Obama assails Romney in bid for women's vote
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - A scratchy-voiced President Barack Obama powered through a sleepless drive to get his supporters to vote Thursday and planned to set an example by becoming the first president to cast his own ballot ahead of time.
With a new Associated Press-GfK poll showing that Republican Mitt Romney has erased Obama's 16-point advantage among women, the president tried to keep a GOP abortion controversy alive. The risers behind him stacked with female supporters, Obama made a veiled reference to Indiana Senate candidate Richard Mourdock's comment that pregnancies resulting from rape are "something God intended."
"As we saw again this week, I don't think any politician in Washington, most of whom are male, should be making health care decisions for women," Obama said. "Women can make those decisions themselves."
It was the president's first mention of Mourdock's comment at a rally, but Obama said Wednesday night on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" that "rape is rape." His campaign also has been intensifying its criticism of Romney for refusing to pull his support for Mourdock, even though the Republican presidential nominee said he disagrees with Mourdock's comment.
Beyond the statement from an aide, Romney and his aides have tried to avoid the subject. While picking up breakfast at a downtown Cincinnati diner Thursday morning, Romney refused to answer repeated questions about Mourdock's comment and whether he would call for Mourdock to take down a TV ad Romney filmed for him earlier this week.
Ignoring questions from reporters standing a few feet away, Romney instead posed for pictures with kitchen staff and greeted surprised diners during the brief stop at the First Watch cafe.
Romney's campaign reached out to women by sending Ann Romney on daytime's "Rachael Ray" show, where she prepared her meatloaf cakes recipe and took cameras along on a trip to Costco to shop in bulk for family gatherings. Mrs. Romney said that, with 30 mouths to feed, her family always eats buffet-style and that "Mitt is often at the front of the line."
Romney was kicking off a daylong swing through three Ohio towns, sharpening his focus on a state critical to his hopes of winning the White House. The Republican's advisers say their internal data has him tied to win the state's 18 Electoral College votes, but public polling has shown Obama with a slim lead.
Romney is working to cast Obama's campaign as focused on small issues while the Republican ticket is focused on fixing the nation's serious fiscal problems.
"His campaign seems to be smaller and smaller by the day," Romney told more than 2,000 people in an airplane hangar off the tarmac in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Wednesday as his campaign plane loomed behind him. "Attacking me is not an agenda for the future."
The AP-GfK poll released Thursday shows the presidential race still a virtual dead heat nationally, with Romney favored by 47 percent of likely voters and Obama by 45 percent. That result is within the poll's 4.2-point margin of error.
Although national polls show the race is close, Romney is struggling to overtake Obama in the state-by-state march to racking up the 270 Electoral College votes needed for victory. Romney has far fewer paths to reaching that threshold than Obama, who starts with more states - and more Electoral College votes - in his win column. The race is centered on just nine states, where polls show competitive races: Ohio, Florida, Iowa, New Hampshire, Virginia, North Carolina, Colorado, Nevada and Wisconsin.
The president's morning rally kicked off the second day of his 40-hour battleground state blitz. After spending the night on Air Force One en route to Florida, he was heading to Virginia and Ohio before heading back to the White House.
Shortly after 7 a.m. and less than five hours after his day ended in Las Vegas, Obama was at a Krispy Kreme doughnut shop near downtown Tampa, and minutes later delivered the still warm doughnuts to a nearby firehouse. He said he wanted to come by early - noting he is not often out this early - to thank them for all they do.
Obama then spoke to about 8,500 people at a morning rally in Tampa, a swing area of battleground state Florida.
With a full day of campaigning still ahead of him, Obama's voice was already hoarse. But he told the enthusiastic crowd he was "just going to keep on keeping on until every single person out there who needs to vote is going to go vote."
He noted to cheers that he was going to Chicago later Thursday to participate in early voting and that first lady Michelle Obama already mailed in her ballot.
Obama's campaign also announced joint rallies Monday with Bill Clinton in Orlando, Fla., Youngstown, Ohio, and Prince William County, Va. The president also picked up an endorsement from former Secretary of State Colin Powell, a Republican who supported Obama in 2008. Powell praised Obama's handling of the economic recovery, telling "CBS This Morning," ''I think we've begun to come out of the dive and we're gaining attitude."
With a new Associated Press-GfK poll showing that Republican Mitt Romney has erased Obama's 16-point advantage among women, the president tried to keep a GOP abortion controversy alive. The risers behind him stacked with female supporters, Obama made a veiled reference to Indiana Senate candidate Richard Mourdock's comment that pregnancies resulting from rape are "something God intended."
"As we saw again this week, I don't think any politician in Washington, most of whom are male, should be making health care decisions for women," Obama said. "Women can make those decisions themselves."
It was the president's first mention of Mourdock's comment at a rally, but Obama said Wednesday night on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" that "rape is rape." His campaign also has been intensifying its criticism of Romney for refusing to pull his support for Mourdock, even though the Republican presidential nominee said he disagrees with Mourdock's comment.
Beyond the statement from an aide, Romney and his aides have tried to avoid the subject. While picking up breakfast at a downtown Cincinnati diner Thursday morning, Romney refused to answer repeated questions about Mourdock's comment and whether he would call for Mourdock to take down a TV ad Romney filmed for him earlier this week.
Ignoring questions from reporters standing a few feet away, Romney instead posed for pictures with kitchen staff and greeted surprised diners during the brief stop at the First Watch cafe.
Romney's campaign reached out to women by sending Ann Romney on daytime's "Rachael Ray" show, where she prepared her meatloaf cakes recipe and took cameras along on a trip to Costco to shop in bulk for family gatherings. Mrs. Romney said that, with 30 mouths to feed, her family always eats buffet-style and that "Mitt is often at the front of the line."
Romney was kicking off a daylong swing through three Ohio towns, sharpening his focus on a state critical to his hopes of winning the White House. The Republican's advisers say their internal data has him tied to win the state's 18 Electoral College votes, but public polling has shown Obama with a slim lead.
Romney is working to cast Obama's campaign as focused on small issues while the Republican ticket is focused on fixing the nation's serious fiscal problems.
"His campaign seems to be smaller and smaller by the day," Romney told more than 2,000 people in an airplane hangar off the tarmac in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Wednesday as his campaign plane loomed behind him. "Attacking me is not an agenda for the future."
The AP-GfK poll released Thursday shows the presidential race still a virtual dead heat nationally, with Romney favored by 47 percent of likely voters and Obama by 45 percent. That result is within the poll's 4.2-point margin of error.
Although national polls show the race is close, Romney is struggling to overtake Obama in the state-by-state march to racking up the 270 Electoral College votes needed for victory. Romney has far fewer paths to reaching that threshold than Obama, who starts with more states - and more Electoral College votes - in his win column. The race is centered on just nine states, where polls show competitive races: Ohio, Florida, Iowa, New Hampshire, Virginia, North Carolina, Colorado, Nevada and Wisconsin.
The president's morning rally kicked off the second day of his 40-hour battleground state blitz. After spending the night on Air Force One en route to Florida, he was heading to Virginia and Ohio before heading back to the White House.
Shortly after 7 a.m. and less than five hours after his day ended in Las Vegas, Obama was at a Krispy Kreme doughnut shop near downtown Tampa, and minutes later delivered the still warm doughnuts to a nearby firehouse. He said he wanted to come by early - noting he is not often out this early - to thank them for all they do.
Obama then spoke to about 8,500 people at a morning rally in Tampa, a swing area of battleground state Florida.
With a full day of campaigning still ahead of him, Obama's voice was already hoarse. But he told the enthusiastic crowd he was "just going to keep on keeping on until every single person out there who needs to vote is going to go vote."
He noted to cheers that he was going to Chicago later Thursday to participate in early voting and that first lady Michelle Obama already mailed in her ballot.
Obama's campaign also announced joint rallies Monday with Bill Clinton in Orlando, Fla., Youngstown, Ohio, and Prince William County, Va. The president also picked up an endorsement from former Secretary of State Colin Powell, a Republican who supported Obama in 2008. Powell praised Obama's handling of the economic recovery, telling "CBS This Morning," ''I think we've begun to come out of the dive and we're gaining attitude."
Obama, how do you explain the news that came out 30 min. ago about the two Americans that were told NOT TO HELP, and to 'STAND DOWN' and not provide aid to our ambassador. They disobeyed the order, drove to where our people were under attack by terrorists, and tried to hold off the enemy for SEVEN HOURS before they were both killed. Obama, whats the truth? Why was help intentionally held back? What the heII is going on in your administration?
If you girls want to be told what to do with your body, vote for Mr. Romney. Men, if you want to be told that your wife who got raped has to keep the baby, vote for Mr. Romney. If you want to be told that it was God's will to be raped and inpregnated, vote for Mr. Romney. If you want to told that a rape is not a legitimate rape because the rapist didn't beat you half to death, vote or Mr. Romney. I you are a liberated women who stands with other women in this fight for equality in very aspect of your life, Vote for Mr. Obama. Simple reallyÂ
OBummer could not tell the truth if his life depended on it. Misquoting others is a bad way to try to win votes.
The two headed snake is after women now... watch out!
My husband and I just finished voting. Two republicans that will vote democrat this year. These republican politicans have scared me with their very twisted ideas of what we women have had or have to endure to be equal and not let men dictate what we can do with our bodies.
 @pattypepper Maybe someone needs to take them out and violate them before they understand the concept. Maybe. With our luck, they'd enjoy it.
 @pattypepper Voting based on ones genitalia functions. I guess that's one way of going about it. Kind of absurd, but one way.
men, your my point exactly
 @TimBurr After years of hearing social conservatives cast their votes based on this one issue, it only follows that the social liberals would follow suit. Â
 @TimBurr Never read it. It's as irrelevant as you.
 @Mikey Does the Huffington Post program you before the day begins?
 @TimBurr Bad examples. At least give us something that's not Kool-Aid flavored.
 @JTesla The times are dangerous.
 @JTesla  @TimBurr It's no different than voting strictly along party lines. Nothing more than the abdication of responsibility.
 @TimBurr You have at least three issues in there, so you're ok
 @JTesla Unless of course that ONE issue could mean the life or death of an entire country...hint hint.....Obamacare..........OR.............Muslim favoring (not the classic Catholic) ideologies.......OR..........envirornmental favoritism (no new oil exploration) etc etc etc.
@TimBurr Only an extreme ideologist would fault one side for casting a vote based on a single issue yet celebrate the other side doing the exact same thing. That position is rather hypocritical from my perspective.  Iâve always found it silly to vote based on a single issue, but itâs not as silly as championing it for one side and dismissing it for the other.
 @JTeslaThe issue of life? Yea, that's such a non-issue. All those years of fighting for something so silly. What were we thinking?
 @pattypepper .... I'll bet!...
you bet what kgb?
 @pattypepper Here, let me help.  You need a GOP Rape Advisory Chart.
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http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/10/24/1149395/-GOP-Rape-Advisory-Chart-h-t-to-connecticutie
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oh my gosh, festivus what an eye opener. What has happened to the republican party. My dad and gramps weren't these kind of men.
 @Festivus Love that graphic. Are these guys so frikkin' (pardon the use of this term, but it's absolutely correct here) retarded that they cannot understand that rape is a crime of violence, not a gift from God?
My tweet of the day...
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Obama has been endorsed by Warren Buffett, Colin Powell, Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates. Romney has been endorsed by Lindsay Lohan
 @deejm2112 That would be funny if having a lying idiot running our country was not such a serious issue...
 @FreedomRocks  @deejm2112" Speaking of having a lying idiot running our country "
You are referring to Obama right?
 @Freedom1267  @deejm2112 Of course Romney is not an idiot and so far I can't pin any real lies on him just things he had to change his mind on to get elected by a highly divided country (thanks to Obama).
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It's a piece of cake to catch Obama on lies starting from 2007 until Libya.
@FreedomRocks it wouldn't be an issue if Romney would drop out of the race.
 @deejm2112 Obama has also been endorsed by Chavez, Putin and Ackmadinnerjacket. Still no red flags? Of course not.
 @TimBurr "Ackmadinnerjacket" funny..
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Spin I know, got a kick out of those though. Luckily there's more than 2 candidates on my ballot.
 @TimBurr Oh, yeah. We're all just overwhelmed by those "endorsements". Naturally you took the news report at face value and never stopped to think that they might have endorsed Obama in order to piss off people and get them to vote for Romney? Naw...didn't think so.
 @deejm2112 Fact, not spin. WAKE UP!!!!!!!!
Â
http://times247.com/articles/obama-receives-endorsements-from-three-dictators
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 @deejm2112 Forgot Castro. The clincher. The dictator quad-fecta.
I'm looking through these comments and I'm not seeing anything about Libya. Conservatives, isn't it time for another round of When Did He Call It a Terrorist Attack? You only have 12 days until you drop this topic like a rock...
 @Max Quinn People dieing is not going to be dropped this is much much more than just a political hockey puck. People died because he did not do his job...
 @FreedomRocks  @Max Quinn Ok, fine.  Did you hold Bush accountable for the 3000 people who died on 9/11?  No fibbing.
 @Festivus  @Max Quinn Actually I blame that more on Clinton since he was in charge the 8 years before it happened and Bush had only been there 8 months. No bias there did not like either Bush or Clinton much just reality of what happened and who had 8 years to set a tone to discourage that kind of terrorism.
Where were you when Bush invade Iraq? Where were you when 4,000 or more came back in body bags?Â
 @pattypepper Where were you when Clinton let Osama go?
 @pattypepper ... somebody here has changed their posting name....guess who?  It won't make much difference since you are still babbling the same--old-stuff....
 @pattypepper What is that comment even about?
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For starters Bush had close to 100% support of a democrat controlled congress and senate for the war.
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Being a good liberal you surely won't hold your own accountable for approving the war....
 @Max Quinn Oh it's down there, but only mentioned twice. I'm sure it will continue to be the lead story on Faux News though, has been every day since with the exception of when the Libyan people kicked those radicals out of their buildings, booted them to the street and took all their weapons (regardless of how they're portrayed the majority of Libyans are good people). Then it was a little blurb lower down on the Faux News site, even on Drudge that event was titled "Mayhem in Libya". It should have been a way bigger story but it doesn't fit with the right agenda to discredit Obama at every step.
obama will say anything to win the election....we need a new president. not someone like obama who has caused great harm to this country.
 @sortbait Ha ha ha! What harm has he done? It seems that he's been cleaning up the messes of King George and his 8-Year Reign of Error, not to mention all the garbage that our illustrious do-nothing Congress has managed to either screw up or not do at all.
psst, sorbait? I think you have the white guy mixed up with the black guy. Clue? look for the one that wore suntan bronzer when he spoke to the latinos, dear.
Obama is desperate.  He can't win votes with his "plan" for the next 4 years - whatever that is - he has to assail Romeny.  Obama doesn't even meet his own standards for re-election.Â
So....what are we all gonna after this election? Gonna get a little boring around here..
@deejm2112 LOL. After the election there will be ranting about how bad the guy that won is, that will go on for the next four years. Expect that there will be some blaming of Obama or Bush depending on who wins. Excuses will be made for promises that haven't been met, and if Romney wins suddenly all those unemployment reports will be factual and reflect Romneyâs leadership. Meanwhile, in reality, everything will remain the same. Regardless of who wins the economy will continue to improve, gas prices will go up and down, over the next four years weâll add perhaps 12 million jobs, and there will still be confrontations and bungling of foreign affairs.
 @JTesla  @deejm2112 Ah. but God willing, there won't be a Marxist in "charge."
 @JTesla  @deejm2112 Ah, it's so refreshing to not be the only one who gets it. Â
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 @JTesla Lets say Romney is elected and all that comes to pass. For myself and my small group of employees, we will be better off. We will have more work to do, and I'll not have time to waste on this site anymore. Everyone wins.
 @Festivus Maybe you missed my point, probably not intentionally though. Try this, liberal democrats hatred and disdain for Bush and Chaney is practically legendary, imagine that both were reinstated by some freak occurrence. The number of individuals across the nation so distraught by this would have some degree of effect on the rest of us. And if Bush and Chaney weren't enough to cause effect, just substitute the name of your choice, use your imagination. I know your one of the few that I talk to with the capacity to understand my argument.
Oh last boysnout, I think you just got schooled by Festivus.
 @last boyscout  @deejm2112 I'm one of those idiots who thinks the president's economic influence is at least grossly exaggerated.  A little time spent googling the major economic sites will show that while the attitude isn't universal, it's pretty common among those who study economics for a living. Â
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My favorite quote is from the folks over at Freakonomics, from the "Itâs Not the President, Stupid: A New Marketplace Podcast". Â
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"My fellow Americans, I have precious little control over the U.S. economy, even though I and my fellow candidates pretend the opposite is true. There is no âincrease employmentâ button I can push once I get to the Oval Office, no âlower gas pricesâ button either. Itâs true I have a little influence on the direction and shape and velocity of the economy, but mostly it does what it does. So if it gets worse on my watch, you shouldnât necessarily blame me â and if it happens to get better, you shouldnât give me too much credit, either."
 @deejm2112 My mistake. I thought you may have been one of those idiots that assumes the president has nothing to do with our economy. Sorry.
 @Festivus  @last boyscout I like that WAY better. If Chuck Norris was VP the economy would improve out of fear.
 @last boyscout  @deejm2112 And if Bruce Willis wins, he picks Chuck Norris as his running mate and kicks the economy's a**.  Everybody wins.
 @last boyscout Perhaps I should caveat the "who wins" as either Obama or Romney, but I assumed you knew who's on the ballot and anyone outside of those two have no chance, although will probably be getting my "I can't stand the status quo" vote.
 @deejm2112 "regardless who wins".  Not necessarily true. Here's how, if the race were between Obama and lets say, 'Homer Simpson' and Homer won, the economy would absolutely crash. So, it [does] make a huge difference who wins.Â
 @last boyscout  @JTesla Until he raises taxes for everyone (it'll the guise of closing loopholes), invades Iran on credit, loosens up all regulations, then causes another massive bubble collapse.
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JTesla is exactly right though, regardless of who wins.