Graham: Obama Distracting with Bain Issue

MOUNT PLEASANT — President Obama is simply diverting attention from the mired economy and his poor job performance by focusing on Mitt Romney's time at Bain Capital and on the presumptive GOP nominee's tax returns, said U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).

"If I was President Obama, and I had to run on my record, I'd want to be talking about Mitt Romney's tax returns, too," Graham said while speaking to the East Cooper Republican Club.

Obama has focused on the Bain Capital issue over the last week as Democrats question whether Romney was at the company's helm when it farmed out American jobs to overseas companies.

The criticism hasn't been solely from the left. Romney has faced criticism from both Republicans and Democrats for only releasing two years of tax returns.

But Graham, who has been supportive of Romney but not formally endorsed him, issued no opinion on the tax return issue.

"I'm going to leave that up to Gov. Romney to decide what to do with his tax returns," Graham said.

Eventually the focus will swing back to the economy, Graham said, and ultimately that's what will be the deciding factor in November.

"But I do believe the American people will pass judgement on President Obama's performance," Graham said. "He's a good man who has made poor policy decisions. There's no running away."

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been modified from its original version to note that Graham has not formally endorsed Romney.