President Obama coined a new ailment in Northern Virginia to describe what he calls the evolving views of his Republican challenger: “Romnesia.”
Obama traveled to battleground Virginia for the 16th time this year, using the short trip from the White House to hit Romney for pivoting to the center in the homestretch of the presidential election.
“He’s changing up so much, we’ve got to name this condition that he’s going through — I think it’s called ‘Romnesia,” Obama quipped before roughly 9,000 supporters at George Mason University.
He later added, “Here’s the good news: Obamacare covers pre-existing conditions.”
In his last public event before Monday’s final presidential debate in Florida, the president sought to paint Romney as both “severely conservative” and prone to changing his views based on the prevailing political winds.
It was a message tailored to female voters. The president was surrounded by women as he spoke and was introduced by Cecile Richards, president of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund.
The president highlighted Romney’s “women full of binders” remarks from the last presidential debate and hit the Republican on abortion, contraceptives and equal pay for women.
“Even his running mate said he’s a throwback to the 50s — that’s something we agree on,” Obama said.
However, the motivation behind Obama’s extended appeal to women is clear: Romney is gaining on the president among female voters, recent polls have shown. If Romney can level the playing field with that crucial voting bloc, his path to the White House is infinitely easier.
Obama will hunker down at Camp David over the weekend to prepare for Monday’s third and final presidential debate in Boca Raton, Fla.
Borrowing a page from the routine of comedian Jeff Foxworthy, Obama hopes his newly coined phrase will catch on less than three weeks before the election.
“If you say you support women, but you support legislation that allows employers to dictate contraceptive coverage, you have Romnesia,” Obama said as part of a rift that hit Romney for a variety of stances in recent months.
There was no word as of early Friday on how the Republican ticket will respond to Obama’s new diagnosis. Romney and Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., are campaigning together Friday in Daytona Beach, Fla.
