As Democrats attack Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan for their proposals regarding Medicare, Republicans are circulating this clip from a November 9, 2009 interview we had with President Obama in which he not only acknowledged that one third of his health care bill was paid for by cuts to Medicare, but that he would veto attempts to undo those cuts.
TAPPER: One of the concerns about health care and how you pay for it - one third of the funding comes from cuts to Medicare.
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: "Right.
TAPPER: A lot of times, as you know, what happens in Congress is somebody will do something bold and then Congress, close to election season, will undo it.
OBAMA: Right.
TAPPER: You saw that with the 'doc fix.'
OBAMA: Right.
TAPPER: Are you willing to pledge that whatever cuts in Medicare are being made to fund health insurance, one third of it, that you will veto anything that tries to undo that?
OBAMA: Yes. I actually have said that it is important for us to make sure this thing is deficit neutral, without tricks. I said I wouldn't sign a bill that didn't meet that criteria.
TAPPER: One of the concerns about health care and how you pay for it - one third of the funding comes from cuts to Medicare.
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: "Right.
TAPPER: A lot of times, as you know, what happens in Congress is somebody will do something bold and then Congress, close to election season, will undo it.
OBAMA: Right.
TAPPER: You saw that with the 'doc fix.'
OBAMA: Right.
TAPPER: Are you willing to pledge that whatever cuts in Medicare are being made to fund health insurance, one third of it, that you will veto anything that tries to undo that?
OBAMA: Yes. I actually have said that it is important for us to make sure this thing is deficit neutral, without tricks. I said I wouldn't sign a bill that didn't meet that criteria.
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