Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney pounces on statement to attack president for being ‘out of touch’ Barack Obama declared on Friday that “the private sector is doing fine,” drawing instant criticism from Republicans who said it showed a lack of understanding of the nation’s economic woes. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney responded, “Is he really that out of touch?” Reacting to the Republican attack, the president later sought to clarify his remarks, saying that it was “absolutely clear that the economy is not doing fine.” He said that while there had been some “good momentum” in the private sector, public sector growth lagged behind, making it imperative that Congress act on his proposals to boost state and local government jobs. It was the latest episode in a week of difficult turns for Obama’s re-election prospects, including last Friday’s report that the unemployment rate had risen slightly to 8.2% in May as job creation had slowed, and new signs that the European debt crisis was hurting the US economy.

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