President Barack Obama and his Republican challenger Mitt Romney were both in Virginia on Thursday, attempting to court military voters.
Romney, who was in Springfield, criticized Obama’s record on military spending cuts, saying it would affect Virginia’s military contracting industry.
“When the secretary of defense said it would be devastating, he wasn’t referring merely to the loss of jobs in Virginia, he was thinking about our national security priorities and needs,” Romney said, according to USA Today. “The world is not a safe place.”
Romney termed cuts under Obama as “a crisis,” and said if he were president, he would stop budget cuts and would build up the military. “I know there is waste in the military. I’m sure there is opportunity to economize and do a better job with the funds we have,” he added.
Obama, speaking in Virginia Beach, said he needs another term to get the U.S. economy back on track.
“We’re not where we need to be, not yet,” Obama was quoted by the Richmond Times-Dispatch as saying. “We’ve got a lot more folks who have to get back to work, we’ve got a lot more work to do to make the middle class secure again..”
“But the question is: Whose plan is better for you?” he questioned, referring to both his and Romney’s economic plan.
“I don’t think we can get very far with leaders who write off half the nation as a bunch of victims who never take responsibility for their own lives,” he said, referring to a recent, secretly recorded video of Romney describing 47 percent of the country as people who do not pay income tax.
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