In Florida, President Obama slammed Romney, arguing the GOP candidate's math doesn't add up. Meanwhile, a pizza parlor owner swept the president off his feet. NBC's Kristen Welker reports.
MELBOURNE, Fla. – Hours after his opponents Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan did a Sunday morning TV show blitz, President Barack Obama criticized them for not offering more specifics on how they would keep revenue stable while not raising taxes on the wealthy.
“Governor Romney and his allies tell us that we can somehow lower our deficit by spending trillions on new tax breaks for the wealthy. Listen, you’ve got to do the math because when my opponents were asked about it today, they couldn’t. It was like two plus one equals five,” Obama told a crowd of more than 3,000 in a gymnasium at the Florida Institute of Technology here.
When asked during an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” what tax loopholes he would eliminate, Romney got no more specific than telling host David Gregory, “high income taxpayers are going to have fewer deductions and exemptions.”
On ABC News’ “This Week,” Ryan said Romney and he would consult with Congress before deciding which loopholes to cut. “We want to do this with the consent of the elected representatives of the people and figure out what loopholes should stay or go,” he said.
Of their lack of specifics, Obama said, “That’s not bold leadership, that’s bad math.”
Ever mindful of his local audience, Obama also focused heavily on Medicare, an important issue to the 17.6 percent of Florida’s population over age 65 – more than four percentage points over the national average.
He cited a new study by Harvard Professor David Cutler that found seniors who qualify for Medicare beginning in 2023 would see higher premiums over the course of their retirement under the Romney/Ryan plan, which would give seniors the option of getting a voucher to help pay for private insurance in addition to the traditional government-run program.
Cutler, one of the Obama campaign’s chief health care advisers in 2008, conducted the study on behalf of the Center for American Progress Action Fund, a liberal advocacy organization.
“Basically your profits would decline by the thousands so their profits could rise by the billions,” Obama said of the study’s conclusion.
The Romney campaign responded with a statement from spokesman Ryan Williams calling the study "discredited."
"President Obama’s latest false attacks are a sign of desperation. Only one candidate in this race has robbed today’s Medicare of $716 billion to pay for Obamacare – Barack Obama. He has done nothing to reform Medicare for the long haul and prevent it from going bankrupt, and on his watch family health care premiums have increased by nearly $2,500," the statement read in part.
In Melbourne, the president also mentioned another issue important to voters on this slice of Florida’s coast, whose economy is buoyed in part by the space industry.
“Here on the Space Coast, we started a new era of American exploration that is creating more jobs right here,” Obama said, noting the Curiosity rover that landed on Mars last month.
He warned that Republicans would stifle the research and development that his administration has encouraged.
“This is where we’ve got a choice. We could, as the House Republican budget proposes, cut back on research and technology or we can continue to be at the cutting edge because that’s what we’ve always been about,” he said.
The president is now on his way to West Palm Beach for the fourth and final stop on his two-day Sunshine State campaign swing, after which he’ll return to the White House – hopefully, he said this afternoon, in time to catch Sunday Night Football.
“We intend to be finished to get home in time for kickoff,” he told the crowd in Melbourne.


"There have only been four 1 trillion dollar yearly deficits in our nation's history. ALL FOUR have been under President Obama."
Just as with their leaders, all rightwingnutjobz are terrible at arithmetic, incapable of finding and reading history, and maximum skilled at creating fact-free fantasies.
Adjusted for inflation, in consumer price indexed constant 1983 dollars, here are the deficits:
10/2007-9/2008 = $1.017 trillion (all Bu$h xliii)
10/2008-9/2009 = $1.885 trillion (Bu$h xliii budget inherited by Pres. Obama)
10/2009-9/2010 = $1.651 trillion (all Obama, but by continuing resolutions)
10/2010-9/2011 = $1.228 trillion (all Obama, but by continuing resolutions)
10/2011-9/2012 is projected at $1.1 trillion by the Congressional Budget Office. If indexed, however, the number could come in just under a $trillion.
Don't really think you have checked other Presidents-Do some more home work.
Liberal figures always without the truth and REAL FACTS. Liberals DISTORT due to there ignorance and FREE LOADING off Americans! Obama WILL LOSE BIG TIME due to the FACTS and TRUTHS!!!! People are getting smarter every day about Obama being a HABITUAL LIAR!! Running scared from Fridays unemployment figures, so he switched to talking about how he is going to screw us on Medicare and Obama care. COWARD OBAMA.
fuzzy, coward, really, free loading, nah I work, so does the entire family, distort, what, habitual liar, romney? ryan? Screw seniors with a voucher plan, ryan? screw people with existing medical conditions, romney, ryan.
Control your hate and get your head out of trumps rump, your've been inhaling too much poison gas.
Fuzzy-0457: Are you calling Paul Ryan, a liberal? I mean, he told so many lies and exaggerations during his convention speech that it took half a day just for the news programs to list them all.
Or....perhaps you have it backwards....again. It is the conservatives who have a habit of lying....repeatedly.
Romney must think we're all stupid. It''s just so amazing. "Vote for me, but I am not going to tell you what I would do. You can guess, by my "principles" which are that I am a liberal when I think that is what you want to hear, I am a neocon when I think that will work. In short, the only principle I have is what benefits me and mine."
I can't believe that anyone would vote for Mitt just based on his inability to tell the truth. He is a disaster in the making.
What he will do is what his Corporate Masters dictate. He and Queen Ann want to pose on the balcony, he will sign whatever Norquist and the Koch brothers want him to sign.
Same old same old from this candidate, go back to the policies that got us into this mess. With the addition of war with Iran.
Vote a straight Democratic ticket for the sake of your family and the nation.
Time to get the "teabaggers" out of office, and allow the country to solve the problems
Layton: I have searched everywhere also and cannot find anything that says Ryan went to Iraq or Afghanistan-Is this yet another LIE !!!
When did Ryan say that he visited Iraq or Afghanistan?
Romney is nothing but evasive on exactly what his policies are and that related to his tax plan is the most deceptive of all.
Romney refuses to admit that the richest faction under his plan will receive substantial tax breaks and will not or can not be specific on what loopholes he would eliminate.
Romney further claims that the middle class would receive the same tax breaks but "conveniently omits" the items such has the home interest deduction that would be eliminated. Further, if I am making 50K and another is making 1 million and we each get the same percentage drop, those in the million dollar bracket are coming out far better in the end.
The GOP first allowed itself to be hijacked by the extreme fringe of their party and have now nominated a man willing to say and do anything to win.
Fortunately there appears the intelligence of the electorate will see through the smoke and mirrors of the Romney rhetoric.
I say we ask the Twit and Mr. Bean's illegitimate son (ryan) if they know how much a brazilian is........
Wow,Ryan lied again and for what reason ??? He NEVER has been to Iraq or Afghanistan,but why lie about something like that ??
By politifact's own numbers the Ryan record for being truthful has been from "pants on fire" to "false" to "mostly false" 45% of the time AND "half true" statements another 27% of the time.
It simple terms, Ryan is does not tell the truth approximately 72% of the time. Even worse, his mostly true statements are at 14% and true statements at another 14%.
Conclusion; Ryan fabricates his facts to meet his needs !
Maria, what did I miss re. ryan, Iraq and Afghanistan?
Obama 2012
Odumbass want to talk math? All the while running up record debts? Putting more people on Welfare & Government entilement programs? How the hell do you spend all this money , record payouts, lees people working & paying in taxes? It is VERY simple math, you can't spend what you don't have. If hard working Americans ran our housholds the way he spends OUR money, we would be down the tubes next month.
It is O'K' with you for Bush to spend billions and billions in wars to kill innocent people.
The more people dependant on the government the easier to control them and get their vote because dependant people will not bite the hand that feeds them. This is the way all dictatorships begin.
Right Marmee, its real easy to control hungry people, sick people, old people, kids, disabled, real easy. I guess its easier to let them starve, and die. Empathy gene missing, dictatorship please, that comes from the right because we're too uppity for the uber lords and must be controlled just as Karl Rove, and he appreciates your support.
Obama 2012
Same ole crap...the repugs say one thing and the dems say the other. I for one will be glad when it's all over and everyone can get back to work doing the job they were elected to do.
Every Republican going back to Reagan has promised to cut taxes and the deficits simultaneously, and failed when they were given the chance.
Well, they were all successful as cutting taxes an increasing revenues by improving the economy. Unfortunately, they spent like democrats and all the increases from the tax revenues went to build bigger government.
That is hilarious. Obama slamming Romney for lack of specifics. In 2008 Obama didn't offer a single specific about the economy and he still has no specifics despite being president for 4 years. We have one group who has a plan in Romney and Ryan and one group who has no clue in Obama and Biden.
You can tell how good the Left side is with math. They took a vote three times about God & Israel. It was supposed to pass by 2/3rds. They added ALL three of the Yes's together & compared it to one of the No's. Sounds like some of Odumbass's math.
Kevin do you believe in God?
Looks like switching the FACTS, not to lose the Jewish vote. Corruption even in the DNC in front of millions of people to witness. But then again, we AMERICANS wouldn't expect anything less from the Democrats. Big kick in the ass for the Arabs who use to support Obama until this vote! HA HA!! Liberals DO NOT believe in G*D, only there Welfare and entitlements they don't work for.
The group of people that you say get the handouts are thr least likely to vote and republicans are making it more and more difficult for them to vote at all.
The yes votes was being drowned out by the Arabs (muslim) and the atheist screaming LOUDER than the ones yelling yes in a regaular yes reply. Didn't you see that crazy muslim yelling at the top of his voice. Guess you must be a republican Atheist that objects to the mention of god.
America voted for Obama due to his charming and energetic stance in 2008 election campaign. We gave Obama a chance to do good with his promises before this election. What has he accomplished from his promises for America to give him another 4 years? NOTHING but a bunch of LIES!!! It just shows, we hired/elected a failure at being a Community Organizer. Obama has shown he is all talk and NO SUBSTANCE. He is far from being a leader of anything. Even his wife wears the pants in his family, not Barry. We gave color a chance over QUALIFICATIONS, and all we got was a BLACK and BLUE failure for a President. In November,vote for QUALIFICATIONS that are proven with ROMNEY, or we will no longer have a United States of Republic!! It will become a 3rd world country and Socialist at that. The rest of the world has lost TOTAL FAITH and RESPECT, due to Obama and his habitual LYING. VOTE ROMNEY/RYAN to rebuild our country!
Fuzzy your man Bush did a great job right. Billions and billions of $$$$$$$debt to conduct a war to kill innocent people and Romney has promised to do the same.
nela0511
Romney and the rest of America knows you liberals are a bunch of idiots and beyond dumb. You said it.
Conservatives would never have discovered any new land because they believed the earth was square and flat.
"It's the ECONOMY stupid!"
24 Million feel this way.....had his chance, move over...
Kevin- Starting out with odumbass- well that just stops the dialog right there.
Starting two wars and cutting tax's isn't smart economics either is it?
Complaining after a recession, and huge job losses, about people needing help, is ridiculous
I want to invest in people, not Corporations and wars. When people fall, you help them up, not worry about why they fell.
If you are a successful great, but don't slam and lock that door, and then say, well I walked through that door, They must be lazy, they didn't work hard enough.
One of the main ways to help people, is to take for profit out of healthcare all together. No American should lose everything they have worked for because of medical bills.
Terry- I disagree it's about people stupid, all people not the chosen few!
Obama’s record is that of a mind-numbingly incompetent, anti-American, lying weasel.
tracey, if you believe the lies coming out of Romney and Ryan, you have serious issue with understanding facts. Just because the say they have a plan doesn't mean they do. Where are the specifics? Obama has plan. However, it's the "No No No" Republicans in the house and the "Filibuster Threatening" Republicans in Senate that need to placed in the spot light. You know and every one else does. Stop thinking everyone else is gullible like yourself.
Fisted Dead Heads tax rant is so inspiring.
Yu care to post yours Fisted? Your under the same legal obligation
as Mitt and the same obligation your ass boy has to release his college
papers.... What will it be deflection by flame?
Chihuahua attack by the soon to be buried puppy pack
or just Crickets?
HMMm maybe some of that witty prose like "STFU" as you say to
others? BTW where was the Dem's chair Debbie Wassermans
at the convention after her latest round of lies was exposed on CNN??
first Romney states the nations economic foundations are good and we are poised for excellent growth. then he gets into an argument with himself .. poised for growth until he goes flipping flopping on the foundations Obamma set will support an good path forward. to OMG the sky is falling and disaster is just a popular vote away.if the president who built a sturdy economic foundation IS REELECTED. stopping the economic sinkhole that was handed to him. as the earthquake of depression rumbeled fourth Obamma molded the lava HE CREATED into solid rock that supported GM an swift sword that killed Osama and my goodness gracious the stock market is doing great even Romney knows investors 'with the world in recession' have no other place to go. because no other leader has what the president has got..
Bottom line: Obama does not have the intelligence, credentials nor the backbone to run this country. He has not delivered on his promises, he has not improved our life style, he has not made any of us safer, and he has weakened our military standing globally.
We need leadership, not promises. We need to cut spending not move money around. The only way we will pay less taxes is to cut spending. Obama isn't capable of that. He's having too much fun trying to impress the liberalists.
Obama is too busy playing the role of the first (whatever his lineage) President of the USA. He is absolutely taking us down with his policies and ideas. The so called entitled and welfare group put him in and that's the only way he will stay in.
Beware that group..... the tide will surely turn. You could be swept away!
That's my final answer!
What are you afarid of Bill? FearFearFear HateHateHate GreedGreedGreed this pretty much describes the modern day Repub. Party. 150 years ago the conservatives were scared of losing their slaves. But I guess the Federal Govt. showed the slave owners right?
G O P Math: Greed + Corruption (Bribes and Extortion) – (Campaign Finance Reform Laws) = Republican TeaBilly Conservative Whackjobs.
You BetCha…..Fer Sure.
What a bunch of dumb liberals. Anything for there FREE LOADING to keep going! A vote for Obama is a vote for a free ride towards Socialism and Communism. Go ahead libs, make his day!
When President Obama claims that we would be "spending trillions on new tax breaks for the wealthy. . . " he is using a play on words that is (in my opinion) intentionally deceptive. Because, there is a HUGE difference between spending money and taking money. Cutting taxes means the government takes less from private citizens . . . period. It doesn't equate to spending at all! It might equate to less spending by the government. . . but, isn't that what we want from a government that has brought us to such massive debt? Obama and everyone else in government needs to talk more about spending less and less about taking more! Talk about bad math! If Obama thinks raising taxes on the rich is the cure to a 16 trillion $ debt . . . he (and Clinton) are the ones who failed arithmetic. The only way out of the debt we're in . . . is to downsize govt. and spend less.
This just in………………Bill Clinton’s speech last Night was so Powerful…………..that Paul “ Middle Class Warfare” Ryan was seen jumping up and down in da First Row…Clapping his hands and Screaming “ Hercules……Hercules”….LOL
You BetCha…..Fer Sure.
stlnick- Incoherent rambling!
If B0 would come up with his school records, we could check his math skills.
Didn't mittens run on the fact that he was a business man? So...when is he going to discuss his time at Bain? Or his tax returns? Or his mess at Massachusetts? Is he another CEO....without a past? Or is he just afraid to explain his errors?
Folks, Todd Akin is da “Poster Child” for da Good Ole Boys Club and……………….
Who just Blocked da Campaign Finance Reform Bill?
Who just Blocked Obamas Job Bill?
Who just Rewrote and put a Loophole in da House Version of da Stock Act. You know da Billl that would make it Illegal for Politicians do be involved in Insider Trading Antics. How many people have gone to Prison for this and yet they think they are “Exempt” from da Law.
And………here’s more since President Obama Took Office:
Tax on Companies that ship jobs overseas- A bill that would have eliminated a tax break that companies get when they ship jobs overseas. Republicans blocked this, allowing companies to keep the tax break they receive when they ship jobs to other countries.
The Small Business Jobs Act -would give LOCAL, community banks access to billions of dollars to loan to small businesses. Republicans blocked this, then attempted to block it a second time and failed.
Repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”- Would have repealed the law that forces gay and lesbian services members to lie about their sexuality and gives the military the right to discharge soldiers based on their sexuality. Republicans blocked this many times and Democrats were finally able to pass it with the support of just 2 Republicans.
You Guessed it…………Cantor, Boehner, McConnell and da rest of them Republican TeaBilly Conservative Politicians.
Can you imagine da Shenanigans if Mitt “F da Poor” Romney and Paul “Middle Class Warfare” Ryan get Elected.
You BetCha…..Fer Sure.
No arguing with the fact Romney's speech was lacking. I'm looking forward to the debates. See what Romney is really made of. teehee.
OT, anyone else have enough of the press rhetoric. Omaba SLAMS Romney... Battleground Ohio... Stop purposely making thing worse, Press!