Obama backtracks on comments that private sector is doing "fine"

Source: CBS

Just hours after President Obama said the "the private sector is doing fine" and Republican challenger Mitt Romney criticized him for being "out of touch," the president insisted that more work needs to be done to jump-start the economy.

"It's is absolutely clear that the economy is not doing fine, that's the reason I had the press conference," the president said Friday afternoon in response to a reporter's question.

During a news conference about the economy Friday morning, the president sought to explain how the European economic problems could impact the American recovery and pushed Congress to pass parts of his "to-do" list aimed to stimulate economic growth. But during a question and answer session, the president said the private sector is "doing fine," pointing to 27 months of job creation.

But the Romney campaign and other Republicans pounced, taking to Twitter to highlight the president's remark. And Romney told reporters in Council Bluffs, Iowa on Friday that "he's defining what it means to be detached and out of touch with the American people."

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57449822-503544/obama-backtracks-on-comments-that-private-sector-is-doing-fine/

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