First Lady Michelle Obama came to Bethlehem Thursday night and delivered a fiery speech aimed at inspiring the 2,400 in attendance to get at least one more person to the polls in November to help re-elect her husband.
“Barack has said this election will be even closer than the last one. This election could come to those last few thousand votes, particularly in this state,” she told the standing-room-only crowd gathered at in the Johnston Hall gym.
“When you think of a few thousand votes spread out across the state, that could be the one new voter that you register, that one neighbor you get to the polls. That could be the difference. That could be the one that puts us over the top,” she continued.
The first lady campaigned in three eastern Pennsylvania spots – l – to advance her “It Takes One” initiative to grow the grassroots effort to get President Obama re-elected.
The event had the feel of a pep rally inside the college gymnasium, with the enthusiasm building with each successive speaker. , calling on them to work hard over the next 88 days to get President Obama re-elected.
A campaign video was then shown detailing some of the president's achievements. The biggest applause was given to the president's health care reform law, which Republicans aim to repeal, and the killing of terrorist
The crowd roared when the first lady stepped out from behind a giant American flag behind the stage where Yvonne Allende of Latinos for Obama introduced her.
In a 40-minute speech, Obama said the very future of middle-class families is at stake in this election.
“This is really about our values. We are doing this because of the vision for this country that we all share,” she said.
“We believe that everyone in America should have a fair shot. That means all of our kids should have good schools. All of our kids should be able to attend college without piling up a mountain of debt. Teachers and firefighters shouldn’t pay higher taxes than millionaires and billionaires.
“We believe that if you work hard, you shouldn’t go bankrupt if someone gets sick.”
She said that she and her husband both understand what it means to struggle. Her father worked as a pump operator for a city water system.
“What my parents did have was the drive and the ability to save,” she said. “They poured every ounce of themselves into myself and my brother so that we could do well. Education was everything to our family. It was our ticket to the middle class.”
And while Pell Grants and student loans paid for most of their tuition, her father “was determined” to pay his small share on time, she said.
As the son of a single mother, the president shares a similar story, she said.
“Barack knows what it means to be in the struggle. He knows what it means to work hard because you want to give a better life to your kids,” Obama said.
“And when you walk through that door of opportunity, you do not slam it shut behind you. That’s what’s at stake in this election.”
Check back on Patch for more photos of the Michelle Obama campaign stop in Bethlehem.
This man has no regard to the constitution, and has the media in his pocket, including this online paper.
Bush took office in 2001 with a balanced federal budget and a surplus, he pushed through sweeping tax cuts that were not offset by spending cuts. He left office with an approval rating of 34 percent. The tax cuts have cost about $1.8trillion and were set to expire after 10 years, but President Obama allowed them to remain in place temporarily. That was in exchange for a jobless benefits extension and a payroll tax cut. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan after the 9/11 terror attacks in 2001 were never budgeted and have cost taxpayers $1.4trillion so far. Bush signed legislation in 2003 enacting a prescription drug benefit as part of Medicare, projected to cost as much as $1.2trillion over 10 years. The Troubled Asset Relief Program, the bank bailout programme widely loathed by many conservatives, was another Bush-era program. Congress authorised nearly $700billion in response to the collapse of investment bank Lehman Brothers and the subsequent financial crisis in autumn 2008. But what am I talking about? Blame Obama.
"I AM FIRED UP I GOT LOTS MORE I HOPE IT IS ENOUGH TO GET AYATOLLA OBAHMA OUT OF THE WHITE HOUSE what a terrible 3 plus years a bunch of crap only the simpletons will believe ..he is for the middle class just like adolf hitler celebrated yom kipper" Worth debating with?
You want his return? Here it is- http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/mitt-romneys-2010-tax-return-romneys-estimated-2011-filing-full-text/2012/01/24/gIQApZ6RNQ_story.html
You don't want to debate me, because I won't lose my temper of back down from yours and your liberal friends' indignation and antagonistic approach to debate. Civility is lost on the left. So you don't want to debate me, fine, ignorance is bliss
In 2003 and 2005 Both House and Senate were GOP So I do not understand how you can say that congress was democratically controlled under Bush.
As to the polls, the only one that counts happens the first Tuesday in November. You may want to check out the Rasmussen poll for a different take. It was the only one that was spot on for the last Presidetial election. But be careful, you will probably need to hang garlic around your neck before reading. They are a little conservative in their reporting. To all the contributors, I get up at 5:00 AM to go to work, so I am a little tired and will be saying good night. Good talking to you all, and may the American people win in the next election, regardless of which candidate it is
Now I am going to bed.