Biden blasts Romney's approach to economy, jobs

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) - Vice President Joe Biden criticized Mitt Romney's approach to the economy on Wednesday, telling Iowa voters that the presumed Republican presidential nominee has a history of outsourcing jobs and that they will face "the starkest choice of our lifetimes" in November.

Biden spoke to more than 500 supporters in Dubuque in his final public speech of a two-day campaign swing through Iowa. His speech was similar to his message Tuesday in Waterloo, as he emphasized middle class workers, manufacturing jobs, and encouraging companies to return jobs from other countries.

The Democrat blasted Romney for his work at a private equity firm, where according to media reports he supported outsourcing jobs to China and India. Biden said the country needs a president who creates jobs in places like Iowa instead of moving them to other countries.

"We need to choose between a commander in chief and an outsourcer in chief," he said.

Romney campaign aides said Biden is misstating Romney's jobs record and that President Barack Obama has no new ideas for improving the economy.

"Americans deserve better. Mitt Romney has a decades-long record of job creation and a pro-growth plan that will do what President Obama has not - finally jumpstart our economy," spokesman Shawn McCoy said in a statement Wednesday.

In his speech, Biden also criticized Republican budget proposals that maintain earlier tax cuts that primarily helped the wealthy, saying they are true believers in helping the rich while middle-class Americans see their incomes stagnate or decline.

"People feel like they're being played for a sucker," he said. "The top 1 and 2 percent have done exponentially better as the middle class incomes have plummeted."

Biden said Romney's economic policies mean "doubling down" on former President George W. Bush's policies that didn't help American workers.

"I think Romney's a decent guy but his philosophy is really different. People out there view the American worker as part of the problem. If you'd just ask for less, work harder and didn't need all those benefits we could do things better, quicker, faster," Biden said.

Biden also questioned Romney's recent claim that Obama was out of touch with average voters.

"Romney calling the president out of touch? Did you ever think you'd have a choice between voting for a president who had a Swiss bank account and one who didn't?" he asked.

Biden will meet later Wednesday with supporters in Clinton before leaving the state.