COLUMBUS, Ohio, Oct. 17 (UPI) -- President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama, in a rare joint appearance Sunday, worked to whip up young Ohio Democrats ahead of the midterm elections.
Speaking at a Democratic National Committee rally at Ohio State University in Columbus, Michelle Obama said Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland had noted the last time the Obamas had campaigned together was two days before the 2008 presidential election, "and we were right here in Ohio."
She said the Nov. 2 elections mark "a serious moment for our country."
"There is so much at stake," Michelle Obama said. "... this is about more than just politics. It's about whether or not we as a people can move forward through times of challenge and cynicism and frustration, and use the opportunity we've been given to build better communities and to build a better country. That's why Barack has fought the battles he's fought over the past two years.
"So tell me something, Ohio. If you are still as fired up and ready to go as you were two years ago, then I know that we can keep bringing about the change that I know, that we all know, we can keep that American Dream alive."
The president followed by telling the boisterous crowd Democrats "believe in a country that rewards hard work and responsibility, but also a country where we give each other a hand up, where we look after one another, where we say I am my brother's keeper, I am my sister's keeper."
"That's the America I know," he said. "That's the choice in this election."
Hammering away at what he called the Republicans' failed past policies and unwillingness to come up with fresh ideas to help push the country forward, Obama intoned, "We can't return to a philosophy that nearly destroyed our economy and decimated the middle class right here in Ohio."
The first couple also attended a fundraiser for Strickland at a private residence in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, earlier in the day.
