Bill Clinton calls Mitt Romney’s business career at Bain capital “sterling” (VIDEO)

Bill Clinton praised Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney's business career in an interview on CNN's "Piers Morgan Tonight" on Thursday, calling his record as CEO of Bain Capital "sterling."

"I don't think that we ought to get into the position where we say 'This is bad work. This is good work,'" said the former Democratic President, speaking of Romney's role in the private equity industry. "I think the real issue ought to be, what has Governor Romney advocated in the campaign that he will do as president? What has President Obama done and what does he propose to do? How do these things stack up against each other?"

Clinton's comments about Romney directly undermine Obama’s re-election campaign strategy, which has sought to portray Romney as a rampant capitalist who is out of touch with ordinary American voters, The New York Times' Caucus blog pointed out. 

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Romney finally clinched the Republican nomination this week after he won the Texas primary, though the race has been informally over since his GOP rivals suspended their campaigns one by one, Reuters reported. 

On Friday, Romney thanked Clinton for his comments, Politico reported. 

“I think Bain Capital has a good and solid record," the Republican presidential candidate said. "I was happy to see President Clinton made a similar statement …and called my record superb." 

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Clinton, who was interviewed by guest host and major Obama fundraiser Harvey Weinstein, is not the first Democrat to defend Bain's reputation, though he is arguably the most high-profile, CNN reported.

Newark, New Jersey's Mayor Cory Booker said in May that he had no intention of "indicting private equity," and on Thursday, Massachusetts' current Governor Deval Patrick called Bain "a perfectly fine company," according to CNN.