user: IN: Obama Tries to Move Focus From Jobs to Medicare
Doug Mills/The New York Times

The president told a rally on Saturday at St. Petersburg College, Seminole, that unlike his Republican rival, he would ânever turn Medicare into a voucher system.â More Photos »

SEMINOLE, Fla. — President Obama on Saturday began hammering away at the Republican ticket’s plans for Medicare, using a campaign swing through Florida, with its large number of retired and elderly voters, to try to turn the page from anemic employment growth, his biggest weakness, to entitlements, a Democratic strength.

Kicking off a two-day bus tour through this perennial swing state, the president told a rally here that Mitt Romney’s running mate, Representative Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin, had proposed overhauling Medicare and replacing it with a voucher system that could mean higher costs for beneficiaries.

“Florida, you should know I will never turn Medicare into a voucher system,” Mr. Obama said to rousing cheers from a crowd of 11,000 at St. Petersburg College, Seminole. “No American should have to spend their golden years at the mercy of insurance companies.”

The president’s advisers have indicated that they are eager to re-engage their opponents on their Medicare plan, while the Romney camp would prefer to talk about the economy. A government report on Friday showed that employers had eased up on hiring in August, adding just 96,000 jobs, compared with 141,000 in July. The unemployment rate dropped to 8.1 percent from 8.3 percent, but that was largely because of people leaving the work force entirely.

Mr. Romney has sought to blunt Mr. Obama’s Medicare offensive with attacks of his own, something Obama advisers appeared to await eagerly.

“If they want to have a discussion about who do you trust on Medicare for the next 60 days as their central argument, you know we ought to send them an in-kind contribution,” David Plouffe, Mr. Obama’s senior adviser, told reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday. “We’re happy to have that discussion. We think people trust the president more on Medicare.”

The president grabbed that mantle on Saturday and ran with it. “We will reform and strengthen Medicare,” he told the rally, “but we’ll do it by reducing the costs of health care, not by dumping the costs on seniors.”

For good measure, he threw in several more lines in his stump speech aimed at older people, who he said “are saving an average of $6,000 on prescription drugs because of Obamacare. And by the way, I do care.” That was a reference to the name that Republicans have derisively given his health care overhaul. These days, the president has embraced the label with open arms.

“I like the name ‘Obamacare,’ ” he said, adding that Mr. Romney “says he’s going to repeal it. That’s because Romney doesn’t care.”

With 58 days to go until Election Day, the battle for seven or so fiercely contested swing states has intensified. No state is more crucial than Florida, with its 29 electoral votes and its diverse mix of conservative Southerners, Hispanics, African-Americans and elderly and Jewish voters.

Mr. Obama does not appear to have much of a shot with conservative Southerners, but he is fighting mightily for the rest. That is why his weekend bus tour was straddling the center of the state, in the territory that hosted the Republican National Convention two weeks ago. The campaign announced Saturday that former President Bill Clinton would stump for Mr. Obama in Miami and Orlando next week. Mr. Obama won Florida in 2008.

After Seminole, the president traveled up Interstate 4 toward Orlando, with a stop in Kissimmee. On Sunday, he was to head down to Melbourne and then West Palm Beach, ground zero for the Bush-Gore election recount of 2000.

As the crowd sustained a screaming standing ovation, Mr. Obama stood back and marveled. “When the reception’s this good, I just want to say thank you and leave the stage,” he said. “How can I top this?”
What is a short summary of the above article?

OUT: President Obamaâs advisers have indicated that they are eager to re-engage their opponents on their Medicare plan, while the Romney camp would prefer to talk about the economy.


Q: Nearly 100 poisoned meatballs planted for dogs around San Francisco, killing one

San Francisco cops say these contaminated meatballs, containing enough strychnine to kill a human, have been found in six neighborhoods since July 3.

Pooch-hating sickos are trying to kill dogs around San Francisco with meatballs laced with rat poison.

At least one pup has died after munching on the tainted meat scattered across the city.

Cops say nearly 100 contaminated balls — containing enough strychnine to kill a human — have been found in the Twin Peaks, Diamond Heights, Lower Heights, Cole Valley, Hayes Valley and Bernal Heights neighborhoods since July 3.

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And they believe the perps are particularly targeting pooches because the enticing treats have been found in areas where they'd walk.

"I feel like my insides were torn out because it was such a horrible way to go," Dorothy Schechte, the heartbroken owner of a 7-year-old dachshund who was fatally sickened last week from one of the bites, told NBC Bay Area.

Since her dog Oskar collapsed and died after suffering a seizure in her Twin Peaks home, she says she's been going around warning other dog owners, even while it's hard to watch them play with theirs.

RELATED: RAT-HUNTING DOGS TAKE A BITE OUT OF NEW YORK CITY’S VERMIN PROBLEM

"I see other people walking their little dogs and I just think, 'ohh,'" she said while trying her best to compose herself. "But, it wasn't another human being, but, almost."

Park Police station Inspector Joseph Nannery told a community meeting last week the meatballs may have been planted by someone afraid of dogs, reports the SF Examiner.

He also speculated they could dislike barking pooches or they are fed up with pets pooping in the area.

RELATED: MOST GROUND TURKEY CONTAMINATED WITH FECAL BACTERIA: REPORT

A $2,000 reward has been offered by the Animal Legal Defense Fund and VegNews Magazine for information leading to a conviction in the case.

Megan Backus, media relations associate for ADF, believes the reward may grow as more people hear about their effort and wish to contribute.

Schechte says that until an arrest is made she hopes Oskar's death will be a warning to others, with her tiny best friend having found the morsel near Crestline Drive and Burnett Avenue.

"It's extremely important just to show that you can't get away with something like this, so Oscar didn't die in vain," she said.

On a mobile device? Watch the video here
What are the most important parts of this text?

A:

assistant: At least one pup has died after munching on one of the tainted meats that's been seen scattered around the city since June 3. Police believe the perps are targeting pooches because the enticing treats have been found in areas where they'd walk.