Obama monologues economic plan in new campaign ad

WASHINGTON – President Obama is the star of a new campaign ad, a monologue in which he outlines the “choice between two very different plans for our country.”

It is the first time in the 2012 campaign that the president has spoken directly to the camera in a campaign spot.

In the minute-long ad, Obama makes a case for his economic plan, describing rival Mitt Romney’s plan as a “top-down approach” that “caused the mess in the first place.”

“I believe the only way to build an economy that will last is to strengthen the middle class, asking the wealthy to pay a little more so that we can pay down our debt in a balanced way,” Obama says.

The minute-long spot will air in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia, the campaign said.

The ad, titled “The Choice” by the campaign, marks a shift in tone compared with earlier ads that attacked Romney’s business background. Obama says voters face a choice, “not just between two political parties, or even two people.”

“Sometimes politics can seem very small,” he says. “But the choice you face, it couldn’t be bigger.”

The ad comes at a time when Romney, preparing for his first overseas trip of the 2012 campaign, is shifting his focus from the economy to foreign policy.

Romney will address the Veterans of Foreign Wars annual convention in Reno, Nev., on Tuesday, where he is expected to hammer the president over looming cuts to defense spending and allegations that sensitive intelligence information was leaked to the media by White House aides.

“This isn’t a partisan issue; it’s a national security crisis,” Romney plans to say, according to his campaign.

“These events make the decision we face in November all the more important,” he’ll say. “What kind of White House would reveal classified material for political gain? I’ll tell you right now: Mine won’t.”

Watch the full ad below:

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kim.geiger@latimes.com