At the home of celebrity personal injury lawyer John Morgan, in the posh Heathrow neighborhood of Lake Mary, President Barack Obama gave a shorter but feistier speech, filled with recognition that the fundraising party was filled with a richer crowd than he came to the Sheraton or the pub.
In front of a crowd of about 150 gathered on Morgan’s pool deck, Obama talked about the unemployed construction workers he spoke with in an Orlando pub earlier in the evening, and how much they were struggling with their lives since the real estate bubble burst.
He compared their lot with that of many in the Morgan house that night, who each paid between $1,500 and $38,500 for tickets to attend.
“It is a good reminder, as blessed as so many of you are, that there is a big chunk of the country that is hurting,” Obama said. For them, the economy needs action, he said.
“That is why I, for the last month, what I have been spending most of my time on, is trying to cajole, push, shove Congress to do its job and to pass a jobs bill that would put construction workers back to work and put teachers back in the classroom and rebuild our infrastructure.”
It also includes a proposed tax bump for the wealthy, like many of those he addressed at Morgan’s home.
“I won’t lie to you, I will ask some of you to do a little bit more than maybe has been done in the past.
When he declared, “I think every one of us is willing to do a little bit more,” he was hit by screaming applause.
When he proudly pointed to his appointment of “two really outstanding women to the United States Supreme Court,” someone joked he should appoint Morgan. Obama replied, “He would have to take a really big pay cut.”
Among the fundraising hosts were Boston Celtics Coach Doc Rivers, NBA player Grant Hill, Orlando Magic executive Otis Smith and hall of famer Patrick Ewing, so Obama joked about the labor dispute that has shut down the NBA.
“The reason I came here, I’m trying to resolve the NBA lockout,” he said. “We need our basketball.”
Pool Report – Scott Powers- Orlando Sentinel
