CORAL GABLES, Fla. — President Obama used a forum aimed at Latino voters to rebuke Republicans on Thursday for thwarting his efforts on immigration reform, and he mocked rival Mitt Romney for suggesting that nearly half the country is too reliant on government.
“When you express the attitude that half the country considers themselves victims and wants to be dependent on government, my thinking is that you haven’t gotten around a lot,” Obama said of Romney.
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First question at Univision event was whether he regretted secretly recorded comments at a fundraiser.
Romney’s remarks, made at a private fundraiser in May, have dogged the candidate after a secret video recording released this week showed him appearing to denigrate and dismiss the 47 percent of Americans who he said do not pay income taxes.
The president kept the pressure on his Republican challenger just a day after Romney had tried to repair damage from the video by declaring during his own Univision forum appearance at the University of Miami that his campaign represented “100 percent” of Americans.
“Which is the real Mitt Romney?” Univision host Jorge Ramos asked Obama.
Obama responded that “people want a hand up, not a hand out” after the recent economic recession.
“Are there people who abuse the system? Yes,” Obama said. “Both at the bottom and the top, because there are a whole bunch of millionaires not paying taxes either.”
Obama has heavily courted the Latino vote, touting a recent immigration directive to stop deporting some illegal immigrants who were brought to the country as children and have gone on to be productive and law-abiding residents. The president won 67 percent of the Latino vote in 2008, compared to John McCain’s 31 percent, and polls show him leading Romney by a large margin with that group. Obama’s campaign is relying on a large turnout among Hispanics, especially here in Florida, the largest swing state, to help make up for potential losses to Romney among other voting blocs.
During an hour-long question-and-answer session before an audience of students and Democratic supporters, Obama blasted Republicans for standing in the way of his efforts to reform immigration laws, a major area of concern for many Latino voters.
More than once, Ramos pressed Obama for failing to keep his promise, made in 2008, to champion a comprehensive immigration reform bill during his first year in office.
“A promise is a promise,” Ramos said.
Obama bristled at the suggestion that he was to blame, saying that congressional Republicans, even some who had supported reform efforts under previous administrations, blocked his administration’s efforts at developing a bipartisan proposal.
“I’m happy to take responsibility for being naive,” Obama said, “that Republicans who previously supported immigration reform .
“When you express the attitude that half the country considers themselves victims and wants to be dependent on government, my thinking is that you haven’t gotten around a lot,” Obama said of Romney.
Graphic
Follow President Obama, Mitt Romney, their running mates and spouses on the campaign trail
More from PostPolitics
Aaron Blake THE FIX | A multitude of polls in key states show their fortunes improving, at both state and presidential level.
Glenn Kessler FACT CHECKER | Romney camp left off a sentence that speaks of the marketplace and innovation.
Nia-Malika Henderson First question at Univision event was whether he regretted secretly recorded comments at a fundraiser.
Romney’s remarks, made at a private fundraiser in May, have dogged the candidate after a secret video recording released this week showed him appearing to denigrate and dismiss the 47 percent of Americans who he said do not pay income taxes.
The president kept the pressure on his Republican challenger just a day after Romney had tried to repair damage from the video by declaring during his own Univision forum appearance at the University of Miami that his campaign represented “100 percent” of Americans.
“Which is the real Mitt Romney?” Univision host Jorge Ramos asked Obama.
Obama responded that “people want a hand up, not a hand out” after the recent economic recession.
“Are there people who abuse the system? Yes,” Obama said. “Both at the bottom and the top, because there are a whole bunch of millionaires not paying taxes either.”
Obama has heavily courted the Latino vote, touting a recent immigration directive to stop deporting some illegal immigrants who were brought to the country as children and have gone on to be productive and law-abiding residents. The president won 67 percent of the Latino vote in 2008, compared to John McCain’s 31 percent, and polls show him leading Romney by a large margin with that group. Obama’s campaign is relying on a large turnout among Hispanics, especially here in Florida, the largest swing state, to help make up for potential losses to Romney among other voting blocs.
During an hour-long question-and-answer session before an audience of students and Democratic supporters, Obama blasted Republicans for standing in the way of his efforts to reform immigration laws, a major area of concern for many Latino voters.
More than once, Ramos pressed Obama for failing to keep his promise, made in 2008, to champion a comprehensive immigration reform bill during his first year in office.
“A promise is a promise,” Ramos said.
Obama bristled at the suggestion that he was to blame, saying that congressional Republicans, even some who had supported reform efforts under previous administrations, blocked his administration’s efforts at developing a bipartisan proposal.
“I’m happy to take responsibility for being naive,” Obama said, “that Republicans who previously supported immigration reform .