The Obama campaign today painted Mitt Romney as a flip-flopper, whose economic plan would benefit the rich and amount to just a $50 tax cut for middle class -- despite Romney’s rhetoric at the debate last night.

“The logic of touting a $50 tax cut for the typical family,” especially since he is in favor of letting the payroll tax cut expire “is lost on me, but isn’t inconsistent” with Romney’s record of being on both sides of a host of issues, Obama senior adviser David Axelrod told reporters on what was the first Obama 2012 conference call singling out any particular candidate.

“You have to do more than recite the word middle class to convince people you are for them.”

It’s notable that the campaign went after Romney, a reflection perhaps of the former Massachusetts governor’s standing in the race for the GOP nomination.

Axelrod, however, demurred when was asked if the call is a reflection that the campaign thinks Romney is the “likely nominee.”

“I’m not going to make that decision for Republicans,” Axelrod said. “No, I’m not willing to designate him as the nominee, and I’m not sure Republicans would grant me that right anyway.”

He joked that the conference call on Rick Perry and Herman Cain will be at “2 o’clock.”

He continued: “No, we’re not saying he’s the nominee, but he does deserve to be scrutinized, and what he’s saying is stunningly inconsistent.”

Axelrod called Romney “all over the lot” on a host of issues. “If this were one instance, you might say maybe it was a momentary lapse,” Axelrod contended, adding, “but it is a pattern time and time and time again.”

And he said that despite Rick Perry’s pledging to take the fight to Romney on his inconsistencies, Perry “hasn’t exactly gotten the gun out of the holster.”

Axelrod also hit Romney on China, health care, and abortion.

“I’ll give him this,” Axelrod said, “He is as vehement and strong in his convictions when he takes one position as when he takes the diametrically opposite position.”

And he even quoted comedian George Burns.

“George Burns once said all you need in show business is sincerity," Axelrod said, "and if you can fake that you’ve got it made."

*** UPDATE *** The Romney campaign sends over this response:

“What we’re getting from this administration in response to the tanking economy are deflections and diversions from what really matters, which is President Obama’s failure to create jobs," Romney spokesman Ryan Williams said in an email. "President Obama has turned America into an economic disaster zone. The only question is whether we can make it to the election of 2012 before Obama takes us all the way back to 1929."

NBC's Morgan Parmet contributed to this report.

Even though the United States Senate on Tuesday blocked President Obama's jobs bill, the legislation's specifics -- as well as the idea of taxing the wealthy to pay for it -- are popular with the American public, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.

When asked simply if Congress should pass the legislation or not, 30 percent of respondents answer yes, while 22 percent say no; 44 percent have no opinion.

But when the legislation's details are included in a follow-up question -- that it would cut payroll taxes, fund new road construction, extend unemployment benefits, and that it would be paid for by increasing taxes on the wealthy -- 63 percent say they favor the bill and 32 percent oppose it.

What's more, 64 percent of respondents agree with the statement that it is a "good idea" to raise taxes on the wealthy and corporations, because they should pay their fair share and can afford to pay more to help fund programs and government operations.

By comparison, 31 percent agree with the statement that raising taxes on the wealthy and corporations is a "bad idea," because higher taxes take away money that would otherwise be invested to help grow the economy.

On Tuesday, the president's jobs bill failed to get the 60 votes to clear a procedural hurdle in the Senate, with 50 Democrats voting to advance the bill, and with two Democrats (Nebraska's Ben Nelson and Montana's Jon Tester) joining all Republicans in voting to block it. (Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid later switched his vote from yes to no, for the opportunity to reconsider the legislation at a future date.)

The NBC/WSJ poll -- which was conducted Oct. 6-10 of 1,000 adults (200 reached by cell phone), and which has a margin of error of plus-minus 3.1 percentage points -- will be released in full beginning at 6:30 pm ET.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Obama’s visit there yesterday: “President Barack Obama blitzed the city to stump for his jobs plan on Tuesday, delivering a short speech to an invitation-only crowd at a South Side union hall and then racing back to Air Force One for a fundraising trip in Florida… Little in the president's address on his $447 billion jobs plan was new: He touted its calls for tax cuts and construction spending and tried to increase the pressure on Republicans for not supporting it.”

In remarks at a union training facility in Pittsburgh, PA, President Obama called today's upcoming jobs bill vote  “a moment of truth” for the U.S. Senate. 

“Today is the day when every American will find out exactly where their senator stands on this jobs bill,” Obama said.

Earlier in the day, at a roundtable discussion with his jobs council, the president acknowledged the possibility that the bill will need to be broken up to get parts of it passed. "Our expectation is, if they don't pass the whole package, we're going to break it up into constituent parts."

But he didn't mention that in his speech at the union training facility. Instead, Obama continued to encourage the audience to “let Congress know who they work for,” and he said that senators will need to look them in the eye and explain a “no” vote on the bill.

Obama is headed to Orlando, FL for two fundraising events. He is also expected to meet with a few unemployed construction workers during his brief stop in the Sunshine State.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Obama’s stop in the city today: “President Barack Obama's Jobs Council comes calling this morning on a Findlay company whose labor-saving technology makes companies more competitive. Seegrid's robotic forklifts get consumer goods, industrial parts and other products in and out of warehouses more quickly, boosting the productivity of companies that use them. Company spokesman David A. Noble said that while the automated forklifts allow some customers to reduce warehouse jobs, they also allow many of them to free up workers for more productive tasks. ‘This is actually making us more competitive in the United States, which keeps jobs here in the United States,’ Mr. Noble said.”

As mentioned earlier, Mitt Romney today delivered a foreign-policy/national-security speech that largely criticized President Obama.

"I will not surrender America’s role in the world," Romney said at the end of the speech. "This is very simple: If you do not want America to be the strongest nation on Earth, I am not your president. You have that president today."

Yet the Obama re-election campaign countered with this observation: Romney never once identified defeating al Qaeda as a goal in his speech.

Indeed, the principles Romney laid out in his speech were:
-- conducting foreign policy "with clarity and resolve."
-- promoting open markets, freedom, and human rights
-- using America's power (both hard and soft) to influence world events
-- work with multinational organization but also lead them.

And the actions he said he would take:
-- increase military spending on the Navy and missile defense
-- order the regular presence of U.S. aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf and Eastern Mediterranean to deter Iran
-- promote economic opportunity in Latin America
-- order a full review of transitioning Afghanistan's security to its own people
-- and bolster alliances with Israel and Great Britain.

But none of the principles or actions involved al Qaeda. In fact, Romney never mentioned those words in his speech, although he did refer once to "Islamic fundamentalism" and another time to "Islamic Jihadists."

Said Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt:

"Gov. Romney raised real questions about his capacity to lead this country and wage the fight against terrorism. He didn't outline a strategy to strengthen America's security and promote our interests and didn't even identify defeating al Qaeda as a goal. President Obama has degraded al Qaeda and dealt huge blows to its leadership, including eliminating Osama Bin Laden, ended the war in Iraq, promoted our security in Afghanistan while winding down our commitment in a responsible way and strengthened American leadership around the world. Governor Romney proves once again that he is willing to say anything, regardless of the facts, to get elected."

*** UPDATE *** Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul notes that Romney's white paper, which accompanies today's speech, contains this section about al Qaeda:

"Our mission in Afghanistan is to eliminate al Qaeda from the region and degrade the Taliban and other insurgent groups to the point where they are not existential threats to the Afghan government and do not destabilize Pakistan, with its stock of nuclear weapons. Our objective is to ensure that Afghanistan will never again become a launching pad for terror and to send a message to any other nation that would harbor terrorists with designs on the American homeland."

In his first news conference since unveiling his $447 billion jobs bill, President Obama tried to turn up the heat on Republicans in Congress, but he also fielded tough questions about the problems that have plagued his presidency.

Mr. Obama insisted that passing the “American Jobs Act” would be “insurance” against another recession, and he challenged Republicans to take action.

“Any senator out there who’s thinking about voting against this jobs bill when it comes up for a vote needs to explain exactly why they would oppose something we know would improve our economic situation at an urgent time,” Obama said.

The president also said he was “comfortable” with a proposal by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid which would impose a 5.6% surtax on millionaires to pay for the bill. Reid altered the president’s initial “pay-for” plan, which would have increased taxes on families making $250,000 or more and on large corporations after a number of Senate Democrats expressed opposition.

The president’s revised jobs plan is expected to come up for a vote in the Senate next week, but the legislation will have a difficult time passing through either chamber. Republicans have insisted they will not support any plan that increases taxes, because they say the hikes will ultimately hurt job creation.

Obama quickly found himself answering difficult questions about the apparent political stalemate.

“Are you worried about your own powers of persuasion and maybe that the American public is not listening to you anymore?” Obama was asked by NBC’s Chuck Todd.

The president initially responded, “Well, no.” But when pressed he admitted, “There may be some skepticism that I personally can persuade Republicans to take actions in the interest of the American people, but that’s exactly why I need the American people to try to put some pressure on them.”

The 71-minute news conference comes against a difficult political backdrop. The unemployment rate has been stuck above 9 percent, Obama’s approval ratings have reached record lows, and 2012 looms large.

Republicans have accused the president of using the bill as a political tool.

“We’re legislating. He’s campaigning,” charged House Speaker John Boehner Thursday.

But the president shot down that notion.

“If Congress does something, then I can’t run against a do-nothing Congress,” Obama retorted. “If Congress does nothing, then it’s not a matter of me running against them. I think the American people will run them out of town.”

In recent weeks the president has traveled across the country pitching his jobs plan to the American people by taking on an increasingly combative and populist tone. Today, he tried to further tap into voter frustration when he spoke, for the first time, about the anti-Wall Street protests that started in New York and have now sprouted up in various other cities, including Washington.

“I think people are frustrated,” Obama said, “and, you know, the protesters are giving voice to a more broad-based frustration about our financial system.”

When asked why his administration hasn’t prosecuted anyone from Wall Street, the president said what happened may have been “immoral,” but not necessarily “illegal.”

A White House official confirms that the president will make his way through North Carolina and Virginia on a three-day bus tour later this month. It's scheduled for October 17-19.

AP reported and the official confirms: “The trip will be similar to a three-day bus tour through Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois the president went on in August. Obama is intent on keeping up the pressure on Congress over his jobs proposal, a message the White House believes can resonate with the public, and he often picks states that could be important for his 2012 re-election chances. North Carolina and Virginia are both traditionally Republican states that Obama won in 2008.”

Obama was the first Democrat to win Virginia since 1964 and the first to win North Carolina since 1976. But his job approval has declined considerably in those states since he was elected.

Obama appoints Shakira to Hispanic education commission
In other news, President Obama appointed Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll, otherwise known simply as Shakira, to his “President’s Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics.

“In addition to her career in music, Ms. Mebarak Ripoll has been involved in a number of global educational efforts,” the White House said in a press release. “She founded the Barefoot Foundation in 1995, which operates schools and educational projects in Colombia, South Africa, and Haiti, feeding and educating approximately 6,000 children.  In 2010, she collaborated with the World Bank and the Barefoot Foundation to establish an initiative that distributes educational and developmental programs for children across Latin America.  In 2008, Ms. Mebarak Ripoll served as the Honorary Chair of the Global Campaign for Education's Global Action Week.  In 2005, she became a founding member of Latin America in Solidarity Action, a coalition of artists and business leaders seeking to promote integrated early childhood public policies.  Ms. Mebarak Ripoll became a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in 2003, where she promotes the expansion and improvement of comprehensive early childhood care and education across the world.”

Despite Republicans' efforts to link Democrat Earl Ray Tomblin to President Obama and his health-care plan, Tomblin pulled out the victory in the West Virginia governor's race.

Tomblin, the acting governor and former state Senate president who took over when Joe Manchin became a U.S. Senator, defeated Republican Bill Maloney, a former drilling company executive, 50%-47%.

Polls, both public and private, had shown the race closing in recent days. And the Republican Governors Association blitzed the airwaves in the Washington, D.C., media market -- which reaches part of West Virginia -- with ads questioning why Tomblin hadn't signed on to a lawsuit seeking to stop the implementation of the federal health-care plan that passed last year.

President Obama today touted his jobs legislation in Texas, taking his case to the home state of Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry and former President George W. Bush. 

But during his remarks, Obama invoked the name of a different Republican –- former President Ronald Reagan. He told a boisterous audience in Mesquite, TX: “Years ago ... a great American said that he thought it was crazy that certain tax loopholes made it possible for millionaires to pay nothing while a bus driver was paying 10% of his salary... You know who this guy was?... It was Ronald Reagan."

"Last time I checked, Republicans all thought Reagan made some sense,” he added.   

The current president embraced the former president’s remarks from 1985 to make his case that that the middle class shouldn’t pay more in taxes than wealthier Americans -- as well as to draw battle lines with Republican lawmakers. “So the next time you hear one of those Republicans in Congress accusing you of class warfare, you just tell them, ‘I'm with Ronald Reagan,’”  

This was the first time that Obama has used this line in his stump speech, and it reflects the president’s shift to a sharper tone as he travels across the country to promote his plan. 

A combative Obama also took a swipe at House Majority Leader Eric Cantor for suggesting that his American Jobs Act would be dead on arrival in Congress. The president told the crowd of about 1,500: “I’d like Mr. Cantor to come down here to Dallas and explain what in this jobs bill he doesn’t believe in. Does he not believe in rebuilding America’s roads and bridges? Does he not believe in tax breaks for small businesses, or efforts to help veterans?” On Monday, Cantor said the president’s all-or-nothing approach was “unreasonable.” 

Yet while Obama was in Texas, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell called the President’s bluff, attempting to bring the president's legislation for a vote. McConnell’s actions came after Senate Democrats acknowledged there are not enough Senate votes (60) to pass the bill. 

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid blocked a vote, calling McConnell’s move a “political stunt.”

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney held an impromptu gaggle on Air Force One and also called McConnell's move a political stunt.

“Sen. Reid called that bluff, and said, ‘Let’s schedule it right after the China bill.’ The Senate minority leader objected... It was a very disingenuous attempt to draw attention away from the fact that this president is calling on members of Congress -- both houses -- to act on jobs and the economy.”

The president will change up his standard jobs stump speech today in reaction to Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s (R-VA) comments that the House will not bring the American Jobs Act to the floor in its entirety.

President Obama has called for Republicans  to explain what parts of the jobs package they take issue with but today, according to released excerpts, he’ll address Cantor directly.

“Yesterday, the Republican Majority Leader in Congress, Eric Cantor, said that right now, he won’t even let the jobs bill have a vote in the House of Representatives," Obama is expected to say at a fundraiser in Dallas tonight, according to prepared remarks sent out by the White House this morning. "He won’t even give it a vote. Well, I’d like Mr. Cantor to come down here to Dallas and explain what in this jobs bill he doesn’t believe in.” 

The president will continue, “Does he not believe in rebuilding America’s roads and bridges? Does he not believe in tax breaks for small businesses, or efforts to help veterans?”

He’s also expected to say, “Come tell the small business owners and workers in this community why you’d rather defend tax breaks for millionaires than tax cuts for the middle-class. And if you won’t do that, at least put this jobs bill up for a vote, so that the entire country knows exactly where every Member of Congress stands.”

Yesterday, during his weekly meeting with reporters, Cantor said Obama has his word that the House GOP will move on efforts to pass international Free Trade Agreements and review regulations that make it difficult for small businesses to raise capital, but that “this all-or-nothing approach is unreasonable.”

Are you better off? No, President Obama says: “I don’t think that they’re better off than they were four years ago,” Obama said in an interview with ABC. “They’re not better off than they were before Lehman’s collapse, before the financial crisis, before this extraordinary recession that we’re going through. I think that what we’ve seen is that we’ve been able to make steady progress to stabilize the economy but the unemployment rate is still way too high.”

A majority think President Obama will not win reelection. They say so by a 55%-37% margin in a Washington Post/ABC poll.

A CBS poll finds: “Sixty-nine percent say the president has not made real progress on the economy, which voters overwhelmingly cite as their most important issue. Twenty-five percent say he has made real progress. Perceptions are not improving. The percentage who said Mr. Obama has made real progress has dropped 10 points from a survey 13 months ago, when 35 percent said he had made real progress.”

“The White House sent three pending trade agreements to Congress on Monday after reaching a deal with House Republican leaders,” The Hill reports. “The agreement will allow trade pacts with South Korea, Colombia and Panama to move forward, in addition to legislation to help workers who are hurt by increased trade.”

“A Silicon Valley investor and senior administration officials warned the White House to reconsider having President Obama visit a solar start-up company because of its mounting financial problems, saying he might be embarrassed later,” the Washington Post reports.

Obama, though, said he didn’t regret the Solyndra loan, per The Hill: "No, I don't, because if you look at the overall portfolio of loan guarantees that have been provided, overall it's doing well."

“Protests against Wall Street spread across the country yesterday as demonstrators marched on Federal Reserve banks and camped out in parks from Los Angeles to Portland, Maine, in a show of anger over the wobbly economy and what they see as corporate greed,” the Boston Globe reports. “In Manhattan, hundreds of protesters dressed as “corporate zombies’’ in white face paint lurched past the New York Stock Exchange clutching fistfuls of fake money. In Chicago, demonstrators pounded drums in the city’s financial district. Others pitched tents or waved protest signs at passing cars in Boston, St. Louis, and Kansas City, Mo.”

“First lady Michelle Obama will meet supporters who donate at least $250 at [Oct. 11] Washington, D.C., fundraiser for President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign,” Roll Call writes.