Democrats Celebrate Obama’s Birthday
Continual Love & Light, Mr. President. All is well
Democrats Celebrate Obama’s Birthday, Look Ahead to 2012
Des Moine Register – 8/4/11
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20110804/NEWS09/108040315/Democrats-celebrate-Obama-s-birthday-look-ahead-to-2012
It was a backyard birthday party like almost any other: Kids raced across the grass blowing party horns. Cake sat waiting near the back. And attendees wrote their best wishes in a card:
“Happy Birthday, Pres. Obama.”
President Barack Obama, who turns 50 today, was honored by Democratic organizers at parties across the country on Wednesday, an opportunity to rally around an incumbent and lay the groundwork for state- and community-level organization for Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign.
And while the president opted to attend a party in his hometown of Chicago, he still spoke to supporters, including the celebrants at a home in Des Moines near Drake University, through the Internet.
“What was true in 2008 is just as true today,” said Obama. “As somebody who cut my teeth as a community organizer, I knew that nothing was more powerful than the American people when they … decide that they want to bring about change.”
After commending the organizers of his 2008 campaign, Obama cited the government’s support of the auto industry, the passage of health care reform and the repeal of the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” rules as major victories of his presidency.
“As we gear up to fight some tough battles,” Obama said, “it is absolutely critical that all of you stay involved.”
In a state swarming with Republican candidates leading up to Aug. 13 GOP straw poll in Ames, the Obama birthday bash provided an opportunity for volunteers to huddle and discuss a grass-roots approach for the president’s 2012 campaign in Iowa.
State Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald, who campaigned for Obama in 2007, said that, faced with years of high unemployment, Iowans who supported Obama in 2008 might need a bit of reminding.
“People have short memories. We inherited a disaster,” he said. “It took 10 years to get out of the Great Depression. You can’t turn this thing around that fast, but we’re moving in the right direction.”
One party attendee, 9-year-old Aliyah Curry of Des Moines, voiced her support for Obama’s re-election, but still saw room for improvement. She voiced them in a speech, which kicked off the evening:
“President Obama should make the world more better by better schools and better education,” she said, to a hushed audience in lawn chairs. “Make stores have cheaper prices … and have better security alarms. The end.”
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