Obama: Entire Romney campaign could fit 'on a tweet'

President Obama used Twitter in an attack line on his GOP presidential rival Mitt Romney Tuesday, confirming his role as tweeter in chief.

"The challenge is because folks are still hurting right now, the other side feels that it's enough for them to just sit back and say, ‘Things aren’t as good as they should be and it’s Obama’s fault,’ " Obama said at a fundraiser in Baltimore. "And, you can pretty much put their campaign on, on a tweet and have some characters to spare.” 

The hashtag #CharacterstoSpare shot up in usage after 1 p.m., according to analytics by Topsy. The phrase was initially mocked by Romney supporters and anti-Obama conservatives, but quickly became a battleground for supporters on both sides, with the Democratic National Committee and Obama for America campaign workers jumping on Obama's Romney attack line.

Romney "I like being able to fire people" like @ GS Steel, AMPAD + teachers, FF & police. #CharactersToSpare

— Michael Czin (@MichaelOFA) June 12, 2012

Romney slogan: "I'm not concerned about the very poor." #Characterstospare

— Melanie Roussell (@MelanieDNC) June 12, 2012

Hashtags have become the new way to watch political battles play out through the digital space, and conservatives have become particularly adept at appropriating them to mock the other side. But hashtag campaigns — accidental or on purpose — remain at least temporarily effective for publicity and raising awareness.

"When your hashtag is taken over by the other side ... at the end of the day they're having real conversations on your turf,"  National Republican Congressional Committee Digital Director Gerrit Lansing explained to ClickZ last week.

—Amie Parnes contributed.

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