Newark Mayor Cory Booker backtracked on comments he made on Sunday, when he criticized President Barack Obama's re-election campaign for its attacks on Bain Capital, the private equity firm once run by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

During an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press," said he found such attack ads "nauseating" and called them a "distraction from the real issues."

Later Sunday, however, Booker released a YouTube video in which he said it is "reasonable" for the Obama campaign to examine Romney's business record since Romney himself has made it "a centerpiece of his campaign."

Booker says his earlier remarks were intended to express his "profound frustration" with negative campaigning. And he reiterated that he believes Obama "more than deserves re-election."

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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