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Sam Morris / Las Vegas Sun
First Lady Michelle Obama makes a campaign appearance for her husband President Barack Obama at Orr Middle School Friday, Oct. 26, 2012.
By Tovin Lapan (contact) 
Published Friday, Oct. 26, 2012 | 2:56 p.m.
Updated Friday, Oct. 26, 2012 | 4:20 p.m.
Michelle Obama rallies voters, women in Las Vegas
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KSNV reports that Michelle Obama rallied voters in Las Vegas, Oct. 26.
First lady Michelle Obama, closing out a week in which both presidential candidates also visited Southern Nevada, told a Las Vegas audience Friday afternoon that their votes could help sway the election.
Mrs. Obama addressed a crowd of approximately 1,000 at Orr Middle School, arguing for a second term for President Barack Obama. After wishing the crowd a happy Nevada Day, the first lady fired up the audience with a 34-minute speech that had one overriding message: Vote; the earlier, the better.
“We only got 11 more days,” the first lady said. “The folks in this room alone could swing an entire precinct.”
Obama won Nevada by 12 points in 2008, but this time around the race is expected to be tight, with the latest poll showing Obama up 3 points in the state.
“As my husband has said over and over again, this election will be even closer than the last one. It can all come down to what happens in just a few key battleground states like right here in Nevada,” Mrs. Obama said. “Think back to what happened in 2008. Barack won this state by 121,000 votes. Well, now that might sound like a lot. But if you take that number and work it across all the precincts in this state, that’s just 69 votes per precinct.”
The first lady reminded the crowd about the state of the U.S. economy when her husband took office in 2008 and what he’s been able to accomplish since then.
“Think back to when Barack first took office” she asked the crowd. “Where was this country? We were on the brink of collapse as an economy. … You’ll recall the auto industry was in crisis. This economy was losing 800,000 jobs a month. And a lot of folks were wondering if we were headed for another Great Depression.”
As her husband completes his first term, the first lady said, the economy is improving. The president, she said, needs four more years to completely right the ship.
“There are more and more signs every day that we are headed in the right direction,” she said. “The stock market has doubled, exports have grown by 45 percent (and) manufacturers have added 500,000 jobs. We’ve had 31 straight months, that’s the majority of my husband’s presidency, with private-sector job growth.”
Mrs. Obama’s speech focused more on the president’s accomplishments, but the first lady did slip in some barbs about GOP nominee Mitt Romney.
“We believe in keeping our priorities straight. What am I saying? We know good and well that cutting ‘Sesame Street’ is no way to balance the budget,” she said, referring to a comment by Romney in the first presidential debate in which he suggested cutting funding for the Public Broadcasting Service. “We know that short-changing our kids is not how we tackle this deficit.”
On Thursday the first lady was in California, where she attended a fundraiser at the home of actor Will Smith and spoke at a campaign rally.
While in California, a state that is expected to go for the president, the first lady encouraged supporters to come to Nevada in the final days of the campaign to help turn out Obama voters in the Silver State.
“(F)or those of you who want to really get out there and roll up your sleeves, you can do that,” Obama told supporters in Calabasas, Calif. “You can sign up at California.BarackObama.com to go to Nevada, to knock on doors. These last few days before the election are so critical, especially next weekend and Election Day. So if you can give even just one or two days, we need you to head to Nevada and help us get out the vote in that state.”
Christina Delouth, 46, an unemployed caregiver who lives in Las Vegas, voted for Obama in 2008 but did not volunteer for the campaign four years ago. This time around, Delouth has been knocking on doors, registering voters and working the campaign phone banks.
“I believe (Obama) is moving us forward, I truly do,” Delouth said while waiting for Mrs. Obama’s speech from the middle school bleachers. “When I meet people who say Obama hasn’t done enough to fix the economy, I say: ‘Check the record.’ He can’t fix everything in four years, and progress is being made. I don’t blame him for me being out of a job.”
The first lady also trumpeted the president’s withdrawal of troops from Iraq, efforts to wind down the number of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, and reform of the federal student loan system.
During her speech, Mrs. Obama encouraged those in the crowd who had not voted yet to meet at the school’s flagpole after the rally. From there, they would be led by the middle school marching band to an early voting station at Boulevard Mall.
The wife of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Landra Reid, spoke at the event before abruptly leaving as word of an accident involving the senator’s motorcade spread at the rally.
This was the first lady’s fourth visit this year to Nevada. The Democratic candidates for the 1st, 3rd and 4th congressional districts, Dina Titus, Assemblyman John Oceguera and state Sen. Steven Horsford, respectively, were in attendance at Friday’s rally.
Romney and his running mate, Paul Ryan, appeared at an event Tuesday in Henderson, and Barack Obama was in town Wednesday evening at a rally that opened with singer Katy Perry.
I wouldn't vote for your husband Obama, if he were the last candidate on earth
Bengazi BIG TIME COVERUP is proof of that
but thanks for the reminder anyway, I'm telling everyone NOT to vote for Obama, too
Here's his impeachment filed in the house of representatives
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c1...
These hack politicians are not helping anybody getting a job. Who really cares what she does or thinks.Waste of newspaper space.
All Michelle and Barack can do is work to secure what's left of their base. Their support with moderates is long gone.
All they know how to do is divide America and try to conquer.
Nov 6th their reign will be over and they can go back to trying to destroy this country from outside the Oval Office.
The poll cited that says Obama is up by three points is from the New York Times! Hardly a reliable source anymore. The times has been out of reality for years. Mr. Obama and the administration is responsible for the assassination of our ambassador in Libya. They watched our people being murdered. Did nothing and went to bed. I cannot vote for any leader that has no problem lying to the public in the wake of being complicit to murder.
Whoooa!!!
Listen to the Haters!
November 6, you can all go back to your lives...
The President will indeed carry the day, with an Electoral College thumping of the worst 'R' candidate since...well, since the last Presidential election!
At any rate, get out and VOTE!!!
I voted today @ Albertsons...
the line was fairly long but it went quickly and the election folks on hand were doing a fabulous job!
The President sanctioned the murders of four Americans and he just doesn't care.
Obama lied and American's died
NOvember=NObama
YES, Michelle is awesome and a great FIRST LADY.
My whole family already voted for PRESIDENT OBAMA!
There is no way that we will go back to those
horrible republican years.
NO WAY!
Sorry bout your plane, How many more Millions will
that cost us??
people like Teamster and gmag actually get on these posts and support a president that left four Americans to die. Thats just a very sickening thought that anyone could support a cowardly administration as this one.
Michelle Obama seems to be an intelligent lady, I don't understand why she supports socialism for her daughter's futures's.
Just the mention of free stuff gets the obama crowd salivating, just like pavlov's dogs.
Good advice. So went went right down and voted for Romney and against Reid and Berkley.
We don't need a vile, petty, vindictive tyrant running the Senate AND the White House another four years.
Once was TOO MUCH!
Importance of voting early, to get your FREE pizza before the dems run out..........
Sorry Repubnicants, you can't blame Benghazi on Obama, FOX has it completely wrong! National security issues are way above Obama's pay grade and his security clearance. Each morning after coffee and doughnuts non essentials are ask to leave, that would be nearly his entire staff.
Vote early before Trump proves Obama is a non native, foreign born, con man, who got into college due to affirmative action and stole a SS number to get his passport.
This Libya noise is just that, FOX GENERATED noise. Where were all you over 40 White dudes when Bush SENT 10,000 Americans to die in Iraq for lies & oil? You were either silent or in full support. Thousands dead and all our treasure gone.....
Hypocrits, how quickly you CHOOSE to forget. And the Left never treated Laura Bush with the hate and venom you spew outta your a holes every day. Get over it people. Michelle is not evil, and she does not have to sit at the back of the bus like you seem to long for.
*Hypocrites
Those horrible, hateful republicans will lose
again.
Republicans are proven total failures on
everything.
The economy, total failure.
Foteign policy, total failure.
romney/ryan offer NOTHING GOOD for average
Americans or poor Americans.
NOTHING!!!
NEVER VOTE REPUBLICAN!!!
@tommyguns
Trump?
Donald Trump was well and truly BUSTED by David Letterman Thursday night. Trump came on Letterman's show talking about his ridiculous $5 million offer for Obama's college transcript and passport application. Trump ranted about how we need more 'transparency'.
Then Letterman dropped a bomb.
Letterman brought out shirts and ties from Trump's clothing line that Trump sells at Macys. The shirts and ties are made in Bangladesh and CHINA. Letterman then proceeded to spread out a bunch of the ties on his desk. Trump is sending AMERICAN jobs OVERSEAS. TRUMP IS AN OUTSOURCER AND LETTERMAN BROUGHT THE 'TRANSPARENCY'. Awesome. Watch it here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ial4SRFl0...
And don't forget Trump is a close advisor to Mitt Romney.
WILDWEST:
GOod post. I believed and STILL believe, even though others would disagree strongly, the hate for Obama and by association, Mrs. Obama, is based on race. These people do not like an African American President or his family. The "WHite Guy Society" (which includes women) have wanted Obama out of office from Day One. That same bigotry is shown in full force in most of these posts all the time hidden behind some fancy words. What are they going to do if Romney becomes President, and his agenda is similar to the Obama Administration, down to how to create jobs? WHat are they going to do if Romney is not as successful with the economy as they all believe he will be? But they won't "hate" him because he's a Caucasian....just like them
If these people would have listened, Michelle Obama has been saying everywhere she has been appearing this week - it doesn't matter who you choose to vote for, JUST VOTE.
Michelle Obama is a class act!!