After today’s bipartisan signing ceremony for the JOBS Act at the White House, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor made brief remarks that may raise some eyebrows in both Chicago and Boston.
Cantor told reporters, "We have a very difficult economic situation still. The president said today that he’s always believed that it’s the private sector that is the job generator in this country. I agree with him, and I think most Americans agree with him."
The remarks could be seen as inadvertently undercutting one of Mitt Romney’s attack lines against the president.
At a campaign appearance in Appleton, Wisconsin last Friday, Romney told the crowd: “In Barack Obama’s government-centered society, the government must do more because the economy is doomed to do less. When you attack business and vilify success, you will have less business and less success.”
In his victory speech in Wisconsin on Tuesday, Romney also added: "When the president attacks business and when his policies make it more difficult for businesses to grow and prosper, he is also attacking the very communities he wanted to help."
Of course, it's important to note that Cantor sponsored the legislation that Obama signed into law today, so that could partly explain his comments today.
Yet Cantor is among a number of top Republicans to endorse Romney in recent weeks as he has emerged as the most likely nominee.
*** UPDATE *** Cantor's staff disputes the characterization, telling NBC News: "Obviously, actions speak louder than words, and we haven't seen this sort of commitment to the business community to date, but if that's his belief we'd certainly welcome it and look forward to working together to help our nation's job creators."
