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[Cheers, Applause] TEXT: On October 16, 2008 Barack Obama Visited New Hampshire

Sen. Obama: Thank you.  Thank you New Hampshire.  How is everybody doing today?

[Discordant Sound]

        TEXT: He Promised He Would Fix The Economy

Sen. Obama: I am confident that we can steer ourselves out of this crisis.  [echo SFX]

        TEXT: He Failed

Sen. Obama: Who’s been in charge of the economy?

        TEXT: Greatest Jobs Crisis Since Great Depression

Sen. Obama: We need a rescue plan for the middle class.

        TEXT: Record Home Foreclosures

Sen. Obama: We need to provide relief for homeowners.

        TEXT: Record National Debt

Sen. Obama: It's going take a new direction.

Sen. Obama: ...If we keep talking about the economy, we’re going to lose.  [echo SFX]

[Music] Romney: I’m going to do something to government.

I call it the ‘Smaller, Simpler, Smarter’ approach to government.

Getting rid of programs, turning programs back to states and, finally, making government itself more efficient.

I’m going to get rid of Obamacare.

It’s killing jobs.

And it’s keeping our kids from having the bright prospects they deserve.

We have a moral responsibility not to spend more than we take in.

I’ll make sure that America is a job creating machine like it has been in the past.

It’s high time to bring those principles of fiscal responsibility to Washington, DC..

Romney [voiceover]: I’m Mitt Romney and I approve this message.

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Notes: This ad, Romney's first of the campaign, started running in New Hampshire on the eve of President Obama's visit to New Hampshire (his appearance at Manchester High School Central was his first since Feb. 2010).  The campaign also ran print ads.  It is worth noting that the first images in Romney's first ad are not Romney, but Obama.
 
Romney Communications Director Gail Gitcho stated in a blog posting:

“Three years ago, candidate Barack Obama mocked his opponent’s campaign for saying ‘if we keep talking about the economy, we're going to lose.’ Now, President Obama’s campaign is desperate not to talk about the economy. Their strategy is to wage a personal campaign – or ‘kill Romney.’  It is a campaign of distraction. Now, the tables have turned – President Obama and his campaign are doing exactly what candidate Obama criticized. President Obama and his team don’t want to talk about the economy and have tried to distract voters from President Obama’s abysmal economic record. Just a few months ago, President Obama’s top White House adviser and former campaign manager David Plouffe said Americans don’t care about ‘unemployment rates or even monthly jobs numbers.’ For the next year, this election is going to be a referendum on President Obama’s record. Every single day, like millions of Americans, we are going to talk about President Obama’s historic failure, and the need to get America back on track. Just because he won’t take responsibility doesn’t mean the American people won’t hold him accountable. President Obama will have to confront the promises made by candidate Obama.”

The ad features clips of Obama speaking in Londonderry, NH on Oct. 16, 2008.  The Romney clips are from appearances in Dubuque, Iowa (Nov. 7, 2011) and Exeter, NH (Nov. 3, 2011).

Democrats raised hue and cry about the use of the truncated quote about the economy.  The full quote was, “Senator McCain’s campaign actually said, and I quote, if we keep talking about the economy, we're going to lose.” 

The DNC issued a fact check which stated, "Mitt Romney's first television ad continues a pattern of dishonesty and a lack of credibility on issues that matter to the American people. Once again, he completely distorts the President's words, this time taking a quote the President used while actually quoting Sen. John McCain's campaign advisor. Just this week he received 'Four Pinocchios' for distorting another quote from the President. He claims he will create jobs but he was 47th in job creation as Governor. He attacks the President on the foreclosure crisis but said he would do nothing to help homeowners and would let foreclosures 'hit bottom.'  But this is just more of same. Mitt Romney will do anything to get elected - he's 'running for President, for Pete's sake!'"  The DNC also rebutted a Romney "What They're Saying" on the ad, and produced a video with various commentators panning the ad.  Additionally, the NHDP organized a letter from state reps. protesting the ad.

The liberal group ThinkProgress created a very effective short web video of truncated Romney quotes ("Mitt Romney In His Own Words*") to make the point.

Copyright © 2011 Eric M. Appleman/Democracy in Action.