To: longnshort who wrote (654135 ) 5/7/2012 9:19:52 PM From: joseffy Respond to of 1584453 By Responding to Critics, Bumbling Obama Campaign Highlights Barack & Michelle's Lux Vacays Monday, May 7, 2012 | Kristinn freerepublic.com The Obama campaign is floundering before our eyes, even if the Obama media won't characterize it that way. From the thousands of empty seats at the Ohio campaign kickoff on Saturday and the mystery burka woman ejected from the follow-on Richmond event to today's embarrassingly incompetent press release, the Axelrod PR machine is a shadow of its 2008 mastery. Reminding the American people of the Obamas' penchant for his & her luxury vacation travel via government jets is an unforced error on Team Axelrod's part. According to report by ABC News and MSNBC, the Obama campaign took umbrage to statements made by Mitt Romney supporters at an event in Ohio today. A woman in the audience said Obama should be tried for treason. Romney opted to ignore her statement and instead responded to her question about following the Constitution. He later told the press he didn't think Obama should be tried for treason. In its response, the Obama campaign not only highlighted the unassuaged feeling since the 2008 campaign that Obama is anti-American, it also brought in to play the First Couple's extravagant vacation travels. The campaign was complaining about comments criticizing the Obamas' trips made at the Romney event by surrogate Ohio State Auditor Dave Yost. The Obama campaign responded by saying that Yost had "attacked the President's family." ( Via ABC News )Yost, who read from notes, said giving Obama credit for the bin Laden raid is like "giving Ronald McDonald credit for the Big Mac." He then trashed the president and first lady Michelle Obama for what he deemed as lavish vacations on the taxpayer dime. Noting that the first family has taken "17 vacations" over the last three years, including jaunts to Martha's Vineyard, Hawaii, Spain and New York, Yost said Obama should not be likening himself to the "middle class." "Anyone get three vacations in 2009 at the depths of the recession?" Yost asked, reading from notes. "Mr. President, that's not middle class, and you stop lecturing us about our lives." Asked if Romney agrees with Yost's criticisms, a Romney spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment. But Romney has repeatedly said publicly he believes Obama deserves props for his role in the bin Laden raid. MSNBC reported on the Obama campaign's response accusing the Romney campaign of attacking the First Family: The Obama campaign also took issue with comments by Dave Yost, Ohio's state auditor, who was one of several warm up speakers prior to Romney and mocked the president and first family for vacations they have taken since Obama became president, saying they were "not middle class." The Obama campaign accused Romney of "standing by silently as his chief surrogate attacked the President’s family," but in all likelihood Romney did not hear those remarks at all, as his campaign aides note, he was talking with local families in a closed-press meeting prior to taking the stage here. The Romney campaign did not respond to further requests for comment. Defending Obama from charges of treason and living large on the taxpayers' dime in hard times is not the turf Obama should be waging his campaign on. The 2008 Axelrod would have known better. The 2012 Axelrod does not.