Romney: Only job Obama cares about is own

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -- Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney accused President Barack Obama yesterday of caring more about his own job security than about creating jobs for millions of unemployed Americans. While pressing his case against the Democrat, Romney showed no sign of caving in to mounting pressure for him to release more of his tax returns.

Campaigning in Ohio, a state key to the political fates of both contenders, Romney said the president in the past six months has held more than 100 fundraisers for his re-election campaign and no meetings with his jobs council.

Romney is trying to portray Obama as out of touch with the economic pain afflicting millions of people, including those who go to work every day, while hoping to shift the focus from his personal finances and business record.

"His priority is trying to keep his own job, and that's why he's going to lose it," Romney declared, building off fiery speeches in Pennsylvania on Tuesday in which he accused Obama of believing government is more vital to a thriving economy than the nation's workers and dreamers.

Having spent most of Tuesday courting donors across Texas, Obama spent yesterday at the White House. First lady Michelle Obama was speaking at a campaign fundraiser in Birmingham, Ala. Obama was heading out today on a two-day campaign swing through Florida.

Democrats have pressed for the release of more of Romney's tax returns and have hounded him about discrepancies over when he left his private equity firm, Bain Capital.

In his appearances, Obama has sought keep Romney focused on matters other than the sluggish economy, even releasing a single-shot TV ad Tuesday that suggests Romney gamed the system so well that he may not have paid any taxes at all for years.

"If you're going to run for president, it's not necessarily comfortable but it has become a tradition and it's an important one, you make your tax returns available because you think the American people deserve that kind of transparency," Obama spokesman Jay Carney told reporters at the White House yesterday.

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) took a rare step into the presidential race yesterday, saying Obama's criticism of Romney's career and taxes are meant to distract from the administration's handling of the economy.