Romney in Colorado (Jae C. Hong/AP)
For the second day in a row, Mitt Romney painted President Obama as someone who is leading the country based on "old" and "outdated policies"—arguing that he, not Obama, is the candidate able to get America "growing and thriving again."
Speaking to supporters against the backdrop of an idle oil pump in an exploration field outside Denver, Romney argued that Obama's policies have resulted in higher energy prices and have hurt the country's job growth. He said Obama's focus on "green energy" hasn't delivered on the job growth the administration promised.
"He said he was going to spend $150 billion on green energy and create 5 million jobs," Romney said. "I have a hard time seeing all those jobs."
And while he acknowledged that energy production has increased since Obama took office, Romney said that has more to do with the Bush administration lifting restrictions.
"The president likes to take credit for the fact that as president, oil production was up," Romney said. "Well, I'd like to take credit for when I was governor the Red Sox won the World Series. But that's not the case."
Romney suggested that investing in "all forms" of energy production, including coal, oil and natural gas would not only create jobs within that sector but also fuel a renaissance within the hard-hit manufacturing sector. He said Obama has focused too heavily on alternative energy—like wind and solar—instead of encouraging all kinds of energy, including oil and gas.
"His ideas about energy are simply out of date," Romney said.
But the larger theme of Romney's Colorado appearance was to double down on the campaign's efforts to make an old vs. new argument when it comes to Obama. The presumptive Republican nominee repeatedly described Obama's policies as "old" and "from the past." Echoing remarks he made in Michigan Tuesday, Romney argued that Obama was being influenced by "old liberals" and "liberals from years ago" who are out of touch with the country's needs today.
"This is a choice for the American people: They can decide to stick with the president. … Many feel he's a nice guy," Romney said. "I have no problem with the man personally." But, he argued, Obama's approach to the country is "rooted in perspective of the past."
"I know we are feeling kind of down right now, but that's because we are applying policies from the past that just don't work," Romney said. "I will go to work getting America growing and thriving again."
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