Obama, Republicans Focus on Economy in Weekly Addresses

October 15, 2012

U.S. President Barack Obama and Republican congressional candidate Markwayne Mullin both focused on the economy as they delivered their party's weekly radio addresses on Saturday.

Obama said U.S. car sales were higher now than they have been in four years because his Democratic administration had "refused" to let the Detroit-based auto industry "go bankrupt."

The president said more than a million U.S. jobs had been in jeopardy when he decided to rescue the auto industry from collapse.

Mullin, who is running for Congress in the state of Oklahoma, praised Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney for supporting small businesses.

He said Romney had made small business support a "key plank in his jobs plan." Mullin, the owner of a plumbing business, said Obama's policies were burdening small businesses with regulations.

Romney is spending Saturday campaigning in Ohio, a battleground state in the November election.

President Obama travels to Williamsburg, Virginia, on Saturday where is preparing for his second debate with Governor Romney.

He then travels to New York for the second of three presidential debates with Romney on Tuesday.

On Friday, both parties claimed victories in the previous day's debate between Vice President Joe Biden and Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan.