And these are the conservatives?
Boston.com reports on Romney going on the offensive at the Myrtle Beach debate tonight.
Romney, in danger of losing Michigan to McCain in next Tuesday’s vote, quickly went on the attack against the Arizona senator at a debate, noting McCain had said in Michigan on Wednesday that the people there should realize some lost jobs will never return.
“I know that there are some people who think, as Sen. McCain did, he said, you know, some jobs are leaving Michigan and they’re not coming back. I disagree. I’m going to fight for every single job, Michigan, South Carolina, every state in this country, we’re going to fight for jobs and make sure our future is bright,” said Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts whose family has deep ties to Michigan.
The word is that Romney has essentially yielded South Carolina and now targets Michigan as his best chance for a win early, so he raises the subject of the Michigan economy. But how, exactly, does the President of the United States fight for jobs in Michigan, or any other state? More to the point, what business would a President have doing so?
McCain is quick to respond in kind, however.
“There are some jobs that aren’t coming back to Michigan,” McCain said. “There are some jobs that won’t come back to South Carolina, but we’re going to take care of them. That’s our job, that’s our obligation,” McCain said. [emphasis mine]
As a conservative I shudder at the words, “we’re going to take care of them.”
No, Senator, it is most emphatically not your job to take care of people who lose their job, nor would it be should you become President. It’s even arguable whether that would be your role in your own state of Arizona, or whether economic development is the purview of the state legislature and executive.
These are supposed to be the conservative Presidential candidates!
