Romney back to blasting Obama over economy

Associated Press

FAIRFAX, Va.

Republican Mitt Romney accused President Barack Obama on Thursday of “failing American workers” by ignoring Chinese trade violations, and seized on new Federal Reserve attempts to boost the economy as proof the administration’s policies are not working.

Obama campaigned as commander in chief after the violent deaths of four U.S. officials at a diplomatic post in Libya. “No act of terror will go unpunished ... no act of violence shakes the resolve of the United States of America,” he said.

The president spoke in Colorado and Romney in Virginia with less than eight weeks remaining in a close campaign for the White House in tough economic times. The two states are among a handful likely to settle the race, and most polls rate Obama a shaky favorite.

With campaign costs mounting, Romney and Obama competed for the most innovative fund- raising appeal.

The Republican challenger’s campaign urged people in an email to make a $15 donation for a chance to join “Mitt on board the campaign plane for an exciting day on the campaign trail — at 30,000 feet!”

Singer/actress Beyonce Knowles and hip-hop-artist-hubby Jay Z countered for Obama. “Jay and I will be meeting up with President Obama for an evening in NYC sometime soon,” she wrote. “And we want you to be there.” As with a day aboard Romney’s jet, a donation was requested for a chance to win. Only the fine print of both fundraising appeals made clear that no contribution was necessary to win.

Romney’s focus on the economy followed a one-day campaign detour into a foreign-policy thicket that left him bruised and his quarry largely unscathed. He made little mention of the events in Egypt and Libya that he had cited Tuesday as evidence of national security weakness on the president’s part.

The issue intruded when a heckler at Romney’s rally yelled, “Why are you politicizing Libya?” The crowd responded with chants of “U-S-A” and supporters tried to put a Romney/Ryan placard in front of the heckler’s face.

“We’re going to crack down on China,” Romney vowed. He spoke after his campaign unveiled a TV commercial claiming that China has outpaced the U.S. in new manufacturing jobs since Obama took office.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said that all actions the administration has initiated at the World Trade Organization to rein in China have been successful.