Romney touts education agenda, defends Bain

WASHINGTON -- Originally planning to focus on education, Mitt Romney instead reignited the debate over his business credentials yesterday, welcoming scrutiny of the private equity firm he co-founded and declaring he would be a far more qualified steward of the economy than President Barack Obama.

Romney said that if he wins the White House he wants Congress to delay addressing looming tax increases and spending cuts until after he takes office.

"Right now we have an economy in trouble, and someone who spent their career in the economy is more suited to help fix the economy than someone who spent his life in politics and as a community organizer," he told Time magazine.

The comments, the first since Obama questioned Romney's experience at Bain Capital, largely overshadowed a speech that offered the presumptive presidential nominee's first extensive plans for the nation's education system.

Romney, who has been reluctant to stray far from the economic issues at the core of the presidential campaign, charged that Millions of American children are getting a "third-world education" under Obama. -- AP