[h=3]By Jennifer Jacobs, The Des Moines Register[/h]Updated
DES MOINES, Iowa – In a campaign event in Des Moines, Iowa, on Wednesday, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney focused on President Obama's recent change to the welfare reform law signed in 1996.
Mitt Romney speaks at a campaign event in Des Moines on Wednesday.
Romney said the president changed welfare so that people no longer have to work to receive the cash assistance.
"In a very careful executive action, he removed the requirement of work from welfare," the GOP presidential candidate said at an early-morning rally at a downtown Des Moines school.
On Tuesday, immediately after Romney launched an aggressive push on this topic, the Obama campaign called it a false attack. The Obama administration's new policy gives states flexibility to help get needy parents jobs — but the work requirement remains, aides said.
Still, some conservatives fear the new policy, released July 12, could allow states to get around the work requirements, which were a key element of the welfare overhaul under President Bill Clinton in the 1990s.
Romney is running a new television commercial in battleground states on the welfare charge. An independent fact check on Tuesday found the TV ad's assertions stretch the truth. And Clinton issued a statement Tuesday saying that what Romney is claiming isn't true.
Welfare was only a small piece of Romney's 25-minute speech Wednesday. He received a standing ovation from the crowd when he said he would repeal Obamacare, and again when he made a reference to Obama's "you didn't build that" comment.
Romney again criticized the statement from Obama earlier this summer in which the president said businesses are created and grown with help from the government.
The key phrase in that statement — Obama saying incredulously, "You didn't build that" — has become the centerpiece of a Romney campaign ad taking umbrage at the notion that entrepreneurs owe their success to the government.
On Wednesday, Romney addressed complaints that his campaign has misrepresented Obama's point, which was that business and commerce depend on government investments in things such as education and infrastructure.
"He said, 'Well, you took me out of context,' " Romney told the crowd. "Well, I read the context. It's even worse than the quote!"
The quote belies the philosophical differences between the candidates, Romney said over cheers and applause from the crowd.
"My own view is that we celebrate success. We celebrate the people who work hard, people who are smart and take risks and build enterprises," he said. "He looks at government as the source of our greatness. I look at the American people as the source of our greatness."
For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to [email protected]. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.
USA TODAY is now using Facebook Comments on our stories and blog posts to provide an enhanced user experience. To post a comment, log into Facebook and then "Add" your comment. To report spam or abuse, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box. To find out more, read the FAQ and Conversation Guidelines.
DES MOINES, Iowa – In a campaign event in Des Moines, Iowa, on Wednesday, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney focused on President Obama's recent change to the welfare reform law signed in 1996.
By Justin Sullivan, Getty Images
Mitt Romney speaks at a campaign event in Des Moines on Wednesday.
Mitt Romney speaks at a campaign event in Des Moines on Wednesday.
Romney said the president changed welfare so that people no longer have to work to receive the cash assistance.
"In a very careful executive action, he removed the requirement of work from welfare," the GOP presidential candidate said at an early-morning rally at a downtown Des Moines school.
- [h=3]BLOG: Clinton backs Obama, says Romney welfare ad untrue[/h]
On Tuesday, immediately after Romney launched an aggressive push on this topic, the Obama campaign called it a false attack. The Obama administration's new policy gives states flexibility to help get needy parents jobs — but the work requirement remains, aides said.
Still, some conservatives fear the new policy, released July 12, could allow states to get around the work requirements, which were a key element of the welfare overhaul under President Bill Clinton in the 1990s.
Romney is running a new television commercial in battleground states on the welfare charge. An independent fact check on Tuesday found the TV ad's assertions stretch the truth. And Clinton issued a statement Tuesday saying that what Romney is claiming isn't true.
Welfare was only a small piece of Romney's 25-minute speech Wednesday. He received a standing ovation from the crowd when he said he would repeal Obamacare, and again when he made a reference to Obama's "you didn't build that" comment.
Romney again criticized the statement from Obama earlier this summer in which the president said businesses are created and grown with help from the government.
The key phrase in that statement — Obama saying incredulously, "You didn't build that" — has become the centerpiece of a Romney campaign ad taking umbrage at the notion that entrepreneurs owe their success to the government.
On Wednesday, Romney addressed complaints that his campaign has misrepresented Obama's point, which was that business and commerce depend on government investments in things such as education and infrastructure.
"He said, 'Well, you took me out of context,' " Romney told the crowd. "Well, I read the context. It's even worse than the quote!"
The quote belies the philosophical differences between the candidates, Romney said over cheers and applause from the crowd.
"My own view is that we celebrate success. We celebrate the people who work hard, people who are smart and take risks and build enterprises," he said. "He looks at government as the source of our greatness. I look at the American people as the source of our greatness."
For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to [email protected]. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.
USA TODAY is now using Facebook Comments on our stories and blog posts to provide an enhanced user experience. To post a comment, log into Facebook and then "Add" your comment. To report spam or abuse, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box. To find out more, read the FAQ and Conversation Guidelines.