COLUMBUS, Ohio — A new report showing the nation’s unemployment rate inching up to 7.9 percent despite a modest rise in jobs last month had President Obama and Mitt Romney trading jabs as they campaigned across battleground Ohio yesterday.
Romney used the higher jobless figure — increasing from 7.8 percent — to pummel Obama on the pace of the recovery.
“The president took office with the economy the number one challenge, and he’s got higher unemployment today than when he took office,” Romney told a rally at Screen Machine Industries, which manufactures large coal-mining machines about 30 miles from where Obama spoke.
“Those are real Americans [who] can’t find work — 23 million in all can’t find work,” Romney said.
The Labor Department yesterday reported 171,000 new jobs were created in October. But an increase in the number of people looking for work pushed the jobless rate up.
Still, Obama cited the new jobs report as proof of progress.
“We’ve created 5.4 million jobs, and this morning we learned that companies hired more workers in October than at any time in the last eight months. The American auto industry is back on top,” Obama told an estimated crowd of 2,800 outside Columbus.
“I understand that Gov. Romney is having a tough time here in Ohio because he was against the auto bailout,” Obama said. “You don’t scare hard-working Americans just to scare up some votes.
The charges over the economy came as three new polls in Ohio showed Obama with a narrow edge, while another had the race here tied.
Romney kicked off a swing-state campaign blitz, rallying last night with former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Sen. John McCain, golf legend Jack Nicklaus, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, House Speaker John Boehner and musician Kid Rock.
Obama is bringing out his own celebrities, with appearances planned by Katy Perry, Bruce Springsteen and Dave Matthews in the campaign’s final days.
“You know that if the president is re-elected, he will still be unable to work with the people in Congress,” Romney said in Wisconsin, where he delighted cheeseheads by appearing with Packers legend Bart Starr. “The president was right when he said he can’t change Washington from the inside. In this case, you can take him at his word.”
Obama promised he’d work with Republicans to fix the budget but said: “I’m not just going to cut a deal which kicks students off of financial aid.”
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