Romney: McCain Has to Sell the Economic Message

John McCain has to sell his economic message down the stretch in the 2008 campaign, Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) said this morning, weighing in on conservative fears that Barack Obama would “spread the wealth” if elected president.

“[Obama is] simply wrong when it comes to his economic plan, and that’s wrong for Americans, and that’s why I think in the final analysis the economic message is what John Mccain has to sell to remind people that you don’t just want a smooth talker in the White House, you want someone who’s tested and proven and can get things running again,” Romney said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” today.

“My concern is this, which is that there’s not gonna be a lot of wealth to spread around if Barack Obama’s policies get in place,” Romney said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” today. “Redistribution is the wrong way to go.”

Conservatives have heightened their criticism of Obama’s economic proposals today after a 2001 Chicago Public Radio interview surfaced in which Obama posed redistribution of wealth as an issue “of political and economic justice.” The term “redistribution” swiftly entered the political debate today, as conservatives, including Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R), continued to label Obama a socialist.

McCain first hit Obama for the “spread the wealth” comment–which the Democrat made to Joe Wurzelbacher (now known as “Joe the Plumber” at a campaign stop in Toledo, Ohio–in the final presidential debate Oct. 15, launching a wave of conservative attacks on Obama’s tax proposals. Obama’s plan would raise taxes on individuals making over $250,000 per year and lower taxes on individuals making less.