Biden hails mixed jobs reports, says they prove U.S. economy is ‘strong’
BOSTON (CNN) — Former President Bill Clinton praised Mitt Romney on Thursday, saying the GOP candidate’s plans to turn the U.S. economy around and create jobs would be “the best thing for America.”
But the former president said he was hopeful that President Obama, the Democratic nominee, would “get things straight” with voters.
“I have to say to him, Mr. President, please get things straight with the American people,” Clinton told moderator George Stephanopoulos during a PBS Newshour interview. “This is, in my opinion, the best thing for America, but he has to do it.”
Clinton said he didn’t want to interfere with the election, but he did want to “leave him room to do so.”
He went on to criticize Romney as a corporate hand and a financial speculator who made “a fortune speculating with debt. I think that if you were an average person in America, that you would be much better off if he had done that than if he had done what he did, which was create more debt which was bad for America but good for him.”
Romney, who is challenging Obama for the office, has repeatedly claimed that he would turn the country around by “shoveling a bunch of money here and a bunch of money there, but I don’t see anybody lining up to take responsibility for paying that money back,” Clinton said Thursday.
“People are not lining up to take responsibility for the money,” Clinton continued. “Let’s face it. He made a fortune speculating with debt…. I think if you were an average person in this country, you’d be much better off if he had done that than if he had created more debt which was bad for America, but good for him.”
Clinton on the jobs report: U.S. economy strong