Obama attempts to take the tax issue away from the GOP

As the crowd of roughly 900 people gathered at the Walkerton Tavern in Henrico, the air was thick and it was sunny and hot. That didn’t last too long. Shortly after the crowd took their spots to see Barack Obama, the rain began to fall and it stayed like that on and off until long after he was finished.

It wasn’t the first time a candidate has ever given a passionate speech in the rain, it’s not even the first time Obama has, but the picture of a soaking wet president selling his message of fighting for the middle class provided his campaign excellent optics. While they couldn’t plan something like this, they took advantage of the situation and it served as a dramatic backdrop for the president to make the case that his tax plan is the best plan for America.

Here is my report for NBC12:

GLEN ALLEN, VA (WWBT- For the seventh time since being elected president of the United States, President Barack Obama made a stop here in Central Virginia. The president spoke to an outdoor crowd, in the middle of a rain storm at the Walkerton Tavern in Glen Allen.

Through the pouring rain, which drenched everyone, including the leader of the free world, Barack Obama made a direct pitch to the middle class, and he used an issue that is normally strong with republicans, taxes.

It came early, and stayed from almost the entire event, a soaking rain that was impossible to escape, even for the most powerful man on the planet.

“Everybody is wet already,” the president said at one point. “So it doesn’t matter.”

Obama, dressed in a shirt so wet that his undershirt was visible, didn’t seem to mind. He launched into a passionate defense of his plan to raise taxes on the wealthy, and cut them for the middle class.

“We need someone who believes in a “middle out” economics, a “bottom up” economics,” he said. “Someone who will fight for you and working class people across Virginia.”

It was a message sent to Henrico voters, in one of the most important swing counties in America. Tracey Snyderman is one of the voters, and agrees.

“I feel that the people in the top two percent won’t feel the difference,” Snyderman said. “For people lower down on the scale, it makes a big difference.”

But the president didn’t convince everyone. Matt Walton is a teacher and a Romney supporter. He came to hear the president speak, but is not convinced that higher taxes of any kind will help.

“You have the top two percent of the country paying roughly 78 percent of the American taxes,” he said. “That is just a huge burden right there.”

read and see the rest of the story on NBC12.com

The Romney campaign responded to the Obama visit with the following statement:

President Obama admitted today that our country isn’t on the right track, yet he is offering more of the same as he seeks a second term. Americans are tired of the same old broken promises and dishonest attacks – they want a leader who keeps his word and is more focused on fixing the economy than telling stories. As president, Mitt Romney will turn around the upside-down Obama economy and finally get America back on the right track.” – Curt Cashour, Virginia Communications Director, Romney for President

Stage set for Obama event in Glen Allen

It will be an outdoor setting this afternoon for President Barack Obama‘s visit to Glen Allen. Obama is in the midst of a two day five stop swing through the Commonwealth in support of his re-election campaign.

The president spent time in Virginia Beach, Roanoke and Hampton yesterday. The theme of this swing is to speak directly to middle class voters in Virginia. Obama is expected to tout his tax plan which calls for a sunset of the Bush Tax Cuts for people making more than $250,000 a year, and extending th cuts for everyone else under that mark.

In front of a banner that reads “Forward” (which you and kind of make out in that picture) the president will remind the supportive crowd of the work he has done already on tax relief. Work he estimates at saving middle class Americans billions of dollars.

Republicans in Richmond yesterday, argued that the Obama tax plan amounts to class warfare. Mayor Rudy Giuliani said yesterday that Obama is working to pit the rich against the poor and at the same time punishing job creators.

Lt. Governor Bill Bolling is on board the Mitt Romney campaign bus this morning to offer a counter argument to the Obama visit. The bus has been making laps around the area in front of Walkerton Tavern all morning.

We will provide live coverage of the preisdent’s visit today on air and on line. We will cut in on TV when the president lands at Richmond International Airport and when he arrives here in Glen Allen. The entire event can be seen without interruption on our web site, NBC12.com.

If you have no interest in the presidential visit, it would be a smart idea to avoid this section of Henrico. Road closures start at 10am. The full list can be found below:

—————————–

Road Closures

On Saturday, July 14, 2012 President Obama will arrive at Richmond International Airport for an extended Presidential Campaign visit in Henrico County. As a result of his visit, in addition to temporary road closures associated with the Presidential Motorcade, the following road closures will occur:

*Mountain Road between Purcell Road and Woodman Road

HOURS: 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

*Old Washington Highway between Mountain Road and Peace Lane

HOURS: 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Detour signs will be utilized to assist motorists with identifying alternate routes. Residents who live inside the road closure areas will be allowed access to and from their homes by the Police Officers who will be posted at the road closure points.

Motorists attending the NATIONAL SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT at R. F. & P. Park should utilize Staples Mill Road to access Mountain Road in order to travel to R. F. & P. Park.

Motorists attending the AMATEUR SOFTBALL ASSOCIATION TOURNAMENT at the Glen Allen Sports Complex should use Brook Road to Mountain Road to access the sports complex.

More than 100 Henrico County Police Officers will be on duty for the specific purpose of assisting with traffic and security for this event. They will be posted at road closure points to provide direction and assistance to motorists.

The Henrico Police Division will staff a Traffic & Event Help Telephone Line from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday to provide residents with traffic information associated with the event. The number to call for assistance, if needed, is 804-501-4838.

Additional information, including detour routes, will be posted on the Henrico County Police Web Page (www.henricopolice.org).