Obama makes pitch to Ohio students
By Marc Kovac
COLUMBUS
President Barack Obama told an audience of college students and other supporters Tuesday that higher education is a top priority of his presidency, saying 3 million-plus additional students have received assistance since he took office four years ago.
Speaking before a crowd of more than 3,000 people at Capital University in suburban Columbus, the president contrasted that with the plans of his GOP challenger Mitt Romney, which, he said, would lead to millions fewer students receiving tuition assistance.
“Putting a college education in reach for working families just doesn’t seem to be a big priority for my opponent,” Obama said, citing comments Romney made in Youngstown and near Columbus in which the Republican candidate told students to borrow money from their parents to cover tuition or shop around to find more- affordable tuition options.
Obama added, “His economic plan makes one thing clear: He does not think investing in your future is worth it.”
Romney campaign spokesman Ryan Mahoney, in a released statement, countered that Obama’s policies “have only made the problems of college affordability and student debt worse.”
Tuesday’s visit was Obama’s ninth trip to Ohio this year and his 25th since he took office, according to White House statistics. The president spoke for about half an hour at the private college, where tuition runs upward of $31,000 a year.
He urged his supporters to make sure they are registered to vote and ready to help others re-elect him in November.
But he did not refer to the ongoing battle in the state over early in-person voting hours. His campaign has filed suit with hopes of extending early voting through the Monday before Election Day, and Democrats have been vocal in their opposition to Republican Secretary of State Jon Husted’s decision to close early voting on weekends.
Instead, much of the speech was familiar campaign territory, with the president urging students to work hard in school to gain the skills companies are seeking in potential employees.
He acknowledged rising college costs, saying tuition and fees have more than doubled over the past two decades. But he compared his position on the need for continuing government assistance, via reformed student loans, tax credits and grants, with his Republican challenger’s push for lower tax rates for the wealthy.
“We’ve got a lot of parents out there who are struggling just to make ends meet,” he said. “And I don’t accept the notion that we should deny any child the opportunity to get a higher education. If they’ve been working hard, if they’ve got the grades, if they’ve got the determination to get a better future for themselves, I don’t want them prevented just because their families were hit hard by a recession. That’s not who we are. That’s not what America’s all about. We give everybody a fair shot.”
Mahoney said Obama’s policies over the past four years are the problem.
“College debt is up, tuition costs are increasing, and to make matters worse, unemployment for recent grads has increased under President Obama — this isn’t the hope and change voters signed up for in 2008, and the president’s negative tone today shows he’d rather point fingers than run on his record,” he said.