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Obama addresses Associated Press Annual Luncheon
By Robert Baird
When Barack Obama first addressed the annual Associated Press Luncheon in 2004, he had described himself as a "skinny kid with a funny name" and was an Illinois state senator.
Eight years later, with a much larger security detail, the 44th president spoke at the luncheon for the third time, using the platform to savage the Republican budget plan presented by Rep. Paul Ryan (Wis.).
In a campaign-style address, Obama told an audience of more than 1,000, "This congressional Republican budget . . . is a Trojan horse. Disguised as deficit reduction plans, it is really an attempt to impose a radical vision on our country."
"It is thinly veiled social Darwinism. . . . a prescription for decline."
>> Watch archived video of President Obama's speech
Outgoing AP Chairman William Dean Singleton gave Obama a warm introduction, praising him for pushing through the recovery of the auto industry and the "most comprehensive health care legislation in history." And Obama hammered home a health care message.
"Working families who are scraping by will have to do more because the richest Americans are doing less," he said. ". . . That is not class warfare, that is not class envy, that is math."
In a lighter moment, Obama drew hearty applause when he mocked Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney, who has said he would introduce a similar version of the Ryan budget if elected.
"He even called it ‘marvelous,' which is a word you don't often hear when it comes to describing a budget. It's a word you don't often hear generally," he said to laughter.
The President may not have the last laugh, though. Romney is scheduled to speak Wednesday at the convention. Robert Baird is a student at the University of Maryland. He is one of several local university journalism students reporting live from NAA mediaXchange 2012 in Washington, D.C.
Published
Apr 04 2012, 06:18 AM
by
Amanda Knowles
About Amanda Knowles
Amanda Knowles is Web & Social Media Manager at the Newspaper Association of America. Before coming to NAA, Amanda spent four years working in print journalism, both at the college and professional level. She has worked as a copy editor and news page designer for two daily newspapers in northwestern Pennsylvania, The Erie Times-News and The Meadville Tribune. Most recently, she collaborated on The American Observer, the online magazine edited and produced by graduate journalism students at American University in Washington, D.C. Amanda believes strongly in the secure future of the newspaper, and is excited to be a participant in the movement to integrate traditional print media into the burgeoning digital world.
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