ORLANDO, Fla., Oct. 11 (UPI) -- President Obama, in Florida Tuesday night for some campaigning after getting blocked by the Senate on his jobs bill, declared he's "a fourth-quarter player."
With NBA greats Vince Carter, Grant Hill and Doc Rivers among the supporters who showed up for his re-election fundraiser at the Sheraton hotel in downtown Orlando, Obama brought up the pro basketball league's labor impasse.
"The reason I came here is I'm trying to resolve the NBA lockout," the Democratic president joked. "We need our basketball."
With polls showing Americans' support for him has waned since he was elected in 2008, Obama used a basketball analogy to describe himself "a fourth-quarter player" -- a competitor who comes through in the clutch.
"I don't miss my shots in the fourth quarter," he said.
As he usually does during his fundraising events, Obama rattled off his accomplishments and allowed that there is still work to be done to get the economy up to speed. He also noted the Senate's vote against bringing his jobs proposal, which he acknowledged would hit the wealthy he was in Florida to ask for campaign donations.
"Nobody wants to punish success in America. The Republicans talk about class warfare," he said. "... Our goal is to make success available for everybody. What's great about this country is you've got a good idea, you've got a service that nobody else has thought of, you know what, go out there, start a business. Make money. I want everybody out there to be rich. That's great.
"But none of us make it on our own. Somebody -- an outstanding entrepreneur like a Steve Jobs -- somewhere along the line he had a teacher who helped inspire him. All those great Internet businesses wouldn't have succeeded unless somebody had invested in the government research that helped to create the Internet.
"We don't succeed on our own. We succeed because this country has, in previous generations, made investments that allow all of us to succeed.
"So this is the land of opportunity. But we have to remember -- those of us who have done well, we should all pay our fair share in taxes to contribute to the nation that makes our success possible.
"That's not class warfare. That's not an attack on anybody. That's just common sense. That's just fairness."
