MIAMI (AP) — President Barack Obama cast
Mitt Romney on Thursday as an out-of-touch challenger for the White
House and an
advocate of education cuts that could cause teacher strikes to
spread from Chicago to other cities. The Republican countered
that the U.S. economy "is bumping along the bottom" under the
current administration and he predicted victory in the fall.
The two men eyed each other across hotly contested Florida, a state with 29 electoral votes, more than any other battleground
in the close race for the White House.
"When you express an attitude that half the
country considers itself victims, that somehow they want to be dependent
on government,
my thinking is maybe you haven't gotten around a lot," the
president said. That was in response to a question about Romney's
recent observation that 47 percent of Americans pay no income tax
and believe they are victims and entitled to an array of
federal benefits.
Obama spoke at a town hall-style forum aired by the Spanish-language television network Univision.
For his part, Romney was eager to move past
that controversy, which has knocked him off stride. He disclosed plans
for a three-day
bus tour early next week through Ohio with running mate Paul Ryan
and sought to return the campaign focus to the economic
issues that have dominated the race all year.
At a fundraiser in Sarasota, Fla., Romney
looked ahead to his televised head-to-head encounters with Obama this
fall. "He's
a very eloquent speaker, and so I'm sure in the debates, as last
time ... he'll be very eloquent in describing his vision,"
the Republican said. "But he can't win by his words, because his
record speaks so loudly in our ears. What he has done in
the last four years is establish an economy that's bumping along
the bottom."
Less than seven weeks before Election Day,
polls make the race a close one, likely to be settled in eight or so
swing states
where neither man has a solid edge. Obama has gained ground in
polls in some of those states since the completion of the Democratic
National Convention two weeks ago, while Romney has struggled with
controversies of his own making that have left Republicans
frustrated at his performance as a candidate.
Still, there were fresh signs of weakness in the nation's job market as the two candidates vied for support in Florida.
The Labor Department said the number of Americans seeking unemployment fell only slightly last week, to a seasonally adjusted
level of 382,000, suggesting that businesses remain reluctant to add to their payrolls. The four-week average rose for the
fifth straight week to the highest level in nearly three months.
After more than two days of struggle, Romney seemed eager to leave the 47 percent controversy behind as he appeared at the
Univision forum Wednesday night. "'My campaign is about the 100 percent in America," he said firmly.
But Obama made his most extensive comments to date on the subject since the emergence of a video showing Romney telling donors
last May that as a candidate his job wasn't to worry about 47 percent of the country.
"Their problem is not they're not working hard enough or they don't want to work or they're being taxed too little or they
just want to loaf around and gather government checks," the president said."
"Are there people that abuse the system? Yes, both at the bottom and at the top," he added, including millionaires who he
said pay no income taxes. He said many at the low end of the income scale pay other forms of taxes, and some who don't pay
taxes are senior citizens, students, disabled, veterans or soldiers who are stationed overseas.
"Americans work hard, and if they are not working right now I promise you they want to go to work," he said.
As for education, the president said Romney and running mate Ryan advocate a budget that would cut federal funds for schools
by about 20 percent.
"And you could see potentially even more teachers being laid off, working conditions for teachers becoming even worse and
potentially for more strikes," he said.
The president added that under his
administration, "what we say to school districts all across the country
is we will provide
you with more help as long as you're being accountable, and as far
as teachers go, I think they work as hard as anybody, but
we also want to make sure that they are having high standards of
performance in math and science."
Among other changes, Republicans favor
repealing a 2010 change in the program that made the federal government
the direct
lender for student loans, replacing private banks. Democrats say a
decrease in administrative fees made more money available
for loans, while Republicans argue the change has raised the
government's debt.
Money was not a significant issue in the
Chicago strike. Mayor Rahm Emanuel secured an extension of the school
day and empowered
principals to hire the teachers they want. Teachers were able to
soften a new evaluation process and win some job protections.
Obama, who ran on a message of changing the partisan tone in Washington, told the Univision audience that he had come to the
conclusion that "you can't change Washington from the inside. You can only change it from the outside." He went on to say
that what he had accomplished since taking office was due to mobilizing "the American people to speak out."
Romney seized on the remarks to say that
Obama had surrendered in the face of a broken Washington and major
challenges. "I
can change Washington. I will change Washington," he told
supporters in Florida. "We'll get the job done from the inside —
Republicans and Democrats will come together. He can't do it. His
slogan was 'Yes, we can.' His slogan now is 'No, I can't.'
This is time for a new president."
The day's campaign events showed the complexities of campaigning in Florida, a state that is home to large populations of
seniors and of Hispanics.
Romney released a new television commercial designed to appeal to both groups.
It features Sen. Marco Rubio plugging the Republicans' plan to overhaul Medicare, a flashpoint in the campaign that Obama
says could threaten future beneficiaries with high out-of-pocket costs.
Saying his mother is 81, Rubio declares in the ad: "We can save Medicare without changing hers, but only if younger Americans
accept that our Medicare will be different than our parents', when we retire in 30 years.
"But after all they did for us, isn't that the least we can do?"
While Obama is likely to win the Hispanic vote overwhelmingly, he drew criticism in his appearance.
He said the lack of immigration reform
legislation was his biggest failure as president and "not for a lack of
trying or desire."
He said he couldn't find a single Republican to help work on the
legislation. "I'm happy to take responsibility for being
naive here," the president said when pressed to admit he broke his
promise.
Univision anchor Jorge Ramos interjected: "You promised us, and a promise is a promise. And with all due respect, you didn't
keep that promise."
Obama drew praise from Hispanic groups earlier in the year when he announced a policy shift that will allow some immigrants
brought to the United States illegally as children to avoid deportation.
Romney has been critical of the change, but has declined to say if he would reverse it if he wins the White House.
In a report filed with the Federal Election
Commission, the challenger's campaign said that as of Aug. 31, it had
about $50
million available to spend in the final two months of the race. It
also reported a bank debt of $15 million, of which officials
say $4 million has been repaid.