Hoarse-voiced Obama stumps to estimated 35,000 at OSU
Crowd is biggest at an Obama rally since his election, officials say
Published: Sunday, October 17, 2010
Updated: Friday, June 15, 2012 22:06
 "Photo: Andy Gottesman / The Lantern")
Andy Gottesman / The Lantern
In a hoarse voice worn from the busiest campaign since his election, President Barack Obama warned an estimated crowd of 35,000 on Ohio State's campus tonight that Wall Street values will govern the country if Republicans regain power in the upcoming mid-term election.
In what officials called the biggest rally since Obama was elected, the president told the crowd on the university's Oval that he has worked for two years to reverse problems he inherited from Republican policies.
"I've been explaining to a lot of people around the country, it's as if they drove America into a ditch," he said. "Even though we didn't drive that car in the ditch, it is still our responsibility to get that car out of the ditch."
The president cited his administration's health care legislation, which passed despite strong Republican opposition, as one of the key successes of his presidency, along with education reform to make college more accessible to "ordinary people." If Democrats stay in power in Congress after the Nov. 2 election, he said, the government will continue those policies and push for new sources of clean energy to provide jobs in the U.S.
If Republicans wrestle power from Democrats in Washington, Obama said, the country will lapse into the same economic mire that he said was caused by GOP and Wall Street executives.
The estimated record crowd is good news for Obama and Gov. Ted Strickland, who are trying to fire up Democratic voters in a key battleground state. But a poll released last Friday indicated that Republicans are widening their lead in major Ohio races.
A poll sponsored by the University of Cincinnati reported an 8-point lead for former U.S. Rep. John Kasich in his bid against Strickland. According to the poll, 51 percent of likely voters favored Kasich, while 43 percent said they would vote for Strickland. One percent said they would cast a ballot for someone else and 5 percent were undecided.
The youngest category of likely voters — also the target of Obama's speech Sunday — was one of the groups most likely to favor Kasich on the poll. The survey reported that 52 percent of likely voters age 18 to 29 support Kasich, compared to 44 percent for Strickland.
Speaking before her husband at their first campaign stop since 2008, Michelle Obama told the crowd that the president isn't concerned about polls. Still, the president acknowledged that Democrats face a tough political climate.
Barack Obama took the stage after stump speeches from other notable Democrats. Former Sen. John Glenn defended the president and Strickland and said they've gotten a bad rap, despite legislative success. Strickland told the crowd that Ohio is well on its way to recovery, being named the sixth best-recovered state by the Federal Reserve. The president was also introduced by a performance from John Legend, Undergraduate Student Government President Micah Kamrass and other Ohio Democrats.
Obama, who was in Cleveland earlier today, will continue his campaign blitz Wednesday in a four-day tour of West Coast states where Democrats are grappling to retain power.
32 comments
Anonymous
KrisC you're stupid
KrisC
I find this headline...."Hoarse-voiced Obama stumps to estimated 35,000 at OSU" disrespectful towards the President of the United States. This is a new speak phenomena where people feel quite free to say absolutely anything when they know not of what they speak.
Subliminally, was what the author of this headline really wantedd to say was:
1. "horse-voiced or really wanted to say horse-faced?
2. There is no proper title inserted which is President Obama. the person holding the highest office 3. "Obama stumps" . Is this just anyone making a campaign appearance? No, it is not. Whether the President was appearing on Gov. Strickland's behalf or what, due respect should be given to the office he holds..
The headline should have read, "President Obama addresses crowd of 35,000 at OSU. No more, no less.
Subliminally, was what the author of this headline really wantedd to say was:
1. "horse-voiced or really wanted to say horse-faced?
2. There is no proper title inserted which is President Obama. the person holding the highest office 3. "Obama stumps" . Is this just anyone making a campaign appearance? No, it is not. Whether the President was appearing on Gov. Strickland's behalf or what, due respect should be given to the office he holds..
The headline should have read, "President Obama addresses crowd of 35,000 at OSU. No more, no less.
TBDBITLer
I was fortunate enough to be able to attend Sunday night's rally with my aging father, and, though it was difficult for my father to endure the standing for so long, we couldn't have been more pleased with the large, boisterous crowd of OSU students and people from all walks of life in attendance. What a great respite from the constant barrage of negativity and outright lies emanating from the propaganda machine of the very people who got us all in this huge economic mess.“O-H! I-O! Fired up! Ready to go!” Let's go Buckeyes!
Class of 2009, B.A. History, The Ohio State University
I predicted Obama's presidency would be totally different, and that it would be like something we have never seen before. My prediction is coming true. The hillbillies hate him, because they are nothing but racist, and there were not enough of them to vote him down. The hillbillies are still of jealous of Obama. Their "politics" are laughable, ignorant and stupid. They don't know how to think. Palin is disgusting. The Democrats were in the forefront of women's rights and self-determination, and now the Republicans think that they did. The Democrats were in the forefront of civil rights, and soon maybe the Republicans will announce their own African American presidential candidate. Hillbillies stay home! Keep out Kasich, Palin and that ilk.
Jonathan
Some people value education over political rhetoric. Sorry, Anonymous.
Anonymous
For goodness sake - the leader of our country was on your campus and you're complaining about having to move from the library? So much for the next generation...
Anonymous
Were the crowds there for Obama? When did John Legend perform?
spidie
I still say, I will truly believe in Obama and politicians once they take on the same deals they are trying to shovel to the masses. When ALL politicians get the same health care and pay increases that everyones else gets, I will truly BELIEVE in what they say and do. Otherwise they all speak with forked tongue. Save your jeers, save your praises. The proof is in the pudding."Trying to spend your way into prosperity, is like standing in a bucket and trying to lift yourself by the handle"- Winston Churchill.
Anonymous
The media keeps saying that the voters are angry. They keep saying that we are disillusioned with President Obama. I am not angry or disillusioned--President Obama is doing a remarkable job. He is a leader with a heart and a brain for this country. I am an old woman and I have seen much and participated in a lot of politics over the decades. In spite of a few cranked up conservatives making noise and trouble we are moving forward towards a better America.
Anonymous
OK J19 on track or backwards? People who actually believe that the Republicans care about middle and poor Americans amaze me. Just think a minute, if it were not all about tax cuts and breaks for big business, would they be putting out millions to have them elected?
Anonymous
The rally was so fantastic, Obama is a great leader and a terrific speaker. The guy has it. Tell Palin the illiterate, stupid, mean snarky low class women too hit it back to Wasilla, Palin is nothing but a women who is looking after $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.Go Oabama, what class, something that can NEVER be said of Palin and her hillbilly family!
Dude
Wow, just think of all the people who will someday get to tell their children they saw the worst President in history!
AC
To the lifelong "Goldwater Republican," when did you actually decide to pull the blinders over your eyes? No self-respecting fiscal conservative will ever tell you that running a budget deficit is a good idea, whether it be perpetuated by Republicans or Democrats. That's what happens when a generally illogical school of economics (Keynesian) comes to be favored by both dominant political parties for decades. However, the budget deficit is not what caused the recession; it's called the business cycle and it's mainly a result of the interest rate manipulation of the Federal Reserve.TARP is also a bad idea, no matter whether it's supported by Republicans or Democrats. GM should have been left to fail, but now it's a zombie corporation propped up primarily by the U.S. and Canadian governments. The idea of dynamic restructuring in economics advocates letting businesses that make risky investments and have bad business practices fail; the free market will correct for these problems because they lead to inefficient outcomes and eventually the economy will be even stronger than it was before. But that assumes that government will keep its hands out of it, which is never going to happen.And as for the "certifiable nuts" in the Tea Party, I'm not sure where that comment is coming from. If you were truly a Goldwater conservative you would support the Tea Party over the Democratic regime, and that's about all there really is to say on that matter. Of course, you think Bill Maher, a typical liberal voicebox (but with whom I share opinions regarding things other than economics and politics) is a good source of information, so I guess that already addresses the previous statement.
Anonymous
This comment is coming from a life-long Goldwater Republican. The immediate attack on President Obama, the day after his inauguration by the "just say no" Republicans totally disgusts me and I'll be splitting my ticket to sent Dems to Washington to help the President. The Reps ran up the deficit and caused the worst economic crisis since the Depression and then did their best to keep Obama from trying to undo their mess. And that takes time. You don't turn around a problem in a few months that was eight years in the making. Where were these Reps who are now screaming about the deficit when it was being created? Their sole motivation is to destroy Obama even if that means not bringing the economy back from the brink.And where were the Reps when Bush took us into the Iraq war - totally uncalled for - and don't let anyone kid you that it had anything to do with 9/ll or WMD,s. Read Bush's former Secretary of the Treasury Paul O'Neill's book The Price of Loyalty and you'll see that invading Iraq was discussed at the very first National Security Meeting - 30 days after Bush was sworn in and long before 9/ll! Reps scream about the stimulus (but not Bush's TARP bailout) which in part was for direct aid in the form of food stamps and the GM bailout which saved and created jobs and the funds are being paid back at a profit for the government. The only reason that they don't like it is because Obama did it. Reps nowadays don't know how to govern, but they sure know how to politic with simplified slogans for complex problems and help from huge amounts of cash from anonymous wealthy groups and individuals with vested interests that you can be sure will be around to get their payback - made possible by an activist Supreme Court (greatly aided by Bush's two appointees- one of whom just announced that he will not attend the State of the Union address) - and Reps have always railed against activists Supreme Courts. I guess that doesn't hold when it supports what the Reps want such as the Court's incredible halt to the Florida Supreme Court's recount of votes that allowed Bush his second term.If you want to return to their mayhem and a party increasingly controlled by the certifiable nuts in the Tea Party and the likes of Carl Rove, Newt Gingrich and John Boehner who passed out checks from the tobacco
lobby on the floor of the Senate because that's where the senators were, then sit on your hands this election or worse yet support the same people who brought you the mess we're in now.If you want change in Washington, demand public financing of campaigns to greatly limit the influence of the lobbyists and wealthy donors and that independent commissions be in charge of redistricting so that the embarrassing fringe candidates cannot be nominated (except of course when a sinking presidential candidate plucks one from the wilds).And, if you can squeeze out the time, for the real low down and someone who calls a spade a spade, watch this week's 'Real Time with Bill Maher" on HBO.
lobby on the floor of the Senate because that's where the senators were, then sit on your hands this election or worse yet support the same people who brought you the mess we're in now.If you want change in Washington, demand public financing of campaigns to greatly limit the influence of the lobbyists and wealthy donors and that independent commissions be in charge of redistricting so that the embarrassing fringe candidates cannot be nominated (except of course when a sinking presidential candidate plucks one from the wilds).And, if you can squeeze out the time, for the real low down and someone who calls a spade a spade, watch this week's 'Real Time with Bill Maher" on HBO.
Anonymous
It's funny that Democrats think that Republicans are the party of millionaires. They somehow have amnesia (or they have been kept dumb and uneducated) about who really put Obumble in office. His name is George Soros, a "Wall Street" guy. He's a millionaire and he's broken the law in several countries for his stock trading practices. George Soros is the guy supporting Obama. Look him up, maybe you'll learn something.
spidie
Obama faults outweigh what little good he has attempted.I am sorry, but I do not trust any politician. We do need better education support then we have had in the past. As long as those who borrow, pay back. Nothing is free, either the students pay it back or the people pay for it. Easy and simple. With the exception of those that are poor and truly want to learn (not a playground).I do not think Bush did anyone any favors. But maybe Bush could blame Clinton or even Kennedy. Guys, blaming is over. You need to focus, Tell Pelosi to bring it back to reality, and quit your blaming.If the healthcare is a great program, show us. Put all politicians and unions on it. Show us some love.Quit your useless spending. Are you purposely trying to bankrupt the country. Economics professors, show us how this works. Unless, he is trying to make the dollar useless and give him a reason to switch to the Euro.Obama has done more to polarize the parties then I remember. But the Dems to have a glimmer of hope. The Tea Party. It will split the vote of the conservatives and the Dems will remain in power.Go Bucks
Anonymous
Obama, I dont want a Govt to take care of me.. I want you out of my way. Obama said he would unite the country and now its never been more divided. I didnt like his agenda but I at least thought he would be a different type of politician... Same fraud that the republicans are... acting like he is a saint when his top donors were Goldman Sachs and BP just a few years ago..
macspide
Find an economics teacher to prove to you where running up huge debts bring wealth and prosperity to a country.I also think banks have a new day coming. Looks like they will actually have to try to be courteous and actually offer something other than taking your money and run.Banks need overhauled not bailed out. We are paying for the bailout or the bank faulting. So let the banks with bad practices go under. That way we only pay once rather than bailing them out, then spending more money when they fault.I will be for the healthcare 100%, when the politicians and unions are on the same program. Come on guys, I am not feeling the love.Hate to say it, but I would not trust any politician (regardless the party affiliation). They are not for the people but themselves. I am sure there are a few exceptions.
Anonymous
Did most of you miss the first 8 years of this decade? The surplus inherited by Bush was destroyed and the deficit (that drives the cost of everything up) in the wars he started (pre-emotive strike) for his oil industry buddies. Obama inherited a mess that the Repubs created & have 'just said no' to fixing. You get what you pay for...& with the current (bush) supreme court, you get all the Chamber of Commerce, China, and big oil has to offer. Let's hope that OSU education helps you understand the consequences of greed and out two class system ( since the Repubs destroyed the middle class).
Anonymous
Most college age people get force fed the liberal agenda by pot smoking liberal professors - then when they graduate and have rent/mortgage payments, groceries to purchase, electric bills to pay, car payments, etc etc - they quickly realize how the "tax and spend" agenda of Democrats has NOT nor will it ever work ... and they change to becoming a Republican where you should be allowed to keep most of your money that you earn! To h*ll with working hard and then having it be STOLEN from you to pay for the less fortunate - i.e. ... lazy a$$es that refuse to even look for work! Look at Harlem - 55% unemployment rate YET they continue to vote in Charlie Rangel ... they prefer the govt to take care of them - it's much easie than having to get up early and actually go earn a living! How freakin sad and ridiculous is that??
is a member of the 
