Romney, GOP Guvs Have Differing Takes on Economy
In Virginia, Gov. Bob McDonnell runs TV ads hailing the state’s business growth. Ohio Gov. John Kasich tells anyone who will listen that 100,000 jobs have been created or retained on his watch. And Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder promotes a state budget that’s on solid ground for the first time in a decade.
All that optimism from Republican governors in key presidential election battlegrounds conflicts with the pessimistic message that Mitt Romney is spreading. The GOP presidential candidate is focused on the nation’s fragile economic rebound as he works to persuade Americans to dump President Barack Obama.
“America counted on President Obama to rescue the economy, tame the deficit and help create jobs” but instead “we are enduring the most tepid recovery in modern history,” Romney said this week in Des Moines, Iowa. That’s the same state where GOP Gov. Terry Branstad has been crowing about an unemployment rate that has dropped to 5.1 percent from 5.9 percent a year ago.
It’s just the latest example of how, less than six months before the general election, Romney can end up in an awkward situation as he argues that the economy is deeply troubled while GOP governors salute an economic renaissance in their states.
How can it be both?