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.
- Follow the Ticker on Twitter: @PoliticalTicker
"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
From CNN Politics
- Leader of White supremacist group arrested for threatening to kill journalist trying to report on organization
- 10 Cards Charging 0% Interest Until 2024
- Saudi Arabia releases dual US-Saudi citizen who was imprisoned for posting critical tweets about the kingdom
- Idaho lawmakers approve execution by firing squad
- Jack Daniel's says a dog toy company is ripping off its brand. What will the Supreme Court say?
- Grand jury indictments, explained
@ Terry
Lay off the coolaid buddy. The add's you quote are full of lies and halftruths (proven fact). Let's be productive and debate on things that actually matter rather than acting like extremists. Taking a topic from this article for example: is there merit in clean energy? Of course there is, however should we spend tax payer money subsidizing undeveloped technology? I believe this is a good question because clean energy is necessary to maintain the environment however it comes at an exhorbant cost. Debate...
I wonder if our president ever gets to tell people what the Ryan Romney economic plan will do to social security and medicare.
Mitt bans SS, Medicare...
How soon Republican forget!!! We tried the businessman before and we end up in a ditch. President Obama has been trying to pull us out but Rebup/Teabaggers refuse to help and block the way for the tow trucks. President Obama and the Democrats have been pulling us out of the ditch slowly but surely with no help from the ones who drove us there. Mitt Romney will be worst than GWB because he has no soul and he will turn any way the wind blows. Citizens United and Grover Norquist leading the way. We cannot afford Mitt Romney.
Seriously people, why don't you read about Bain Capital and the companies they own and how many thousands of employees work for these companies and are taking a paycheck home and don't have to stand in the unemployement line. Even Time Warner (owns CNN) has done business with Bain Capital-Romney which resulted in jobs. I'm sure those thousands of employees around the nation working for corporations such as AMC Entertainment, The Weather Channel, Clear Channel Communications, Warner Music Group, Toys R Us, Burger King will agree when they cash their paychecks and all those jobs were created by companies owned by Bain Capital. Corporations produce paychecks, jobs and people need jobs.
Romney managed to reduce the unemployment rate by 0.9% during his entire 4 yrs as governor of MA after people deserted the state in droves. The state also ranked 47th out 50 in job creation. If Romney is an economic heavyweight, please give me G.W. Bush.
Rudy NYC
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.
=======================================================================================
Well DUH!!! Where have you been for the entire Industrial Age Rudy?!! Are you proposing we ban technology? Maybe we could shutdown the power plants too and use rivers to drive paddle wheels! You are shockingly out of touch. Have you been to the stores lately? Self checkout. Adapt or die. But that has always been the way for mankind to survive.
Anonymous – President Obama is probably more conservative than some past Republican presidents.
==========================================================================
You provided ZERO evidence of your nonsensical claims.
@ Lionel
If the best you can come up with in regard to "lies" that Romney has told is, "like how he does not remember the assult on a fellow student in high school," then I must say I think you are reaching. He cut the kids hair. The guys family never knew of it, and the guy they quoted in the article who supposedly couldn't live w/ himself after years of thinking of the incident was quoted the next day as saying that the post was the one who told him of the incident a week earlier. Check out the article again and you will see the retracted comment. If you don't do the research you risk sounding like a polarized tool on message boards.
Right wingnuts are funny people.
Of course Corporations are people, where do people think their paychecks come from, when they work?? Oh wait, Democrats don't like this because they would rather have the government take care of them because Government knows best for people and government should make decisions for people and for businesses. Yes, I forgot, life is to complicated to understand so it's best for government to tell us what to do and take care of us financially. And then we can all go hang out, be lazy, go hiking, drink some beers, smoke some pot. Surprisingly, Democrats are more educated and have more college degrees than Republicans, but then Republicans are accused of working tirelessly.
Just want to know why Romney doesn't go on other news programs besides Fox News Not.
@ Romney, Ryan, Rubio, Recession
The number went from 6.0% in Dec 2002 to 4.4% in Dec 2006. This is according to the Bureau of Labor statistic. BTW 4.4 is half of where we are at under Obama today. 1/3 of where my home state of Nevada is at right now. Hard to create tons of jobs when your state is among the most employed state in the republic.
"You provided ZERO evidence of your nonsensical claims."
Here ya go, ben: President Obama has NEVER proposed tax rates even as high as Reagan's. Now I expect you to start providing some evidence for your nonsense.
You clowns that think Obama good for little guy, Romney only care about rich, need to put down the pipe.
Corporations employ thousands of PEOPLE. Corporations pay dividends to thousand of PEOPLE. Stock in corporations is owned by thousands of PEOPLE.
It is PEOPLE that profit from corporate earnings.
Corporate taxes are not paid by corporations, they are paid by PEOPLE. In the form of higher prices to the PEOPLE that buy their products, and in the form of lower wages for the PEOPLE that work for them.
Having a President who has never worked in the private sector, and who believes "Capialism is a failure, and has always been a failure" is why the economy remains flat, joblessness is high, and the country is like a hog stuck in the mud!
@Wire Palladin, S.F.
Funny in that we can do research? Not hard in today's day and age. You should try and do it some time.
I am very sure those thousands of employees around the nation working for AMC Entertainment, The Weather Channel, Clear Channel Communications, Warner Music Group, Toys R Us, Burger King, Brookstone, Sports Authority, Dunkin Donuts will agree when they cash their paychecks and keep families with a home, fed, kids in college, etc...that corporations are people. Where would people get paychecks if corporations didn't exist? from the government????? What about all those jobs at CNN, you guys do realize CNN employes hundreds of people?
Based on an article that CNN did/posted about 3 weeks ago........Thousands registered as Republican in Iowa as soon as Romney won the nomination. The article stated that there are now more registered Republicans in Iowa then Democrats. Add to that fact, that the majority of Independents support Romney, based on all state/national polls. And, the fact that Iowa does not support gay marriage. Romney will easily win Iowa in November-–as well as the other swing states of North Carolina, Virginia, Missouri, and Wisconsin.
Capitalism is a socialist program for the rich! Mitty explain what your policies are? What do u intend to do to the middle class for your buddies! Obama has spent less look it up, bend over I mean forward less than Reagan bush1 and 2!
Unimpressive forehead, Needs more frontal lobe, not sure about the anterior? It would be more dependent on the white/grey percents and density. I'd say based on competency, it is also short of its bravado, other than that the presidents picture is very ordinary.
Folks in Iowa need to visualize their lives without Medicare and Social Security. Romney supports the Ryan Plan which will trash those programs.
Of course winky is against Capitalism because it means you have to go to work, be responsible for yourself, handle your life, make decisions by yourself. I do like your excuse that it is a socialist program for the rich. So what do we call your program of government take care of me so I can just hang out???
It's OK to hate Obama but you'll hate Paul Ryan once you read his budget proposal and you will hate Romney worse than Obama and Ryan if Romney's elected.
"Capitalism is a socialist program for the rich!"
It's hard to believe anyone in this country can think like that!
Ooops........I forgot to mention Florida........Romney easily wins the swing state of Florida as well. It appears that the majority there do not support gay marriage, and they were not real happy with Obama playing the race card in regard to the Trayvon Martin situation.