Obama hits at ‘Romney Hood’

STAMFORD - Reuters

US Republican presidential candidate Romney speaks to supporters during a campaign event in Evansville, Indiana. AFP photo

Adding a new attack line to his campaign arsenal, U.S. President Barack Obama derided Republican rival Mitt Romney’s tax plan as Robin Hood in reverse - “Romney Hood “ - saying it essentially would rob ordinary Americans to help the rich.

Obama stepped up his criticism of Romney’s tax proposals at a re-election fund raiser in Connecticut on the same day Romney’s campaign reported that it had outraised the Democratic president by more than $25 million in July. Obama invoked the legendary outlaw of old in an attempt to sharpen the contrast with Romney, whom the president said would cut taxes for the richest 2 percent of Americans and pay for it by raising taxes on the middle class.

“It’s like Robin Hood in reverse. It’s Romney Hood,” he said, drawing loud applause from a crowd of about 500 who paid $500 a head to attend the event.

It was the latest twist in the Obama campaign’s effort to paint Obama as a champion of the middle class while casting Romney, one of the richest men to ever run for the White House, as intent on protecting the fortunes of wealthier Americans.

Obama sought to back his accusation by citing a report last week by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center that found that Romney’s proposal to slash income taxes by 20 percent across the board would boost income for the wealthiest taxpayers while reducing it for lesser earners.

The study calculated that Romney’s tax cuts would boost after-tax income by an average of 4.1 percent for those earning more than $1 million a year, while reducing by an average of 1.2 percent the after-tax income of individuals earning less than $200,000. The Romney campaign called the study biased. Romney campaign spokesman Ryan Williams, responding to Obama’s latest accusations, said the president was the only one in the race who would raise Americans’ taxes.