U.S. President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama Thursday spoke at fundraisers in Florida and Ohio, seeking donations for the re-election campaign.
President Obama thanked Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz and Bill Nelson, Florida's senior U.S. senator, at the Miami home of fundraiser Chris Korge.
"Because of you, that change that you believed in has happened. As tough as these last three years have been, think about everything we've done together. Because of you we averted a great depression," Obama told the crowd of an estimated 100 donors who paid $15,000 apiece to attend. "Because of you, there are millions of people around the country who didn't have healthcare and either already have healthcare or will soon have healthcare, and will never again have to worry about going bankrupt because they get sick."
Obama said his policies stopped "the American auto industry from collapsing" when some politicians, including his likely Republican rival in the November election, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, said "we should just let Detroit go bankrupt."
"Most Americans realize things have stabilized and we're moving in a better direction. …
"The last thing we can afford to do is go back to the same policies that got us here in the first place. That's what the other candidates want us to do," the president said.
Speaking at an earlier fundraiser at The Westin Hotel in Cincinnati, Michelle Obama said: "In less than a year from now -- time is ticking -- we are going to make a choice that will impact our lives for decades to come. And you're here because you know that choice won't just affect all of us, but it's going to affect our children, it's going to affect our grandchildren, and it's going to affect the world that we leave for them long after we're gone. …
"Over the last three years, your president has worked very hard to dig ourselves out of this mess. And there has been some real progress made. … We have had 23 straight months of private sector job growth, and the unemployment rate is now the lowest it has been in nearly three years.
"But with all that said, we still have a long way to go. And we've been working hard to rebuild our economy based on a vision that we all share -- the belief, as my husband says, that hard work should pay off; that responsibility should be rewarded; and that everyone should get a fair shot, right? They should do their fair share. They should play by the same rules."
The first lady reminded her progressive audience that her husband appointed a third woman to the Supreme Court for the first time in history.
