REUTERS/Larry Downing The president was enveloped with cheers as he stepped onto the stage in Midway Plaisance Park for a rally that seemed tailored to recapture the magic of his victory speech nearly two years ago in Grant Park. Saturday's crowd of an estimated 35,000 people, the largest Obama has had as he's hit the campaign trail over the past couple of weeks, stretched all the way west from the stage.
He paused several times along the runway to the podium to take in the moment, stopping to point and wave or give a thumbs-up. A jib camera scanned the crowd, where people waved signs featuring the Obama's 2008 campaign logo.
"I can't think of anything better than being with a hometown crowd that is fired up," Obama said.
"Now, Chicago, in three days you have the chance to set the direction of this state and this country for years to come," he said.
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http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1010/44433.htmlObama told those gathered in Hyde Park that "there is no doubt that this is a tough election." But ceding control to Republicans would be returning to failed economic policies of the past, he added.
The president urged voters "just like you did in 2008" to defy conventional wisdom, "the kind that says you can't overcome cynicism in politics, you can't overcome the special interests, you can't overcome the big money, you can't overcome the negativity, you can't overcome the big challenges anymore."
"In three days, you've got the chance to once again say what?" he asked as the crowd responded with the signature phrase of his 2008 presidential campaign: "Yes we can."
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http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-10-30/news/ct-met-obama-rally-1031-20101030_1_obama-s-chicago-president-barack-obama-ralliesREUTERS/Larry Downing"We need you to work to get everybody out to vote," Obama told the cheering throngs -- estimated by organizers as 35,000 people -- at the University of Chicago's Midway Plaisance. "If everyone who came out to vote in 2008 shows up in 2010, we will win this election."
Obama said Republicans were counting on voters' "amnesia" to win.
"Chicago, it's up to you to let them know that we have not forgotten," he said. "It's up to you to let them know that this election is a choice between the policies that got us into this mess and the policies that are starting to lead us out of this mess."
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http://www.suntimes.com/news/elections/2850490,barack-obama-rally-midway-chicago-103010.article"You know, a lot of you got involved in 2008 because you believed we were the defining moment in our history," Obama said.
"A lot of you believed this was a time when the decisions we made about the challenges we face wouldn't just affect us, they'd affect our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren," the president said.
"That's why you knocked on those doors, made phone calls, cast votes for the very first time, because you understood what was at stake."
"Two years later, I know that some of the excitement that we had in Grant Park, that fades away."
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http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/breakingnews/view/20101031-300711/Obama-on-home-turf-asks-US-voters-for-support“I need you to keep on fighting. I need you to keep on believing,” Obama said to thousands of people who crowded onto the Midway Plaisance at the University of Chicago.
"Maybe some of you stopped believing," Obama said. "I want everybody here to understand, don't let anyone tell you that this fight hasn't been worth it."
“If you’re willing to step up, if you’re willing to try… we will restore our economy. We will rebuild the middle class and we will reclaim the American dream for another generation and generations to come.”
"Because if you do, if you're willing to step up, if you're willing to try, we won't just win this election, Pat Quinn won't just win this election, Alexi Giannoulias won't just win this election. But we will restore our economy. We will rebuild the middle class, and we will reclaim the American Dream for another generation for another generation and generations to come.
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http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/clout_st/2010/10/obama-to-rally-democrats-in-hyde-park.html