Obama won by ‘gifts’

DUBLIN

Mitt Romney accused Barack Obama of following the ‘old playbook’ by showering ‘gifts’ to win the election. AP photo

Mitt Romney said President Barack Obama won by showering “gifts” on women, African American and Hispanic supporters, in his first published remarks since conceding last week’s election.

Romney accused Obama of following the “old playbook” by bestowing favors on key Democratic constituencies in exchange for their support. “In each case they were very generous in what they gave to those groups,” he said on Nov. 14. “With regards to the young people, a forgiveness of college loan interest was a big gift.” Among the gifts Romney said Obama gave to his backers were “free contraceptives,” which were very big with college-aged women and Obama’s controversial health care reform plan was another gift that helped secure the youth vote. For Latinos, “free health care was a big plus,” he added.