FactCheck: Romney ad suggests Obama is against Vegas

The state of Nevada is considered a swing state in the fall election and now a pro-Romney group is spending more than $1 million there on a television ad suggesting that President Barack Obama is against Nevada's number one industry.

The ad uses the president's own words to suggest he's down on Vegas. It says: "After gambling your money on his failed stimulus, Obama says, 'Don't blow a bunch of cash on Vegas.'"

The ad from Crossroads GPS suggests the president doesn't get that in Nevada tourism means jobs, but here is what the president really said in that speech from Feb. 2, 2010 in New Hampshire: "When times are tough, you tighten your belts. You don't go buying a boat when you can barely pay your mortgage, you don't blow a bunch of cash on Vegas when you're trying to save for college. You prioritize, you make tough choices. It's time your government did the same."

On that day Obama was speaking about the need to reduce the federal deficit.

Here's how it's playing in the Crossroads ad: "Under Obama -- nearly 62,000 fewer Nevada jobs. Our home values -- gone. America's worst recovery, and a new recession could mean more jobs lost. But as Nevada struggles, Obama says, 'Don't blow a bunch of cash on Vegas.' Crossroads GPS is responsible for the content of this advertising."

Crossroads GPS is part of Crossroads America, launched by Republican strategist Karl Rove.

The organization is spending $900,000 on this ad in over 10 days, starting last Friday and another $400,000 on a Spanish language version of the ad. Crossroads GPS refuses to disclose its donors and under the law isn't required to do so.

Our partners at FactCheck.org have a complete analysis of the ad here. We'll be fact-checking ads from both campaigns as they come in.

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mitt romney, barack obama, las vegas, 2012 presidential race, elections, politics, mark matthews

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