Responding to U.S. Rep. Barney Frank's criticism Thursday morning, Mitt Romney's staff swung back by calling Frank's comments divisive and touting the former governor's record in Massachusetts.

"It shouldn't surprise anyone that bitterly divisive Democrats like Barney Frank don't have anything good to say about Republicans," said Eric Fehrnstrom, a spokesman for Romney. "Fair-minded people look at Mitt Romney and see a strong leader, a man of character and integrity who was elected as governor at a time of job loss and recession and who managed to balance the budget all four years without raising taxes and get the Massachusetts economy moving again."

Frank's (D-Newton) remarks were made on a conference call put on by the Democratic National Committee in association with a project intended to discredit politicians rumored to be on presumptive Republican nominee John McCain's (Ariz.) vice presidential short list. The DNC launched a section of the project dedicated to Romney on Thursday.