WINDHAM, N.H. - President Obama took on the budget proposals of Mitt Romney and Representative Paul D. Ryan on Saturday, accusing the Republican ticket of seeking to cut trillions of dollars in taxes for the wealthy while raising taxes for the middle class and making deep cuts to programs that would benefit working Americans.
Venturing deep into Mr. Romney's back yard, Mr. Obama spent Saturday campaigning in New Hampshire, where Mr. Romney has a vacation home, as the focused effort on the remaining swing states intensified. Mr. Obama won New Hampshire in 2008. But Mr. Romney's ties here put the state in play, and in what is increasingly expected to be a close election, the president may need every one of this state's four electoral votes to get to 270 and clinch re-election.
Jogging up to the stage in a hot and packed high school gymnasium, Mr. Obama zeroed in quickly on the twofer of Mr. Ryan's controversial budget pr oposals and Mr. Romney's income taxes. Two days after Mr. Romney, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, disclosed that he has he paid at least 13 percent of his income in taxes each year during the past decade, Mr. Obama said that Mr. Ryan would make that relatively low percentage even lower.
“He put forward a plan that would let Governor Romney pay less than one percent in taxes a year,†Mr. Obama said, to outraged jeers from the crowd. “And here's the kicker, he expects you to pick up the tab!â€
Taxes have become a centerpiece of Mr. Obama's offense, and he did not let up on it. “Governor Romney's tax plan would raise taxes on middle class families by more that $2,000,†he said. “Ask Mr. Romney and his running mate, when they're in New Hampshire - they'll be coming here on Monday - ask him if that's fair.â€
He called the Romney-Ryan budget proposals “snake oil.†Earlier this week, in Iowa, he called them “fairy dust.â€
“They've been trying to sell this trickle-down snake oil before,†Mr. Obama said.
Tailoring his message for the audience in New Hampshire, whose motto is “Live Free of Die,†Mr. Obama spoke of American character and determination. Despite the country's economic troubles, he said, “the American character has not changed. We saw during this crisis how people got knocked down and got right back up.â€
Mr. Obama, who has ramped up his campaign hugely as he gets closer to the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, which begins on Sept. 4, and then the last sprint to November, appeared fired up on Saturday in front of a friendly audience of about 2,300 people. In fact, he even said so: “I'm getting all fired up!†he yelled at the crowd.
He also tried to adopt a chatty tone, though, making a point of mentioning that his daughters Malia and Sasha went to camp in New Hampshire this summer.
“Thank you for returning Malia and Sasha safe and sound,†he said, grinning.
