Romney: Obama visit to Florida ‘too little, too late’

{mosads}Still
campaigning in South Carolina ahead of that state’s vote on Saturday,
Romney wrote an open letter to Obama appearing in Thursday’s Tampa Bay Times that casts doubt on Obama’s motives for the trip.

“If
you have brought new ideas to Florida for creating jobs, why have you
waited three years to unveil them?” Romney writes. “Have you suddenly
had a revelation, or is it because 2012 is an election year? Whatever
the case, what you are offering Florida now is too little, too late.”

Although
it is not unusual for the GOP candidates to further their campaigns by
criticizing Obama’s policies, the missive addressed to Obama is a strong
suggestion that Obama and Romney are alone in the ring. The letter is a
clear dueling invitation to Obama, and another attempt by Romney’s
campaign to frame the GOP front-runner as his party’s nominee-to-be. 

“Mr.
President, forgive me for being blunt, but when it comes to economic
affairs, you’re out of your depth,” the letter reads. “Unlike you, I am
not a career politician. Unlike you, I’ve spent more than two decades
working in the private sector, starting new businesses and turning
around failing ones. Undoing the damage you’ve done will be a daunting
challenge. But I’ve learned a thing or two about how government policies
can kill private investment and stifle job creation, and I have a plan
to get government out of the way and unleash the potential of the
American people.”

The Romney campaign also released a new Web
video “welcoming” the president to the Sunshine State. Floridians speak
to the camera in the video, accusing Obama of delivering “three years of
soaring rhetoric … and empty promises” rather than jobs.