At a news conference wrapping the NATO summit in Chicago, President Obama was asked to respond to comments made by Newark, New Jersey Mayor Cory Booker, who criticized President Obama’s campaign for attacking Gov. Mitt Romney for his record at Bain Capital.
“Cory Booker is an outstanding mayor,” Obama said, “but it is important to recognize this issue is not a distraction. This is part of the debate we will be adding in this campaign about how do we create an economy where everybody from top to bottom, folks on wall street and main street, have a shot at success.”
“Understand that their priority is to maximize profits,” Obama added of those who work in private equity. “That is not always going to be good for communities or businesses or workers. The reason this is relevant to the campaign is because my opponent, Governor Romney, his main calling card for why he thinks he should be president is his business experience. He is not touting his experience in massachusetts. He is saying he is a business guy, and this is his business.”
Obama further defended his campaign’s attacks of Romney’s time at Bain Capital, saying the company was fair game.
“When you are president as opposed to the head of a private equity firm, your job is not simply to maximize profits,” Obama continued. “Your job is to figure out how everybody in the country gets a fair shot.”
“If your main argument for how to grow in the economy is ‘I knew how to make a lot of money for investors’, then you are missing what this job is about,” Obama said. “That does not mean you are not good at private equity. That is not what my job is as president. My job is to take into account everybody, not just some.”
