Obama kicks off Fla. visit by criticizing Romney on Medicare

President Barack Obama campaigns at the Prime Osborn Convention Center in Jacksonville, Fla., Thursday, July 19, 2012. Obama is spending two days in Florida campaigning.

/ AP Photo/Susan Walsh

(CBS News) JACKSONVILLE, Florida - Severe thunderstorms delayed President Obama's arrival for a two-day campaign swing through the Sunshine State, and he apologized for keeping 3,000 supporters waiting at his first rally.

"Even Air Force One has to fly around the thunder," he explained to an understanding audience, demonstrably happy to see the president under any circumstances.

Along with Virginia and Ohio, Florida is the 3rd battleground state Mr. Obama has visited over the past week - each of them essential to his strategy to win a second term.

He won Florida in 2008 by a narrow 51 to 48 percent margin, but recent polls show him running neck-and-neck with Romney for the state's cache of 29 electoral votes.

Making his 19th visit to Florida since taking office and his 7th visit this year, the president used his kick-off speech to reach out to the politically significant population of senior citizens.

He said Mitt Romney threatens their Medicare coverage by advocating it be turned into a voucher program.

"If that voucher isn't worth enough to buy health insurance that's on the market - you're out of luck," said the president, eliciting groans and boos from the audience.

He said Romney would use Medicare so as to provide tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans. And he cited an "independent non-partisan study" that calculated seniors would have to pay nearly $6,400 more for Medicare than they do now.

"Now Florida, that's the wrong way to go," said the president. "It's wrong to ask seniors to pay more for Medicare just so millionaires and billionaires can pay less in taxes."

"We shouldn't be squeezing more money out of seniors who are just barely getting by right now."

He said his plan is to "squeeze more money out of the health care system by eliminating waste."

Mr. Obama portrayed himself as on the defensive against an onslaught of Republican money paying for more TV ads targeted against him.

He said the ads say the economy is not where it should be and it's his fault.

"I've been outspent before and counted out before," but he also said the American people give him hope to win another four years in the White House.

Mr. Obama's stop in Jacksonville also included a campaign fundraiser at which 25 well-heeled supporters were paying $10,000 each to attend. As is usual at such events, it was closed to press coverage.

He then headed to West Palm Beach to attend another campaign rally and fund-raiser. His schedule tomorrow takes him to Ft. Myers and Orlando.

[GOP-R--Con-Men]

President Obama did not cut medicare. He redirected money wasted going to insurers for services medicare provides but those insurers were charging much more. That money was redirected into benefits like the prescription drug donut hole.

President Obama did a similar thing with student loan payments when it cut out banks as middle men who were charging to give student loans already guaranteed by the government but banks were charging extra anyway.

[sadursogullible]

ROFL...FACT CHECK THIS...Who was the only president in American history to EVER cut Medicare??????????

Barrack Obama

[mola1959]

I have no problem making small adjustments to medicare, such as raising the eligibility age by a year or two, but a voucher system would mean early death for many older Americans. Its easy for the republican congress to call for this when their own medical needs are dealt with for the rest of their lives. They are a bunch of hypocrites.

[tatersalad868]

Obama was elected 4 years ago to turn this country around and bring change to our great nation. The bottom line of the change he has achieved in his first term:

Unemployment June 2008: 5.6%

Unemployment June 2012: 8.2%

( Bureau of Labor Statistics ( google:

"LNS14000000" it will show up))

Spending Deficit 2008: $ 459 billion

Spending Deficit 2011: $ 1.3 TRILLION

( http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/Historicals )

Do you want to keep going Forward with this Change?

[TimeToEvolve]

What is great about this election is that RobMe CAN'T WIN. If Wall Street is able to appoint him as pResident and he does even half of what he says he will, there will be another America Revolution. This will be the next Egypt.

People simply won't put up with him and his sick party of the 1% gutting our educational system and social programs.

People will not put up with him starting a war in Iran for oil.

They will not put up with taking more money from the poor and middle class and giving it to the rich.

People will not put up with the Republicon plan of outsourcing even more jobs and lowering wages on American workers that they have been doing for over 30 years since Reagan.

[Marcsist]

And people thought GWB was bad...lol. I hope he wins so this country can become third world and idiots like you will cower in their politically correct dwellings... Click, click boom! And people thought stupidity wasn't contagious?!

[stupa5]

Romney wrong on health care ain't that the truth flip flopper supreme..this guy is Toast!

[WHAT-IS-HE-SMOKING]

And what about the un-funded future liabilities from the un-funded wars that the VA now has to handle?

[joe1022joe]

Of course, the Dem Congress did just pass Obamacare, which does hurt seniors access to certain life saving treatments after they reach a certain age - I think it is 70. Romney will do his best to over turn Obamacare, which does hurt older seniors.

[marychgo]

Liar, liar, pants on fire! And you know it!

[jimbom121]

troopf4:

The 500b wa scutr from Medicare advantage, which is the priavet insurance arm of medicare. And no doctors are refusing to take medicare patients...another right wing lie.

And the ACA closed the donut hole in the medicare drig program.

[CaptainSmollett]

Vote for Obama and he promises lots & lots of entitlements. You won't have to be self-reliant or work another day of your life. He will take care of you and satisfy all your needs. He'll take the money from the rich, the businesses, all the greedy capitalists, our children, or borrow it from China. All you have to do is vote for him and it will be like you won the lottery.

Sadly, there are a lot if ignorant liberals who really believe this absurd fantasy. "Yes We Can"...ruin the economy and destroy the American Dream!

[nearl451]

As one of those "ignorant" liberals I can reveal to you that NO ONE professing a liberal philosophy has the "dream" that the Government will take care of everything.

There are those that seek that type of existence.....they do not exhibit a liberal stance.

[Marcsist]

Agree 1000% Captain. I'm just gonna sit on my front porch and watch the checks roll in from Ole' Hussein and his ilk. Yeeehaw, this country is going down faster than the Titanic!

[Ulgnud]

We had nearly 4 years of Obama. He still wants to drive his train wreck over the cliff. Forward? Just like the "Hopey Changey" thing it is another catastrophe waiting to happen.

[RollotheNorman]

Oh, geez, spare us. The last time the economy was being driven over the cliff it was Boehner at the wheel, Cantor riding shotgun, and a whole lot of T'bgrrs back seat driv'n.

[GOP-R--Con-Men]

If only republicans were as good at creating jobs as they are with lying and propaganda.

[askagain]

Obama didn't want the majority of his refdorms to kick in before the 2012 elections. Apparently, he feared the backlash when voters see the true cost of his reforms. That was very cunning.