BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Mitt Romney brushed aside more calls for the release of his tax returns on Wednesday and instead accused President Obama of protecting his job at the expense of millions of unemployed Americans.
The Republican presidential candidate told an Ohio crowd that the Democrat hasn't met with his jobs council in more than six months. In that time, however, Romney said, Obama held 100 fundraisers.
"His priority is not creating jobs for you," Romney declared in Bowling Green. "His priority is trying to keep his own job. And that's why he's going to lose it."
For the often-reserved Romney, the fiery rhetoric marks an aggressive shift as he's beleaguered by questions about his business career and personal tax returns.
He has broken from tradition, having released just one year of personal income tax returns and promised to release a second.
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, told reporters in Washington Wednesday that Obama's criticism of Romney's career and taxes are meant to distract from the administration's handling of the economy. Boehner said Obama's questions show that the president "doesn't give a damn about middle-class Americans who are out there looking for work."
"It's not about tax returns, it's about the economy," Boehner said.
The warning didn't quiet critics of Romney's stand on tax returns. Several high-profile Republicans joined the call for transparency, including Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe, Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar, Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, Georgia Sen. Johnny Isakson, and Texas Gov. Rick Perry.
Perry, who released his tax returns dating to 1992, said anyone running for office should make public as much personal information as possible to help voters decide.
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