Obama to GOP: America is not in decline

President Obama arrives for a campaign rally on the campus of St. Petersburg College September 8, 2012 in St Petersburg, Florida.

/ Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

(CBS News) No matter what Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan says about the nation being "in decline," President Obama said Saturday, "there's not a country on Earth that wouldn't gladly trade places with the United States of America."

"When our opponents say this nation is in decline, they are dead wrong - this is America," the president said, drawing cheers from a spirited rally crowd in Seminole, Fla., the first stop of his two-day bus tour through the critical battleground state.

Earlier this week, Ryan said the growing federal debt renders the United States a country "in decline."

President Obama refuted Ryan: "No matter what the naysayers may say for political reasons, no matter how dark they try to make everything look, we still have the best workers in the world and the best entrepreneurs in the world. We've got the best scientists and the best researchers. We've got the best colleges and the best universities. We are a young nation with the greatest diversity of talent and ingenuity from every corner of the globe."

Both Mr. Obama and his GOP rival Mitt Romney, who is campaigning in Virginia (another key swing state) are trying to surf their waves of momentum coming out their respective parties' conventions. Following a vigorous nomination acceptance speech Thursday night, during which he admitted some mistakes and argued for another four years to get his policies moving, the president in Florida sounded the same themes, substantively, as he did at the Charlotte convention, and in New Hampshire and Iowa on Friday: On energy, the tax code, education, and health care - "We're not going back, we're going forward."

The president repeated a swipe at the GOP ticket's promise to repeal his health care law, replacing what Republicans call "Obamacare," Mr. Obama said, with "Romney-don't-care." To laughter, he criticized Romney and Ryan as offering "the same prescriptions [Republicans] have had for 30 years: Tax cuts. ...Tax cuts to help you lose a few extra pounds, tax cuts to help your love life."

Mr. Obama will make another stop later in the day at Florida's Kissimmee Civic Center.

[sjc_1]

The country would not be in decline if the Republicans had not started sending jobs out of the country long ago. In the search for higher profits, they took jobs to low wage countries. Those were good manufacturing jobs and all that Reagan would say is "service sector".

[sjc_1]

I understand the desire not to spend more than we have to, but look at the numbers. If you take the Pentagon, Medicare, Medicaid, the VA and Social Security, you have 70% of the budget. If we can not touch any of those, you could eliminate the whole government and STILL not balance the budget.

We lost $600 billion in revenue after the crash, that is a fact that can NOT be disputed, the numbers do not lie. We need revenue AND spending reductions. We knew this since Reagan, but the GOP ideology is absolutely NO revenue, which is what led to the credit downgrade last summer.

[lgccac]

Not only is America in design, Obama is purposely trying to cause America to fail. Thanks, Obama!

[fiberglass3]

Not only is America in DESIGN?

You probably think the republican obstructionism of the past 4 years was a good thing. Can you name something the republicans DID do over these past 4 years that actually benefitted you?

[RollotheNorman]

Yep America has been in design since 1789 and will be for the foreseeable future. LOL, its always that way in democracies, they are dynamic.

[all-gores]

Our Dear Leader Obama is helping us. We are so fortunate. Obama is helping us become more like Greece or Spain. Beautiful countries with 20%+ unemployment & more debt everyday. Soon many of us may have to move our families to Canada into small cramped apartments and work cleaning toilets in order to survive. Lucky for us we elected the smartest person on the planet as our President.

[fiberglass3]

I'm surprised you aren't mad about the oil companies getting $4 BILLION in subsidies every year, while turning in record profits AND not paying a dime in federal taxes!

But your party wants to fix this by messing with social programs, and not changing the corporate welfare ONE BIT. Who do you think these jokers you support actually represent?

[all-gores]

My Favorite Marxist is Obama.

[joe1022joe]

US not in decline??? Let me count the ways.

What would you call 15 trillion dollars in debt and growing exponentially? What would you call borrowing $.40 of every dollar the federal government spends? Obama wants to continue spending at a rapid pace. gotta keep those teachers' unions happy.

What would you call a government that won't take obvious steps to defend its borders and actually stop illegal immigration? We no doubt have in excess if 15,000,000 illegals producing millions of anchor babies. The Dems cravenly continue to refuse to act to stop this outrage because in time they know they'll get more little Dems to vote to keep them in office.

Of course, there is oh so much more, but why be tedious....

[allrightallreadym]

America is not in decline? Maybe it is not.

But there is one thing that we do KNOW. If America is not in decline THERE IS NO THANKS DUE TO Business Bashing Obama and Race Dividing Biden.

For 3+ years Pr. Obama bashed industry after industry whenever he needed a "straw man" to support a point (i.e., his agenda). In an election year, his "business bashing" has disappeared EXCEPT for Obama's "Roanoke 'Slip of the Tongue'" where he revealed what he really thinks. (Obama claims his "You did not build that....." quote is taken out of context; in context, this quote is WORSE Mr. President).

Obama has had a change in tone. No doubt a poll of business people after his STUPID Roanoke Speech changed his tone.

[Constitution-Job-One]

Indeed. The "moderates" are finally getting it that Obama is not one of them.

[bbinfla]

Looking forward to 4 more years with President Obama.

[CaptainSmollett]

bet you're one of the 100,000,000 on some sort of welfare.

[walkthetalk]

HEY! DUDES! I'm not a political sorta guy, I crossed party lines all of life, trying to make good and imformed decisions. The post I see are varied and range from the good to bad to ugly. "That being said" and politics aside, I'm seeking imformation about President Obama's Solyndra venture and NO! I don't work for Stinkin FOX news. Having worked in R&D in Electronics Industry, makes me somewhat qualified to ask this question? When I first heard the President, taking about the new Solyndra Solar Panel Company, I told my best friend, "this is a Lark and it Ain't Gonna Fly Dude"! He needed only to look to Germany and their Tanking Solar Panel Compainies. They had swimming upstream and struggling trying to stay afloat for quite sometime. OH! They reported last week that the biggest GERMAN Solar Company Tanked after losing Billions. Somethings in this story, just leave's me speechless. There was another Company involved in this Fiasco, named Abound Solar, They Tanked last week. I believe the news it empoloyed about 1K folks. We can not compete on any level with the Chinese Solar Panel mfg Industry. I knew that before the first brick was laid. It is also a fact that X CEO still hangs with the President and that didn't come from FOX new's folks, I got that from CBS. Makes one wonder don't it. I also know that same CEO left with a Heck of alot more than just his lunch bucket. That's our hard earned TAX $$$ Folks so Iv'e got a Bad case of the Red's over this..
Now I'm not a Rocket Sceintest but I Just can't give the President a Pass on this, Way TOO many HARD EARNED TAX PAYER $$$ on our backs, that Vaporized. It Just Don't add up People! Tell me your thoughts. Please!

[CaptainSmollett]

The Left is completely backwards on the issue of outsourcing of jobs. Corporate America has not abandoned the American worker, America has abandoned corporations! We are driving away our very source of national wealth creation!

We live in a global economy, and big-business must successfully compete globally to remain profitable and solvent...Apple versus Samsung, Boeing versus Airbus. But WE have forced our corporations to seek greener pastures where they have a chance to compete... otherwise they're toast. Yet liberals are blind to that fact. WE are the problem, not the corporations - they are doing what they are supposed to do: efficiently compete in a global economy. The U.S. has about the highest corporate tax rate on the planet. Does that help our corporations compete? NO! But the anti-capitalist liberals do nothing but demonize corporations rather than embrace them, then squeal bloody murder when they say goodbye. FOOLS!

BTW, in August, U.S. manufacturing activity posted its sharpest drop in 3 years...the third consecutive monthly decline. That means jobs, Mr. Obama. Say goodbye to more jobs!

[RollotheNorman]

"...Yet liberals are blind to that fact. WE are the problem, not the corporations..."

We agree at last Mullet, YOU and the rest of the RepubliCONs are the problem.

[johnlockesghost]

Well let's see. There are fewer jobs and the jobs available are for less pay. The housing market is still in a wheelchair, middle class people's savings are virtually non-existent, our infrastructure is deteriorating, Our industries are non-productive (otherwise how come everything one buys is made in China?) gasoline is once again on the rise, the future of Social Security and Medicare are in doubt, we are overwhelmed with illegal aliens about which the Obama administration is doing nothing positive for American citizens, etc., etc., etc. But that's OK, isn't it Mr. President? Nothing in decline here is there? PFUI!

[No-soup-for-you]

But, of course, amnesty was just fine when Reagan did it.

4 million illegals just let in by Reagan - and they hadn't even been born here.

[No-soup-for-you]

There is no question, john, that manufacturing jobs are really the key, along with penalizing ANY corporation which outsources manufacturing jobs.

I really don't care about outsourcing service jobs, but blue collar jobs rob America of its foundation.