Obama team slams Romney

Barack Obama's campaign has fired off a withering attack on Mitt Romney, branding the US president's likely election foe as a corporate raider who made money "hand over fist" by destroying jobs.
The Obama campaign's intervention Friday whipped up a new storm around Romney, who has been battered by criticism from his Republican rivals over his 15-year role at equity firm Bain Capital and his claims to have created 100,000 jobs.
The Chicago-based team's decision to enter the fray added to the impression that an important moment of the 2012 campaign could be at hand, with Romney battling to shore up the central rationale of his presidential run.
Obama strategist Stephanie Cutter accused Romney of taking advantage of an "uneven playing field" by using the cash of rich investors to take over failing firms, strip them down and fire workers during his time at the private equity firm.
"Our economic crisis and endemic income inequality were caused in large part by a few who put profits over people," Cutter wrote.
Cutter accused Romney of closing more than 1,000 industrial plants, stores and offices, cutting employee wages and benefits and pensions and outsourcing American jobs to other countries while making hundreds of millions of dollars.
Cutter also rejected Romney's claims that Obama was waging war on capitalism.
Romney is tipped to win next week's South Carolina primary after triumphs in Iowa and New Hampshire nominating contests.
The South Carolina primary is seen as a last chance for more conservative candidates Newt Gingrich, former senator Rick Santorum and Texas Governor Rick Perry to slow Romney's march to the nomination.
An American Research Group poll among likely Republican voters in South Carolina Friday showed the former Massachusetts governor leading the field, with 29 percent, ahead of Gingrich on 25 percent and libertarian favorite Ron Paul on 20 percent.