Romney TV ad slams Obama for personal attacks

DANIA BEACH, Fla.—Mitt Romney has re-released a television spot trashing President Barack Obama and his campaign for a pro-Obama super PAC ad implying links between the GOP candidate and the wife of a laid off steelworker who died from cancer.

"What does it say about a president's character when his campaign tries to use the tragedy of a woman's death for political gain?" the ad says.

The spot is referring to a Priorities USA ad released last week that tells the story of Joe Soptic, who was laid off by a steel company purchased by Romney's former firm, Bain Capital.

The ad effectively accused Romney of being responsible for the death of Soptic's wife because they lost health insurance when he was laid off. The Obama campaign initially distanced itself from the ad and officials said they had no knowledge of Soptic's story—even though the man was featured in an Obama conference call in May.

The Romney campaign immediately seized on the Obama campaign's statements, with Romney aide Eric Fehrnstrom calling Obama aides lower than "a world champion limbo dancer."

The Romney campaign picks up the theme in its latest TV ad, with a narrator asking,"What does it say about a president's character when he had his campaign raise money for the ad then stood by as his top aides were caught lying about it?"

"Doesn't America deserve better than a president who will say or do anything to stay in power?" the ad asks.

The Romney spot was originally released in limited markets last Friday just ahead of the GOP candidate's announcement he had picked Rep. Paul Ryan as his vice-presidential running mate. While Romney aides declined to say where the ad is running or how much the campaign is spending on the spot, the ad was reportedly relaunched in Iowa, where Obama is on a bus tour this week.