Obama congratulates Romney on nomination

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama congratulated Mitt Romney on securing the Republican presidential nomination, even as his team looked to cast his rival as a poor steward of the Massachusetts economy during his 2003-2007 tenure as governor.

The economy has emerged as the most pressing issue of the November election, with many voters undecided about which candidate is best suited to speed up the country's slow recovery from the Great Recession.

The president called Romney on Wednesday and told him "he looked forward to an important and healthy debate about America's future," Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt said. Romney's campaign said the call was "brief and cordial."

Both men wished each other's families well during the upcoming race.

Meanwhile Obama aides were working to chip away at Romney's claims of economic competence.

"When it comes to Mitt Romney and his economic philosophy the facts are clear — it didn't work then, and it won't work now," senior Obama campaign adviser David Axelrod wrote in a five-page memorandum.

Romney's primary win in Texas on Tuesday pushed him past the 1,144-delegate threshold he needed to claim the nomination.

His campaign, meanwhile, was bringing attention to failed stimulus projects under Obama and federal money given to green energy companies like Solyndra, a solar firm that received hundreds of millions of dollars from the government only to go bankrupt. He's also picking up endorsements from high-profile Republicans. Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice confirmed to The Associated Press that she is backing Romney's bid.

The competing attack-lines came as Romney pivoted from a long primary slog to the Republican nomination and a new summertime window to sway voters who have not yet fully tuned into the presidential campaign. Romney hopes to present himself as a worthy replacement for Obama who can help revitalize the slow-moving economy.

For months, Obama and his allies have signaled plans to target Romney's Massachusetts record, with advisers noting that the state's economy lagged in job creation and saw an increase in debt while he was governor. The critique builds upon a line of attack this month of Romney's record at private equity firm Bain Capital, which Obama's team contends led to job losses and bankrupt companies even while Bain profited.

"Whether companies succeeded or failed, Romney Economics netted huge profits for him and his investors, but sometimes proved devastating for the middle-class workers whose jobs, benefits and pensions were put at risk," Axelrod wrote in the memo released Wednesday.

Axelrod sought to link Romney's Bain record with his Massachusetts experience by noting that Romney ran for governor on the basis of his private-sector background. "Under Gov. Romney, the Massachusetts economy was not at the top or even in the middle, but close to the bottom of all the states," he wrote.

Republicans contend that Obama's critique of the Bain record will backfire because it will give voters the impression that he is anti-business. The focus on Obama's green energy record, including Energy Department funding for companies like Solyndra, gives Romney a chance to rebut Bain because Republicans say Obama essentially played the role of venture capitalist by investing government money in green energy companies.