Tagged: Governor Mitt Romney

In a new television ad, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney says Indiana state Treasurer Richard Mourdock will be the needed vote in the Senate to repeal President Obama's health care law.

The 30-second spot features Romney telling Hoosiers that Mourdock worked with outgoing Gov. Mitch Daniels to "balance the budget" and "make government more accountable" adding that his election will keep the Democratic agenda at bay. Romney has pledged that eliminating the Affordable Care Act will be one of his first acts if elected president, and the ad anticipates the Senate margin will be close.

"As Senator, Richard will be the 51st vote to repeal and replace government-run healthcare," says Romney.

Check it out:

The first presidential debate is behind us, and observers are still digesting how President Barack Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney performed.

It was a much anticipated discussion that about 67 million Americans watched, but surprisingly both Mr. Obama's critics and supporters agreed that the president gave a lackluster performance.

Romney was more aggressive and forceful, and this could be the turning point his campaign needs less than five weeks until Election Day. For many, this puts added pressure on Vice President Joe Biden in his debate against Congressman Paul Ryan on Thursday in Danville, Ky.

But the president's supporters point out that while Romney may have won the style of the debate his facts do not add up on a number of his assertions.

I talked to political commentator Stacy Brooks and Louisville Young Republicans Chairman James Young about the debate, Mr. Obama's performance and where the election is headed.

Republican congressional candidate Brooks Wicker joined a chorus of conservatives who are claiming the September jobs report was manipulated by President Obama for political purposes.

The report compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistic was released Friday and shows the jobless rate fell to 7.8 percent, which is the lowest since January 2009. According to the report, the U.S. economy added 114,000 jobs last month while other figures were revised from July and August to add another 86,000 jobs.

But former GE CEO Jack Welch and Florida Congressman Allen West quickly denounced the report and accused Mr. Obama of massaging the figures.

In a message to supporters, Wicker said he is "sick of political games" being played by the president and his opponent, Democratic incumbent John Yarmuth.

"The math is simple and the jobs numbers just don’t add up. We deserve better than politicians  "revising" numbers, solely concerned about their own re-election. We need to fix the problem of Washington politicians. I will not compromise my integrity to win an election. We need to govern for future generations, and fix this mess Yarmuth helped create," he says.

President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney are preparing for their first debate this week, and observers are eager to see if it will impact the race.

Both campaigns have been complimentary of each other and are trying to lower expectations before the televised debate in Denver, Colorado on Wednesday in order to gain an advantage going in. But experts agree that stakes are higher for Romney, who trails the president according to most polls in battleground states.

Tiffany Dillard-Knox is acting director of the University of Louisville debate team. She says people are excited to watch the first presidential debate, but that the forums are becoming more of a liability.

"I think the debates more likely can make you lose a candidacy more so than win one. You can say the wrong things. I don’t think people are really listening for the right things anymore. But I think people are taking into consideration when the candidates are saying the wrong things," she says.

Congressman John Yarmuth, D-Ky., is slamming Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney for his hasty comments during the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya.

The raid of the consulate was allegedly sparked by an American video mocking Islam's founding prophet and resulted in the death of Ambassador Chris Stevens and three others.

In a campaign statement released before the killing, Romney accused the Obama administration of sympathizing with protestors who attacked the consulate. The GOP nominee's remarks were referring to a statement from the U.S. embassy in Egypt, which condemned the anti-Islam video.

Yarmuth says the death of the four U.S. diplomats is disturbing and underscores the volatility of the Middle East, but that Romney’s rush to judgment shows the GOP nominee is intemperate.

"Governor Romney’s initial reaction, an instinct to turn a tragedy into a political opportunity is despicable and disqualifies him to serve as President of the United States," he says.