice By Trying To Distract Us From The Very Real Challenges That We Face." OBAMA: "All of those negative ads that he's running won't do a thing to lower your gas prices or to lift up the debate in this country. The fact is, these Washington tactics do the American people a disservice by trying to distract us from the very real challenges that we face." (Senator Barack Obama, Remarks, Cedar Rapids, IA, 7/31/08)

President Obama's Re-Election Campaign Has "Spent Millions Of Dollars" On Negative Ads Against Mitt Romney. "President Barack Obama's re-election campaign spent millions of dollars over the past few weeks in an advertising blitz aimed at negatively defining GOP challenger Mitt Romney -- an effort that, according to several national polls and political experts, has met with tepid results." (Halimah Abdullah, "Are Obama's Negative Ads Getting Bang For The Buck?," CNN, 7/26/12)

  • Fox News, On The Obama Campaign: "An Unhappy And Intensely Negative Way To Run For Re-Election." "Romney's wealth will be the cornerstone of the Obama campaign strategy and he will do everything he can to cast Romney as the villain in this play — the heel who the audience will love to hate. It's an unhappy and intensely negative way to run for re-election, but given the state of the nation and voters views on his policies, it's Obama's best chance to hold the White House." (Chris Stirewalt, "Obama Looks To Make Romney The Villain," Fox News, 4/11/12)

Candidate Obama Warned Against Politicians Who Paint Their Opponents "As Someone People Should Run From" — But His Campaign Has Said Mitt Romney Is A Felon:

Candidate Obama: "If You Don't Have A Record To Run On, Then You Paint Your Opponent As Someone People Should Run Away From. You Make A Big Election About Small Things." (Senator Barack Obama, Remarks, Canton, Ohio, 10/27/08)

"Obama Deputy Campaign Manager Stephanie Cutter Suggested That Mitt Romney May Be A Criminal On A Conference Call With Reporters..." "Obama deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter suggested that Mitt Romney may be a criminal on a conference call with reporters this morning about a Boston Globe report that shows that Romney stayed at Bain Capital three years past when he said he'd left. Cutter said that there were two ways to interpret the story. The first: Mitt Romney was 'misrepresenting his position' at Bain to the Securities and Exchange Commission, 'which is a felony.'" (Rosie Gray, "Cutter: Romney A Liar, Potential Criminal," BuzzFeed, 7/12/12)

Candidate Obama Warned Of Politicians Who "Use Stale Tactics To Scare Voters" — But His Campaign Has Called Mitt Romney A "Vampire":

Candidate Obama Warned "If You Don't Have Any Fresh Ideas, Then You Use Stale Tactics To Scare Voters." OBAMA: "Because if you don't have any fresh ideas, then you use stale tactics to scare the voters. If you don't have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run from. You make a big election about small things." (Senator Barack Obama, Remarks, Denver, CO, 8/28/08)

The Obama Re-Election Campaign Released A Television Ad Comparing Mitt Romney To A "Vampire." "Mitt Romney, a job-killing economic 'vampire'? That's the message of a new ad by President Barack Obama's re-election campaign, which aims to turn the presumptive Republican nominee's business record into a liability as voters worry about the struggling economy." (Olivier Knox, "Obama Campaign's New Ad Paints Romney As A Job-Killing Economic 'Vampire'," Yahoo! News, 5/14/12)

Mitt Romney, Romney Campaign Press Release - Four Years Later, A Different Barack Obama Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/302296

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