Romney attacks Obama on 'redistribution' 19 (UPI) -- The Romney campaign attacked President Obama on Wednesday for saying in 1999 he believed in redistribution of wealth "at least at a certain level." A release from Matt Rhoades, Romney's campaign manager, did not mention that Obama's remarks were made almost a decade before he was elected president. He suggested that redistribution has been the heart of Obama's policies and has failed. "Mitt Romney has a very different idea," Rhoades said. He knows that we need to foster growth and create wealth, not redistribute wealth, if our economy is to grow the way it has in the past. Earlier this week, Mother Jones released a tape of remarks Romney made to campaign contributors at a $50,000 per head gathering in May. Romney suggested that Obama has the support of the 47 percent of the population that pays no federal income tax.