Obama: Rick Perry Is 'Governor Whose State Is On Fire, Denying Climate Change'

By Erica Werner, Associated Press

WOODSIDE, Calif. -- President Barack Obama swiped at Texas Gov. Rick Perry, criticizing him as "a governor whose state is on fire, denying climate change."

Obama also poked at the audience reactions at recent GOP presidential debates, singling out those who cheered at the prospect of someone dying because he didn't have health insurance – and those who booed a gay service member.

The president said "that's not reflective of who we are."

He made the comments Sunday at a fundraiser at the Silicon Valley home of John Thompson, chairman of Symantec Corp.

--- More from HuffPost (quotes courtesy of White House pool report):

Obama hit back at the conservative media, urging supporters to "push back" on the "inadequate information" found on Fox News and the Wall Street Journal's editorial page.

Speaking to an audience full of supporters, he called the 2012 election "a contest of values."

"This is a choice about the fundamental direction of our country," he said. "2008 was an important direction. 2012 is a more important election."

"We're going to have a stark choice in this election," he said. "This is a choice about who we are and what we stand for and whoever wins this next election is going to set the template for this country for a long time to come."

Watch Obama discuss his jobs bill in his weekly address: