In Virginia, Obama diagnoses Mitt with "Romnesia"

President Barack Obama speaks about choice facing women in the election during a campaign event at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., Friday, Oct. 19, 2012. / AP Photo/Susan Walsh

In a boisterous speech in Fairfax, Va., today, President Obama made a renewed push for support among female voters, reiterating his commitment to women's health care and introducing a new diagnosis for what he cast as Mitt Romney's "backtracking" and "sidestepping" on issues like contraception and abortion: "Romnesia."

Mr. Obama, speaking before a crowd of 9,000 at a "Women's Health Security" event, accused his rival of attempting to muddy his positions on issues like the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and free access to contraceptive care in an effort to confuse voters.

"Now that we are 18 days out...Mr. 'severely conservative' wants you to believe he was kidding on all things he said last year," the president said. "He's forgetting what his own positions are and he's betting that you will too. We've got a name this condition that he's going through. I think it's called Romnesia!" 

Ticking off a list of symptoms that suggest one "might have Romnesia," the president offered up a solution.

Play Video

Obama warns of "Romnesia" symptoms

"I'm not a medical doctor, but I do want to go over some of those symptoms so no one else catches it," he quipped. "If you come down with a case of Romnesia and you can't seem to remember the policies that are still on your website, or the promises you made over the six years you've been running for president, here's the good news: Obamacare covers preexisting conditions! We can fix you up! We've got a cure!"

With polls showing Mr. Obama and Romney in a dead heat in Virginia, both candidates are making a hard sell to voters they think could make or break it for them in a state that could be a tipping point in the electoral race to 270. Women, particularly, are being targeted by both sides, and the Obama campaign is increasingly zeroing in on health care issues like contraception and reproductive rights, as well as the Ledbetter act, in an attempt to paint Romney as out of touch with women's issues.

"Governor Romney wants to take us to policies more suited to 1950," Mr. Obama said. "Even his own running mate said he's kind of a throwback to the '50s - that's one thing we agree on. But he may not have noticed we're in the 21st century and in the 21st century a woman deserves equal pay for equal work."

Romney has said he supports equal pay for equal work and would not repeal the Ledbetter act - which, as Mr. Obama pointed out, was the first bill he signed into law as president. But Romney will not say whether he would have signed it had it landed on his desk in 2009, and some of his advisers have suggested that he would not have.

Seizing on Romney's "binders full of women" comment from the last presidential debate, Mr. Obama reminded the crowd that the former Massachusetts governor, if elected, would be in charge of tapping new justices to the Supreme Court.

"You don't want someone who needs to ask for binders full of women - you don't want that guy," he said. "You want a president who's already appointed two unbelievable women to the Supreme Court of the United States."

Mr. Obama also renewed his attack on what he's casting as his rival's "sketchy" plan to fix the economy.

"Governor Romney's got his sales pitch. We heard it the other night in the debate, he's been running around talking about his five-point plan for the economy," he said. "He wants you to believe that somehow he'll create 12 million jobs, cut taxes by $5 trillion, even though it favors the wealthiest Americans. None of this will add to the deficit. When folks who don't actually work for Governor Romney start crunching the numbers, turns out tax plan doesn't add up, jobs plan doesn't create jobs, deficit plan doesn't reduce the deficit."

He continued: "Virginia, you've heard of the New Deal, you've heard of the Square Deal, the Fair Deal, Mitt Romney's trying to give you a sketchy deal," he said, to cheers. "And it's really just a one-point plan, not a five-point plan. One point. Folks at the very top play by a different set of rules than all of you."

Finally, he urged voters to give him a chance to "finish the job" he started four years ago.

"I believe in you. I need you to keep believing in me," he said. "I want to finish the job."

Romney addressed the president's new line of attack at an evening rally in Daytona Beach, Fla. - though he refrained from directly referencing "Romnesia."

"They've been reduced to petty attacks and silly word games," Romney said to thunderous applause from a crowd of thousands, some of whom were in town for the 'Biketoberfest' motorcycle festival. "Just watch it. The Obama campaign has become the incredible shrinking campaign."

Romney, who focused for much of his speech on the struggling economy and his plan for job growth, attacked Obama for failing to lay out plans for a second term in office. "They have absolutely no agenda for the future," he said. "No agenda for America. No agenda for a second term. It's a good thing they won't have a second term."

That brought an immediate response from Obama campaign spokesman Danny Kanner, who said that "just part" of Obama's second-term agenda is to "double our exports, create a million manufacturing jobs, cut oil imports in half, recruit 100,000 math and science teachers, train 2 million workers at community colleges, and reduce the deficit by more than $4 trillion."

[MRICHMAN333]

2008 Obama Reiterates Promise To Close Guantanamo Bay
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQXZoM__vU0

Guantanamo Bay 10th Anniversary: Obama's Detention Law Could Fill Prison Obama Tried To Close
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/11/guantanamo-bay-10th-anniversary-indefinite-detention-american-citizens_n_1197547.h

TALK ABOUT AMNESIA. How can Obama say he didn't blame a video; this is HIS press secretary. I lost count of the number of times he mentioned the video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_Qx7Fmn4uE

On Gay Marriage

1996 - SUPPORTS MARRIAGE EQUALITY:
1998 - UNDECIDED ON MARRIAGE:
2004 - LESS CONCERNED ABOUT 'MARRIAGE'
2006-2007 - SUPPORTS CIVIL UNIONS:
2008 (February) - SUPPORTS DOMA REPEAL:
2008 (August) - OPPOSES GAY MARRIAGE:
2009 - SUPPORTS CIVIL UNIONS:
....
http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2011/06/22/250931/timeline-barack-obama-marriage-equality/?mobile=nc

[ManOfSteel-Velvet]

ROMNESIA

1994: "I believe that abortion should be safe and legal in this country."
2001: "I do not wish to be labeled pro-choice."
2002: "I will preserve and protect a woman's right to choose."
2011: "I will advocate for and support a Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act."
2012: "There's no legislation with regards to aortion that I'm familiar with that would become part of my agenda."
2012: "Mitt Romney is proudly pro-life, and he will be pro-life president." - Romney campaign spokeswoman Andrea Saul

Who is the real Mitt Romney? What does he truly believe?

Like an ugly, cheap and old prostitute, Romney will shamelessly assume any position or say anything the prospective John wants to hear to trade for his vote.

[zimbahal]

No, JohnnyHouston. You must have a short memory. Total destruction of the US economy began under Bush and Cheney. Bush started two wars. He started in Afghanistan because we got hit on 9/11. By the way, his administration ignored the warnings and memos that they were getting from intelligence about something huge about to hit the US. He should have stayed in Afghanistan, but no, went to Iraq. Cheney benefitted the most out of Iraq. He came out a really wealthy man, at the cost of many young American lives. Remember Haliburton? US went into HUGE debt because of these wars. Then under Bush, there was so much deregulation. Big banks and big business realized that they can do almost anything they wanted. Bush/Cheney really did not care about what happened to the American people nor to the nation. We'd be in a depression now if it wasn't for Obama's hard work.

[Necroscope84]

Here are all the signs of Romnesia in full graphic detail. Warning: Discretion is Advised!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2x2W4GhSLlQ&feature=youtu.be

[mikesfilms]

Romney, most 2-face politician in History. A liar? Yes, Newt Gingrich.
For the Stimulus before he was against it.
Against the auto bailout before trying to take credit for their rescue.
For a woman's right to choose before he was against it.
For minimum wage before he was against it.
Against returning to the Bush era before saying he was for it.
For Stem-Cell research before he was against it.
Savaged the 47% before saying he cared about the 100%.
Said corporations were people before saying they weren't.
Against Obamacare, then, that he liked main parts of it, then, that he's against it.
For the TARP before he was against it.
For Roe v Wade before he was against it.
Hides tax reports and offshore accounts: that he outsources jobs & Cos. to China?
Is he for or against the Nation?

[marcie10000]

I still don't know the specifics of Romney/Ryan's proposals. Everything is a rhetorical platitude which can be taken several different ways.

[julienday]

My way or no way, that is the problem. A great leader knows when and how to compromise with the opposition parties if they have better proposals. Apparently Mr. Obama is not a believer in the art of compromise.

[zimbahal]

You are so wrong there. If you ever examined his past work, time when he was in college and law school, he was and is a great reconciler. You're are proposing giving in to Boehner, Cantor, Ryan, and the Tea Party and their proposals. The real people who have not compromised are the Republicans.

Don't look for the art of compromise from Romney. He sees himself as royalty and believes everyone else is beneath him. He thinks he's entitled to be president.

[eroteme2]

Obamafolly

[Think3Times]

How Romney woke up this morning:

Romney: "Yaaaawn, Butler, bring my coffee!
Butler: "Here you are, Sir"
Romney: "Where is my cream and sugar?"
Butler: "You don't take cream and sugar, Sir"
Romney: "I don't?"
Butler: "No, Sir"
Romney: "Nevermind, bring me the newspaper"
Butler: "Here you are, Sir"
Romney: "Thank you, now bring me my coffee"


Ahhh another day in Romnesia

[mkeey]

The other things American should be worried about are; who are Mitt Romney going to elect into offices. All the old crooks like " Governor Portman" that had worked for Bush? All the same old guys that got Americans into this huge mess? America that should signal a deep red flag!