Newark mayor: Romney business record is fair game

[May 21, 2012]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- Newark, N.J., Mayor Cory Booker is backing off comments he made earlier Sunday, when he criticized President Barack Obama's re-election campaign for its attacks on Bain Capital, the private equity firm once run by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

During an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press," said he found such attack ads "nauseating" and called them a "distraction from the real issues."

Later Sunday, however, Booker released a YouTube video in which he said it is "reasonable" for the Obama campaign to examine Romney's business record since Romney himself has made it "a centerpiece of his campaign."

Booker says his earlier remarks were intended to express his "profound frustration" with negative campaigning. And he reiterated that he believes Obama "more than deserves re-election."

[Associated Press]

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