43
My priority is jobs, Romney tells Ohio
By Marc Kovac
COLUMBUS
President Barack Obama and his GOP challenger Mitt Romney took swipes at each other during multiple stops across Ohio on Wednesday, the latest in a series of visits in a state both view as a must-win in a white-hot race to the White House.
Romney started his day at a suburban Columbus high school, where he was joined by Gov. John Kasich and golfing legend Jack Nicklaus as he outlined his plans for the presidency — committing to building the economy and cutting spending and tax and regulatory burdens on small business.
“I’m going to champion small business,” the former Massachusetts governor said. “... Small businesses typically pay taxes at the individual tax rate, and so our individual income taxes are ones that I want to reform, make them simple. I want to bring the rates down.”
He added, “By the way, don’t be expecting a huge cut in taxes, because I’m also going to lower deductions and exemptions. But by bringing rates down, we’ll be able to let small businesses keep more of their money so they can hire more people. My priority is jobs.”
Close to 2,000 people packed the gymnasium and an overflow room after standing in a pre-dawn line. Several hecklers were removed midway through Romney’s 20-minute speech.
“These are tough times, even for families with jobs,” Romney said. “I know what it takes to get this economy going again. I care about the people about America, and the difference between me and President Obama is I know what to do and I will do it.”
Later in the day, Romney stopped at a wire manufacturer near Cleveland and a “victory rally” in Toledo.
The stops came on the same day that a new poll put Obama ahead in Ohio and two other swing states.
“Gov. Mitt Romney had a bad week in the media and it shows in these key swing states,” said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the polling institute. “The furor over his 47 percent remark almost certainly is a major factor in the roughly double-digit leads President Barack Obama has in Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania. The debates may be Romney’s best chance to reverse the trend in his favor.”
Brown added, “In Ohio and Florida, votes are basically split down the middle on whether the country and they and their families are worse or better off than they were four years ago.”