Mitt Romney took President Obama to task Wednesday night for an economy that has sputtered while moving millions onto government assistance, using his first general election face-off to chip away at the narrative that Obama’s presidency is working for the middle class.
Echoing the words of Vice President Biden earlier in the week, Romney said: “Under the president’s policies, middle-income Americans have been buried.”
Obama, though, sustained the drumbeat at their kick-off debate in Denver that his opponent is promising a return to failed policies that would boost the privileged and burden the working class. He slammed Romney for wanting to turn Medicare into a “voucher” system, repeal the federal health care overhaul and allegedly push a tax cut for top earners.
Each candidate strived throughout the 90-minute debate to appeal to the middle-class voters who likely will decide the election five weeks from now. While Romney accused Obama of pushing “trickle-down government,” Obama accused Romney of wanting to “double down on the top-down policies” that led to the financial crisis.