Post Sandy Obama Returns to Campaigning with a Blistering Vengeance

President Obama returning the campaign trail in Wisconsin with a blistering attack on the kind of change Mitt Romney would bring, and making his case for what real change will look like if he is reelected.

Video:

Transcript:

Now, in the closing weeks of this campaign, Governor Romney has been using all his talents as a salesman to dress up these very same policies that failed our country so badly, the very same policies we’ve been cleaning up after for the past four years, and he is offering them up as change. He is saying he is the candidate of change. Well, let me tell you, Wisconsin, we know what change looks like. What the Governor is offering sure ain’t change. Getting more power back to the biggest banks isn’t change. Leaving millions without health insurance isn’t change. Another $5 trillion tax cut that favors the wealthy isn’t change. Turning Medicare into a voucher is change, but we don’t want that change. Refusing to answer questions about the details of your policies isn’t change. Ruling out compromise by pledging to rubber stamp the tea party’s agenda as president, that’s definitely not change. In fact, that’s exactly the attitude in Washington that needs to go.

Here’s the thing, Wisconsin. After four years as president, you know me by now. You may not agree with every decision I’ve made. You may be frustrated at the pace of change, but you know what I believe. You know where I stand. You know I’m willing to make tough decisions even when they’re not politically convenient, and you know I’ll fight for you and your families every single day as hard as I know how. You know that. I know what change looks like because I have fought for it. You have too. After all we’ve been through together, we sure as heck can’t give up now. Change is a country where Americans of every age have the skills and education that good jobs now require. Government can’t do this alone, but don’t tell me that hiring more teachers won’t help this economy grow or help young people compete. Don’t tell me that students who can’t afford college can just borrow money from their parents. That wasn’t an option for me. I’ll bet it wasn’t an option for a whole lot of you. We shouldn’t be ending college tax credits to pay for millionaires’ tax cuts. We should be making college more affordable for everyone who is willing to work for it. We should recruit 100,000 math and science teachers so that high-tech, high-wage jobs aren’t created in China. They’re created right here in Green Bay, Wisconsin. We should work with community colleges to claim another two million Americans with skills that businesses are looking for right now. That’s my plan for the future. That’s what change is. That’s the America we’re fighting for in this election.

Obama returned from his campaign postponement immediately after Hurricane Sandy with a vengeance today. The president isn’t speaking like a candidate who is losing. He seems to have found the right balance between contrasting what Romney would do as president with what he has done, and would continue to do over the next four years.

The Romney campaign continues to feed a mainstream media that is desperate to continue the this election could go either way narrative, but Obama has the look of a president who understands the electoral map, has a plan, and is sticking to it. The Obama campaign isn’t taking any state for granted. That’s why the president was in Wisconsin today. Obama has more paths to victory, but his leads aren’t big enough that he or his supporters should be taking anything for granted.

With just five days to go before the election, Obama is in a much better position than Romney. The president either leads or is tied in every battleground state. Obama’s goal over the remaining days is to protect and build on his advantages, while Romney has the much more difficult tasks of both flipping states and trying to expand the map.

Using Wisconsin as an example, here is how much easier Obama’s path to victory is. Even if Obama loses Wisconsin, he only needs to win four states that he is currently leading and favored in, Ohio, Nevada, New Hampshire, and Iowa in order to win reelection. If Obama wins Wisconsin, he can afford to lose New Hampshire and Iowa, and still win a second term. Romney needs to win, Ohio, Virginia, Florida, North Carolina, and either Iowa or Colorado in order to win the election. Romney currently leads in none of these states. If Romney loses Ohio, Virginia, Florida, or North Carolina, his path to winning the election become more difficult.

Obama is in a better position to win, but the only way that victory will become a reality is if all of his supporters go out and vote.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association