President Barack Obama on Wednesday appeared to delight in telling a group of journalists that he had a “quintessentially middle class upbringing” unlike some other presidential candidates out there.
When asked about a recent comment by former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney that Obama was out of touch with the average American, Obama replied that he would welcome a debate with the GOP front-runner over “who’s out of touch.”
In an impromptu appearance at the White House Personal Finance Online Summit on Wednesday, Obama said that he and the first lady were still paying off college loans nine years after graduating from law school in a clear jab at Romney, who had a less modest upbringing.
“I went to law school and much of my college on scholarships. So did my wife,” he said at the second annual finance summit, which once again included Newsmax.com among the limited invitees along with Forbes.com, Kiplinger.com, Yahoo.Finance.com, and The Motley Fool.
“We were still paying off our student debt nine years after I graduated from law school. Our first home was a modest condo and I remember scraping together the down payment to purchase it,” he said. “When Michelle and I first met, the car I was driving I think I bought for $500 and it had a big rust spot.”
The president went on to add that there was a “hole” in the passenger side where he could see the road.
The president also noted that he and Michelle struggled to pay off credit card debt and scrape together a college savings fund for their two children. It was only “fairly recently” that the Obamas became financially stable, according to the president.
“In that sense I would say that Michelle and I had a quintessentially middle class upbringing and a working class upbringing and a middle class experience,” Obama declared. “I will just say that I suspect that is a contrast to some of the presidential candidates who are out there.”
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