Washington: Republican White House challenger Mitt Romney has accused President Barack Obama of trying to keep his own job instead of fixing the plight of unemployed Americans.
Romney alleged that Obama has held 100 fund raising events over the past half year but did not once meet with his jobs council.
"You would think the president would focus all of his energy and his passion on helping people get jobs," Romney told supporters yesterday while campaigning in the key state of Ohio.
"But you know what he`s been doing over the last six months? In the last six months, he has held 100 fundraisers," he sneered.
"And guess how many meetings he`s had with his jobs council. None. Zero," Romney added.
"His priority is not creating jobs for you. His priority is trying to keep his own job, and that`s why he`s going to lose it."
Obama has created his 26-member Presidential Council on Jobs and Competitiveness in January 2011 to give ideas on how to boost jobs and American competitiveness.
The appointment was at that time interpreted as a bid to rally the business world after Democrats lost the 2010 mid-term congressional elections.
According to US media reports, 8.2 per cent of Americans are unemployed.
White House has defended Obama`s decision of not holding a jobs council meeting in recent months.
"The president`s obviously got a lot on his plate. But he continues to solicit and receive advice from numerous folks outside the administration about the economy, about ideas that he can act on with Congress or administratively to help the economy grow and help it create jobs," White House spokesman Jay Carney said.
PTI
