By Kirk Siegler, KUNC
In the midst of a 48-hour tour through crucial swing states, President Obama brought his campaign back to Denver Wednesday and staged a large rally at City Park. The President tried to rally his base, urging them to cast their ballots early and knock on doors on his behalf.
This is a transcript of a report from KUNC’s Kirk Siegler.
Reporter Kirk Siegler: An estimated 16,000 people weren’t deterred by darkening skies and plummeting temperatures as they crowded into a fenced off area in City Park to see the President, on his eleventh campaign trip to the state this year.
Barack Obama: And if you give me that vote Colorado, you’ll have a president who hears your voice, a president who fights for your families.
Reporter: Mr. Obama, sounding hoarse at times, remained upbeat, as he campaigns through Iowa, Colorado, Nevada, Florida and Ohio, all states where the polls are showing the race in a dead heat.
Mr. Obama: You can choose to turn back the clock fifty years for women, immigrants and gays, or in this election you can stand up for that basic principle that we are all created equal.
Reporter: It’s not clear how many undecided or independent voters Mr. Obama won over speaking in heavily Democratic northeast Denver. Many pundits believe one of his biggest obstacles is an enthusiasm gap among younger voters and Hispanics who were key in his winning Colorado in 2008. Supporter Sarah Franklin says the President still has work to do to win over some Coloradans in a state where unemployment still remains stubbornly high.
Mr. Obama: I think that he needs to convince them that jobs are going to get better. It’s mainly middle class out there, at least where I live in Aurora, and also that wages need to keep up with the cost of living.
Reporter: At their own events and in campaign emails coinciding with the President’s visit, Colorado Republicans said Mr. Obama has had four years to turn the economy around and cut the deficit.
[Photo: KUNC/Kirk Siegler]
