Justin's Political Corner

President Obama lit into his Republican rivals over Medicare on Wednesday, repeating the charge that Rep. Paul Ryan’s plan “ends Medicare as we know it.”

“I think they know their plan is not very popular,” Obama said. “You can tell that because they are being dishonest about my plan — especially when it comes to Medicare.”

Romney has attacked Obama in ads and speeches for including $716 billion in cuts to Medicare in the Affordable Care Act. Romney promised to restore the spending this week, even though his own running mate included the same savings in the House Republican budget he wrote.

Obama said he “strengthened” Medicare, noting that the savings came from subsidies to insurance companies and hospitals, not from retirees. He added that the ACA used some of the savings to fund additional benefits for seniors, including an end to the “doughnut hole” on prescription drug costs and an expansion of preventive care.

h/t: Benjy Sarlin at TPM