Pivoting to a new stump speech at a community college here, President
Barack Obama argued Tuesday he would devote a second term to policies that
would make an affordable education accessible "to everybody, not just the
wealthy," saying that's the foundation of America's economic might.
Before a boisterous crowd of more than 2,000, Obama also accused his
Republican rival Mitt Romney of proposing cuts to financial aid programs as a
way to fund a tax plan that would benefit the country's richest.
"Making sure those doors are open to everybody, that is why I ran for
president," Obama said. "That is what my presidency is about. That is why I'm
running for a second term."
Obama summarized Romney's approach to education policy, borrowing from
lines Romney uttered earlier in the campaign, this way:
"So this is his plan. That's his answer to a young person hoping to go to
college -- shop around and borrow money from your parents if you have to."
Obama's new stump speech, which he unveiled earlier Tuesday in Ohio,
jumped from the economy and Medicare to education. But his message kept to the
same contours of the debate that have dominated the presidential campaign so
far: The wealthy vs. the middle class and the overall role of government.
"Government can't help folks who won't help themselves," Obama said.
"Parents have to be parents. Young people have to stay disciplined and
focused. But if you're willing to work hard, a college education in the 21st
century should be available to everybody, not just the wealthy few."
Romney's spokesman fired back that Obama hasn't exactly achieved that
promise during his first term.
"President Obama's policies have only made the problems of college
affordability and student debt worse," said Mason Harrison, Romney's Nevada
spokesman. "Under President Obama, the costs of college have skyrocketed --
making it more difficult for students to attend college -- and his economic
policies have made it harder for graduates to get jobs.
"Mitt Romney will encourage innovation and competition to make college
more affordable, and his economic policies will give recent graduates the job
opportunities they deserve."
Obama said the budget plan put forward by Romney's running mate Rep. Paul
Ryan would cut funding for education by 20 percent, resulting in 1 million
fewer students receiving federal grants and cutting financial aid to 10
million students.
According to the Associated Press, those estimates assume the cuts in
Ryan's budget are applied evenly across all programs starting in 2014.
While Ryan's budget would keep the top Pell grant award at $5,500, fewer
students would be eligible for the award in future years.
Earlier in the day, Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Reno, warned voters not to listen
to Obama's speeches, dubbing his re-election effort the "Novocain campaign."
"You can listen to enough of what that person says and it can numb you
enough that you'll probably vote for that person again," Amodei said of Obama.
"Forget the Novocain campaign. Look for somebody who will tell you the truth
on Medicare."
But the crowd at Truckee Meadows Community College appeared anything but
numb once Obama took the stage. Several times they interrupted the speech with
chants of "four more years," booed at the drop of Romney's name and cheered
Obama's applause lines.
Clare Zecena, a special education teacher in Reno who earned her
bachelor's degree in 2009, said she left the speech "hopeful."
"He really understands what regular people have gone through," she said
of Obama. "Mitt Romney, it's easy for him to say borrow from your parents. But
my mom was a single mom of four. I got my bachelor's degree through Pell
grants. I wouldn't have a degree without them."
Obama's Reno speech was the first in a two-day swing through Nevada. He
is set to speak at Canyon Springs High School in North Las Vegas on Wednesday
morning. It's his 13th visit to Nevada since he became president and his sixth
this year.
