Mitt Romney slammed President Obama's State of the Union address as a "missed opportunity to lead," accusing the president of being more interested in politics than solutions.
The 2012 GOP presidential nominee, who is considering a third consecutive White House bid, described Tuesday night's SOTU speech as a "disappointing" partisan onslaught that ignored Republican victories in the 2014 elections, The Boston Globe reported.
"True to form, the President in his State of the Union speech is more interested in politics than in leadership," Romney said in a Facebook post. "More intent on winning elections than on winning progress, he ignores the fact that the country has elected a Congress that favors smaller government and lower taxes.
"Rather than bridging the gap between the parties, he makes 'bridge to nowhere' proposals. Disappointing. A missed opportunity to lead."
In Tuesday's speech, Obama announced a plan to raise $320 billion through new taxes and fees on the wealthy and big banks that could be used to pay for free community college tuition, universal child care and additional tax credits for working-class families.
"America, for all that we've endured; for all the grit and hard work required to come back; for all the tasks that lie ahead, know this: The shadow of crisis has passed," Obama said in his sixth State of the Union address to the nation. "Will we accept an economy where only a few of us do spectacularly well? Or will we commit ourselves to an economy that generates rising incomes and chances for everyone who makes the effort?"
But the proposal was described as "a maze of new taxes and complexities" by the former Massachusetts governor, The Hill reported.
"The best way to lower the tax burden on all American families is straightforward: lower rates and simplify the tax code," he said.
Meanwhile, a common theme of President Obama's speech was re-invigorating the middle class through an admittedly expensive but hopeful agenda. Obama proudly took credit for an improving economy and challenged members of the primarily Republican congress to "write our own future," according to The State News.
"The economy is growing and creating jobs at the fastest pace since 1999," he said. "Our unemployment rate is now lower than it was before the financial crisis and more of our kids are graduating than ever before."
