This morning, we got some very encouraging news about our economy. For the 23rd consecutive month, the number of new American jobs has continued to grow. January saw an additional 257,000 private-sector jobs, bringing us to nearly 3.7 million cumulative private-sector jobs under this administration.

This is really positive news, and it's a sign that the job-creation policies that President Obama and Democrats in Congress have fought for and implemented—despite near-universal Republican obstruction—are working. But the reality is that the hard work of rebuilding our economy is far from over. We need to continue to stand behind our President and congressional Democrats to build an economy that lasts—and to ensure every American looking for a job can find one.

To learn more about today's jobs numbers, check out this page on barackobama.com.

As Mitt Romney campaigns in Nevada, a state hit hard by the housing crisis, he has yet to offer a single proposal to lend a hand to America’s struggling homeowners, make it easier for them to refinance their homes, or help them avoid foreclosure. Or, as Rep. Jan Schakowsky put it in a call slamming Romney's housing policies (or lack thereof) today: "He hasn’t offered any ideas to help these families recover their piece of the American dream and the dignity that comes with having a home to raise a family in."

Instead, he believes we should let the foreclosure process "run its course and hit the bottom." In other words, Romney would let homeowners lose their homes and let the banks make a quick buck from the wreckage of American middle-class families. And he had the gall to tell underwater Florida homeowners that the banks are "feeling the same thing" they are.

If you’re a homeowner in this country trying to make ends meet, Romney has four simple words for you: You’re on your own.

Banks, on the other hand…

Today in Las Vegas, Donald Trump added his name to a list of such esteemed luminaries as Christine O'Donnell, Robert Bork, Ann Coulter, and the Kansas secretary of state in endorsing Mitt Romney for the Republican presidential nomination.

But like so many before him, Trump hasn't always been on Team Romney. Quite the opposite: Less than a year ago, Trump couldn't resist sharing his disdain for Romney with every news outlet he could get a hold of.

Just last April, Trump mocked Romney in the New York Post as someone who "walked away with some money from a very good company that he didn't create."

He told the Washington Post that Romney has a history of "eliminating jobs rather than creating them."

And Trump believed, he told the Deseret News, that Romney "doesn't have a chance at the Republican nomination."

So what changed? How did Trump go from publicly mocking Romney to deciding he was the candidate for him?

It seems they discovered a common hobby to bond over: Firing people.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, former Nevada Gov. Bob Miller, and former Sen. Richard Bryan welcomed Mitt Romney to Nevada with an op-ed in the Las Vegas Sun. On every issue important to Nevadans—jobs, housing, immigration, and Yucca Mountain—Romney is on the wrong side.

Romney is running on his business experience and job creation record—a point he has stressed in Nevada, a state in which unemployment is a major issue. But Romney doesn't want Nevadans to know that he made millions from buying companies, closing factories, firing workers, and sending jobs overseas. And during his tenure as governor of Massachusetts, the state ranked 47th out of 50 in job creation. In contrast, President Obama has emphasized his commitment to job creation and laid out a blueprint for it in his State of the Union address.

The last time Romney visited Nevada, a state with one of the highest foreclosure rates in the nation, he told homeowners he would let the foreclosure process “hit the bottom”—a stance he reinforced earlier this week. Meanwhile, President Obama visited Nevada last year and proposed new ways to help struggling homeowners keep their homes. Yesterday President Obama unveiled his new housing plan, which will create new opportunities for responsible homeowners to refinance their mortgages and save $3,000 a year.

Immigration is also a critical issue in Nevada, a state with a high population of Hispanics. Romney has proudly accepted the endorsement of Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who authored the extreme anti-immigration laws in Arizona Alabama. And although 91 percent of Hispanics support the DREAM Act—which provides a pathway to citizenship for those who came to America as children through no fault of their own—Romney called it a “handout” and promised to veto it if Congress passed it. In his State of the Union address, President Obama promised to sign the DREAM Act into law if it came across his desk.

Finally, Romney sought and received the endorsement of South Carolina's Tea Party governor, Nikki Haley, who said she supports Romney largely because he wants to revive the Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository. The project, which is strongly opposed by Nevadans and would have led to high-level nuclear waste to be dumped within Yucca Mountain, was canceled by President Obama.

The choice for Nevadans is clear, write Reid, Miller and Bryan: "If we follow the President’s bold blueprint and create an economy built to last, we will come back stronger than ever."

In an interview yesterday, Mitt Romney said, "I'm not concerned about the very poor." Romney's attempt to explain his comment was just as bad: "It’s not good being poor, and we have a safety net to help those that are very poor … My focus is on middle-income Americans … You can focus on the rich. That’s not my focus. You can focus on the very poor. That’s not my focus."

Romney is focused on the middle class? That's laughable. Romney's economic plan, which has been called "a plan for the 1%," would be devastating to the middle class—while giving enormous tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans. Mitt Romney paid a 13.9 percent tax rate in 2010-- about half of what most middle class Americans paid.  

Under Romney's proposed plan, his rate would be cut in half, but people who make less than $40,000 a year would see their taxes go up— some as much as 60%. Middle class families would see a cut of about $167 dollars, while those who earn more than $1 million would get tax cuts on average of nearly $146,000. 

And what about the safety net he refers to? Romney would slash it. His plan pays for his tax cuts for the wealthy through massive tax cuts to public services and social programs the middle class depends on. Romney has also said he would support policies that would end Medicare as we know it, and gut Social Security. 

So when Romney says he's not concerned about the very poor, but instead is focusing on the middle class, it's not just his insensitivity that is important, it's the fact that he's just not telling us the truth.

In a botched attempt to feign concern for the middle class yesterday, Mitt Romney told CNN that he's "not concerned about the very poor" in America. We're not here to dispute that—but let's be clear: Romney's not concerned about the middle class either.

Romney's concern has always been the well-being of the very rich. If Romney were president, the middle class could expect a $167 tax cut under his plan—while those making more than $1 million would see a $146,000 tax cut. He believes that the foreclosure crisis should "run its course and hit the bottom." And he called the President's $1,500 payroll tax cut a "temporary little Band-Aid."

Make sure your friends know where Romney's true priorities lie. Watch and share our new web video.

Failing to address our nation's housing crisis would mean that 10 million families are at risk of losing their homes to foreclosure, driving down home prices, deepening the housing crisis, and delaying full economic recovery. Over the past two days, President Obama and Mitt Romney have described their plans to address our nation's housing crisis. How do they stack up?

PHILOSOPHY

Obama: "While government can't fix the problem on its own, responsible homeowners shouldn't have to sit and wait for the housing market to hit bottom to get some relief."

Romney: "But the idea of trying to stop the foreclosure process kept it from occurring, kept the market from bottoming and recovering. You have to let the market work and let home values recover as a result of that."

"Don't try and stop the foreclosure process. Let it run its course and hit the bottom."

REFINANCING

Obama: Sent to Congress a broad refinancing plan that would let responsible homeowners save an average of $3,000 per year.

Romney: No proposal.

HOMEOWNER BILL OF RIGHTS

Obama: Proposed a single set of rules for borrowers and lenders, including simple and full disclosures and prevention of conflicts of interest and inappropriate foreclosures.

Romney: No proposal.

UNEMPLOYED HOMEOWNERS

Obama: Ensured the unemployed homeowners participating in the FHA and HAMP programs could receive at least a year of forbearance. Major banks, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac have now followed the President’s lead and adopted the same policy.

Romney: No proposal.

PUNISHING FRAUD

Obama: Formed a joint task force with states and federal investigators from the Department of Justice, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Romney: No proposal.

ADDITIONAL STEPS

Obama: Expanded eligibility for HAMP mortgage modifications to reduce foreclosures. Increased incentives for lenders to modify loans and help borrowers rebuild equity. Rehabilitating neighborhoods through Project Rebuild.

Romney: No proposal.

Share this PDF of the side-by-side comparison of President Obama and Mitt Romney's housing plans. 

Today, Tim Pawlenty will appear at a Mitt Romney campaign event in his home state of Minnesota. We thought we'd mark the occasion by reminding Minnesotans that the relationship between their former governor and Mitt Romney hasn't always been so warm: In fact, Pawlenty slammed Romneycare as the blueprint for the Affordable Care Act, accused Romney of dodging the debt debate, and even said he regretted dropping out of the 2012 presidential campaign after he endorsed Romney. Seems like a half-hearted endorsement at best. 

Here's some of T-Paw's greatest hits on Romney. For more, check out our complete research document.

• Less than a month after endorsing Romney for president, Pawlenty said he would have stayed in the race "if I had known then what I know now."
• "I don't think we can have a nominee that was involved in the development and construction of Obamacare."
• "President Obama said that he designed Obamacare after Romneycare—and basically made it Obamneycare."
• Pawlenty called out Romney for not outlining his stance on the debt ceiling debate, tweeting, "What say you @MittRomney?"