President Obama said on Friday that September’s improving jobs report shouldn’t be used to score political points. But at a campaign rally, he nonetheless played up the gains.
“This morning, we found out that the unemployment rate has fallen to the lowest level since I took office,” Obama told supporters in Fairfax, Va. “More Americans entered the workforce, more people are getting jobs.”
“Today’s news certainly isn’t an excuse to try to talk down the economy to score a few political points,” Obama said. In the next breath, he neatly tied the new numbers into his campaign slogan, "Forward." The latest jobs numbers are “a reminder that this country has come too far to turn back now,” the president said.
At the rally at George Mason University, Obama flavored his stump speech with a special mention of his support for women’s health and a woman’s right to choose. Every person standing on risers directly behind the president was a woman.
“The decisions that affect women’s health aren’t up to politicians; they’re not up to insurance companies; they’re up to you,” Obama said.
The president reiterated his criticism of GOP rival Mitt Romney’s performance in the first presidential debate. “My opponent has been trying to do a two-step and reposition and got an extreme makeover, but the bottom line is, his underlying philosophy is the top-down economics that we've seen before,” Obama said.
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