Romney's Record On Jobs Is One Of Mixed Success

Newt Gingrich's surge in the race for the Republican nomination has Mitt Romney suddenly shifting strategy.

Of course, it wasn't too long ago that Romney's message along the campaign trail was about one thing, and one thing only: jobs. Romney has long-touted his record as a job creator, first as head of the Boston-based consulting firm Bain Capital, then during his years as governor of Massachusetts. As Romney put it in a recent debate:

"When I came in as governor, we were in a real free-fall. We were losing jobs every month. We had a budget that was way out of balance. So I came into office ... we were able to turn around the job losses and at the end of four years we had our unemployment rate down to 4.7 percent. That's a record I think the president would like to see. As a matter of fact we created more jobs in Massachusetts than this president has created in the entire country."

So that's how Romney explains it, but his record may not be so cut and dry. As WBUR's Deborah Becker reported Thursday, Romney's critics lament that the former governor was never able to foster the kind of business-friendly environment in Massachusetts that he often touts while campaigning. As she reported:

"That’s a common complaint from Romney critics — that the former governor’s economic priorities were unclear They say while he was selling the state to CEOs, he was making policy decisions that harmed jobs."

Becker will join Radio Boston in the studio to discuss more of her reporting on Romney's record on jobs as governor.

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