Barack Obama in Second Obama-Romney 2012 Presidential debate
On Abortion:
ObamaCare asks insurance companies to provide contraceptives
In my health care bill, I said insurance companies need to provide contraceptive coverage to everybody who is insured. Because this is not just a health issue, it's an economic issue for women. It makes a difference. This is money out of that family's
pocket. Romney not only opposed it, he suggested that in fact employers should be able to make the decision as to whether or not a woman gets contraception through her insurance coverage. That's not the kind of advocacy that women need.
Source: Second Obama-Romney 2012 debate
Oct 16, 2012
On Budget & Economy:
Romney's plan will blow up the deficit or raise your taxes
The fact that Romney only has to pay 14% on his taxes when a lot of you are paying much higher--he's already taken that off the board, capital gains are going to continue to be at a low rate so we're not going to get money that way. Romney was a
very successful investor. If somebody came to him with a plan to spend $7 to 8 trillion, then we're going to pay for it, but we can't tell you until maybe after the election how we're going to do it, you wouldn't take such a sketchy deal and neither
should you, the American people, because the math doesn't add up. Either this blows up the deficit just to pay for the additional spending that he's talking about, $7 to 8 trillion before we even get to the deficit we already have. Or, alternatively,
it's got to be paid for, not only by closing deductions for wealthy individuals that will pay for about 4% reduction in tax rates. You're going to be paying for it. You're going to lose some deductions. Nobody who's looked at it that's serious actually b
Source: Second Obama-Romney 2012 debate
Oct 16, 2012
On Corporations:
Letting Detroit go bankrupt the Romney way wouldn't work
ROMNEY: The president said that I said we should take Detroit bankrupt. And that's right. My plan was to have the company go through bankruptcy like 7-Eleven did and Macy's and Continental Airlines and come out stronger.
I know [Obama] keeps saying, "you want to take Detroit bankrupt." Well, the president took Detroit bankrupt. You took General Motors bankrupt. You took Chrysler bankrupt. So when you say that I wanted to take the auto industry bankrupt, you actually did.
OBAMA: What Governor Romney said just isn't true. He wanted to take them into bankruptcy without providing them any way to stay open. And we would have lost a million jobs.
Don't take my word for it, take the executives at GM and Chrysler, some of whom are Republicans, may even support Governor Romney. But they'll tell you his prescription wasn't going to work.
Source: Second Obama-Romney 2012 Presidential debate
Oct 16, 2012
On Energy & Oil:
Invest in clean energy because China & Germany will
Q: Your energy secretary, Steven Chu, states it's not policy of his department to help lower gas prices. Do you agree?OBAMA: We can't just produce traditional source of energy. We've also got to look to the future. That's why we doubled fuel
efficiency standards on cars. That means that in the middle of the next decade, any car you buy, you're going to end up going twice as far on a gallon of gas. That's why we doubled clean energy production like wind and solar and biofuels. Now, Governor
Romney will say he's got an all-of-the-above plan, but he's got the oil and gas part, but he doesn't have the clean energy part. And if we are only thinking about tomorrow or the next day and not thinking about 10 years from now, we're not
going to control our own economic future. Because China, Germany, they're making these investments. And I'm not going to cede those jobs of the future to those countries. That's going to make sure that you're not paying as much for gas.
Source: Second Obama-Romney 2012 debate
Oct 16, 2012
On Energy & Oil:
Lowest oil imports and highest oil production in 16 years
We have increased oil production to the highest levels in 16 years. Natural gas production is the highest it's been in decades. We have seen increases in coal production and coal employment. We doubled fuel efficiency standards on cars. In the middle of
the next decade, any car you buy, you're going to end up going twice as far on a gallon of gas. That's why we doubled clean energy production. All these things have contributed to us lowering our oil imports to the lowest levels in 16 years.
Source: Second Obama-Romney 2012 Presidential debate
Oct 16, 2012
On Energy & Oil:
Gas was cheap in early 2009 because the economy collapsed
Romney said when I took office, the price of gasoline was $1.86. Why is that? Because the economy was on the verge of collapse, because we were about to go through the worst recession since the Great Depression, as a consequence
of some of the same policies that Governor Romney's now promoting. So, it's conceivable that Governor Romney could bring down gas prices because with his policies, we might be back in that same mess.
Source: Second Obama-Romney 2012 Presidential debate
Oct 16, 2012
On Energy & Oil:
Oil companies had leases on public lands they weren't using
ROMNEY: Oil production is down 14% this year on federal land, and gas production was down 9%. Because Obama cut in half the number of licenses and permits for drilling on federal lands, and in federal waters. A lot of it came from North Dakota.
Obama brought a criminal action against the people drilling up there for oil, this massive new resource we have. And what was the cost? 20 or 25 birds were killed and [the administration] brought out a Migratory Bird Act to go after them on a criminal
basis.OBAMA: Here's what happened. You had a whole bunch of oil companies who had leases on public lands that they weren't using. So what we said was you can't just sit on this for 10, 20, 30 years, decide when you want to drill, when you want to
produce, when it's most profitable for you. These are public lands. So if you want to drill on public lands, you use it or you lose it. And so what we did was take away those leases. And we are now re-letting them so that we can actually make a profit.
Source: Second Obama-Romney 2012 Presidential debate
Oct 16, 2012
On Foreign Policy:
We pushed China hard to raise currency exchange by 11%
ROMNEY: On day one, I will label China a currency manipulator.OBAMA: As far as currency manipulation, [China's] currency has actually gone up 11 percent since I've been president because we have pushed them hard. And we've put unprecedented trade
pressure on China. That's why exports have significantly increased under my presidency. That's going to help to create jobs here.
Q: Apple iPhones are all manufactured in China. How do you convince Apple to bring that manufacturing back here?
ROMNEY: The answer is very straightforward. We can compete with anyone in the world as long as the playing field is level. China's been cheating over the years. One by holding down the value of their currency. Number two, by stealing our intellectual
property; our designs, our patents, our technology. There's even an Apple store in China that's a counterfeit Apple store, selling counterfeit goods. They hack into our computers. We will have to have people play on a fair basis.
Source: Second Obama-Romney 2012 debate
Oct 16, 2012
On Gun Control:
I believe in 2nd Amendment, but not war weapons on streets
Q: In 2008, you stated you wanted to keep AK-47s out of the hands of criminals. OBAMA: We're a nation that believes in the Second Amendment, and I believe in the Second Amendment. We've got a long tradition of hunting and sportsmen and people who
want to make sure they can protect themselves. My belief is that we have to enforce the laws we've already got, make sure that we're keeping guns out of the hands of criminals, those who are mentally ill.
We've done a much better job in terms of background checks, but we've got more to do when it comes to enforcement. But weapons that were designed for soldiers in war theaters don't belong on our streets. Part of it is seeing if we can get an assault
weapons ban reintroduced. But part of it is also looking at other sources of the violence. Because frankly, in my home town of Chicago, there's an awful lot of violence and they're not using AK-47s. They're using cheap hand guns.
Source: Second Obama-Romney 2012 debate
Oct 16, 2012
On Immigration:
Kids who think of themselves as Americans--they should stay
ROMNEY: The kids of those that came here illegally, those kids should have a pathway to become a permanent resident. Military service, for instance, is one way they would have that kind of pathway.OBAMA: If we're going to go after folks who are
here illegally, we should do it smartly and go after folks who are criminals, not after students, not after folks who are here just because they're trying to figure out how to feed their families. And that's what we've done.
For young people who come here, brought here often times by their parents--had gone to school here, pledged allegiance to the flag; think of this as their country; understand themselves as Americans in every way except having papers--we should make
sure that we give them a pathway to citizenship. And that's what I've done administratively. Now, Governor Romney just said, you know he wants to help those young people too, but during the Republican primary, he said, "I will veto the DREAM Act".
Source: Second Obama-Romney 2012 debate
Oct 16, 2012
On Jobs:
We were losing 800,000 jobs each month when I started
We were losing 800,000 jobs a month when I started. But we had been digging our way out of policies that were misplaced and focused on the top doing very well and middle class folks not doing well. We've seen 31 consecutive months of job growth;
5.2 million new jobs created. The plans that I talked about will create even more. When Romney talks about getting tough on China, keep in mind that he invested in companies that were pioneers of outsourcing to China.
Source: Second Obama-Romney 2012 debate
Oct 16, 2012
On Jobs:
Change offshore tax rules to bring back outsourced jobs
Q: What plans do you have to get outsourced jobs back?ROMNEY: The place where we've seen manufacturing go has been China. On day one, I will label China a currency manipulator, which will allow me as president to be able to put in place tariffs.
OBAMA: I want to close loopholes that allow companies to deduct expenses when they move to China; that allow them to profit offshore. Now, Gov. Romney actually wants to expand those tax breaks. One of his big ideas when it comes to corporate tax reform
would be to say, if you invest overseas, you make profits overseas, you don't have to pay US taxes. It's estimated that that will create 800,000 new jobs. The problem is they'll be in China. Or India. Or Germany. That's not the way we're going to create
jobs here. The way we're going to create jobs here is not just to change our tax code, but also to double our exports. That's why we've kept on pushing trade deals, but trade deals that make sure that American workers are getting a good deal.
Source: Second Obama-Romney 2012 debate
Oct 16, 2012
On Jobs:
Create 600,000 jobs in the natural gas industry
We still continue to open up new areas for drilling. We continue to make it a priority for us to go after natural gas.
We've got potentially 600,000 jobs and 100 years' worth of energy right beneath our feet with natural gas.
Source: Second Obama-Romney 2012 Presidential debate
Oct 16, 2012
On Jobs:
Wind energy jobs are not imaginary jobs
On wind energy, when Romney says "these are imaginary jobs." When you've got thousands of people right now in Iowa, right now in Colorado, who are working, creating wind power with good-paying manufacturing jobs, and the
Republican senator in Iowa is all for it, providing tax breaks to help this work and Governor Romney says I'm opposed. I'd get rid of it. That's not an energy strategy for the future. And we need to win that future.
Source: Second Obama-Romney 2012 Presidential debate
Oct 16, 2012
On Principles & Values:
Romney thinks 47% consider themselves victims, I disagree
I believe Romney is a good man. Loves his family, cares about his faith. But I also believe that when he said behind closed doors that 47% of the country considered themselves victims who refuse personal responsibility, think about who he was talking
about. Folks on Social Security who've worked all their lives. Veterans who've sacrificed for this country. Students who are out there trying to hopefully advance their own dreams, but also this country's dreams. Soldiers who are overseas fighting for us
right now. People who are working hard every day, paying payroll tax, gas taxes, but don't make enough income. I want to fight for them. That's what I've been doing for the last four years. Because if they succeed, the country succeeds. When my
grandfather fought in WWII, he came back and got a GI Bill and that allowed him to go to college--that wasn't a handout. That was something that advanced the entire country. I want to make sure that the next generation has those same opportunities.
Source: Second Obama-Romney 2012 Presidential debate
Oct 16, 2012
On Tax Reform:
I've cut taxes for middle-class families & small businesses
I want to give middle-class families and folks who are striving to get into the middle-class some relief. Because they have been hit hard over the last decade. Over the last 15, over the last 20 years. So four years ago I stood on a stage just like this
one. Actually it was a town hall, and I said I would cut taxes for middle-class families, and that's what I've done, by $3,600.00. I said I would cut taxes for small businesses, who are the drivers and engines of growth. And we've cut them 18 times.
Source: Second Obama-Romney 2012 debate
Oct 16, 2012
On Tax Reform:
Bring back the Clinton tax rate for income above $250,000
Your first $250,000.00 worth of income, no change. For 98% of families, 97% of small businesses, they will not see a tax increase. I'm ready to sign that bill now. The only reason it's not happening is because Romney's allies in Congress have held the
98 percent hostage because they want tax breaks for the top 2%. For above $250,000, we can go back to the tax rates we had when Clinton was president. We created 23 million new jobs. That's part of what took us from deficits to surplus.
Source: Second Obama-Romney 2012 debate
Oct 16, 2012
On Tax Reform:
It's unfair for a nurse to pay a higher tax rate than Romney
Romney was asked: Is it fair for somebody like you, making $20 million a year, to pay a lower tax rate than a nurse or a bus driver, making $50,000 year? He said, "Yes, I think that's fair." Not only that, "I think that's what grows the economy." I think
what grows the economy is when you get that tax credit that we put in place for your kids going to college. I think what grows the economy is when we make sure small businesses are getting a tax credit for hiring veterans who fought for our country.
Source: Second Obama-Romney 2012 debate
Oct 16, 2012
On Technology:
We need to train for the next generation of Apples
ROMNEY: [China got ahead] by stealing our intellectual property; our designs, our patents, our technology. There's even a counterfeit Apple store in China, selling counterfeit goods. They hack into our computers. OBAMA: There are some jobs that are
not going to come back. Because they are low wage, low skill jobs. I want high wage, high skill jobs. That's why we have to emphasize manufacturing. That's why we have to invest in advanced manufacturing. That's why we've got to make sure that we've
got the best science and research in the world. And if we're cutting investments in research and science that will create the next Apple, create the next new innovation that will sell products around the world, we will lose that race. If we're not
training engineers to make sure that they are equipped here in this country, then companies won't come here. Those investments are what's going to help to make sure that we continue to lead this world economy, not just next year, but 50 years from now.
Source: Second Obama-Romney 2012 debate
Oct 16, 2012
Page last updated: Dec 05, 2018