Romney should say something along the lines of “Mr. President, I know you were a little young and coked up in 1981, so let me tell you, the economy you inherited was many factors better than the economy Jimmy Carter passed along to Ronald Reagan. Amazingly enough, he was able to turn that economy around in just a few years and didn’t spend us into oblivion in the process.”
Well, I think in terms of strategy you don’t want to engage in a way that makes the debate about arguing over whether Bush had the worst economy or not.
While it is one of many untruths, tackling an untruth takes the conversation down a new path, and I’m not sure this election needs to be about 2008. It needs to be about 2012. Just like Clinton didn’t focus on Dukakis vs Bush 41...he focused on Bush 41 and the economy like a laser.