In Iowa, Michelle Obama recalls politics at its best
President Barack Obama looks on as first lady Michelle Obama speaks during a campaign stop at the Alliant Energy Amphitheater, Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2012, in Dubuque, Iowa.
/ AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall(CBS News) In their first joint campaign appearance since May, President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama reunited in Iowa Wednesday, reminiscing about their time in the state in 2008 as an example of the political process "at its very best" and urging Americans to "keep moving forward" with them.
In remarks introducing the president, Michelle Obama joked that her daughters, Malia and Sasha, "still think campaigning is fun" because of the time they spent in Iowa during the 2008 presidential campaign, when they "rode the bumper cars" and "slid down that big slide."
"Iowa was our very first experience with a national campaign, truly," she said. "Because of you, Barack and I will always remember what this process can be at its very best. Every election, you all remind us what democracy is all about."
Casting her husband in personal terms, Obama acknowledged that, as president, "there's absolutely no margin for error."
"The truth is that at the end of the day, as president, all you have to guide you are your values and your vision and your life experiences. In the end, it all boils down to who you are and what you stand for," she said. "And we all know who my husband is, don't we? And we all know what he stands for. He is the son of a single mother who struggled to put herself through school and pay the bills. He's the grandson of a woman who woke up before dawn every day to catch a bus to her job at the bank."
After taking the stage, Mr. Obama praised his wife effusively - calling her the "perfect first lady" - before pivoting to attacks on his Republican rivals.
He did not comment, however, on a scuffle over Vice President Joe Biden's comments at a Tuesday campaign event that Romney would "put you all back in chains" by unshackling Wall Street. According to an Obama campaign official, the campaign sees the Biden controversy as a one-day issue that "will play itself out."
The official says the campaign sees this controversy as a one-day issue that "will play itself out."
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You have a chance to be a member of a team where the coach is Mr. Nice Guy, with a smile from ear to ear, and someone who you know you could knock back a few brewskies with, and doesn't care if you work hard or not. His only problem is that he doesn't know the game that well, and his record over time has been, well, pretty mediocre. Attendance has dropped off and the franchise is in serious trouble financially.
On the other hand there's a competing team that you could join. Their coach is pleasant enough but pretty well all business. He's demanding of himself and his players, and he has an excellent record as a coach.
What team would you prefer to join?
I like the Obamas, too, but there's a brown spot on your nose.
Too bad that the 8.3% who are unemployed and the new 16 million homeless and kids and families living in poverty are not moving "Foward" with them but "Backwards" while she has a luxurious life style and new found wealth at the taxpayers expense.
Nice $4 million dollar Hawaiian vactions and a vacation total for 2011 of $10 million dollars, while a record number of people are on food stamps and unemployment benefits.
Shameful.