FLAP

Obama Backtracks on Economy

Says it’s 'clearly not fine.'

President Obama’s comment early Friday that “the private sector is doing fine,” has landed him in hot water with Republicans. His speech during a press conference on domestic and European economic woes noted that private-sector job progress is beating slow growth in the nation and local governments. Obama clarified his intention later in the day, telling reporters that “It is absolutely clear the economy is not doing fine.” Mitt Romney, at an Iowa rally, responded: “For the president of the United States to stand up and say the private sector is doing fine is going to go down in history as an extraordinary miscalculation and misunderstanding by a president who’s out of touch.”