ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — President Obama launched a two-day bus tour Saturday through the heart of this valuable swing state, hoping to blunt any momentum rival Mitt Romney has picked up here since accepting the Republican nomination in Tampa two weeks ago.
The president opened the trip in the Interstate 4 corridor, which cuts through the center of the the state from the Gulf coast to the Atlantic, with a rally for 11,000 in St. Petersburg, not far from Tampa.
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In his remarks, he made direct mention of how much time the Romney campaign has spent in Florida, which is considered virtually a must-win for the GOP nominee.
“The other side spent all the time they had here in Florida saying that greater tax cuts” will lead to prosperity, Obama said at the outdoor rally. “They made that argument over and over again. They argued that because government can’t do everything, it should do almost nothing. Their basic theory is that if you can’t afford health insurance, hope you don’t get sick.”
Obama’s 30-minute speech closely tracked his own nomination acceptance speech Thursday in Charlotte, and he did not linger long on Medicare, even though his campaign has attacked Romney and his running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan (Wis.), for their plan to partially privatize the federal entitlement program. Obama aides have said they believe Florida’s sizable elderly population will reject that path.
Obama touched only briefly on the subject 20 minutes into the address.
“I will never turn Medicare into a voucher system,” he said. “No American should have to spend their golden years at the mercy of insurance companies. People should retire with the dignity and respect and the care that they have earned.”
Romney and Ryan have parried the Obama campaign’s attacks by saying that the president is taking $700 billion from Medicare to pay for his health-care reform plan. But the president’s aides have emphasized that those funds will be found by eliminating waste and fraud in payments to private insurers.
“So, yes, we will reform and strengthen Medicare for the long term,” Obama said. “That needs to be done, but we’re going to do it by reducing the cost of health care, not by just dumping costs on seniors.”
In a statement, Romney campaign spokesman Ryan Williams referred to Friday’s report from the Labor Department that the economy added just 96,000 jobs last month. In Florida, the unemployment rate is 8.8 percent, above the national average of 8.1 percent.
“As yesterday’s dismal jobs report showed — and as President Obama admitted — job creation in America isn’t good enough, yet he didn’t lay out any new ideas for getting our economy back on track,” Williams said. “
The president opened the trip in the Interstate 4 corridor, which cuts through the center of the the state from the Gulf coast to the Atlantic, with a rally for 11,000 in St. Petersburg, not far from Tampa.
Graphic
Explore the 2012 electoral map and view historical results and demographics
More from PostPolitics
Aaron Blake and Sean Sullivan THE FIX | We list the speakers who didn't land primetime slots but whose stock rose considerably over the last two weeks.
Chris Cillizza The best (and worst) of the final night of the Democratic National Convention.
Video Experience the national political gatherings in Tampa and Charlotte in a series of side-by-side visual moments.
In his remarks, he made direct mention of how much time the Romney campaign has spent in Florida, which is considered virtually a must-win for the GOP nominee.
“The other side spent all the time they had here in Florida saying that greater tax cuts” will lead to prosperity, Obama said at the outdoor rally. “They made that argument over and over again. They argued that because government can’t do everything, it should do almost nothing. Their basic theory is that if you can’t afford health insurance, hope you don’t get sick.”
Obama’s 30-minute speech closely tracked his own nomination acceptance speech Thursday in Charlotte, and he did not linger long on Medicare, even though his campaign has attacked Romney and his running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan (Wis.), for their plan to partially privatize the federal entitlement program. Obama aides have said they believe Florida’s sizable elderly population will reject that path.
Obama touched only briefly on the subject 20 minutes into the address.
“I will never turn Medicare into a voucher system,” he said. “No American should have to spend their golden years at the mercy of insurance companies. People should retire with the dignity and respect and the care that they have earned.”
Romney and Ryan have parried the Obama campaign’s attacks by saying that the president is taking $700 billion from Medicare to pay for his health-care reform plan. But the president’s aides have emphasized that those funds will be found by eliminating waste and fraud in payments to private insurers.
“So, yes, we will reform and strengthen Medicare for the long term,” Obama said. “That needs to be done, but we’re going to do it by reducing the cost of health care, not by just dumping costs on seniors.”
In a statement, Romney campaign spokesman Ryan Williams referred to Friday’s report from the Labor Department that the economy added just 96,000 jobs last month. In Florida, the unemployment rate is 8.8 percent, above the national average of 8.1 percent.
“As yesterday’s dismal jobs report showed — and as President Obama admitted — job creation in America isn’t good enough, yet he didn’t lay out any new ideas for getting our economy back on track,” Williams said. “