Remarks by the First Lady at a Campaign Event

Lawrence University
Appleton, Wisconsin

3:45 P.M. CDT

MRS. OBAMA:  Thank you so much!  (Applause.)  Oh, yes.  I am very excited to be with you all today.  (Applause.) 

I want to start by thanking Eli for that very kind introduction, for everything he's doing for this campaign.  I want to thank a couple of -- one more person as well.  I want to recognize former Senator Russ Feingold.  (Applause.)  Thank you for everything you've done for this state, and everything that he's doing for the campaign here in Wisconsin.  (Applause.)

And most of all, I want to thank all of you -- especially all of the students here at Lawrence University.  Thanks for being here.  (Applause.)  Yes!  Yes!  Now, you all seem pretty fired up and ready to go.  (Applause.)  And that’s great, because I'm feeling pretty fired up and ready to go myself.  Yes, indeed.

The wonderful thing about coming out into the country, coming and doing rallies, speaking to you guys is that I get to do one of my favorite things -- I get to talk about the man I have loved and admired for -- since we met 23 years ago.  (Applause.) 

Now, this is what -- I've been sharing a little of our business.  (Laughter.)  Just a little.  But back when we first met, Barack had everything going for him.  Ladies, listen -- he was handsome -- still is.  Still is.  (Applause.)  He was charming, talented, and oh, so very, very smart.  But that is not why I married him.  So fellas, listen to this.  (Laughter.)  What truly made me fall in love with Barack was his character -- did you hear what I said, gentlemen?  It was his character.  Truly.

It was his decency.  It was his honesty, his compassion, it was his conviction.  I loved that Barack was so committed to serving others that he turned down high-paying jobs, and instead started his career fighting to get folks back to work in struggling communities.  I loved that about him.  (Applause.)

I also loved that Barack was so devoted to his family, especially the women in his life.  I watched this.  (Applause.)  I saw the respect that he had for his own mother, how proud he was that she was able to put herself through school and still support him and his sister as a single mom. 

I saw the tenderness he felt for his grandmother, and how grateful he was that long after she should have retired, she was still waking up every morning, catching her bus to that job at the community bank; making sure she did everything to support his family.  And he watched as she was passed over for promotions simply because she was a woman, but he also saw how she kept on doing that same job, kept getting up year after year -- without complaint, without regret. 

And with Barack, I found a real connection because in his life story, I saw so much of my own.  Growing up on the South Side of Chicago, I watched my own father make that same uncomplaining journey every day to his job at the city water plant.  I saw how he carried himself with that same dignity, that same pride in being able to provide for us, that same hope that his kids would one day have opportunities he never dreamed of.  How many people do we know like that in our lives?  (Applause.) 

Like so many families in this country, our families weren’t asking for much.  They didn’t want much.  They didn’t begrudge anyone else’s success.  They didn’t mind if others had much more than they did -- in fact, they admired it.  That’s why they pushed us to do better.  They simply believed in that fundamental American promise that even if you don’t start out with much, if you work hard, if you do what you’re supposed to do, then you should be able to build a decent life for yourself and an even better life for your kids and grandkids.  Absolutely.  (Applause.)

And our families believed that when you’ve worked hard, then you’ve done well and you’ve finally walked through that doorway of opportunity, you don’t slam it shut behind you.  You reach back and you give other folks the same chances that helped you succeed.  (Applause.)

See, that’s how Barack, that’s how I, that’s how so many of us were raised.  Those are the values we were taught growing up.  We learned that how hard you work matters more than how much you make.  We learned that the truth matters -- so you don’t take shortcuts, you don’t game the system, you don’t play by your own set of rules.

We also learned that none of us gets where we are on our own; that each of us -- (applause) -- every single one of us has a community of people lifting us up -- from the teachers who inspire us to the janitors who keep our schools clean.  (Applause.)  And what our parents and grandparents taught us is that you value everyone's contribution; you treat everyone with respect. 

We also learned about citizenship and service -- that we’re all a part of something bigger than ourselves; that with our freedoms come obligations, and with our blessings come a duty to give back to others who have less.  And these are the values, truly, that make Barack such an extraordinary husband to me, and a phenomenal father to our girls.  (Applause.) 

I will tell Sasha and Malia you say hi.  That’s very sweet.  (Applause.) 

But I talk about Barack’s values not just as a wife and a mother, but also as a First Lady who has seen up close and personal what being President really looks like and just how critical those values are to leading this country.  Over the past three and a half years, I’ve seen how the issues that come across a President’s desk are always the hard ones -- the decisions that are not just about the bottom line, but about laying a foundation for the next generation.  I’ve seen how important -- yes.  (Applause.)  And I’ve seen how important it is to have a President who doesn’t just tell us what we want to hear, but who tells us the truth -- even when it’s hard; especially when it’s hard.  (Applause.)

And I’ve also seen that when it comes time to make those tough calls, and everyone is urging you to do what’s easy, everyone is urging you to do what polls best, what gets good headlines, as President, you have got to be driven by the struggles, hopes and dreams of all of the people you serve.  As President, you have to have a strong inner compass, a core commitment to your fellow citizens.  And that's how you make the right decisions for this country.  That's what it takes to be a leader.  (Applause.)

And let me just say, since the day he took office, on issue after issue, crisis after crisis, that's what we’ve seen in my husband.  We’ve seen his values at work.  We’ve seen his vision unfold.  We’ve seen the depths of his character, courage and his conviction.

I mean, think back to when Barack first took office, the very first day -- right after he was inaugurated.  Where were we?  Our economy was on the brink of collapse.  Newspapers were using words like "meltdown," "calamity;" they were declaring "Wall Street Implodes," "Economy in Crisis."  Look, for years, folks had been lured into buying homes they couldn’t afford, so their mortgages were underwater.  Banks weren’t lending.  Companies weren’t hiring.  The auto industry was in crisis.  This economy was losing 800,000 jobs every month -- 800,000 jobs every month.  And a lot of folks wondered whether we were headed for a Great Depression. 

See, now that’s what Barack faced on day one as President of the United States.  But instead of pointing fingers, instead of placing blame, your President got to work -- because he was thinking about folks like my dad.  (Applause.)  He was thinking about us.  He was thinking about folks like my dad and like his grandmother. 

And that’s why he cracked down on lending abuses -- so that today, when folks apply for a mortgage or a credit card, you know exactly what you’re getting into.  That’s why he cut taxes for small businesses and working families -- because we have a President who believes that teachers and firefighters should not be paying higher tax rates than millionaires and billionaires -- not in America.  (Applause.)

He got the auto industry back on its feet, and today, new cars are rolling off the line at proud American companies like GM.  (Applause.)  And yes, while we still have a long way to go to rebuild our economy, understand we have had 30 straight months of private sector job growth -- a total of 5.1 million new jobs under this President.  Good jobs right here in the United States of America.  (Applause.)

Let’s talk about the health of our families.  See, Barack didn’t care whether health reform was the easy thing to do politically -- that’s not who he is.  (Applause.)  He cared that it was the right thing to do.  And thankfully, because he fought for health reform, today our parents and grandparents on Medicare are paying hundreds less for their prescription drugs; our young people can stay on our parent’s insurance until they’re 26 years old.  (Applause.) 

Insurance companies now have to cover basic preventive care -- things like contraception, cancer screenings -- with no out-of-pocket cost.  (Applause.)  They won’t be able discriminate against you because you have a preexisting condition like diabetes or asthma.  (Applause.)  And if you get a serious illness -- let’s say breast cancer -- and you need expensive treatment, they can no longer tell you, sorry, you’ve hit your lifetime limit and we’re not covering a penny more -- no more.  That is illegal because of health reform.  (Applause.)

And as Eli mentioned, when it comes to giving our young people the education they deserve, see, Barack knows that like me and like so many of you, he never, never could have attended college without financial aid -- never.  In fact, as I shared in my speech in Charlotte, when we were first married, our combined student loan bills were higher than our mortgage.  So when it comes to student debt, Barack and I, we've been there.  This is not a hypothetical. 

And that’s why Barack fought so hard to double funding for Pell grants and keep interest rates down.  (Applause.)  Because he knows how important it is for all of our young people to be trained to have the skills that you need for the jobs of the future -- good jobs you can raise a family on, jobs that will drive our economy for decades to come.

And finally, when it comes to understanding the lives of women, when it comes to standing up for our rights and opportunities -- (applause) -- we know that my husband will always have our backs -- always.  (Applause.)  See, because Barack knows from personal experience what it means for a family when women aren’t treated fairly in the workplace.  He knows what it means when women struggle to meet the demands of their jobs and the needs of their families.  And today, believe me, as a father, he knows what it means to want our daughters to have the same freedoms and opportunities as our sons. 

And that’s why the first bill he signed into law as President was to help women get equal pay for equal work.  (Applause.)  And that is why he will always, always fight to ensure that women -- that we can make our own decisions about our bodies and our health care.  That’s what my husband stands for.  (Applause.) 

So when people ask you what this President has done for our country, when you're talking to folks who are deciding who is going to keep our country moving forward for four more years, here's what I want you to tell them -- just a few things, because we don’t have all day.  (Laughter.) 

I want you to tell them about the millions of jobs Barack created.  Tell them about how he passed health reform.  Tell them about all our kids who will finally be able to afford college.  

Tell them how Barack ended the war in Iraq.  (Applause.)  Tell them how together, we took out Osama bin Laden.  (Applause.)  Tell them how Barack fought to get veterans and military families the benefits they’ve earned.  (Applause.)

Tell them about young immigrants brought to America through no fault of their own, and how they will no longer be deported from the only country they’ve ever called home.  (Applause.)  Tell them how our brave men and women in uniform will never, never again have to lie about who they are to serve the country they love.  (Applause.)  You know this. 

You know I could go on and on and on.  But here's what I want you to tell them:  Tell them that Barack knows the American Dream because he's lived it. (Applause.)  He's lived it.  And he has been fighting every day so that every one of us in this country can have that same opportunity, no matter who we are, or where we’re from, or what we look like, or who we love.  (Applause.)  

But let’s be clear -- while my husband is proud of what we have achieved together, he is nowhere near satisfied.  Not at all.  Not for one second.  Barack knows that too many people are still hurting.  He knows that there’s plenty of work left to be done.  As President Clinton said in Charlotte, it is going to take a lot longer than four years to rebuild an economy from the brink of collapse.  (Applause.)  But here's something that I know for sure --

AUDIENCE:  Four more years!  Four more years!

MRS. OBAMA:  There's one thing that I know for sure -- our President has been fighting for us.  He has been struggling with us.  And together, slowly but surely, we have been pulling ourselves out of that hole we started in.  For three and a half years, we have been moving forward, we've been making progress, and we’re beginning to see that change we all can believe in. 

So we have to ask ourselves, are we going to turn around and go back to the same policies that got us into that hole in the first place?

AUDIENCE:  No!

MRS. OBAMA:  Are we going to just sit back and watch everything that we’ve worked for and fought for to just slip away?

AUDIENCE:  No!

MRS. OBAMA:  Are we going to keep moving this country forward?  What are we going to do?  Forward!  (Applause.)  We got to keep moving forward.  Yes!  (Applause.)

AUDIENCE:  Four more years!  Four more years!

MRS. OBAMA:  Right, four more years.  We'll get it done. 

AUDIENCE:  Four more years!  Four more years!   

But here's the thing -- the answer to these questions, it's on us.  It's up to us.  Because all our hard work, all the progress we’ve made together, it’s all on the line.  Everything is at stake this November.  And as my husband has said, the only guarantee is that this election will be closer than the last one, and it could all come down to just a few battleground states like Wisconsin -- can decide the whole thing by just a few thousand votes. 

And while that might not sound like a lot when you're talking about a few thousand votes, remember that those votes are spread out all across an entire state -- across hundreds of cities and thousands of wards.  So when you think about it like that, just a handful of votes in every ward could make all the difference in the world.  That could mean just a couple of votes in a neighborhood, just a single vote in an apartment building or in a dorm room.  (Applause.)

So understand, especially for our students, that one neighbor, that one classmate you get to the polls on November 6th, that one voter you persuade, that one new volunteer you recruit -- that could be the one that puts us over the top. 

So with just a few evenings on a phone bank, with just a few hours knocking on some doors, everybody in this room has the chance to swing an entire ward for Barack Obama.  (Applause.)  And if we win enough wards, we will win this state.  And if we win this state, we will be well on our way to putting Barack Obama back in the White House for four more years.  (Applause.)

So here's what I need you to do.  Here's the plan -- the secret plan.  (Laughter.)  You guys, turn off your cameras.  (Laughter.)  Just kidding.  (Laughter.)  So from now until November we're going to need every single one -- look at this room!  Look at the power in this room!  We're going to need every single one of you to work like you've never worked before.  I mean, young people, all like so many of you here, you all have always driven Barack's campaigns with your passion and your energy.  God, you guys are good.  (Applause.)

And 39 days is a long, long time in any campaign.  Don't be fooled.  So we’ve got to turn all of this energy and excitement into action.  It doesn’t count if it doesn’t go into action.  We’ve got to work right up until the very end, okay?  So we need you to find one of our volunteers today -- they’re around here.  They've got clipboards.  We need you to sign up with them to make calls, knock on doors to help get the vote out here on campus and out in the community.

And we also need you to talk to everyone you know -- everyone -- your friends, your neighbors, that cousin you haven’t seen in a while, that student sitting next to you in class -- who you know is not registered -- (laughter) -- you know it.  And for our students especially, talk to your parents and grandparents.  I can’t tell you how many grandparents came up to me and told me that the only reason they voted for Barack Obama in 2008 was because of what it meant for their grandchildren.  (Applause.) 

So what you say matters more than you know.  So talk to them.  Tell them what’s at stake in this election.  Remind them of all the wonderful things this President has accomplished.  Bring them to events like this one if you can. 

But most of all, make sure that the folks you talk to, and yourselves, make sure that you’re registered to vote.  Especially for students -- if you’ve just moved, you’ve got to reregister.  If you’ve never voted before, you can’t vote until you register, right?  So the first step is getting registered. 

Make sure that you know that here in Wisconsin, you can vote early.  You can start voting as early as October 22nd at any municipal clerk’s office.  You can start -- you students, all right?  (Laughter.)  You all in particular -- you need to vote early.  You know what’s going to happen on Election Day, right?  You’re going to oversleep, and you’re going to be like, was it Election Day?  That was yesterday?  (Laughter.)

So we need you to vote early, because you have weeks to do it.  You can do it between classes.  You can do it on a weekend.  You don’t have to wait for that one day. 

And for the folks that you talk to, tell them that they can register and vote on the same day, whether you’re voting early or on Election Day, okay?  But don’t procrastinate, as I tell my children.  Don’t wait.  And if folks don’t know where to go for the information they need, you can send them to ownyourvotewi.com, okay?  Ownyourvotewi.com -- there you can find everything that you need, everything they need to make their voices heard.  All this information is on this website.  So make sure you send people there if you don’t know offhand.

We got it?  (Applause.)  Secret plan?  Okay, you may turn your cameras back on.  (Laughter.) 

But, I want to be honest with you, this journey is going to be hard, okay, and these next days are going to feel long, all right?  And here’s the thing -- there will be plenty of ups and downs along the way.  That’s how it works in a campaign.  But when you start to get tired -- and you will -- when you start to think about taking a day off -- and you will -- I just want you to remember that what we do for the next 39 days will absolutely make the difference between waking up the day after Election Day and wondering, “Could I have done more?”, or feeling the promise of four more years.  It’s the difference in how we work.

So from now until November 6th, we need you to keep on working and struggling and pushing forward.  Because here’s the thing -- especially for our young people -- that is how change always happens in this country, all right?  Real change takes time.  It requires patience and tenacity.  And that’s not just with politics -- it’s with everything that happens in life.  It takes time, right?  But if we keep showing up, if we keep fighting the good fight, if we keep doing what we know is right, then eventually we get there. 

This is what I want you all to know:  In America, we always move forward.  We always move forward.  (Applause.)  Maybe not in our lifetimes, but maybe in our children’s lifetimes; maybe in our grandchildren’s lifetimes. 

Because in the end, that’s what this is about.  That’s what elections are always about.  Don’t let anybody tell you differently, ever -- elections are always about hope.  The hope that I saw on my father’s beaming face as I crossed the stage to get my college diploma; the hope that I’m sure Barack’s grandmother felt as she cast her ballot for the grandson she loved and raised; the hope that all of those men and women in our lives who worked that extra shift for us, who saved and sacrificed and prayed so that we could have something more; the hope that so many of us feel when we look into your eyes -- the eyes of our children and our grandchildren.

That’s why we're here.  That’s why I'm here.  Because we want to give all of our children a foundation for their dreams -- all of them.  We want to give all of our children opportunities worthy of their dreams, because what we all know for sure -- I don’t care what party you're from -- all of our kids are worthy, every last one of them.  (Applause.) 

We want to give our kids that sense of limitless possibility; that belief that here in America, the greatest country on the planet, there is always something better out there if you're willing to work for it.

So what I tell myself is we cannot turn back now.  Not now.  We have come so far, but we have so much more work to do, don’t we? 

So are we ready to do this?  (Applause.)  Are you all ready to roll up your sleeves?  Are you fired up?  Are you ready to go?  Are you ready to work?  (Applause.)  Let's get it done.

Thank you, guys.  God bless.  (Applause.)

END  
4:15 P.M. CDT

Remarks by the First Lady at a Campaign Event

University of Northern Iowa
Cedar Falls, Iowa

12:53 P.M. CDT

MRS. OBAMA:  Oh, my goodness.  Thank you so much.  (Applause.)  Well, you all know I am so thrilled to be back here in Cedar Falls.  And I want to say hello to my Panthers.  (Applause.)  I love it!

Let me start by thanking Rose for that very kind introduction -- my little fist bump -- and everything that she's doing for the campaign.  She's doing a terrific job. 

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  We love you!

MRS. OBAMA:  I love you all, too.  Love you all so much.  (Applause.)  I also want to say a wonderful thank you and to recognize Senator Harkin, Bruce Braley, and Mayor Crews for being here and for their leadership every single day here in this state.

And, most of all, I want to thank all of you.  (Applause.)  Thank you.  I know you all are busy.  You've got school to go to and you're here.  You've got lives to lead and you're here.  And to all the students of UNI, thank you.  Thank you for everything that you're doing. 

I know you all are pretty fired up.  I know you're pretty ready to go.  That's a good thing.  (Applause.)  And let me tell you, I'm feeling pretty fired up and ready to go myself.  (Applause.)  Because being here with you today and traveling all around the country, I get to do one of my favorite things -- I get to talk about the man that I have loved and admired since I met him 23 years ago.  (Applause.)

Next week, Barack and I, we'll be married for 20 years.  (Applause.)  So let me share something.  See, now, back when we first met -- ladies, listen up -- (laughter) -- Barack had everything going for him.  He was handsome -- still is, I think.  (Applause.)  He was charming, talented, and very, very smart.  But that is not why I married him. 

So, fellas, listen up.  (Laughter.)  What truly made me fall in love with Barack was his character.  No, truly, it was his decency, it was his honesty, it was his compassion, his conviction.  I loved that Barack was so committed to serving others that he turned down high-paying jobs and instead he started his career fighting to get folks back to work in struggling communities.

And I loved that Barack was so devoted to his family, especially to the women in his life.  I saw the respect that he had for his mother.  That meant so much to me.  I saw how proud he was that she was able to put herself through school and still support him and his sister as a single mom. 

I saw the tenderness that he felt for his grandmother, how grateful he was that long after she should have retired, she was still waking up every morning, catching a bus to her job at a community bank to make sure she was doing everything she could to support their family.  And he watched as she was passed over for promotions simply because she was a woman, but he also saw how she kept on getting up, kept doing what she was supposed to do without complaint, without regret. 

See, with Barack, I found in him a real connection because in his life story; I saw so much of my own.  Growing up on the South Side of Chicago, I watched my own father make that same uncomplaining journey every day to his job at the city water plant.  I saw how my father carried himself with that same dignity, the same pride that folks feel with the opportunity they have to provide for their family, that same hope that one day his kids would have things he only dreamed of.  How many people here have folks like that in their lives?  (Applause.)  And I know there are a lot of college students that are here because they've got parents or someone in their lives who is making that same sacrifice right now for them. 

See, like so many families in this country, our families weren’t asking for much.  My dad, Barack's grandmother, they didn’t begrudge anyone else’s success.  They didn’t mind if others had much more than they did -- in fact, they admired it.  That's why they pushed us so hard.  That's why they wanted us to go to college.  They simply believed in that fundamental American promise that even if you don’t start out with much, in America, if you work hard, if you do what you’re supposed to do, then you should be able to provide a decent life for yourself and an even better life for your kids and your grandkids.  (Applause.)

And they also believed in something very important, that when you’ve worked hard and when you've done well and you finally walk through that doorway of opportunity, you don't slam it shut behind you.  You reach back and you give other folks the same chances that helped you succeed.  (Applause.)

That’s how Barack, that’s how I, that’s how so many of us were raised.  Those are the values that we were taught.  We learned that hard work matters more than how much you make.  We learned that the truth matters -- so you don’t take shortcuts, you don’t game the system, you don’t play by your own set of rules.  We learned that no one -- none of us gets where we are on our own, that each of us has a community of people lifting us up, from the teachers who inspire us to the janitors who keep our schools clean.  (Applause.) 

And one thing my folks always made sure we knew, you learn to value everyone’s contribution.  You were taught to treat everyone with respect.  We also learned about citizenship and service -- that we’re all a part of something bigger than ourselves; that with our freedoms come obligations, and with our blessings come a duty to give back to others with less.  (Applause.) 

See, and I love talking to young people because I know these are the values that we’re all raised with.  These are the values that make Barack such an extraordinary husband to me and a phenomenal father to our girls.  But Barack’s values matter to me not just as a wife and as a mother, but also as a First Lady who has seen up close and personal what being President really looks like, and how critical those values are to leading this country. 

Over the past three and a half years, I’ve seen how the issues that come across the President’s desk, they’re always the hard ones -- the decisions that aren’t just about the bottom line, but about laying a foundation for the next generation.  (Applause.)  And I’ve seen how important it is to have a President who doesn’t just tell us what we want to hear, but who tells us the truth -- even when it’s hard; especially when it’s hard.  (Applause.) 

And I’ve seen that when it comes time to make those tough calls, and everyone is urging you to do what’s easy, everyone is urging you to do what polls best, what makes good headlines -- and, as President, you have to be driven by the struggles, hopes and dreams of all the people you serve.  As President, you have to have a strong internal compass, a core commitment to your fellow citizens.  And that’s how you make the right decisions for this country.  That’s what it takes to be a leader.  (Applause.) 

And let me tell you, since the day he took office, on issue after issue, crisis after crisis, that is what I have seen in my husband.  Let me tell you, we have seen his values at work.  We have seen his vision unfold.  We’ve seen the depths of his character, his courage and his conviction. 

I mean, think back to when Barack first took office.  This economy was on the brink of collapse.  Understand, the newspapers were using words like “meltdown,” “calamity;” declaring “Wall Street Implodes,” “Economy in Shock.”  See, for years -- and I don’t have to tell folks here -- for years, folks had been lured into buying homes they couldn’t afford, so their mortgages were underwater.  Banks weren’t lending, companies weren’t hiring.  The auto industry was in crisis.

This economy was losing 800,000 jobs every month.  You hear me?  Every month.  And a lot of folks wondered whether we were headed for another Great Depression.  That’s where we were.  This is what Barack faced on day one as President of the United States.  This is what he walked into.

But let me tell you, instead of pointing fingers, instead of placing blame, Barack got to work.  (Applause.)  See, because he was thinking about folks like my dad, folks like his grandmother.

See, and that’s why he cracked down on lending abuses, so that today, when you apply for a mortgage or a credit card, you know exactly what you’re getting into.  That’s why he cut taxes for small businesses and for working families -- because you have a President that believes that here in America, teachers and firefighters should not pay higher tax rates than millionaires and billionaires.  (Applause.)

He got the auto industry back on its feet, and as a result, today, new cars are rolling off the line at proud American companies like GM.  (Applause.) 

And, yes, we have a long way to go to rebuild our economy, but we have had 30 straight months of private sector job growth -- more than 5.1 million new jobs under this President, good jobs right here in the United States of America.  (Applause.) 

And when it comes to the health of our families, Barack didn’t care whether health reform was the easy thing to do politically.  That’s not who he is.  He cared that it was the right thing to do.  And today, because he fought so hard for health reform, our parents and grandparents on Medicare are paying hundreds less today for their prescription drugs.  (Applause.)  Young people, like all of you, can now stay on your parent’s insurance until you’re 26 years old because of health reform.  (Applause.)

Insurance companies now have to cover basic preventative care -- things like contraception, cancer screenings, with no out-of-pocket cost.  (Applause.)  They won’t be able to discriminate against you because you have a preexisting condition like diabetes or asthma.  (Applause.)   

And here’s one that really gets me:  If you get a serious illness -- let’s say breast cancer -- and you need real expensive treatment, no longer can they tell you, sorry, you hit your lifetime limit and we’re not paying a penny more.  No longer.  That is now illegal because of health reform.  (Applause.)

And when it comes to giving all our young people the education they deserve, Barack knows that, like me and like so many of you, he never, never could have afforded to attend college without financial aid.  Never.  In fact, when we were first married, our combined monthly student loan bills were actually higher than our mortgage. 

So, believe me, when it comes to student debt, Barack and I, we’ve been there.  This is not a hypothetical.  And that’s why Barack fought to double funding for Pell grants and to keep interest rates down.  (Applause.)  Because, fortunately, we have a President who understands how critical that is to ensuring that all of our young people have the skills that they need for the jobs of the future -- good jobs you can raise a family on; good jobs that will build this economy for decades to come.  (Applause.)

And finally, when it comes to understanding the lives of women -- when it comes to standing up for our rights and opportunities -- look, we know my husband will always have our backs.  See, because Barack knows from personal experience what it means for a family when women aren’t treated fairly in the workplace.  And that’s why he made sure the first bill he signed into law was to make sure that women get equal pay for equal work.  (Applause.)

So he knows what it means when women struggle to meet the demands of their jobs, the needs of their families.  Believe me, today, as a father, he knows what it means to want our daughters to have the same freedoms and opportunities as our sons.  So one of the things I make sure that people understand -- Barack will always make sure that we as women have the right to decide what we want to do with our own health and with our own health care.  That’s what Barack Obama stands for.  (Applause.)

So when people ask you what this President has done for our country, when you run into people who are deciding which of these candidates is going to keep our country moving forward for four more years, here’s a few things that you can tell them -- and I’m only going to go through a few of them. 

Tell them about the millions of jobs Barack has created.  Tell them about how he passed health reform.  Tell them about all the kids who will now be able to finally afford college.  Tell them how Barack ended the war in Iraq.  (Applause.)

Tell them how we worked together and finally took out Osama bin Laden.  (Applause.)  Tell them how Barack has fought to give veterans and military families the benefits they’ve earned.  (Applause.)  Tell them about all of the young immigrants brought here to this country through no fault of their own, and how they will no longer be deported from the only country they’ve ever called home.  (Applause.)  Tell them how our brave men and women in uniform will never again have to lie about who they are to serve the country they love.  (Applause.)

I could go on and on and on, but more importantly, I want you to tell them that Barack Obama knows the American dream because he’s lived it.  And he has been fighting every day so that everyone in this country can have that same opportunity no matter who we are or where we’re from or what we look like or who we love. 

But let me tell you, let’s be very clear:  While Barack is very proud of all that we’ve accomplished together, my husband is nowhere near satisfied, trust me.  Barack knows more than anyone that there are still too many people struggling.  He knows that there is plenty of work left to be done.  As President Clinton said, it’s going to take a lot longer than four years to build -- rebuild an economy from the brink of collapse.  (Applause.)

But here’s something I can tell you for sure.  Since the day he took office, Barack has been fighting for us.  He has been struggling with us.  And together, slowly but surely, we have been pulling ourselves out of the hole that we started in. 

For three and a half years, we’ve been moving forward and making progress, and we’re beginning to see that change we all can believe in.  So we have to ask ourselves, are we going to turn around and go back to the same policies that got us in this hole in the first place? 

AUDIENCE:  No!

MRS. OBAMA:  Are we going to just sit back and watch everything that we’ve worked for and fought for to just slip away? 

AUDIENCE:  No!

MRS. OBAMA:  Or are we going to keep moving this country forward?  What are we going to do?  (Applause.)  So let me tell you something.  In the end, the answer to these questions is really up to us.  It’s on all of us.  Because all of our hard work, all the progress we’ve made -- understand it’s all on the line.  It’s all at stake this November.  It can all be gone.  And as my husband said, this election will be even closer than the last one.  That’s the only guarantee you have.  And it could all come down to what happens in just a few key battleground states like right here in Iowa.

Now, just to put it in perspective for you guys, think back to what happened in 2008.  Back then, we won this state by about 147,000 votes.  (Applause.)  Yes, well, that may sound like a lot, but when you break it down, that’s just 87 votes per precinct.  Just think about that -- 87 votes.  That could mean just a couple votes in a neighborhood, a single vote in the hallway of your dorm.

So if there is anyone here who might be thinking -- or maybe you know someone who might be thinking that their vote doesn’t matter, that their involvement doesn’t count, that in this complex political process that somehow ordinary folks couldn’t possibly make a difference, I want you all to just keep that number in your mind -- 87. 

But I’ve got news for you -- here in this state, it is already Election Day.  (Applause.)  Today is Election Day.  (Applause.)  See, the beauty of where you are is that early voting started yesterday, and for today only, right here on this campus, there is a satellite voting site open at the Schindler Education Building until 6:00 p.m.  And there, you can get registered, you can cast your ballot all in one stop. 

So right after I’m done speaking, I want you all to walk out that main door, and follow the volunteers, and do your part to move this country forward.  (Applause.)  Listen to this -- you can be one of the first people here in 2012 to cast your ballot for Barack Obama.  (Applause.)  You can do that.  See, and I really want to talk to the students right now, because you all know you need more than one day to vote, right?  (Laughter.)  You wake up late, you’ll be like, today is Election Day?  (Laughter.)  Oh, that was yesterday -- oh, my gosh, I didn’t know.  (Laughter.)  You know -- so don’t do that.  You got a whole month to make it happen, a whole month to vote.  (Applause.) 

As I tell my children, don’t procrastinate.  No procrastinations.  Make it happen.  Do it today.  And then after you’ve voted -- see, this is also the reason we need you to vote early.  We’re going to need you, every single one of you here, to work like you’ve never worked before.  Young people like all of you, so many of you here have always driven Barack’s campaigns with your energy and your passion.  This is your future.

And 39 days, that's how much time is left until the election -- 39 days.  That's a long time in a campaign.  Let me tell you.  It feels short.  That's a long time.  (Laughter.)  So we’ve got to turn all of this wonderful energy into action.  That's the next step.  We’ve got to work right up to the very end.  So if you vote early, you can use all the time to find other people, you know?  Multiply yourselves.  Find five more friends that you know aren’t registered.  Get them to vote early.  And look in this room, you all can beat that 87 right here at UNI.  You all can be the ones that do that.  (Applause.)

So when I’m finished, I want you to look for one of the volunteers here today.  They’ve got clipboards.  Find them, okay?  And when you find them, we need you to sign up with them to do more work.  Make phone calls, knock on doors to get out the vote here on campus and out in the community.  We need you to talk to everyone you know, everyone.  Your friends, your neighbors, that cousin you haven’t seen in a while, that student sitting next to you in class, you know the one.  You know he’s not registered.  (Laughter.)  You can just look at him.  You can tell.  You can pick them out.  Find them, shake them.

Also talk to your parents and your grandparents.  In 2008, I can't tell you how many grandparents came up to me and said that they voted for Barack because of their grandchildren, because of your enthusiasm, because you told them what it meant for your future.  (Applause.)  Let them know what this election means to you.  Tell them what’s at stake.  Remind them of all the things this President has done.  Bring them to events like this one.  But make sure you’re registered, all right?  Especially if you just moved.  Students, if you registered and you moved, you got to re-register, right?  Or if you’ve never voted before, you’ve got to register.

And once folks are registered, make sure they get to the polls, cast their ballot on Election Day.  If they don't know where to go, here’s more information.  Go to GottaRegister.com.  You don't even need to leave your room.  Go right there.  You can find everything you need to make your voices heard this Election Day. 

And I’m not going to kid you.  This journey is -- it’s going to be hard.  These next days are going to be long.  And trust me, there are going to be plenty of ups and downs all the rest of the way, all right?  So just count on that.  This stuff is never smooth sailing.  It’s up, it’s down.  It’s up again.  Trust me.  I’ve learned. 

But when you start to get tired, and you will -- when you start to get bored with all of this, and you will -- when you want to take a day off, and you will, I want you to remember don't do it.  (Laughter.)  I want you to remember that what we do for the next 39 days, especially you guys, will absolutely make the difference between waking up the day after Election Day and asking ourselves, could we have done more -- or feeling the promise of four more years.

So I need you all to work like you've never worked before between now and November 6th.  I want us to keep working, keep struggling, keep pushing forward.  And remember that that is how change always happens in this country.  Change is hard, and it requires patience and tenacity.  It always does.  But if we keep showing up -- this is what I want young people to know because this is your journey, right? 

From now on everything you want in your life will require you to work and keep working.  But know that if you keep fighting for what you know is right, know that eventually we get there.  Because in this country we always do.  Don't get discouraged.  In this country, we have always moved forward.  (Applause.)  Always.  But here's the trick -- maybe not in our lifetimes.  This is how I think, so many people think -- maybe in our children’s lifetimes.  See, that's who I'm working for.  Maybe in our grandchildren’s lifetimes. 

Because in the end, that’s what this is all about.  That’s what elections are always about.  Don’t let anybody tell you any differently -- elections are always about hope.  Like the hope that I saw on my father's beaming face as he watched me cross that stage to get my college diploma.  The hope that Barack’s grandmother must have felt as she cast her ballot for the grandson she loved and raised.  (Applause.)  The hope that all of those men and women in our lives who worked for us -- they worked that extra shift, they saved for us, they sacrificed for us, they are praying for us so that we could have something more.  The hope that so many of us feel when we look into your eyes, the eyes of our kids and our grandkids.

That’s why we're here today -- because we want to give you all that foundation for your dreams.  All of our children are worthy of that promise, and we want to give all our children that sense of limitless possibility, that belief that here in America, the greatest country on the planet -- (applause) -- there is always something better out there if you're willing to work for it.

So what I tell myself, we cannot turn back now.  No, not now.  We have come so far -- look at you all -- we have come so far.  (Applause.)  But we have so much more work to do.  So let me ask you one last thing -- are you ready for this?  (Applause.) Are you ready to work for this?  (Applause.)  Are you fired up?  (Applause.)  Are you ready to vote?  (Applause.)  Are you going to go vote right now?  (Applause.)

Early vote!  Find your friends.  Get them to early vote!  Do that work! 

Thank you, guys.  God bless you.  (Applause.)

END  
1:28 P.M. CDT

Remarks by the First Lady at a Campaign Event

Harpo Studios
Chicago, Illinois

5:47 P.M. CDT
 
MRS. OBAMA:  Chicago!  I’m home!  (Applause.)  Oh, you guys, thank you.  Rest yourselves!  We’re at Harpo!  (Applause.)  Oh my goodness, let me just tell you, I’m home because I was in the back having some Italian fiesta pizza.  (Applause.)  And of course they put Garrett popcorn in my car.  (Applause.)  It’s just wrong.  (Laughter.)  Just wrong.  But it reminds me that I’m home, and I am thrilled to be here with all of you.  Really, I am so thrilled.  Thanks for coming.  (Applause.)
 
I want to start by thanking a few people -- some who are still here, some had to go.  I know that our dear friend, Senator Durbin, was here along with Congresswoman Schakowsky, Jan, my girl.  (Applause.)  Thank you all.  Thanks for coming.  Thank you for bringing your friends and supporters.  Thank you for your leadership and service for the great state of Illinois and for our country.  We are so grateful.  They have just been just dear, dear friends.
 
And of course, I want to recognize all of our event hosts who helped to make this an oversold, over-packed, outrageously successful event today.  Thank you to all our friends and supporters.  Well done.  Well done!  (Applause.)
 
But most of all, I want to thank all of you for taking the time to be here today, and for being so enthusiastic.  I know you all are pretty fired up and ready to go.  I know that.  I know that!  (Applause.)  And I have to tell you that I’m feeling pretty fired up and ready to go myself.  (Laughter.) 
 
Because being here with all of you today is not just about being home again, but it’s also about getting the opportunity to talk about one of my favorite things.  I get to talk with you about the man I have loved and admired since I first met him 23 years ago.  (Applause.)
 
See, everybody talks about how wonderful the convention speech was, but I tell people, I had good material to work with -- (laughter) -- good material.  Now, what I’ve been sharing with people is back when I first met Barack, he had everything going for him.  He was handsome -- still is.  (Laughter.)  He was definitely charming, talented, and as many of our friends know, very, very smart, right?
 
But that’s not why I married him.  What truly made me fall in love with my husband was his character.  It was his decency and honesty, that compassion and conviction that he has always had.  I loved that Barack was so committed to serving others that he turned down high-paying jobs and instead started his career fighting to get folks back to work in struggling communities. 
 
And I loved that Barack was so devoted to his family, especially the women in his life -- you hear that, fellas?  (Laughter.)  I saw the respect he had for his mother.  I saw how proud he was that she put herself through school while supporting him and his sister as a single mother.  I saw the tenderness he felt for his grandmother.  I saw how grateful he was that long after she should have retired, she was still waking up every morning and catching that bus to her job at the community bank, doing everything she could to help support his family.
 
And, yes, he watched as she was passed over for promotions simply because she was a woman.  But he saw how she kept getting up, kept doing that same job year after year, without complaint, without regret. 
 
See, with Barack, I found a real connection because in his life story, I saw so much of my own.  As you all know, growing up on the South Side of Chicago, I watched my father -- (applause) -- yes, South Side!  South Side!  (Applause.) 
 
AUDIENCE MEMBER:  South Side!
 
MRS. OBAMA:  South Side.  (Laughter.)  But I watched my father make that same uncomplaining journey every day to his job at the city water plant just right up the way.  And I saw how he carried himself with that same dignity, that same pride in providing in his family, that same hope that his kids would one day have opportunities he never dreamed of.  So many of us have people like that in our lives, don’t we?
 
Like so many families in this country, our families weren’t asking for much.  They didn’t want much.  They didn’t begrudge anyone else’s success, and they didn’t mind if others had much more than they did.  In fact, they admired it.  That’s why they pushed us.  They simply believed in that fundamental American promise that even if you don’t start out with much, if you work hard and do what you’re supposed to do then you should be able to build a decent life for yourself and an even better life for your kids and grandkids.
 
And they believed that when you’ve worked hard and done well, and you’ve walked through that doorway of opportunity, you don’t slam it shut behind you.  You reach back and you give other folks the same chances that helped you succeed.  (Applause.) 
 
And that’s how Barack and I and so many of you were raised.  Those are the values that we were taught.  We learned that how hard you work matters more than how much you make.  We learned that the truth matters -- so you don’t take shortcuts, you don’t game the system, you don’t play by your own set of rules.  We learned that no one gets where they are on their own, that each of us has a community of people lifting us up every day -- from the teachers who inspired us to the janitors who kept our school clean.  (Applause.)
 
And we were all taught, especially if you’re from here, that you value everyone’s contribution.  You treat everyone with respect.  Absolutely.  (Applause.)  We learned about citizenship and service -- that we’re all a part of something bigger than ourselves; that with our freedoms come obligations, and with our blessings come a duty to give back to others who have less. 
 
These are the values that make Barack -- (applause) -- oh, yes -- such an extraordinary husband to me, such a phenomenal father to our girls.  But, see, Barack’s values matter to me not just as a wife and as a mother, but also as a First Lady, also as a citizen who has seen up close and personal what being President really looks like, and just how critical -- how critical those values are for leading this country. 
 
See, over the past three and a half years, I have seen how the issues that come across a President’s desk, they’re always the hard ones -- the decisions that aren’t just about the bottom line, but they’re about laying a foundation for the next generation.  And I’ve seen how important it is to have a President who doesn’t just tell us what we want to hear, but who tells us the truth -- even when it’s hard; especially when it’s hard.  (Applause.) 
 
And I’ve seen that when it comes times to make those tough calls, when everyone’s urging you to do what’s easy, what polls best, what gets good headlines -- see, as President, you must be driven by the struggles, hopes and dreams of all the people you serve.  (Applause.)  As President, you’ve got to have a strong inner compass, a core commitment to your fellow citizens.  That’s how you make the right decisions for this country.  That’s what it takes to be a leader.
 
And let me tell you something, since the day he took office, on issue after issue, crisis after crisis, that’s exactly what we’ve seen in my husband.  We have seen his values at work.  Let me tell you, we have seen his vision unfold.  We have seen the depths of his character, courage and conviction -- we’ve seen it. 
 
I mean, think back to when Barack first took office.  You all were there.  Many of you were there with us.  (Applause.)  But after that wonderful Inauguration Day, our economy was on the brink of collapse.  Newspapers were using words like “meltdown,” “calamity;” declaring “Wall street implodes,” “Economy in Shock.”  For years, folks had been lured into buying homes they couldn’t afford.  Their mortgages were underwater.  Banks weren’t lending, companies weren’t hiring.  The auto industry was in crisis.
 
And this economy -- this one -- was losing 800,000 jobs every single month.  And a lot of folks wondered whether we were headed for another Great Depression.  All right, you hear me?  And this is what faced Barack on day one as President.  This is what awaited him.  (Applause.)
 
But instead of pointing fingers, instead of placing blame, your President got to work because he was thinking about folks like my dad.  He was thinking about folks like his grandmother.  (Applause.)
 
And that’s why he cracked down on lending abuses, so that today, when you apply for a mortgage or a credit card, you know exactly what you’re getting into.  That’s why he cut taxes for small businesses and for working families -- because he believes that in America, teachers and firefighters should not pay higher tax rates than millionaires and billionaires.  Not in America.  (Applause.)
 
He got the auto industry back on its feet -- (applause) -- and today, new cars are rolling off the line at proud American companies like GM. 
 
And yes, while we still have a long way to go to rebuild our economy, we have had 30 straight months of private sector job growth -- a total of 5.1 million new jobs.  Did you hear me -- 5.1 million new jobs under this administration -- good jobs, right here in the United States of America.  That’s where we are under this President.
 
And when it comes to the health of our families, see, Barack didn’t care whether health reform was the easy thing to do politically, because that’s not who he is.  He cared that it was the right thing to do.  (Applause.)  And thankfully, today, because of that reform he fought for, our parents and grandparents on Medicare are paying hundreds less for their prescription drugs.  Our kids can stay on our insurance until they’re 26 years old thanks to health reform.  (Applause.)
 
Insurance companies now have to cover basic preventative care -- things like contraception, cancer screenings, with no out-of-pocket cost.  (Applause.)  They won’t be able to discriminate against you because you have a preexisting condition like diabetes or even asthma. 
 
And here’s one that really gets me:  that if you get a serious illness -- let’s say breast cancer -- and you need expensive treatment, they can no longer tell you, sorry, you’ve hit your lifetime limit and we’re not paying a penny more.  That is now illegal because of health reform -- today.  (Applause.)
 
And when it comes to giving our kids the education they deserve, Barack knows that like me and like so many of you, he never, never could have attended college without financial aid.  Never.  In fact, what I shared at the convention is that our combined student monthly loan bills were actually higher than our mortgage.  I know there are people here who can relate to that.  (Applause.)
 
So when it comes to student debt, see, Barack and I, we’ve been there.  This is not a hypothetical.  That is why Barack doubled funding for Pell grants.  That’s why he fought so hard to keep interest rates down.  (Applause.)  Because, fortunately, we have a President who wants all of our young people to have the skills they need for the jobs of the future -- good jobs they can raise a family on; jobs that drive our economy -- will drive it for decades to come.
 
And finally, when it comes to standing up for the lives of women, when it comes to standing up for our rights and responsibilities -- (applause) -- we know that my husband will always have our backs -- always.  (Applause.)  Because, see, Barack knows from personal experience what it means for a family when women aren’t treated fairly in the workplace.  He knows what it means when women struggle to meet the demands of their jobs and the needs of their families.  And today, believe me, as a father, he knows what it means to want our daughters to have the same freedoms and opportunities as our sons.  (Applause.)
 
And that is why the very first bill he signed as President was to help get -- women get equal pay for equal work -- the very first thing he did as President.  (Applause.)  And that is why he will always, always fight to ensure that women -- that we can make our own decisions about our bodies and our health care.  That’s what my husband stands for.  (Applause.)
 
So when people ask you what this President has done for our country, when you’re running into folks who are still deciding who is the best person to keep this country moving forward for four more years, see, here is what I want you to tell them.  Just a few things.  I want you to tell them about the millions of jobs Barack has created.  I want you to tell them about health reform that he passed.  I want you to tell them about all those kids today who can finally afford college. 
 
I want you to tell them that Barack ended the war in Iraq.  Tell them how we took out Osama bin Laden.  (Applause.)  Tell them how Barack fought to get veterans and military families the benefits they’ve earned.  (Applause.) 
 
Tell them about young immigrants brought to America through no fault of their own, who will no longer be deported from the only country they’ve ever called home.  Tell them about that.  (Applause.)
 
Tell them how brave men and women in uniform will never again have to lie about who they are to serve the country they love.  (Applause.) 
 
I could go on and on and on.  But here is something else:  Tell them that Barack Obama knows the American Dream because he’s lived it.  (Applause.)  And he is fighting every day so that everyone in this country can have that same opportunity no matter who we are, or where we’re from, or what we look like, or who we love.  (Applause.)
 
But let’s be clear:  While he is very proud of what we’ve all achieved together, trust me, my husband is nowhere near satisfied.  See, Barack knows that too many folks are still struggling.  He knows there’s plenty of work left to be done.  And it’s going to take a lot longer than four years to rebuild an economy from the brink of collapse.  That’s what President Clinton said.  (Applause.) 
 
But since he took office, let me tell you what I know for sure -- since we’re here at Harpo.  (Laughter.)  Barack has been fighting for us.  He has been struggling with us.  See, and together, slowly but surely, we have been pulling ourselves out of that hole that we started in.  For three and a half years, we have been moving forward and making progress, and we are beginning to see that change we all can believe in.
 
So we have to step back and ask ourselves, are we going to turn around and go back to the same policies that got us into this hole in the first place?
 
AUDIENCE:  No!
 
MRS. OBAMA:  Are we going to just sit back and watch everything we’ve worked for and fought for to just slip away?
 
AUDIENCE:  No!
 
MRS. OBAMA:  What are we going to do?  Or are we going to keep moving this country forward? 
 
But in the end, what we have to understand is that the answer to these questions is on us.  In the end, it’s up to us.  Because what we have to understand is that all of our hard work, all this wonderful progress that we’ve made, it’s all on the line.  It’s all at stake this November.  It can all be gone.
 
And as my husband has said, this election will be even closer than the last one.  That is the only guarantee you’re going to get.  And it could all come down to what happens in just a few key battleground states like Iowa or Wisconsin.
 
And I’ve been trying to put this in perspective for folks as I travel around, because I want you to think back to what happened in 2008.  Back then, we won Iowa by about 147,000 votes, okay?  So, now, that might sound like a lot, but when you break it down, that’s just 87 votes per precinct in that state.  Do you hear?  Eighty-seven votes, all right?  And if you look at North Carolina, we won that by 14,000 votes.  That’s just five votes per precinct. 
 
So that could mean just a couple of votes in a neighborhood, right?  That’s just a couple of votes in somebody’s apartment building.  So if there is anyone here or anyone you know who is sitting back thinking that their vote doesn’t count, that their involvement doesn’t matter, that in this complex political process that ordinary folks can’t possibly make a difference, I want you to think about that 87.  I want you to think about that five.  Just think about that. 
 
I want you to think about how with just a few evenings on a phone bank, with just a few hours knocking on doors -- young folks, a few of you right here in this room could swing an entire precinct for Barack Obama.  And if we win enough precincts, we will win those battleground states.  And we will win enough of those states -- we’ll put Barack back in the White House for four more years.  It doesn’t take much.  (Applause.)
 
Look at this room -- the power of this room.  We take this energy, and from now until November, if everybody in this room and in all the rooms that I’m going to talk to between now and November the 6th, if everybody in all those rooms, every single day you work like you’ve never worked before -- yeah, we need you to do that.  We need you to find one of our volunteers who is here today.  You can start today, before you leave.  They have clipboards.  They will find you.  (Laughter.)  But look for them.
 
And if you haven’t already done it, we need you to sign up with them.  Sign up to make phone calls, because you can call into a battleground state from your own home.  We need you to pack your bags, go to Iowa, go to Wisconsin.  I know there are a lot of you -- there are folks here from Ohio today.  That’s another battleground state.  We need you to go to those states and help get the vote out.  (Applause.) 
 
AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Go, Buckeyes!
 
MRS. OBAMA:  Go, Buckeyes.  (Laughter.) 
 
And more importantly, we want you to talk to everyone you know.  Don’t underestimate that.  Talk to your friends, your neighbors, that nephew you haven’t seen in a while.  You know he’s not registered.  (Laughter.)  That high school classmate you haven’t spoken to in years -- talk to him.  You never know the power of a good conversation, what that can do.  Tell them what’s at stake. 
 
Remind them of all these things that this President has accomplished in such a short period of time.  Make sure they're registered.  Don’t assume.  People have to be registered to vote, especially if they’ve just moved.  Or maybe they’re a student away at college -- any students, parents of students, are they registered?  Did they change their address?  What are they doing?  Are they awake?  Go find them.  Talk to them.  (Laughter.)  Make sure they’re ready.
 
And for young people who have never voted before, anyone who has never voted before, you’ve got to register.  You can’t just show up on Election Day and go, I’m ready!  Fired up!  They will send you home.  (Laughter.) 
 
And once folks are registered and you’ve done that work, you’ve had those conversations, then make sure they get to the polls on November the 6th.  Make sure they cast their ballot on Election Day.  And if they don’t know where to go, as you were told, or what to do, just send them to one of the many websites -- gottaregister.com, gottavote.com.  Very easy -- those sites work.  Have young people get on those -- click, they register early, they vote early; they do everything on a computer now.  That’s where they can find everything they need to make their voices heard on November the 6th. 
 
And I’m going to be honest.  I always am.  I try to be honest with you, don’t I?  (Applause.)  We don’t take anything for granted.  This journey is going to be hard, and these next days are going to be long.  Oh, gosh, 41 [40] days is just ticking by.  (Laughter.) 
 
But here’s the thing.  As you work, and when you get tired -- and you will; when you start to think about taking some time off -- and you will, I just want you to remember that what we do for the next 40 days will absolutely make the difference between waking up on November the 7th, the day after Election Day, and wondering, “Could I have done more?”, or feeling the promise of four more years.  That's the difference.  (Applause.)
 
So from now until the November the 6th, we need you to keep on working and struggling and pushing forward, because here is the thing -- that is how change always happens in this country.  I say that everywhere I go.  I remind people that’s how change always happens.  But if we keep showing up, if we keep fighting the good fight and doing what we know is right -- see, the thing is, especially for our young people to understand, we eventually get there.  We always do.  In this country, we have always moved forward.  Always.  (Applause.)  But here’s the trick:  Maybe not in our lifetimes, but maybe in our children’s lifetimes, maybe in our grandchildren’s lifetimes.
 
Because in the end, that's what this is about.  Let us not forget that is what elections are always about.  Don't let anyone tell you any differently.  Elections are always about hope.  (Applause.)
 
It’s like the hope I saw on my dad’s face as I crossed that stage to get my college diploma.  The hope of Barack’s grandmother that she felt when she cast her ballot for the grandson she loved and raised.  (Applause.)  The hope of all those men and women in our lives who worked that extra shift for us, who saved and sacrificed and prayed so that we could have something a little more.  The hope that so many of us feel when we look into the eyes of our children and our grandchildren.
 
That is why all of us are here today -- because we are doing this for our kids.  We want all of our kids to have a foundation for their dream.  (Applause.)  We want to give all our kids opportunities worthy of their promise, because every single one of our children in this country, they’re worthy.  We want to give our kids that sense of limitless possibility -- that belief that here in the greatest country on the planet, there is always something better out there if you’re willing to work for it.
 
So here’s what I tell myself when I get tired:  We cannot turn back now.  Not now.  We have come so far, but we have so much more work to do. 
 
So are you all ready for this?  (Applause.)  Are you all fired up?  (Applause.)  Are you all ready to go?  (Applause.)  Are you ready to roll up your sleeves and get on the phone?  Shake that nephew?  Get folks registered to vote?  I’m going to be working every single day until November the 6th.  I need you all with us every step of the way. 
 
Thank you all.  Love you so much.  God bless you.  Let’s get it done.  (Applause.)
 
END
6:16 P.M. CDT
 

Remarks by the President at Campaign Event in Virginia Beach, VA

Farm Bureau Live at Virginia Beach
Virginia Beach, Virginia

12:24 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Jim Webb!  (Applause.) 

AUDIENCE:  Four more years!  Four more years!  Four more years! 

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you!  How’s it going, Virginia Beach? (Applause.) 

AUDIENCE:  Four more years!  Four more years!  Four more years!

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  Thank you.  It is good to be back.  It is good to have all kinds of friends here today.  (Applause.)  I want to acknowledge a couple of people.  First of all, outstanding Congressman Bobby Scott.  (Applause.)  A good man who’s running to join him in Congress -- Paul Hirschbiel.  (Applause.)  And I could not be prouder of a man who has served this country his entire life -- as a Marine, as Secretary of the Navy, as an advocate for veterans, as a United States Senator, somebody who is responsible for successfully passing the Post-9/11 GI Bill -- my friend and a true patriot, Senator Jim Webb.  (Applause.) 

And it’s good to see all of you.  (Applause.)

Now, unless you’ve been living under a rock or you didn’t pay your cable bill -- (laughter) -- you may be aware that there’s an election going on here in Virginia.  (Applause.)  I was talking to my campaign manager.  He was meeting with a young couple -- they had a four-year-old son with them, Sammy.  And they’re strong supporters, and so they were excited -- they saw a picture of me on the wall and they said, "Sammy, Sammy, who’s that?"  And the four-year-old says, "That’s Barack Obama."  And then they said, "And what does Barack Obama do?"  And Sammy thought about it for a second, and then he said, "He approves this message."  (Laughter.)  He approves this message.  It's a true story.

So you know you’re in campaign season -- and I approve this message.  (Applause.)  And I’ve got to tell you, the reason is, is in the coming weeks, you’re going to have a very big choice to make.  I mean, Jim could not have been more eloquent about what’s at stake.  This is not just a choice between two candidates or two parties.  It’s a choice between two fundamentally different visions about how we move forward, two different ideas about our future. 

See, today I believe that as a nation, we’re moving forward again.  We’re not where we need to be -- not yet.  We’ve got a lot more folks who have to get back to work.  We’ve got a lot more work to do to make the middle class secure again.  But the question is, whose plan is better for you?

AUDIENCE:  Yours!

THE PRESIDENT:  Oh, well, I know some in the crowd may be a little biased, but -- (laughter) -- but I also want to speak to the audience who may be seeing this over the television.

Look, my opponent is a big believer in top-down economics.  He thinks that if you just spend another $5 trillion on tax cuts that favor the wealthiest Americans, if you get rid of more regulations on Wall Street, that jobs and prosperity will rain down on everybody.  The deficit will magically disappear.  We’ll live happily ever after. 

But there’s a problem with this.  We just tried this.  We tried it in the last decade, before I was elected President.  It didn’t work then, and it won’t work now.  (Applause.)  Because top-down economics doesn’t work.  We don’t need to double down on the same trickle-down policies that got us into this mess in the first place. 

This country doesn’t succeed when only the rich get richer. We succeed when the middle class gets bigger, when there are ladders of opportunity for all who strive to get into the middle class, when everybody who’s willing to work hard has a chance to get ahead and live up to their God-given potential.  (Applause.)

I don’t think we can get very far with leaders who write off half the nation as a bunch of victims who never take responsibility for their own lives.  I know I travel around a lot in Virginia and across this country -- I don’t meet a lot of victims.  I see hardworking Virginians.  I see students trying to work their way through college.  (Applause.)  I see single moms, like my mom, putting in overtime to raise their kids right.  (Applause.)  I see senior citizens who have been saving for retirement your entire lives.  (Applause.) 

Like Jim Webb said, I see a whole bunch of veterans who are -- served this country with bravery and distinction.  (Applause.) And I see soldiers who defend our freedom every single day.  And I see those military families -- (applause) -- who are wondering whether their loved ones are going to come back home, safe and sound.  That’s who I see. 

We don’t believe anybody is entitled to success in this country.  We don’t believe government should help folks who aren’t willing to help themselves.  But we do believe in something called opportunity.  We do believe in a country where hard work pays off, where responsibility is rewarded, where everyone gets a fair shot, and everybody is doing their fair share, and everybody plays by the same rules.  We believe in an America where no matter what you look like, no matter who you are, no matter where you come from, no matter who you love, you can make it if you try.  (Applause.)

That’s the country I believe in.  That’s what I’ve been fighting for as President.  That’s why I’m running for a second term as President of the United States of America.  (Applause.)

AUDIENCE:  Four more years!  Four more years!  Four more years!

THE PRESIDENT:  During campaign season, you always hear a lot about patriotism.  Well, you know what, it’s time for a new economic patriotism -- an economic patriotism rooted in the belief that growing our economy begins with a strong and thriving middle class.

And I won’t pretend that getting there is easy.  The truth is it’s going to take a few more years to solve challenges that were building up over decades.  But I want everybody here to understand our problems can be solved.  Our challenges will be met.  We’ve got everything it takes to succeed.  We’ve got the best workers in the world.  We have the best entrepreneurs in the world.  We’ve got the best researchers and scientists in the world.  We’ve got the best colleges and universities in the world.  (Applause.)  I travel around the world and I know there’s not another country on Earth that wouldn’t trade places with the United States of America.  (Applause.)

So no matter how hard the path may seems sometimes, the path I’m offering leads to a better place.  And that's why I’ve put forward a practical plan to create jobs and grow the middle class, rebuild this economy on a stronger foundation. 

So what’s my plan?  Just in case, you weren’t watching the convention -- or maybe you just saw Michelle -- (applause) -- I want to lay it out for you.

Number one, I want to export more products and I want to outsource fewer jobs.  When my opponent said we should just let Detroit go bankrupt --

AUDIENCE:  Booo --

THE PRESIDENT:  Don't boo, now.  I want you to vote.  (Applause.)

AUDIENCE:  Vote!  Vote!  Vote!  (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT:  But when Governor Romney turned his back on the American auto industry, I said I’m going to bet on American workers.  I’m going to bet on American ingenuity.  We came together, and we reinvented a dying auto industry that is now back on top of the world.  (Applause.)  In the last two and a half years, we created more than half a million manufacturing jobs. 

So now, you’ve got a choice, Virginia.   You can follow Governor Romney’s advice and keep --

AUDIENCE:  Booo --

THE PRESIDENT:  Don't boo -- vote.

We can give -- we can keep giving tax breaks to corporations that ship jobs overseas, or we can start rewarding companies that open new plants and hire new workers and create new jobs right here in Virginia, right here in the United States of America.  (Applause.)

We can help big factories and small businesses double their exports.  We can create a million new manufacturing jobs in the next four years.  You can make that happen with your vote.  (Applause.)  

Second, I want to control more of our own energy.  After 30 years of doing nothing, we raised fuel standards so that by the middle of the next decade, your car will go twice as far on a gallon of gas.   (Applause.)  We’ve doubled the amount of renewable energy that we generate from things like wind and solar.  Thousands of Americans have jobs today building wind turbines and long-lasting batteries.  Today, the United States of America is less dependent on foreign oil than at any time in nearly two decades.  (Applause.)

So now you’ve got a choice.  Governor Romney wants to reverse this progress. 

AUDIENCE:  No!

THE PRESIDENT:  Or we can build on that progress.  See, unlike my opponent, I’m not going to let the oil companies write this country’s energy plan.  I’m not going to see them collect another $4 billion in corporate welfare from our taxpayers.

We’ve got a better plan where we keep investing in wind and solar and clean coal technology; and where farmers and scientists are harnessing new biofuels to power our cars and trucks; and where we put construction workers back to work refitting homes and factories so they're more energy-efficient; where we’re developing a 100-year supply of natural gas; where we cut our oil imports in half by 2020 and create hundreds of thousands of jobs all across this nation.  That's the plan that will move us forward.  That's why I’m running for a second term. (Applause.)

Number three, I want to give more Americans the chance to learn the skills they need to compete, and I want us to have the best education system on Earth.  (Applause.)  I am only standing here because of a great education.  I wasn’t born into wealth or privilege, but I got a great education because I was born here in the United States of America.  (Applause.)  Education gateway of opportunity for Michelle.  It was the gateway of opportunity for a whole lot of you.  It's now the gateway to a middle-class life. And so we have not just talked the talk, we've walked the walk when it comes to education.  (Applause.)

Millions of students are now, right now, paying less because we took on a system that was wasting billions of taxpayer dollars on banks and lenders, and we said let's give that money directly to students.  (Applause.)  Let's keep interest rates on student loans low.  Let's make sure that we are implementing the Post-9/11 GI Bill so everybody has got a fair shot.  (Applause.)

So now you've got a choice -- we could gut education to pay for more tax breaks for the wealthy --

AUDIENCE:  Booo --

THE PRESIDENT:  Don't boo --

AUDIENCE:  Vote!

THE PRESIDENT:  -- vote.

Or we can decide that in the United States of America, no child should have her dream deferred just because of an overcrowded classroom.  (Applause.)  No family should have to set aside a college acceptance letter because they don’t have the money.  (Applause.)  No company should have to relocate to China because they couldn’t find the workers they need right here in the United States of America.  (Applause.)  

So, Virginia, I'm asking you to help me recruit 100,000 new math and science teachers, and improve early childhood education. Help give 2 million workers the chance to learn skills at a community college for a job that is hiring right now.  Help us keep tuition costs down for young people all across this country. They deserve opportunity just like I got opportunity, just like you got opportunity.  (Applause.)  That's what we're fighting for.  That's why I'm running for a second term.  We can meet these goals.  (Applause.)  We can choose this future for America. (Applause.)
 
Number four, I want to cut the deficit without sticking it to the middle class.  (Applause.)  I put forward a very specific plan to reduce the deficit by $4 trillion.  I’ve already worked with Republicans in this Congress to cut a trillion dollars' worth of spending, and I’m willing to do more.  I want to reform the tax code so it’s simple and fair.  But I also want to make sure that the wealthiest households in America pay modestly higher taxes on incomes over $250,000 -- (applause) -- which is the same rate we had when Bill Clinton was President.  Our economy created nearly 23 million new jobs.  We went from deficit to surplus, and we produced a whole lot of millionaires to boot.

Now, the reason is four years ago I said I'd cut taxes for middle-class families, and I did.  The typical family has seen their tax burden go down about $3,699 on the federal level because of our policy.  And I want to keep your taxes low because you need it.  (Applause.)

What happens when middle-class families have a little extra money?

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Spend it!

THE PRESIDENT:  They spend it.  Maybe you got to finally trade in that 15-year-old car and get a new one.  Maybe you need to buy a computer for your kid who’s going off to college.  And what happens is when the middle class or folks fighting to get into the middle class, when they’ve got a little extra money, they spend it.  And now suddenly business has more customers, which means they have more profits, which means they’re doing better so they hire more workers.  And you get a virtuous cycle going up.  Everybody does better.  That’s how you grow an economy -- not from the top down but from the middle out.  (Applause.)

Now, in fairness, my opponent also has a plan.  But as President Clinton pointed out down in Charlotte, there’s one thing missing from it -- arithmetic.  (Laughter and applause).  Arithmetic.  My opponent somehow says we can lower our deficit while spending trillions of dollars more on new tax breaks for the wealthy.  And it doesn’t add up. 

Every few days he keeps on saying he’s going to "reboot" this campaign and they’re going to start explaining very specifically how this plan is going to work -- and then they don’t.  They don’t say how you’d pay for $5 trillion tax cut that are skewed towards the wealthy without raising taxes on middle-class families.  They don’t explain how you’d spend $2 trillion more on military spending that our military hasn’t asked for without having you foot the bill.  The math doesn’t add up. 

My opponent thinks it’s fair that somebody who makes $20 million a year, like him, pays a lower tax rate than a cop or a teacher who makes $50,000. 

AUDIENCE:  Booo --

THE PRESIDENT:  Don’t boo --

AUDIENCE:  Vote! 

THE PRESIDENT:  Vote. 

Look, I just disagree.  I don’t think that’s fair.  And I don’t think it helps grow our economy.  And I refuse to ask middle-class families to give up your deduction for owning a home or raising kids just so we pay for another millionaire’s tax cut. I refuse to ask the college students who are to pay more -- (applause) -- or kick kids off of Head Start, or eliminate health insurance for millions of poor and elderly and disabled, just to pay for a tax cut for me.  That is not right.  That’s not who we are.  (Applause.) 

And I will never, ever turn Medicare into a voucher -- (applause) -- because no American should have to spend their golden years at the mercy of insurance companies.  They worked all their lives; they should be able to retire with dignity.  We’ll reform and strengthen Medicare for the long haul, but we’ll do it by reducing the cost of health care -- not by dumping those costs onto seniors.  Just like we’re going to keep the promise of Social Security by taking the responsible steps to strengthen it, and that means we’re not by turning it over to Wall Street.  (Applause.)

Now, Virginia, our prosperity at home is linked to our policies abroad.  Four years ago, I said I’d end the war in Iraq, and we did.  (Applause.)  I said we’d wind down the war in Afghanistan in a responsible way, and we are.  You’ve got a new tower across the New York skyline, al Qaeda is on the path to defeat, bin Laden is dead.  (Applause.)  

But we still face serious threats, as we saw just a couple of weeks ago with the tragic death of our Ambassador and three of his colleagues.  And that’s why, as long as I’m Commander-in-Chief, Virginia, we will sustain the strongest military the world has ever known.  (Applause.)  And as Jim Webb so eloquently stated, when our troops take off their uniforms, we will serve them as well as they’ve served us -- because nobody who fights for this country should have to fight for a job or a roof over their heads when they come home.  (Applause.)

My opponent said it was "tragic" to end the war in Iraq, and he won’t tell us how he’ll end the war in Afghanistan.  I have, and I will.  And I’ll use the money we’re no longer spending on war to pay down our debt and put more people back to work rebuilding roads and bridges, schools and runways -- because after a decade of war, it is time to do some nation-building here at home.  (Applause.)

So that’s the choice we now face.

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Love you!

THE PRESIDENT:  Love you back.  (Applause.)

That’s what this election comes down to.  The other side, they keep on running these ads and their basic message is, is that somehow bigger tax cuts and fewer regulations is the only way; that because government can’t do everything, it should do almost nothing.  Their theory is, if you can’t afford health insurance, hope you don’t get sick.  Their theory is, if you can’t afford to go to college, borrow money from your parents. 

You know what -- we’ve got a different idea.  We’re fighting on behalf of a different idea.  We don’t think that anybody owes us anything, and we don’t think government can solve all our problems.  But we do think that the government can help, that it’s not the source of all our problems. 

We don’t believe in a politics that tries to separate people out, whether it’s corporations, or unions, or welfare recipients, or immigrants, or gays or -- here in America, we believe that we’re in this all together.  (Applause.)  We believe America only works when we accept certain responsibilities for ourselves, but also for others, and for future generations, to create more opportunity and more possibility for this nation.  (Applause.)

We understand America is not what can be for us, but what can be done by us, together, as one nation, and as one people.  And you understood that four years ago.  That’s what I took away from 2008.  The election four years ago wasn’t about me.  It was about you and your capacity to move this country forward. 

You’re the reason a mother in Richmond doesn’t have to worry about her son being denied medical coverage because of a preexisting condition.  You made that happen.  (Applause.)  You’re the reason a middle-class family in Leesburg got a tax cut -- money they can use to buy groceries and put gas in the car, pay their bills.  That was because of you.  (Applause.)  

You’re the reason a student in Charlottesville, or Blacksburg, or Hampton has help -- (applause) -- to pay for her college education; the reason a returning veteran like Jim’s son can go to college on the New GI Bill.  (Applause.)  That’s because of you. 

You’re the reason a young immigrant who grew up here and went to school here and pledged allegiance to our flag will no longer be deported from the only country she’s ever known, the country she calls home.  (Applause.)

You’re the reason why we ended "don't ask, don't tell."  (Applause.)  You’re the reason that thousands of families have finally been able to say to the loved ones who served us so bravely:  "Welcome home."  (Applause.)

You know it’s funny -- I made this point in Florida -- I said one of the things I learned after four years, it reminded me that change doesn't come from the inside; you got to change Washington from the outside.  And you change it with the help of ordinary Americans who are willing to have their voices heard.  And for some reason, this got Governor Romney really excited.  And he rewrote his speech, and he stood up at a rally and he proudly declared, I’ll get the job done from the inside -- which got me thinking, what kind of inside job are you talking about?  (Laughter and applause.)

Because if it’s the inside job of rubber-stamping the top-down, lobbyist-driven agenda of this Republican Congress, we don't want that. 

AUDIENCE:  No!

THE PRESIDENT:  If it’s the inside job of letting oil companies write energy policy, insurance companies writing health care policy, outsourcers writing our tax code, we don't need that.

AUDIENCE:  No!

THE PRESIDENT:  If it’s the inside job of trying to control the health care choices that women are perfectly capable of making themselves, we’ll take a pass on that.  (Applause.)

We don't need an inside job.  We want change in Washington. And I’ve always said that change takes more than one term or one President.  It takes more than one party.  It can't happen if you write off half the nation before you take office.  (Applause.)

In 2008, 47 percent of this country did not vote for me.  But the night of the election, I said to all those Americans, I said, I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voice.  I need your help.  I will be your President, too.  (Applause.)

And so I say this to Virginia:  I don't know how many of you out there will be voting for me.  (Applause.)  But I’ll be fighting for you no matter what.  I’m not fighting to create Democratic jobs or Republican jobs -- I’m fighting to create American jobs.  (Applause.)  I’m not fighting to improve schools in blue states or red states -- I’m fighting to improve schools in the United States.  (Applause.)

The values of hard work and personal responsibility and looking after your neighbor -- those aren’t just values of rich folks or poor folks, or the 1 percent or the 99 percent.  They are American values and they belong to all of us.  And if we reclaim those values now, if we rally around a new economic patriotism together, we can rebuild this economy together.  We will grow the middle class together.  We will move forward together. 

AUDIENCE:  Yes!

THE PRESIDENT:  I don't believe we’re as divided as our politics make it seem.  I think we’ve got more in common than the pundits give us credit for.  I still believe in you.  And if you still believe in me, I’m asking for your vote.  (Applause.)  If you stand with me, and work with me, we’ll win the Tidewater again.  We’ll win Virginia again.  (Applause.)  We’ll finish what we started and remind the world why the United States is the greatest nation on Earth.   (Applause.)

God bless you, Virginia.   God bless the United States of America.  (Applause.)

END
12:53 P.M. EDT