Romney scolds Obama for passing blame

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DEL MAR, Calif., June 3 (UPI) -- Mitt Romney told a crowd of supporters President Obama chided his predecessor for the state of the economy during a recent White House visit.

Speaking a fundraiser near San Diego, Romney scolded Obama for allegedly trying to shuffle the blame for the downturn and so-far slow recovery off on President George W. Bush during last week's unveiling of Bush's official White House portrait.

"What he's very good at is finding other people to blame," said Romney. "Last week, President Bush was in the White House unveiling his portrait. That was a handy occasion, of course, to try and blame the predecessor, how bad things were because of his predecessor."

Romney also accused Obama of trying to pin his lack of success on Congress. "They're just hoping you won't remember what happened the last time we tried it their way," he said.

The Los Angeles Times said Bush's White House visit was the only time during Saturday's event Romney ventured from his standard campaign stump speech and noted at least three Republican members of Congress were in the audience of donors.

The Times also said Obama never directly accused his predecessor of causing the recession during the portrait unveiling and also praised him for his handling of the post-election period. "President Bush understood that rescuing our economy was not just a Democratic or a Republican issue; it was an American priority," Obama said. "I'll always be grateful for that."