Romney accuses Obama of pandering on immigration
Mitt聽Romney聽introduced criticism of President Barack Obama鈥檚 record on illegal immigration into his standard campaign speech on Monday as he wrapped up a swing across eastern Iowa.
Romney聽had avoided bringing up the topic in remarks to supporters at the eight other rallies he has held since Obama announced Friday that the administration would not deport many young illegal immigrants who came to the United States as children.
At the Davenport rally,聽Romney聽led up to the immigration attack by accusing Obama of neglecting the economy and the deficit while going to work on health care, organized labor鈥檚 effort to expand its ranks and the banking overhaul known as Dodd-Frank.
搁贰颁翱惭惭贰狈顿贰顿:听Obama immigration order: Does 'audacity of hope' mean unchecked presidential power?
鈥淗e went after all the things that he and his liberal friends had been trying to do for years,鈥澛燫omney聽told a few hundred flag-waving supporters here at a Mississippi River waterfront bandshell rally, where his campaign was shooting TV commercials.
鈥淗e was going to deal with immigration, he said, in his first year,鈥澛燫omney聽added. 鈥淗e was going to focus on that. Did he do anything on immigration while he had a Democratic House and Senate?鈥�
鈥淣o,鈥� the crowd shouted.
鈥淣o,鈥澛燫omney聽continued. 鈥淭his is a president who鈥檚 said one thing and done another. 鈥�
In a Fox News interview,聽Romney聽dodged the question of whether he would reverse Obama鈥檚 deportation policy, just as he did in an interview Sunday on CBS鈥檚 鈥�Face the Nation.鈥�
Romney聽said he did not want to play political football with 鈥渢hose people who come here by virtue of their parents bringing them here, who came in illegally.鈥�
Romney鈥檚聽remarks at the rally were significant, because he has otherwise focused intensely on the economy on the first four days of a small-town America tour that concludes Tuesday in Michigan.
The timing of Obama鈥檚 announcement on Friday 鈥� just as聽Romney聽was beginning his tour in Stratham, N.H. 鈥� forced聽Romney聽to address the issue in comments to reporters, shifting the focus of campaign news from the economy to immigration.
But聽Romney聽has otherwise avoided raising the topic as he has sought to win local news coverage of his speeches hammering Obama on the economy.
Illegal immigration has posed a tough challenge for聽Romney. In the Republican primaries, he struck a hard line to appeal to conservatives at the risk of turning off Latinos in the general election. Lately, he has moderated his tone as he struggles to narrow Obama鈥檚 advantage among Latinos, but risks alienating conservatives if he goes too far.
搁贰颁翱惭惭贰狈顿贰顿:听Obama immigration order: Does 'audacity of hope' mean unchecked presidential power?
