United Liberty

Back in February the uproar over the contraceptive mandate, which would have required religious organizations to pay for birth control even if they thought it morally unacceptable, ended as a political loser for Republicans. They were pegged, no thanks to Rick Santorum and other social conservatives, as engaging in a “war on women.”

The ploy ended up being a boost for Democrats as they were able to get the focus off the economy and onto a wedge social issue. President Barack Obama was hoping for a repeat of this last week when he announced his support for gay marriage, only this time, Republicans largely did not bite.

Now, Obama is changing his game, going right after Mitt Romney on his jobs record and slamming his time in the private sector at Bain Capital with this ad:

The ad has certainly received some attention, though it may only have a short-term run. One of Obama’s former advisers has slammed it as “unfair.” Some conservatives have noted that the ad is hypocritical given Obama’s ties to a bundler connected to Bain Capital and that Romney wasn’t even at the firm when this steel plant went under.

There is no secret that Democrats are going to target corporations during the election. They view this as a liability to Republicans and have choosen to use populist rhetoric that would no doubt appeal to the most devout of “Occupiers.”

It’s also a dangerous line of attack. It’s not unsurprising that Obama would slam Romney over Bain Capital, after all, Newt Gingrich tried this during the GOP primary. But by doing so, Obama is bringing the focus back to the economy, where Romney will likely hammer him endlessly until election day. Obama has the failed stimulus bill and bloated budgets under his belt, but not much to show Americans in the way of job creation. Even young Americans, who are often cited as a base for Obama, are still struggling to find work in this economy.

You can bet your bottom dollar that we haven’t heard the last of this sort of attack, but if Republicans should welcome it because all they have to do is point to the last three-plus years of Obama’s record to show that he is a failure on the economy.