SEMINOLE, Fla. -Â President Obama on Saturday began hammering away at the Republican ticket's plans for Medicare, using a campaign swing through Florida, with its large number of elderly and retired voters, to try to turn the page from anemic employment growth, his biggest weakness, to entitlements, a Democratic strength.
Kicking off a two-day bus tour through this perennial swing state, the president told a rally here that Mitt Romney's running mate, Representative Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin, has proposed to overhaul Medicare and replace it with a voucher system that could mean higher costs for beneficiaries.
“Florida, you should know I will never turn Medicare into a voucher system,†Mr. Obama said, to rousing cheers from the crowd of 11,000 at St. Petersburg College-Seminole. “No American should have to spend their golden years at the mercy of insurance companies.â€
Mr. Obama's advisers have been indicating that they are eager to re-engage their opponents on their Medicare plan, while the Romney camp would prefer to talk about the economy. A government report on Friday showed that employers had eased up on hiring in August, adding just 96,000 jobs, compared with 141,000 in July. The unemployment rate dropped to 8.1 percent from 8.3 percent, but that was largely because of people leaving the work force entirely.
Mr. Romney has sought to blunt Mr. Obama's Medicare offensive with attacks of his own, something that Obama advisers appeared to await eagerly.
“If they want to have a discussion about who do you trust on Medicare for the next 60 days as their central argument, you know we ought to send them an in-kin d contribution,†David Plouffe, Mr. Obama's senior adviser, told reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday. “We're happy to have that discussion. We think people trust the president more on Medicare.â€
The president grabbed that mantle on Saturday and ran with it. “We will reform and strengthen Medicare,†he said at the rally, “but we'll do it by reducing the costs of health care, not by dumping the costs on seniors.â€
For good measure, he threw in several more lines in his stump speech aimed at seniors, who he said “are saving an average of $6,000 on prescription drugs because of ObamaCare. And by the way, I do care.†It was a reference to the derogatory phrase that Republicans have given his health care overhaul. These days, the president has embraced the label with both arms.
cI like the name ObamaCare,†he said. Mr. Romney “says he's gonna repeal it. That's because Romney doesn't care.â€
With 58 days to go until Election Day, t he battle for seven or so fiercely contested swing states has intensified. No state is more crucial than Florida, with its 29 electoral votes and its diverse mix of conservative Southerners, Hispanics, African-Americans, elderly and Jewish voters.
Mr. Obama does not appear to have much of a shot with the conservative Southerners, but he is fighting mightily for the rest. That is why his weekend bus tour is straddling the center of the state, in the territory that hosted the Republican National Convention last week. Mr. Obama won Florida in 2008.
After Seminole, Mr. Obama traveled up Interstate 4 toward Orlando, with a stop in Kissimmee. On Sunday, he was to head back down to Melbourne and then West Palm Beach, Ground Zero for the infamous recount of 2000.
His Republican challenger, Mr. Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, was focusing his his efforts Saturday on Virginia, another state that Mr. Obama captured in 2008 and one in which the president has made a big target in this election.
Mr. Romney's Virginia trip, which includes a stop in Virginia Beach and then an appearance at the start of the Sprint Cup Series Nascar race in Richmond, is intended to help him shore up his lead among white, working-class voters.
Although the president trails Mr. Romney in this crucial demographic, some polls still show Mr. Romney underperforming among these voters, and he is trying to expand his lead. Mr. Romney's choice of running mate, Mr. Ryan, is also expected to help him win over working-class whites and the Republican conservative base, many of whom remained wary of Mr. Romney during the early nominating contests.
For Mr. Romney, the son of a Detroit auto executive turned governor of Michigan, such courting of working-class voters may be a challenge. He is Harvard-educated (both business and law school) and has an estimated net worth of more than $200 million.
Earlier this year, during a visit to the Dayto na 500, Mr. Romney ran into some trouble when he said that while he did not follow the sport as closely as some ardent fans did, he had “some great friends that are Nascar team owners.†His opponents used the comment to portray him as wealthy and out of touch with the concerns of average voters.
Mr. Obama has made repeated campaign stops in Virginia, particularly courting black voters around theRichmond area to try to drive up their turnout. He has also focused on liberal-leaning areas of northern Virginia.
Helene Cooper reported from Seminole, Fla., and Ashley Parker from Charlotte, N.C., and Boston.
