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WATCH: Mitt booed by NAACP during O critique

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UNIMPRESSED: Presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney (right) faces a tough crowd at the NAACP convention in Houston yesterday. (
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WASHINGTON — Republican Mitt Romney yesterday marched in front of the NAACP convention and took it on the chin when he was booed for daring to challenge President Obama’s policies.

Romney weathered a loud chorus of booing and jeering at the Houston Convention Center when he repeated his vow to repeal ObamaCare if elected.

“I’m going to eliminate every nonessential expensive program that I can find. That includes ObamaCare,” he declared.

That’s usually an applause line at Romney events. This time, the jeers lasted more than 15 seconds.

Romney didn’t flinch and kept a grin on his face until the audience quieted down.

He then stuck to his guns, saying that ObamaCare kills jobs.

“If our priority is jobs — and that’s my priority — that’s something I’d change,” he said.

Romney got booed again as he stubbornly stuck to a stump speech that blames Obama for the stalled economic recovery.

“If you want a president who will make things better in the African-American community, you are looking at him,” Romney said, pausing as some in the crowd heckled. He added, “You take a look!”

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) said he gave Romney an “A” just for showing up. He called the booing “inappropriate but predictable.”

“I don’t know who is advising Governor Romney from the African-American perspective, but I would give him an F-minus on talking about ObamaCare,” Cleaver told MSNBC.

After the speech, Romney said he wasn’t surprised by the booing.

“We expected that,” he told Fox Business Network, adding that he refused to pander to the audience.

He said he was confident he would make inroads with black voters, despite their overwhelming support for America’s first black president.

Obama won 96 percent of the black vote in 2008. But Dems worry that black support is softer this year because he didn’t deliver policies tailored to the community.

Obama isn’t even addressing the NAACP convention this year. He’s sending Vice President Joe Biden in his place — a move that Romney alluded to.

“If I am elected president, and you invite me to next year’s convention, I would count it as a privilege, and my answer will be yes,” Romney said.