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Romney Campaign Press Release - Scranton's Own Joe Biden Was Right... Obama Isn't Ready

November 30, 2011

"Three years ago, even fellow Democrats said Barack Obama wasn't ready to be president and that his campaign practiced 'gutter politics.' With over half a million Pennsylvanians out of a job today, President Obama and his allies still seem more interested in launching negative campaign attacks against Mitt Romney than getting the country back to work. President Obama told Pennsylvanians they would be better off under his leadership, and they will hold him accountable for his failed economic record." –Ryan Williams, Romney Campaign Spokesman

A REMINDER OF WHAT DEMOCRATS SAID LAST TIME

Three years ago, former Governor Ed Rendell (D) decried the Obama campaign's "gutter politics" as "despicable" and "horribly negative":

  • Governor Rendell Said The Obama Campaign Engaged In "Gutter Politics" And Was "Despicable" For Its Attacks On Hillary Clinton. RENDELL: "He's lifting the campaign with his own rhetoric and at the same time his campaign is engaging in gutter politics. Bob, that conference call in which that general said what he said about the unknown soldier's tomb – that was from the Obama train according to John Dickerson and Slate. And that's despicable! You know that and I know that." (CBS' "Face The Nation," 4/20/08)
  • Rendell: "The Obama Campaign ... Has Engaged In Horribly Negative Tactics." RENDELL: "The Obama campaign – the campaign itself, not the senator – has engaged in horribly negative tactics. And that Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, that's almost swift-boat in its dimension." (CBS' "Face The Nation," 4/20/08)
  • Rendell: "What Does That Type Of Scurrilous Stuff Have To Do Coming From A Good Man's Campaign With Three Days To Go? That's Just Not The Right Type Of Politics." (CBS' "Face The Nation," 4/20/08)

Vice President Joe Biden – a Scranton native – predicted in 2007 that candidate Obama was not ready for the presidency:

  • Biden Said He Would "Stand By The Statement" That Then-Senator Obama Wasn't Ready To Be President. QUESTION: "Senator Biden, you did go beyond talking about Pakistan. You were asked: Is he ready? You said, 'I think he can be ready, but right now I don't believe he is. The presidency is not something that lends itself to on-the-job training.'" BIDEN: "I think I stand by the statement." (Sen. Joe Biden, Democratic Presidential Debate, Des Moines, IA, 8/19/07)

THE OBAMA LEGACY IN PENNSYLVANIA: PROMISES NOT KEPT

Candidate Obama urged Pennsylvanians to ask themselves if the country would be better off under his leadership – and President Obama has provided the answer:

  • Candidate Obama, In 2008: "The Real Question Is, 'Will This Country Be Better Off Four Years From Now?'" OBAMA: "[T]his country can't take four more years of the same old politics and the same failed policies. It's time for something new. The question in this election is not 'Are you better off than you were four years ago?' We know the answer to that. The real question is, 'Will this country be better off four years from now?' ... In one week, we can choose an economy that rewards work and creates new jobs and fuels prosperity from the bottom-up." (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks in Chester, PA, 10/28/08)
  • President Obama, In 2011: "I Don't Think [People] Are Better Off Than They Were Four Years Ago." QUESTION: "There are so many people who simply don't think they are better off than they were four years ago. How do you convince them that they are?" OBAMA: "Well, I don't think they are better off than they were four years ago." (ABC News, 10/3/11)

Mitt Romney, Romney Campaign Press Release - Scranton's Own Joe Biden Was Right... Obama Isn't Ready Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/297872

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