BY WESLEY P. HESTER

That didn’t take long.

Less than a week after President Barack Obama’s comment that “the private sector is doing fine,” Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney is up with a new TV ad using those words against him.

The 30-second spot, airing in Virginia and other key states, opens with a list of sobering economic statistics before replaying a clip of Obama’s statement three times.

The ad closes with text reading: “How can President Obama fix our economy if he doesn’t understand it’s broken?”

Shortly after making the remark on June 8, Obama attempted to walk it back, commenting that “it is absolutely clear that the economy is not doing fine.”

The new ad marks a distinct change in tone for the Romney campaign, which has so far run mostly positive ads focused on what Romney would do on day one of his presidency.

“Mitt Romney’s newest ad is a stark reminder that he doesn’t have any new ideas to grow the economy or strengthen the middle class,” responded Obama campaign spokeswoman Lis Smith. “In fact, his 59-point economic plan wouldn’t create a single job now - instead he’s proposed cutting jobs for teachers, firefighters, and police.”