Obama adviser defends 'change' comment

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Associated Press

Story Created: Fri Sep 21, 2012 8:54 AM

Story Updated: Fri Sep 21, 2012 8:54 AM

WASHINGTON (AP) - An adviser to President Barack Obama is defending Obama's comment yesterday that "you can't change Washington from the inside."
   
David Axelrod tells NBC that Obama was saying that in order to "move Washington" you need to "enlist the American people."
   
He says Obama learned that lesson from the debt ceiling standoff last summer, and that it's a point he's been making "consistently."
   
Still, Mitt Romney is seizing on Obama's comment, telling supporters he "will change Washington" and "get the job done from the inside." He's expected to press the issue again today at a campaign rally in Nevada.
   
Obama is looking for the support of seniors today, addressing an AARP convention by satellite. His campaign released a web video targeting older voters -- many of whom would fall into the group of Americans Romney referred to when he said that nearly half of Americans don't pay income tax but get benefits.
   
Seniors on Medicare make up about 15 percent of those getting benefits. About 22 percent of those who don't pay income tax are seniors who get tax breaks that offset their income.

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