Obama: Don't 'refight' political battles

MCLEAN, Va., July 27 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama Friday told a campaign audience he doesn't want "to refight" political battles including healthcare reform.

Speaking at a fundraiser in McLean, Va., the president said, "I don't want to go backwards."

"I don't want to refight the battles we've already fought," Obama said. "Health care was the right thing to do -- 30 million people will have health insurance that did not have it before. Your children can stay on your health insurance plan till they're 26 years old. Women are getting preventative care. We are not going to go back to the old days when insurance companies could just jerk you around for no reason. The Supreme Court has spoken."

The president said the United States will not return "to the days when you couldn't serve the country you love just because of you who you love. We ended 'don't ask, don't tell.' That was the right thing to do. We are moving forward."

"We're not going to roll back funding for Planned Parenthood -- as my opponent opposes -- because I think women should have control over their health care choices just like everybody else does," he said. "We're not going backwards."

Obama said if he is re-elected in November, his administration will reduce the federal deficit "in a balanced, responsible way."

"We're not going to lower it on the backs of the poor and the middle class," the president said.

He repeated his call for Congress to extend current tax rates on income up to $250,000.

While claiming his administration has "made progress" on economic recovery, Obama said his opponents "make make the same argument all the time -- because they know their economic theories don't really work, or at least they don't sell, so their argument will be: The economy is not where it should, and it's Obama's fault."

"But what I've understood is that when the American people really start paying attention, they can cut through the nonsense," he said. "When the American people are paying attention, they're the ones who will determine what is true, what is right, what's consistent with our values."