Obama: "You Can't Just Make Stuff Up. That's Something That You Learn As President."
At a press event today, President Obama says he is not accusing Mitt Romney of letting a woman with cancer die. Obama also said, referring to Romney's attack on Obama's change to welfare, that Romney "cannot make stuff up."
PRESIDENT OBAMA: I think people want to know that everybody has been playing by the same rules, including people who are seeking the highest office in the land. This is not an entitlement - being President of the United States - it is a privilege, and we have to put ourselves in front of the American people to make our case.
REPORTER: Why not send a message to the top Super PAC that supports your campaign, and say, I think an ad like that is out of bounds? ...you should not be suggesting…
OBAMA: Alright, let’s take that particular issue. As opposed to, because you set a whole bunch of other stuff that was legitimate. I do not think that Governor Romney is somehow responsible for the death of the woman that was portrayed in that ad… But keep in mind: This is an ad that I did not approve, I did not produce, and as far as I can tell, has barely run. I think it ran once.
Now, in contrast, you have Governor Romney creating as a centerpiece of his campaign, this notion that we are taking the work requirement out of welfare, which every single person here who has looked at it says it is patently false. What he is arguing is that we have somehow changed the welfare requirement, the work requirement in our welfare laws, and in fact what happened was that my administration, responding to requests of five governors, including two Republican governors, agreed to approve giving them - those states - some flexibility in how they manage their welfare rolls as long as it produced 20% increases in the number of people who are getting work.
So in other words, we would potentially give states more flexibility to put more people back to work, not to take them off the work requirement under welfare. Everybody who has looked at this says what governor Romney is saying is absolutely wrong. Not only are his Super PACs running millions of dollars worth of claims, Governor Romney is approving this and saying it on the stump. The contrast is pretty stark.
They can run the campaign they want, but the truth of the matter is you can’t just make stuff up. That is one thing you learn as President of the United States.You get called into account, and I feel comfortable with the fact that when you look at the campaign we are running, we're focused on issues and the differences that matter to working families all across America, and that is exactly the kind of debate the American people deserve.
