http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/229906-obama-aide-romney-in-no-position-to-attack-president-on-economyJanuary 19, 2015, 10:15 am
Obama aide: Romney in no position to attack president on economy
By Justin Sink
While President Obama has proven reluctant to weigh in on a third Mitt Romney presidential bid, a senior Obama aide on Monday suggested the former Massachusetts governor couldn't credibly critique the president's economic record.
"In 2012, [Romney] said that, if he were elected president, by the end of his term unemployment would get down to 6 percent. It's now at 5.6 percent and falling," David Simas, the director of the White House Office of Political Strategy, told CNN.
"We're finally in a position, because of the policies this president put in place, to move from the recovery to making sure that the economy works for everyone and not just a few folks at the top."
At a press conference on Friday, Obama brushed aside a question about Romney, who told donors earlier this month he was considering again running for president, offering only a grin and a "no comment."
But Romney put his former rival in the crosshairs during a speech to Republicans later that day, slamming Obama's economic record.
“Under President Obama, the rich have gotten richer, income inequality has gotten worse and there are more people in poverty than ever before,” Romney said. “Under this president, his policies have not worked. Their liberal policies are good every four years for a campaign, but they don’t get the job done.”
Simas scoffed at the critique, saying Republicans were the ones standing in the way of steps that would reduce inequality.
"When you have people making minimum wage in this country and that wage has not gone up for years and you have Republicans in Congress who are saying that they would never support a minimum wage… it's insufficient to simply every four years or periodically come back and express concern for poverty," Simas said.
