Obama looks to battleground Iowa
Then-Sen. Barack Obama campaigns at the Iowa State Fair in August, 2007.
May 24th, 2012
03:30 PM ET
11 years ago

Obama looks to battleground Iowa

(CNN) - President Barack Obama rounds out a trip to the West coast - for fundraisers and a commencement address - with a Thursday campaign event at the Iowa State fairgrounds, where presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney and his rivals kicked off their campaigns last summer.

The state is a November battleground, and Team Obama is taking the battle to Romney in a web video which brings back what may be one of Romney's most memorable comments from the fair.

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"Corporations are people, my friend," Romney says in the 35-second video.

"Of course they are," he continues as onlookers jeer. "Everything that corporations earn ultimately goes to people."

That clip also surfaced in an April web video the campaign produced, which they billed as one "of the unforgettable moments from this unforgettable primary."

Asked for a response to the video, a spokeswoman for Romney's campaign said "President Obama has presided over an economy where millions of middle-class families are still struggling – and all he has to offer now are tired political attacks."

"Mitt Romney is offering voters a positive vision for our country, and he will take action on day one of his presidency to get our economy moving again," Amanda Henneberg said in an email.

Before his appearance at the fairgrounds, Obama is scheduled to tour a wind technology manufacturing company and highlight his Congressional "to-do list," including clean energy investments.

Obama won the state in 2008 by ten points, beating Sen. John McCain, the Republican nominee, 54% to 44%.

But in other recent presidential elections, Iowa has been narrowly swung between Republicans and Democrats. In 2004, the state contributed to President George W. Bush's 2004 re-election. He won the state by a mere 10,000 votes of the nearly 1.5 million cast. Former Vice president Al Gore won by a 4,000-vote margin of the almost 1.3 votes cast in 2000. President Bill Clinton won by six percentage points in 1992 and then expanded his margin to 11 points in 1996. Before that, Iowa supported Michael Dukakis in 1988 and Ronald Reagan in 1980 and 1984.

- CNN's Paul Steinhauser and Gregory Wallace contributed to this report

Also see:

Obama campaign expands Bain attack and general election ad buys

Poll: Romney takes lead in Florida

Palin endorses Utah's Hatch in Senate race

Arkansas, Kentucky primaries pose challenge for Obama


Filed under: 2012 • Iowa • Mitt Romney • President Obama
soundoff (54 Responses)
  1. Wire Palladin, S. F.

    Not just corporations, but Mittens also needs to point out that Bain Capital are people too, and everything that they made either went to an offshore account in the Caymans or filtered down to a Swiss bank account.

    May 24, 2012 03:37 pm at 3:37 pm |
  2. Obama 2012 - BEND Forward America, take another 4 long years of FAILURE

    Iowa will NOT vote for "the Pig in the Poke" Obama again. Midwesterners are not stupid and do not take kindly to being Obamboozled in 2008 with all the hopey changey BS. Not sure why Obama is even trying. Stupid is as stupid does.

    May 24, 2012 03:41 pm at 3:41 pm |
  3. Terry

    Game On. Apresident who Actually Cares about peoples Jobs & Livlihoods VS a Dirtbag who shuts down Entire Factories & Pockets a Hundred Million for His Mormon Bain Buddies. The Mittster kets tat Special Fuzzy Feeling while Raping Folks of their Pensions & seeing them get Escorted out by his security Guards.

    May 24, 2012 03:42 pm at 3:42 pm |
  4. Gurgyl

    Every corporations earn goes to CAYMAN ISLAND, jobs to China!!!

    May 24, 2012 03:43 pm at 3:43 pm |
  5. scott

    Make no mistake this is a war for the very soul of Americans. We have a choice reelect Obama and give up our way of life, that our founding fathers fought for. Obama is intent on turning us in to a socialist European style Government, where Goverment controls all aspects of your life. OR vote Romney to maintain a free American society, where free enterprise rules and people are allow to make thier own decisions.

    May 24, 2012 03:44 pm at 3:44 pm |
  6. Sniffit

    ""Of course they are," he continues as onlookers jeer. "Everything that corporations earn ultimately goes to people." "

    Which people? THAT is the question....and the issue.

    And here's a hint as to the answer: Middle class salaries have remained stagnant for 40 years while American workers' productivity has increased by approximatelyk 250%. During that time period, the 1% saw their incomes ni raw, inflation adjusted dollars and their percentage share of the national income grow exponentially. It's all pretty simple...as of the 80's and the GOP convincing everyone to believe in trickle-down voodoo reaganomic daydreams, the American labor force has been shut out of their equitable share of the nation's increased productivity and GDP. Those economic policies installed a glass ceiling on wealth and upward mobility for the middle class and assured that the extremely rich would be able to siphon off all gains made in the economy while the rest of us received less and less and less once increasing costs of living and inflation are taken into account.

    May 24, 2012 03:44 pm at 3:44 pm |
  7. Truth001

    A president that tells people that corporations are people. Wow Mitt those words are gonna bite you.

    May 24, 2012 03:45 pm at 3:45 pm |
  8. The Real Tom Paine

    Its not a tired attack, because Romney is still the same sad, pathetic excuse of a candidate he was when he made that remark. He has done nothing to convince people he is worthy of the job: no vision, no new ideas, nothing but extreme versions of the policies that drove us into the ditch in the first palce. He's appalling.

    May 24, 2012 03:46 pm at 3:46 pm |
  9. Wire Palladin, S. F.

    Mittens is offering a positive vision for our country? That is BS! He is offering more tax cuts for the wealthy, less money for social security and medicare, new wars, removing insurance for 31 million people, ending Wall Street regulations, an end to public education as we know it, and eliminating environmental regulations. That will get our country moving back to the 19th century.

    May 24, 2012 03:47 pm at 3:47 pm |
  10. Terry

    Fox / Rassmussen Pools make me Laugh. They are Sooooo Funny. Egghead Rove Shows The Prez Loosin to Mr Personality. You Funny Funny guys at The Doom & Gloom network!!!

    May 24, 2012 03:48 pm at 3:48 pm |
  11. Wire Palladin, S. F.

    Say "No! to Mittens! We do not need a country run by Beckerheads and Fox foreign owned media.

    May 24, 2012 03:50 pm at 3:50 pm |
  12. Wire Palladin, S. F.

    scott – turn off Fox foreign owned media, they are lying to you. Hanoi Hannity does not tell the truth.

    May 24, 2012 03:51 pm at 3:51 pm |
  13. Maxx

    Boy scott, things are so simple in your world.

    May 24, 2012 03:53 pm at 3:53 pm |
  14. Lionel

    Way to go Obama. Take it Ro (money). He cannot continue to lie and get away with it. Iowans are smart people and they will not fall for Ro (money) lies like how he does not remember the assult on a fellow student in high school. Give me a break.

    Obama / Biden 2012

    May 24, 2012 03:56 pm at 3:56 pm |
  15. kakaraka

    Why If Mitt Romney said something that is reported the team campaign says its an attack. Why? I don't get it. It's from his own mouth. That is not an attack.

    May 24, 2012 03:56 pm at 3:56 pm |
  16. Terry

    @ Wire Palladin, WORD Let not yur heart be twoubled lies like a Rug. But he sure does have a Resemblence to Leave it to Beaver!!!

    May 24, 2012 04:00 pm at 4:00 pm |
  17. Obama 2012 - BEND Forward America, take another 4 long years of FAILURE

    Sniffit
    ""Of course they are," he continues as onlookers jeer. "Everything that corporations earn ultimately goes to people." "
    Which people? THAT is the question....and the issue.
    And here's a hint as to the answer: Middle class salaries have remained stagnant for 40 years while American workers' productivity has increased by approximatelyk 250%
    ======================================================================================
    The productivity of American workers has increased in large part due to major investments in technology and automation. These very expensive advances (computers, robotics, etc ) were paid for by the companies. Why shouldn't the company and its investors not se the return on their investments? The people working for these companies are paid market rates for their talent. It's a free country and they can work wherever they wish if they feel they are under compensated.

    May 24, 2012 04:00 pm at 4:00 pm |
  18. Tim

    Sure, Iowa will vote for the first gay president. Not!!!!!

    May 24, 2012 04:00 pm at 4:00 pm |
  19. Tyrone

    What up with Mr Personality hiden from the Press like a little Girl, Mitt LOSE THE SKIRT!!!

    May 24, 2012 04:01 pm at 4:01 pm |
  20. Wes B.

    Corporations are people? Who really believes that? Who would say such a thing?

    May 24, 2012 04:09 pm at 4:09 pm |
  21. Rudy NYC

    ...BEND... wrote:

    ...The productivity of American workers has increased in large part due to major investments in technology and automation. These very expensive advances (computers, robotics, etc ) were paid for by the companies. ...
    ----------------
    That is so twisted. Do you have any idea of what it is you are actually saying? The cost of that increased productivity has meant the elimination of jobs. For example, auto makers can run a factory with just 3000-4000 workers today, which would have taken 30,000 to 40,000 workers 20-30 years ago.

    May 24, 2012 04:11 pm at 4:11 pm |
  22. Sniffit

    "The people working for these companies are paid market rates for their talent."

    When oligarchies control both the markets and the gov't, the markets are not free. 40 years of stagnant middle class salaries bespeaks collusion and suggests something analogous to "price fixing". Productivity has not just increased due to tech. People are getting themselves better educated, working longer hours, etc. Almost a half a century of seeing no return on OUR investments in ourselves, our families, our educations, our children's educations, our retirement funds, our blood, sweat, tears and loyalty to our employers...THAT is a real problem, no matter how much you want to roll your eyes and pretend that labor is only worth X and never more from here to the end of time. The statistics I cited aren't even the entier picture because CNN won't let us go on for that long. Moreover, the facts I talked about and the redistribution of wealth and profit upwards in this country are at the very crux of the economic problems we're having beacuse the destrouction of stable and consistent growth in demand is reaching critical mass.

    May 24, 2012 04:12 pm at 4:12 pm |
  23. Anonymous

    "Make no mistake this is a war for the very soul of Americans. We have a choice reelect Obama and give up our way of life, that our founding fathers fought for. Obama is intent on turning us in to a socialist European style Government, where Goverment controls all aspects of your life. OR vote Romney to maintain a free American society, where free enterprise rules and people are allow to make thier own decisions."

    What are you, a mind reader? You provided ZERO evidence of for your nonsensical claims, given that on his actual record, President Obama is probably more conservative than some past Republican presidents. You deranged hatewingers are truly deluded.

    May 24, 2012 04:17 pm at 4:17 pm |
  24. Obama 2012 - BEND Forward America, take another 4 long years of FAILURE

    Is this a picture of Obama telling the old woman he cut her Medicare by $500 BILLION to fund Obamacare???

    May 24, 2012 04:21 pm at 4:21 pm |
  25. Darryl

    People are un-believeable how the really believe Romney is going to do anything for the better of the people in this country other than his Corporate Buddys.he can probally turn things around quickly but believe me it will be the working class and the poor who will pay the ultimate price in the end.The big debt ? Corporations,Banks,Oils companys,ect aren't going to put out any money to help this country at all.They are going to make it look like thier doing a good thing and in fact their are only going to benefit themselfs period.Thats just the way it is and it always has been.Until President Obama came along and took them all on for a reality check and passed laws they do NOT like.All of them are not so friendly to him now because he's putting a stop to the manipulation and corruption in the finanical system sect. Well it's time these guy realize the people will have a say now and when November comes we'll see how it flys.

    May 24, 2012 04:26 pm at 4:26 pm |
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