President Barack Obama canceled a scheduled re-election rally at the University of Central Florida on Monday morning, in view of the major hurricane bearing down on the northeastern United States. Mr. Obama, who arrived in Orlando Sunday night, made the decision to return to Washington, D.C., given that overnight, the storm picked up speed and intensity.
But while Mr. Obama skipped the rally, former President Bill Clinton, scheduled to be the “warm up man” for the president, did not disappoint the thousands who showed up, telling the crowd that, “this is (election) about you and your future and middle-class prosperity.”
Introduced by former Florida Governor Charlie Crist and interrupted several times throughout his address, President Clinton laid out in clear and simple terms, why Mr. Obama ought to be re-elected for a second term.
Returning to his central theme of why “we are all in this together always works better than you are on your own,” President Clinton highlighted the Obama administration’s record on job creation, research and development, energy independence, climate change, education and higher education reforms, healthcare, including Medicaid and Medicare and deficit reduction.
He recalled the economic and financial mess Mr. Obama inherited nearly four years ago when the economy was losing 800,000 jobs a month, and noted that over the last 32 months, some 5.3 million jobs have been created.
“No one could have repaired the economy in four years, not even me,” he said. “If we stay on course we could get back on track in 8 years, maybe 7 years.”
President Clinton contrasted the Obama administration’s economic, education and healthcare plans with those of his opponent Gov. Mitt Romney, pointing out that on every measure, the president’s plans are superior. In particular, he highlighted the reforms undertaken to the student loan program and the effort to cut college costs.
“Every person within the sound of my voice, on this issue alone, should vote for Barack Obama,” said Clinton, to loud cheers from the crowd.
President Clinton also took time out to debunk Romney’s budget and debt reduction proposals, pointing out that it doesn’t meet the arithmetic test. “That’s why they are hiding the numbers,” he said.
“Vote for the man with a plan, vote for Barack Obama,” he exhorted the crowd. “Let’s give the job to the man who has done the job. Four more years.”
