Obama knocks Romney over taxes, education, and "Big Bird"
- 12 years ago
U.S. President Barack Obama came out swinging against Republican rival Mitt Romney -- who arguably outshined the President in the first of three presidential debates.
Obama told a Denver, Colorado rally that he didn't recognize his republican rival.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA, SAYING:
"When I got onto the stage, I met this very spirited fellow who claimed to be Mitt Romney. But it couldn't have been Mitt Romney because the real Mitt Romney has been running around the country for the last year promising $5 trillion in tax cuts that favor the wealthy. The fellow on stage last night said he didn't know anything about that."
He also zeroed in on Romney's comments about the deficit, particularly his pledge to cut funding for public television and a popular children's show character known as Big Bird.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA, SAYING:
"I mean, thank goodness somebody is finally getting tough on Big Bird. It's about time. We didn't know that Big Bird was driving the federal deficit."
After the debate, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found that Obama's seven-point advantage over Romney had narrowed to a five-point lead, 48 percent to 43 percent.
Obama told a Denver, Colorado rally that he didn't recognize his republican rival.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA, SAYING:
"When I got onto the stage, I met this very spirited fellow who claimed to be Mitt Romney. But it couldn't have been Mitt Romney because the real Mitt Romney has been running around the country for the last year promising $5 trillion in tax cuts that favor the wealthy. The fellow on stage last night said he didn't know anything about that."
He also zeroed in on Romney's comments about the deficit, particularly his pledge to cut funding for public television and a popular children's show character known as Big Bird.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA, SAYING:
"I mean, thank goodness somebody is finally getting tough on Big Bird. It's about time. We didn't know that Big Bird was driving the federal deficit."
After the debate, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found that Obama's seven-point advantage over Romney had narrowed to a five-point lead, 48 percent to 43 percent.