Obama in Madison as Advisor Defends Debate Performance
By: Scott Picken
Updated: October 4, 2012
MADISON - Coming off a questionable debate performance Wednesday night, President Obama spoke to an enthusiastic crowd of around 30,000 people at the University of Wisconsin. During the flight from the debate site in Denver to Madison, Obama adviser David Plouffe told reporters the President was not disappointed with his own performance, while adding "Romney's performance was one that's probably unprecedented in its dishonesty." Specifically, he believes Romney misled the viewing public when describing his policies were he to be elected. "The remarkable thing was that the centerpiece of his campaign, and of his economic strategy, he tried to pretend didn't exist last night."
Plouffe bristled
at Romney's contention he was not proposing a $5 trillion dollar tax cut during
the debate. Romney said instead he was
not cutting taxes, but rather cutting tax rates and making up for the
difference by eliminating deductions. "We
are obviously going to have to adjust for the fact of Mitt Romney's
dishonesty," Plouffe told reporters. He added the campaign will drive home the
message that Romney actually does intend to implement his policies, which would
include a tax break on the rich, something Romney denied during the debate.
The President echoed similar sentiments during his appearances in both Denver and Madison Thursday. "When I got onto the stage, I met this very spirited fellow who claimed to be
Mitt Romney," Obama said. "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 defended
the President's performance, saying Obama felt "he did a good job," because
he projected "steadiness."
