Obama ‘in over his head,’ Romney says

Mitt Romney slammed President Obama’s handling of the economy in remarks Wednesday in Charlotte, where Democrats will formally nominate Obama for a second term in September.

Obama is “in over his head, and he’s swimming in the wrong direction,” Romney said.

In his “prebuttal” of Obama’s nomination acceptance speech, Romney aimed to frame the general election for voters by asking whether they are better off than four years ago.

“Virtually nothing the president has done — including his stimulus, which protected government but did not encourage the private sector. Virtually nothing he has done has made it more likely for people to get jobs,” Romney said. “And so, for 3½ years, we've had unemployment above 8%. He set the measure. He has failed by the measurements he set. You won't hear that at this convention, but you're going to hear it at ours, I'll tell you that.”

Obama was the first Democrat since Jimmy Carter in 1976 to win North Carolina in a presidential election, and he and his party are going all-out to repeat that victory.

Democrats went on the attack even before Romney spoke. Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C., said in a conference call, “The future of America’s middle class is the last thing on Mitt Romney’s mind.”

Romney originally intended to speak from a rooftop with a view of the Bank of America Stadium, home of the NFL’S Carolina Panthers, where Obama is set to formally accept renomination Sept. 6. His remarks were moved indoors because of the weather.

Paul, Gingrich keep campaigning in R.I.

Ron Paul will air a television ad directed at Rhode Island voters starting today, ahead of the state's presidential primary Tuesday.

The ad highlights the Texas congressman's plan to cut $1 trillion from the federal budget and eliminate five federal agencies.

While likely Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney is focusing on President Obama and the general election, Paul and Newt Gingrich continue to campaign. Paul held a rally at the University of Rhode Island on Wednesday. Gingrich’s wife, Callista, has had several events in the state this week.

Rhode Island, Connecticut, Delaware, New York and Pennsylvania will hold primaries Tuesday. Romney is poised to add to his commanding lead in delegates needed for the Republican nomination. He has 684 of the 1,144 delegates needed, according to an Associated Press count.