Obama Makes Light Of Private Sector Remark In Ohio Speech On Economy

President Barack Obama opened his first major economic speech of the general election making light of his recent remark that the private sector is "doing fine."

"There will be no shortages of gaffes and controversies that keep both campaigns busy and give the press something to write about," Obama said to a crowd of roughly 1,500 in Ohio. "You may have heard I recently made my own unique contribution to that process. It wasn't the first time, it won’t be the last."

In the last week, presumptive Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and other members of the GOP leadership have seized on the president's comment in an attempt to paint him as "out of touch" with the economy.

Earlier this week, White House press secretary Jay Carney criticized reporters during the daily press briefing for missing the broader context of the president's point -- that since early 2010, the economy has gained about 4.2 million private sector jobs.

"You all ought to do your jobs and report on context," Carney said. "We're for truthful, factual, accurate reporting done in context."