Obama criticizes Romney, GOP on Medicare
Obama begins Florida campaign swing with rally in Jacksonville
Published On: Jul 19 2012 10:25:55 AM EDT Updated On: Jul 19 2012 03:39:48 PM EDT
- Copyright 2012 by News4Jax.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
I really wish I was off today so I could have attended and been able to see Obama in person because experiences do not come like this everyday. My opinion is that he is a great President and I hope he wins the election, despite the negativity people have to say about the things he cannot control and in which happened before him. I hope Florida can come together and give him a chance to finish cleaning up what he has and been in the process of putting back together, we need to support him as a State and a community. He has truly came far and worked hard to make a change but I am really hoping people will not continue to let race play a factor in their decision making.
You might say President Barack Obama got a stormy reception in Jacksonville -- the landing of Air Force One was delayed 30 by lightning and heavy weather at the airport. But thousands of supporters gave him rousing welcome when he finally arrived at the Prime Osborn Convention Center.
Obama told the crowd the GOP's plan would make seniors pay thousands more for Medicare so the rich can get still more tax cuts, telling the elderly, "You're out of luck. You're on your own."
Obama is trying to keep the pressure on rival Mitt Romney with two days of campaigning in Florida with a rally in Jacksonville designed to appeal to military veterans, seniors and unaligned voters.
Obama was to arrive in Jacksonville at 12:45 p.m. and speak to an estimated 3,000 supporters at the Prime Osborn Convention Center at 1:15. Presidential staff at Jacksonville International Airport says the president's plane could not land until the weather clears, and Air Force One touched down about 1:12.
Obama was to arrive in Jacksonville at 12:45 p.m. and speak to an estimated 3,000 supporters at the Prime Osborn Convention Center at 1:15. Presidential staff at Jacksonville International Airport says the president's plane could not land until the weather clears, and Air Force One touched down about 1:12.
People who stood in line to get tickets to the event on Tuesday were started arriving before dawn Thursday, even though doors were not to open until 11 a.m.
"It means a lot. I'm just glad he came here so I could meet him, see him," first-time voter Marcus Elliot said.
At the other end of the spectrum, a 93-year-old woman was in line waiting to see a president for the first time in her life.
After remarks and a private fundraiser in Jacksonville, Obama will head to West Palm Beach Thursday evening and has scheduled stops in Fort Myers and Orlando on Friday. Obama's campaign continues to urge Romney to release more years of his tax returns and keeps a sharp focus on the former Massachusetts governor's tenure as the head of a private equity firm.
Florida is the largest and most coveted of the nation's Election Day toss-up states, a place where Romney could severely damage Obama's chances of winning re-election. Republicans are holding their national convention in Tampa in August in hopes of giving themselves an edge in the state.
Yet, if Obama can lock down Florida's 29 electoral votes, it would be difficult for Romney to mount enough support elsewhere to capture the White House.
Polls have shown Obama and Romney in a dead heat in the state, which has struggled with an unemployment rate of 8.6 percent, above the national average, and a still-recovering housing market. Florida provided the deciding margin in George W. Bush's victory in 2000 and the state has been closely contested ever since, with Obama carrying it in 2008.
Obama aides noted that since 1992, Floridians have cast more than 32.5 million votes during the past five presidential elections and only 57,000 votes have separated the two parties in those campaigns. "Florida's always a close state and we don't expect that to change between now and November," said Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt.
Both sides are jockeying for an advantage.
Obama has repeatedly criticized Romney's private equity firm, Bain Capital, arguing that it promoted the outsourcing of jobs to countries like China and India. And Democrats want Romney to make public past tax returns, noting that the one year for which he has released returns showed investments and offshore accounts in Switzerland and the Cayman Islands.
Several Republicans have joined in the call for more transparency, including several GOP senators and Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who challenged Romney for the GOP nomination earlier this year.
In an interview aired Thursday on WTOL-TV in Toledo, Ohio, Romney said one reason not to release more of his returns was that "the Democratic party and the opposition has all these people that comb through and try and find anything they can to distract from the issues people care about, oftentimes in a dishonest way."
In recent days, Romney has pointed to Obama's record on the economy and noted that the Democrat hasn't met with his jobs council in more than six months. Romney was in Massachusetts Thursday, before an event Friday in Concord, N.H.
Romney's team sees an opportunity to seize on what they say is another Obama misstep on jobs. At the White House briefing Wednesday, press secretary Jay Carney said there was "no specific reason" why Obama and the jobs council haven't met for six months "except that the president's obviously got a lot on his plate."
Romney, under attack for days over his record running Bain Capital and the tax return issue, went on the offensive this week, lashing out at Obama for saying: "If you've got a business, you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen." At a town hall in Ohio on Wednesday, Romney asked audience members who had built or were running a business to stand. "Take that, Mr. President," he said as the crowd cheered.
The president was starting his day with a campaign event in Jacksonville, home to a large swath of veterans and military members connected to Naval Air Station Jacksonville. Before military audiences, Obama has talked about his efforts to bring home U.S. combat troops from Iraq, end the conflict in Afghanistan and pressed Congress to promote job opportunities for veterans.
Obama is expected to make a pitch to seniors in West Palm Beach, where he'll visit Century Village, a condominium complex home to thousands of retirees, long a bastion of reliable Democratic voters. Obama and Democrats have warned that Romney would seek to implement a budget plan authored by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., that includes an overhaul of Medicare that would change it into a voucher-like program for those who retire in 10 years.
"Under the Romney-Ryan budget, Florida seniors would be left on their own," said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee.
Obama was holding events on Friday in Fort Myers, along Florida's southwest coast, and in Orlando, the heart of the state's Interstate 4 corridor, which is home to many independent voters.
After three days of aggressive attacks against the president, Romney moves into a relatively quiet period, with just one public event scheduled through the weekend.
Aides said Romney would spend most of Thursday meeting privately with staff at the campaign's Boston headquarters. The former Massachusetts governor is expected to attend a private Boston-area fundraiser Thursday evening before heading to his lakeside vacation home in New Hampshire for the weekend.
While his vacation home is usually reserved for family and relaxation, Romney is known to hold campaign strategy sessions there with senior staff and family members.
Despite the light schedule, speculation about Romney's selection of a vice presidential candidate looms large. Romney said Wednesday that he has yet to make his choice, but aides say a decision come be reached as early as this week.
Florida is the largest and most coveted of the nation's Election Day toss-up states, a place where Romney could severely damage Obama's chances of winning re-election. Republicans are holding their national convention in Tampa in August in hopes of giving themselves an edge in the state.
Yet, if Obama can lock down Florida's 29 electoral votes, it would be difficult for Romney to mount enough support elsewhere to capture the White House.
Polls have shown Obama and Romney in a dead heat in the state, which has struggled with an unemployment rate of 8.6 percent, above the national average, and a still-recovering housing market. Florida provided the deciding margin in George W. Bush's victory in 2000 and the state has been closely contested ever since, with Obama carrying it in 2008.
Obama aides noted that since 1992, Floridians have cast more than 32.5 million votes during the past five presidential elections and only 57,000 votes have separated the two parties in those campaigns. "Florida's always a close state and we don't expect that to change between now and November," said Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt.
Both sides are jockeying for an advantage.
Obama has repeatedly criticized Romney's private equity firm, Bain Capital, arguing that it promoted the outsourcing of jobs to countries like China and India. And Democrats want Romney to make public past tax returns, noting that the one year for which he has released returns showed investments and offshore accounts in Switzerland and the Cayman Islands.
Several Republicans have joined in the call for more transparency, including several GOP senators and Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who challenged Romney for the GOP nomination earlier this year.
In an interview aired Thursday on WTOL-TV in Toledo, Ohio, Romney said one reason not to release more of his returns was that "the Democratic party and the opposition has all these people that comb through and try and find anything they can to distract from the issues people care about, oftentimes in a dishonest way."
In recent days, Romney has pointed to Obama's record on the economy and noted that the Democrat hasn't met with his jobs council in more than six months. Romney was in Massachusetts Thursday, before an event Friday in Concord, N.H.
Romney's team sees an opportunity to seize on what they say is another Obama misstep on jobs. At the White House briefing Wednesday, press secretary Jay Carney said there was "no specific reason" why Obama and the jobs council haven't met for six months "except that the president's obviously got a lot on his plate."
Romney, under attack for days over his record running Bain Capital and the tax return issue, went on the offensive this week, lashing out at Obama for saying: "If you've got a business, you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen." At a town hall in Ohio on Wednesday, Romney asked audience members who had built or were running a business to stand. "Take that, Mr. President," he said as the crowd cheered.
The president was starting his day with a campaign event in Jacksonville, home to a large swath of veterans and military members connected to Naval Air Station Jacksonville. Before military audiences, Obama has talked about his efforts to bring home U.S. combat troops from Iraq, end the conflict in Afghanistan and pressed Congress to promote job opportunities for veterans.
Obama is expected to make a pitch to seniors in West Palm Beach, where he'll visit Century Village, a condominium complex home to thousands of retirees, long a bastion of reliable Democratic voters. Obama and Democrats have warned that Romney would seek to implement a budget plan authored by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., that includes an overhaul of Medicare that would change it into a voucher-like program for those who retire in 10 years.
"Under the Romney-Ryan budget, Florida seniors would be left on their own," said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee.
Obama was holding events on Friday in Fort Myers, along Florida's southwest coast, and in Orlando, the heart of the state's Interstate 4 corridor, which is home to many independent voters.
After three days of aggressive attacks against the president, Romney moves into a relatively quiet period, with just one public event scheduled through the weekend.
Aides said Romney would spend most of Thursday meeting privately with staff at the campaign's Boston headquarters. The former Massachusetts governor is expected to attend a private Boston-area fundraiser Thursday evening before heading to his lakeside vacation home in New Hampshire for the weekend.
While his vacation home is usually reserved for family and relaxation, Romney is known to hold campaign strategy sessions there with senior staff and family members.
Despite the light schedule, speculation about Romney's selection of a vice presidential candidate looms large. Romney said Wednesday that he has yet to make his choice, but aides say a decision come be reached as early as this week.
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