Obama says Romney is "severely kidding"

President Obama arrives for for a campaign rally on October 11, 2012 at the University of Miami, in Coral Gables, Florida.

/ MANDEL NGAN/AFP/GettyImages

President Obama on Thursday took a jab at Mitt Romney's ideological shift to the center, noting to a crowd at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida, that his Republican rival once referred to himself as "severely conservative."

Now, Mr. Obama said to the crowd of students, "Mitt Romney's trying to convince you he was severely kidding."

"These days Mitt Romney's for whatever you're for," he continued. "Suddenly he loves the middle class, can't stop talking about it. He loves Medicare, he loves teachers. He even loves the most important parts of Obamacare."

The president mocked Romney for, as he did in the first presidential debate, denying that his agenda would cut taxes by $5 trillion. He also ribbed the Republican candidate for suggesting he'd keep parts of the Affordable Care Act, such as the provision allowing people under 26 years old to stay on their parents' health care plans. On NBC's "Meet the Press" in September, Romney said he would "assure that the marketplace allows for individuals to have policies that cover their family up to whatever age they might like."

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Obama: Romney "severely kidding" about being "severely conservative"

Mr. Obama joked, "Kicking 200,000 young Floridians off their parents' insurance plans? Who me?"

Students are one of the key voting blocs Mr. Obama will have to turn out in Florida starting October 27, when early voting starts. The latest poll out of the Sunshine State, conducted by NBC and the Wall Street Journal, shows Mr. Obama leading by just one point, 48 percent to 47 percent.

Mr. Obama tailored the rest of his stump speech to Florida, appealing to his supporters to turn out to the polls as they did in 2008.

"You are the reason Florida seniors are saving an average of $600 on prescription drugs," he said. "You're the reason there's a working family from Hollywood able to save their family from foreclosure."

He also warned the college audience against the theory of stimulating the economy through tax cuts. "That may not sound familiar to some of you guys because you're young," he said, noting that Republicans used the argument when they passed the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts.

"That's how we went from surplus to deficit," he said. "We have heard this plan before, it doesn't work."

amidst all the news about romney as a callous instinctively ethnocentric animal abusing economic elitist who is out of touch with most americans, a simple truth tends to get overlooked: he's a liar, and he thinks you're too stupid to realize it, as evidenced by his misstatements at the debates:
here's usatoday's amusing two sentence critique, from a news article:
Romney vowed that if he's elected, he would replace the national health care law with legislation that would allow patients to keep their doctors and ensure coverage for people with pre-existing conditions.
1. "Both of those provisions are contained in the existing law."
2. "He did not mention the individual mandate, which is similar to one in a Massachusetts law that he signed while he was governor."
one of the top issues of the campaign, and he just flat out lies about it.

[dreamspan]

I would love to see an ad showing Mitt Romney changing colors like a chameleon whenever he changes position on different issues. Picture this, Robme in his normal look. Then show him supporting a Republican position and he turns red, then when he supports a Democratic position he turns blue, when asked to explain in detail he blends into the background and disappears, then fade him back in switching colors faster than one can keep up! This will of course have a voice over.

[concernedND]

So are you saying Obama and Bidden are honest, you got to be kidding. They have withheld information on the Benghazi tragedy from the people of this country. Lied when they said they would be the most transparent administration, ya. Said hearings over health care would be broadcast over C SPAN, never happened. Health care reform was pushed on us. Obama Care was going to lower premiums, instead they went up. said debt would be reduced in half, went up 6 trillion dollars instead.
Visit this site.
http://www.year-4-change.com/

[PittDave]

Wow, Mr. Obama sure wasn't so hip, slick and cool when I watched the two candidates last week. Why didn't he challenge Gov. Romney at that time? "UnAmerican voter suppression schemes?" One needs ID to buy cigarettes and alcohol, to cash a check, to drive a motor vehicle, to rent a car. Is it really too much to ask that citizens of this great nation provide identification in order to vote? Maybe we can have a cash-for-clunkers fundraiser to provide them ID cards. Or, we can continue the status quo, which gives a whole lot of whackos fodder to cry "conspiracy" or "discrimination!"

[doubleecho-2009]

Odd that we don't hear the Republican drumbeat of "flip-flopper" when it comes to Mr. Romney! This guy is like a chameleon - he will change colors at a moments notice to "fit in". End result - UNTRUSTABLE!

[marcie10000]

Romney is "severely a con man." He is an Elmer Gantry.

[BigBlivefromny]

He is the best used car salesman i have ever heard...judging by the first Pres. debate. He could sel me the biggest lemon on the lot and i wuld thank him for it as the engine died screaming out of the lot. He should have got an Emmy or Oscar for his performance! And that's what Americans go for these days STYLE over SUBSTANCE. Go ahead idiots,give the reigns back to the party that drove us nearly OVER A CLIFF by the end of GW's second term in 2008. You people can't even remember 4 years ago 'cause you're attention spans are 'Dancing With the Stars' or American Idol length....so damn sad what we have become...morons!!!!!!!!

[eroteme2]

This is great, maybe not as great as getting on him regarding the Big Bird, but still great. Obama of course is running for president instead of reelection. Less said about the past four years the better. And let's not forget Romney has yet to defend himself with Democrat charges of his being a murderer as well as a felon, that less than perfect conduct when he was in high school! And then there was that dog! What a campaign!

[stevex47]

How many jobs did boosh and the birthers make in 8 years?

That was a huge negative number right?

How many jobs has Obama made in a little over 3 years?

4.5 million jobs made.

Why would anyone think a republican would make a job? Birthers are good at making wars, well, starting them, then giving up on them.

[sawolf]

The government spent almost 6 TRILLION dollars more than it took in, in 3+ years. barry created a house of cards.

[nearl451]

Mitts bone-header for the day: No one ever died from not having health insurance.

!!!??!

Well, no one independently rich anyway.

[commentary42]

I actually felt queasy at that one. He seems to be getting a pass from the media though

[sawolf]

Actually, having been a Medical Technologist(Generalist,ASCP), American's in need of health care without insurance go to the Emergency Room and are treated at the Taxpayer's expense, in MA where Mitt was Governor.

[remmeler]

What I worry about is that the Republicans and the Tea Party are worrying about the wrong things right now. When they were trying to get into office because they were unhappy with Bush and the spending, they may have had the right idea. But now the world has changed.

Deficits do not matter during or when climbing out of a recession.
You may say, Deficit spending adds to the government debt, because the government has to borrow to obtain the funds it does not have from taxes. It is sometimes argued that deficit spending reduces employment because of fears over the future repayment of the debt.

The World is buying Treasuries that have such a low interest rate that they are giving a net zero return on investment in exchange for perceived safety. Milton Friedman's classic argument said low yields on government securities indicate that more of the securities should be supplied to the market.

Stimulating demand matters; that is what drives the economy.
Increased personal savings, which is happening right now, reduces demand, although it does creates better personal balance sheets. But. balance sheets don't drive the economy, bond rates don't drive the economy. They are, perhaps, measures of financial and economic efficiency and productivity but they don't drive the economy.

Public and Private sector demand can over heat or depress the economy, but currently there is little private demand and a lack of resolve of the government to balance that with Public demand. So the general problem in the economy is lack of demand.

Direct investment and direct job creation is needed to increase the economy. Investment in infrastructure and education and R&D and ....you name it. Pushing money in to bank vaults to make banks more solvent is meaningless and does not help our present economy.

[GOP-R--Con-Men]

The irony of voting for the GOP republicans to run America even as they plot and push unamerican voter suppression schemes. The irony, the irony.

[nearl451]

AD....so glad to hear you are already voting for the President.

[jimbom121]

What is really ironic is that the President continues to spend millions of dollars to win the moron vote
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The uneducated tend to vote republican.