WASHINGTON - Republican Mitt Romney'scampaign tried to keep the domestic political focus on the USeconomy and jobs on Monday, although the effort was overshadowedby more controversy from a foreign trip after he made remarksthat upset Palestinians.
Hoping to take advantage of President Barack Obama's "youdidn't build that" comment, Romney's campaign sent teams ofhigh-profile supporters to 18 events in a dozen swing states tohammer home its message that Obama is an anti-business lover ofbig government.
One-time Republican presidential rivals Newt Gingrich andTim Pawlenty, who is now a vice presidential possibility, wereamong the Romney supporters who fanned out across the country topush attacks on Obama for saying, "If you own a business, youdidn't build that."
But Romney was forced to fight off his own controversy afterhe called Jerusalem the Israeli capital and said later thatdifferences in culture powered Israel's economic successcompared with the Palestinians.