Hutchison says election should not turn on likability

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) said Monday morning that the presidential election should not turn on the likability of Mitt Romney or Barack Obama, and that Americans should vote for Romney based on his ability to turn the economy around.

Hutchison spoke on MSNBC's Jansing & Co., during which host Chris Jansing pressed Hutchison to explain why Romney has not connected as well with voters as President Obama. Hutchison didn't say she agreed with the premise of the question, but said results — not likability — should be on voters' minds.

"He has a record of doing things that are very difficult and making changes that are good," she said of Romney. "That's what he needs to get across, because it's not whether you like someone to elect them president, it's whether that person will do the best for this country, and President Obama has not taken our country in the right direction.

"I believe in the end ... that when people focus, they're going to be looking at where we are now with our economy and with this Obama healthcare looming on the horizon, and we want them to say, 'we can do better,' " she added.

When Jansing pressed Hutchison to say whether Romney should clarify his position on rape during the convention, Hutchison brushed that aside and said he should focus on economic growth.

"I think he needs to assert that we're going to turn this country around," she said.

---