VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) -- President Barack Obama says if Mitt Romney and Republicans aren't willing to let tax cuts lapse for the wealthiest Americans, they're "not serious" about deficit reduction.
At a campaign rally in Virginia Beach, Va., the president renewed calls to extend Bush-era tax breaks for the poor and middle class while the two sides argue about the remaining top 2 percent of Americans.
But he says Republicans are balking -- and holding middle-class cuts, in his words, "hostage."
The GOP calls Obama's plan a recipe for a massive tax hike that'll hit small business.
Obama is kicking off two days of campaigning in Virginia, which he won four years ago -- the first Democratic presidential hopeful to do so since 1964.