Obama Raises $1.2M, Promises More ‘Change’ in Primary Eve Stump
EmailOn the eve of the New Hampshire primary, President Obama did some campaigning of his own, attending two fundraisers in Washington, D.C., tonight that netted at least $1.2 million for Democrats and his re-election campaign.
Obama also used the outings, his first two money events of 2012, to test drive his nascent campaign themes.
In a speech to 700 supporters at the Capitol Hilton, a fired-up Obama mimicked a clip reel of his greatest hits from the stump, exhorting his base to be “greater together” and energized by a vision for America “that says everybody deserves a fair shot, everybody needs to do their fair share.”
Reprising a litany of accomplishments from his first term that he’s begun to brand as “change is,” Obama touted the repeal of “don’t ask don’t tell,” end of the Iraq war, and passage of a landmark health care overhaul as promises kept from the 2008 campaign.
Then pivoting to a call-to-action, Obama told the crowd, “Everything we fought for during the last election is at stake in this election. The very core of what this country stands for is on the line.”
“Don’t take my word for it: Watch some of the debates that have been going on up in New Hampshire,” he added with a smile, referring to the two Republican presidential debates that took place over the weekend.
Obama disparaged the policies of “Republicans in Congress and on the campaign trail,” casting them as charting a course for the country in a “race to the bottom.”
And he promised that he would continue to deliver on “big change” in a second term, regardless of challenges faced during his first.
“If you want to end the cynicism and the game playing and the point scoring here in Washington, then this is the election to send the message that you will refuse to back down,” Obama said to the electrified crowd.
“And this election may be harder than the last one, but I promise you we will finish what we started in 2008,” he said.
Earlier in the evening, Obama attended an exclusive fundraiser with 25 supporters at the Jefferson Hotel in Washington. Each paid $45,000 to attend, according to a Democratic official. The event, which was closed to all press coverage, was dubbed a “roundtable discussion” by a White House spokesman.
Obama told the crowd at the Hilton that he spent time “reminiscing about the 2008 campaign” with those deep-pocket supporters, but had to give them a reality-check.
“I said, ‘You guys are engaging in some selective memory here,’” he said. “First of all, 2008 wasn’t easy at all. There were all kinds of setbacks and miscues. Times I screwed up. But just over three years later, just because of what you did … we’ve begun to see what change looks like.”
The funds raised at the private event benefited the Obama Victory Fund and Swing State Victory Fund, two joint fundraising accounts for the Obama campaign and Democratic National Committee. The second event benefited only the Obama Victory Fund.
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America can’t withstand any more of Obama’s “change”. His policies and failed leadership is killing our economy and dividing us as a nation.
Posted by: Tall Mako | January 9, 2012, 10:40 pm 10:40 pm
keep the change, Obamao. the rest of us demand our country, our economy, and our liberty back and nothing less.
Posted by: brianguy | January 9, 2012, 11:00 pm 11:00 pm
We are a better America today than we were in 2008. Thanks for the Democrats and president Obama. Republicans will come back and say that tried and failed method of trickle down, that only enriched the Romney’s of this world. It has been tried in in the eighties, and the 8 years of Bush and we have still not recovered from its effects. Lets go back to the tried and true methods of the FDR, the 50′s and the 90′s years of boom that lifted everybody.
Posted by: manu | January 9, 2012, 11:13 pm 11:13 pm
How dumb are these donor’s? I’d like to meet them and “sell” them my ideas and thoughts.
Posted by: mpgunner | January 9, 2012, 11:19 pm 11:19 pm
America can’t withstand any more of Obama’s “change”. His policies and failed leadership is killing our economy and dividing us as a nation.
Posted by: Tall Mako | January 9, 2012, 10:40 pm 10:40 pm
You seem to have missed it – the economy collapsed under the last administration.
Posted by: Jim | January 9, 2012, 11:37 pm 11:37 pm
Just out from a U.S. News and World Report Poll: “Americans, 2-1, Fear Obama’s Reelection” I’d say Americans are looking for “change”.
Posted by: free_2_choose | January 10, 2012, 1:20 am 1:20 am
Posted by: free_2_choose | January 10, 2012, 1:20 am 1:20 am
President Obama tops every Republican challenger in head to head polls. Think how frightened Americans must be of ANY Republican getting elected.
Posted by: Dave | January 10, 2012, 2:00 am 2:00 am
It is a good thing that President Obama everything is so much better so that he can run on his record of success rather than needing to attack the boogie man Republicans! LOL
Posted by: Common _ Sense | January 10, 2012, 6:47 am 6:47 am
A choice between Bush’s fourth term and a bunch of lunatics? We need a decent, sane third party.
Posted by: whatever | January 10, 2012, 6:54 am 6:54 am
When asked if he knows how to make a million dollars. The President said ” of course, you start with two million dollars”!
Posted by: Common _ Sense | January 10, 2012, 7:16 am 7:16 am
Our total debt is now bigger than our economy, and the Obama administration wants to increase that debt more. All we have to do is look to Greece to see what our future holds – unless we reverse the spending binge.
Posted by: deanbob | January 10, 2012, 8:00 am 8:00 am
DAVE | JANUARY 10, 2012, 2:00 AM………..Rasmussen Poll for Monday shows 23% of the nation’s voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as president while 42% Strongly Disapprove
Posted by: deanbob | January 10, 2012, 8:11 am 8:11 am
Mitt Romney will win today.Within 2 months he will be the Republican nominee.Since people will have no desire to vote “against” him there will be no reason to vote “for” the incumbent.He will be elected comfortably in Nov with a Republican Senate and House.Panetta will stay on as Defense secretary for at least one year.
Posted by: Nephron | January 10, 2012, 8:36 am 8:36 am
“All we have to do is look to Greece to see what our future holds – unless we reverse the spending binge”
And all we have to do is look to Italy, Spain, and Ireland to see what our future holds if we drastically cut spending while the economy is still near recession. Our debt to GDP isn’t anywhere near what Greece has, and austerity is killing economic growth in Europe wherever it has been attempted, even in Germany.
Posted by: numbers | January 10, 2012, 8:53 am 8:53 am
“and the Obama administration wants to increase that debt more”
And all of the budget proposals put forth by the Republicans so far will increase the debt more…way more. The Republicans aren’t going to lower the debt, they just want to cut government protections and services so they can give more huge tax breaks to guys like Mitt Romney and Grover Norquist…and run up even more debt by doing so.
Posted by: numbers | January 10, 2012, 9:00 am 9:00 am
“America can’t withstand any more of Obama’s “change”. His policies and failed leadership is killing our economy and dividing us as a nation.”
This is the war call of the Right-Less but could someone point out for me factual evidence that this is true? All market indices are significantly up. Job numbers are increasing. Businesses are expanding. I saw some news program where this was pointed out to Speaker Boehner and he said that the President’s policies had nothing to do with it. Yet, in the same breath he said that the President’s policies were killing the economy. ????
As far as the President dividing the nation that is pure hog wash! I would say that you would find the true culprit of such an accusation by simply looking in the mirror.
Posted by: MyTakeOnThis61 | January 10, 2012, 9:01 am 9:01 am
Obama ruined our country, he spent all our money tramping around Iraq looking for WMD’s. He repaid his political debts by hiring an idiot to run FEMA, and therefore let New Orleans go without aid for 5 DAYS. He deregulated Wall Street to implode. He begged for money for the first TARP. He borrowed a trillion dollars from China. He gave tax breaks to the wealthiest Companies (and China). Oh, wait, that wasn’t Obama that ruined America, it was the other Idiot.
Posted by: arryandan | January 10, 2012, 9:52 am 9:52 am
The “lunatics” screaming about spending is the GOP,(the SAME ones that spent us into this mess). Personally, I refuse to take “voting advice” from the morons that voted for Bush, and the GOP that voted with him.
Posted by: arryandan | January 10, 2012, 9:58 am 9:58 am
Mitt Romney will win today. Within 2 months he will be the Republican nominee. Since people will have no desire to vote “against” him there will be no reason to vote “for” the incumbent. Posted by: Nephron | January 10, 2012, 8:36 am.
That’s the most anti-logical thing I have ever heard. What on earth makes you believe people will have no desire to vote against him? Or people will have no reason to vote for Obama? With ‘reasoning’ like that on the Right, Obama will win in a landslide.
Posted by: A Cynic | January 10, 2012, 11:43 am 11:43 am
“How dumb are these donor’s? I’d like to meet them and “sell” them my ideas and thoughts.
They’re not dumb. They are buying influence.
“austerity is killing economic growth”
The left uses the word ‘austerity’ to mean anything that reduces the flow of government goodies to their entitled constituents. It does not, for example, apply to reductions in military spending.
Posted by: foggy | January 10, 2012, 11:53 am 11:53 am
Arrydan and numbers, with your logic it does not matter how much we owe everyone else, lets print some more money, spend like there is no tomorrow and play the class,race, religion warfare and hope that the unemployed, uneducated, poor and minorities don’t figure out that all we need them for is their vote, after that just throw them under the bus, because the will be the first ones who will feel the part of NO MORE MONEY?
Posted by: Lizzie | January 10, 2012, 1:27 pm 1:27 pm
Arrydan and numbers, with your logic it does not matter how much we owe everyone else
Posted by: Lizzie | January 10, 2012, 1:27 pm 1:27 pm
Put the blame where the blame is due.
Back in February 2001, according to historical data reported by the Treasury, we owed the Chinese only $63.7 billion in U.S. debt. Near the end of Bush’s term in September 2008, we owed the Chinese $618.2 billion.
You can not blame that on Obama.
And at the same time, Bush left office with the American economy in collapse.
Posted by: Jade | January 10, 2012, 2:28 pm 2:28 pm