First Lady fires up WI voters

[Kadie]

First Lady fires up WI voters
By NBC's John Yang and Adam Verdugo

In her first campaign appearance since 2008, First Lady Michelle Obama's mission in the midterm elections was clear: Try to rekindle the excitement and enthusiasm of President Obama's campaign, which energized young, first-time and independent voters.

Mrs. Obama made repeated references to that race in her appearance at a luncheon fundraiser for Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), who is in a tough re-election bid, at the U.S. Cellular Arena in downtown Milwaukee.

"I think about how we all felt on Election Night," she said to applause and cheers. "And I think about how we felt on Inauguration Day--we were excited, we were energized, we were hopeful, we were fired up because we knew we had a chance to change the country that we love for the better."

Recalling her 2008 campaign appearances, Mrs. Obama said: "I asked you to have my husband's back. … Remember? I gave him to you. But he can't do it alone."

The First Lady urged the crowd who paid at least $250 a head for a lunch of a flank steak sandwich, salad and chocolate cake: "We need you to find those folks who are planning to sit this one out--find them! We need you to tell them that they can't vote just once … they've got to vote this time and every time. We need you to get them fired up!"

more...
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2010/10/13/5285440-first-lady-fires-up-wi-voters


First Lady Michelle Obama hugs Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis. , after speaking at a campaign event, Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2010, in Milwaukee.

[madmax]

1. The FLOTUS of love and dedication. nt

[Scurrilous]

2. K & R

:thumbsup:

[a kennedy]

3. College Students' Obamamania Wanes: AP-mtvU Poll

Then of course there's this garbage....

WASHINGTON — The Obamamania that gripped college campuses two years ago is gone. An Associated Press-mtvU poll found college students cooling in their support for President Barack Obama, a fresh sign of trouble for Democrats struggling to rekindle enthusiasm among many of these newest voters for the crucial midterm elections in three weeks.

Forty-four percent of students approve of the job Obama is doing as president, while 27 percent are unhappy with his stewardship, according to the survey conducted late last month. That's a significant drop from the 60 percent who gave the president high marks in a May 2009 poll. Only 15 percent had a negative opinion back then.

It's not just students. Obama's support from many groups has ebbed since his early months in office because of persistently high unemployment and opposition to his plans to revive the economy and overhaul the health care system. But his diminished backing from college students raises further questions about whether the Democrats' efforts to rally them - and other loyal supporters such as blacks and union members - will be enough to prevent Republicans from winning control of Congress in the Nov. 2 elections.

Obama's weaker performance on campus also underscores his party's struggles to turn the 15 million first-time voters of 2008 - nearly one in eight of that year's total - into a solid political army. Exit polls from 2008 show 55 percent of new voters were age 18 to 24, and those young first-timers strongly backed Obama and Democratic House candidates - a potent bloc if Democrats could lure them back to the voting booth.

Hoping to rekindle campus enthusiasm, Obama planned to appear Thursday at a youth town hall being shown live on MTV, BET and other networks. He also is to lead a rally Sunday at Ohio State University, and in recent days he headlined a massive gathering at the University of Wisconsin and a webcast town hall at George Washington University.

Ohio State's 55,000 students are a big part of a central Ohio congressional district in which Democratic Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy is facing a rematch with her 2008 opponent, Republican Steve Stivers. Kilroy spokesman Brad Bauman says the students are "a huge voting bloc for us," but Stivers spokesman John Damschroder says any advantage Kilroy had on campus in the close 2008 race will be minimized.

"She had a wind at her back last time," he said, referring to students' support then for Obama. "Now it's a stand-alone election for her."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/13/college-students-obamaman_n_761410.html

[gateley]

4. She's the one who helped me to decide to support Obama. I viewed ALL the

other candidates in comparison to Biden, so was cynical of them all. I rolled my eyes at the Obama Oprah brouhaha, actually thought less of Obama because of it -- stuff like that. Then I saw Michelle say "he is a GOOD man" - and I believed her, she seemed to be speaking from her heart. So I decided to put down my hurt feelings and really look at the remaining candidates through objective eyes. I might have written him off had her comment not touched me and made me realize I was listening to all the hype (regarding all the candidates) rather than making my own decision as I had with Biden.

And I agree, Michele, I truly believe he is a GOOD man. I'm proud to have him as my President.

[monmouth]

5. She has set the bar so high, many future FLOTUS s will have a

lot of shoe to fill to even come close.