'Banksters are destroying America!': Obama heckled as Occupy protesters drown out President in New Hampshire



President Barack Obama was heckled today as he gave a speech in New Hampshire about the state of the U.S. economy.

Days after the First Lady faced a chorus of boos as she honoured U.S. troops in Florida, Mr Obama, trailed by Occupy Wall Street protesters, dashed into the politically important state for his speaking event at Central High School in Manchester. There, he stood face-to-face with those calling themselves 'the 99 per cent' fighting economic inequality.



But as he began, activists drowned out his remarks, chanting: 'Over 4,000 peaceful protesters have been arrested while "banksters" continue to destroy the American economy.'

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Heckled: U.S. President Barack Obama speaks at Manchester Central High School today in Manchester, New Hampshire, where his words were drowned out by Occupy Wall Street protesters

The president, who paused as 'Mic check!' echoed through the crowd, allowed the group to speak before their chants began to interrupt each other.

As he began to quiet the crowd, the president's supporters drowned out their cries, chanting 'Obama! Obama!' as fists pounded the air.



'That's OK, That's OK,' the president told his supporters.



Both crowds settled down, and the president addressed the demonstrators.

'Listen, I'm going to be talking about a whole range of things today,' he said. 'I appreciate you guys making your point. Let me go ahead and make mine, all right?'

He continued, uninterrupted through the remainder of the speaking engagement, even making reference to the Occupy movement.



'A lot of the folks who have been down in New York and all across the country, in the Occupy movement, there is a profound sense of frustration,' he said. 'There is a profound sense of frustration about the fact that the essence of the American Dream - which is if you work hard, if you stick to it, that you can make it - feels like that's slipping away. And it's not the way things are supposed to be. Not here. Not in America.'

It is not the first time the president has been interrupted. As USA Today reports, in recent months, he has also been heckled during speeches in San Francisco and West Hollywood.

Address: President Obama delivered his speech uninterrupted after the crowd quieted, delivering remarks on the American Jobs Act

He is also not the only politician to be targeted by the Occupy movement. Earlier this month, Michele Bachmann was interrupted by protesters during a speech in Charleston, South Carolina.

His speaking engagement came two days after the First Lady was booed at the start of NASCAR's season finale in Florida.

Michelle Obama and the Vice President’s wife, Jill Biden, were on hand at the Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday to honour military troops and their families through Mrs Obama's Joining Forces program, designed to hire and train veterans and military spouses.

'A lot of the folks who have been down in New York and all across the country, in the Occupy movement, there is a profound sense of frustration. There is a profound sense of frustration about the fact that the essence of the American Dream - which is if you work hard, if you stick to it, that you can make it - feels like that's slipping away. And it's not the way things are supposed to be. Not here. Not in America.' President Barack Obama speaking in New Hampshire today

But as their arrival was announced to say the ceremonial 'Gentleman, start your engines,' a chorus of loud booing could be heard above the cheers in the crowd.

In New Hampshire, seeking to steal the spotlight from Republican presidential candidates, the president continued, appearing unfazed by the recent jeers.



He went on to challenge GOP lawmakers back in Washington to stand by their anti-tax pledges on one big measure.

He was greeted with a blunt message from Republican contender Mitt Romney, who bought campaign ads telling Obama, 'Your policies have failed.'

In his first trip to New Hampshire in nearly two years, the president was confronted by a state that has shifted sharply to the right since his victory here in the 2008 election. The state's crucial independent voters sided solidly with Republicans in the 2010 midterms, and recent polls suggest Obama would lose to Romney by 10 percentage points here if the election were held today.

Seeking to boost his appeal with independents in this low-tax state, Obama urged Congress to extend a Social Security payroll tax cut due to expire next month. In effect, he dared Republicans - many of whom have signed anti-tax pledges - to vote against an extension, a move the White House says would lead to a $1,000 tax hike on a family making $50,000 a year.

Reaching: A protester, wearing glasses, hands President Barack Obama a note as the president greeted audience members after speaking about jobs today

Passing it on: President Obama takes the note from the protester, appearing to read it as he continues to shake hands

Taking it in: Mr Obama reads the note as he greets members of the audience at Manchester High School Central

Message: President Obama holds a note given to him by a protester as he greeted audience members after his speaking engagement

If lawmakers vote 'no, your taxes go up. Yes, you get a tax cut,' Obama told the crowd. 'Which way do you think Congress should vote?'

'Don't be a Grinch. Don't vote to raise taxes on working Americans during the holidays,' he said during his speech at a Manchester high school.

Democrats had hoped to tuck the payroll tax extension, as well as a renewal of jobless benefits, into an agreement from the congressional deficit-reduction supercommittee. But with that option off the table following the committee's collapse Monday, the White House plans to make a full-court press for a separate measure to extend the tax cuts before they expire at the end of the year - and set up Republicans as scapegoats if that doesn't happen.

Much of Obama's stop in Manchester was about trying to gain a foothold for his economic message in New Hampshire to balance the anti-Obama rhetoric from the Republican candidates swarming the state ahead of the Jan. 10 presidential primary. Obama's trip came on the same day that the GOP contenders were gathering in Washington for a foreign policy debate sure to focus on what they see as the president's failings.

Obama came face to face with the frustration of some New Hampshire voters, who are fed up with a local economy that is struggling to grow and increasingly unhappy with the president's leadership.

A group of protesters outside Manchester Central High School carried signs that read 'Obama Isn't Working.' And the president's speech was interrupted by a handful of people venting the frustrations of the Occupy Wall Street movement that has spread across to a number of cities.

Eager audience: President Obama looks at a drawing given to him by ten-year-old Sophia Chiboub of Litchfield New Hampshire (left) following a campaign rally

Supporters: Crowds of people smile as the president hugs ten-year-old Sophia Chiboub after the speaking engagement

After the speech, a member of the movement got close enough to the president as he shook hands with the crowd to pass him a note.



The piece of paper, in tiny print, read: 'Mr. President: Over 4000 peaceful protesters have been arrested. While bankers continue to destroy the American economy. You must stop the assault on our 1st amendment rights. Your silence sends a message that police brutality is acceptable. Banks got bailed out. We got sold out.'



Meanwhile, even some Obama supporters have sensed a shift in the state.

Naomi Preble, 62, backed Obama in the 2008 election, and the independent voter plans to vote for him again. But she said young people in New Hampshire have soured on the president.

'I think they're worried,' Ms Preble said. 'They don't see the strong leader they thought they elected.'

Romney used Obama's trip as an opportunity to air his first 2012 television ads in the Granite State, and they were sharply critical of Obama's economic record. He also ran ads in New Hampshire newspapers that said to Obama, 'I will be blunt. Your policies have failed.'

Obama never mentioned his GOP challengers by name during his two-and-a-half-hour stop in New Hampshire, making only a veiled reference to their constant presence in this swing state.

'The next time you hear one of these folks from the other side coming and talking about raising your taxes, you just remind them that ever since I've gotten into office, I've lowered your taxes, haven't raised them,' he said.

While the White House insisted the president's stop was not about politics, the trip had a campaign feel, from the packed high school gymnasium where Obama spoke to the local restaurant where he dropped by to have lunch with a New Hampshire family.

Chilly reception: Michelle Obama was greeted with a chorus of boos at the final NASCAR event of the year to honour military troops and their families through her Joining Forces program on Sunday

Start your engines: First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr Jill Biden appeared before the race at a barbecue for active duty and retired military personnel, in the garage of NASCAR driver Carl Edwards, right, before the race

Obama's campaign believes he can re-ignite voters' passion as they see more of him. His surrogates, including Vice President Joe Biden, will also be making frequent trips to New Hampshire.

The key for the campaign will be bringing New Hampshire independent voters back to the Democratic Party before next November's election.

Independents helped Republicans sweep the state's congressional elections and win veto-proof majorities in both chambers of the state Legislature. It was a dramatic shift for a state many believed had been shifting to the left over the past decade.

Billy Shaheen, a longtime Democratic operative in New Hampshire and the husband of Senator Jeanne Shaheen, said Republicans' huge gains in the state in 2010 served as a wake-up call.

'After the 2010 election, New Hampshire got a taste of what the tea party can do, and it's not happy,' he said. 'We let our guard down in 2010.'

The White House sees a year-end debate over extending payroll tax cuts, as well as renewing jobless benefits, as an opportunity to draw a distinction for voters between the president's priorities and those of Republicans. Economists have warned that letting both programs expire could be harmful to an economy still struggling to recover from recession.

The Republican field is not unanimous on whether to extend the payroll tax cut. Romney has said he's not for raising taxes 'anywhere,' and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich says that given the economic conditions "it's very hard to say no." In Congress, Rep. Michelle Bachmann voted against the payroll tax cut, but Rep. Ron Paul supported it. Businessman Herman Cain and Texas Gov. Rick Perry oppose extending the cut.

Last year's cut in the 6.2 per cent payroll tax, which raises money for Social Security, was accomplished with borrowed money. This time around, administration officials say the president may not insist on the cuts being paid for immediately.

The 2 percentage-point cut in the 6.2 per cent payroll tax gave 121million families a tax reduction averaging $934 last year at a total cost of about $120billion, according to the Tax Policy Center.

Obama also wants to cut the payroll tax by another percentage point for workers and cut the employer share of the tax in half as well for most companies.

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