President Obama on the campaign trail in Boston on Oct. 16, 2010. At various times, he has described Americans as angry, frustrated, scared, anxious, uncertain, nervous, discouraged and shaken up. He says they're also confused and not thinking clearly. (AP File Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
(CNSNews.com) -- Doing last minute campaigning on hip hop radio station KPWR 106 FM in Los Angeles today, President Barack Obama said that things have gotten better across the board in America since he has been president.
KPWR’s slogan is: “Where Hip Hop Lives.”
“Across the board, things have gotten better over the last two years,” Obama said on KPWR. “The question is can we keep that up. We can only keep it up if I’ve got the friends and allies in Congress, in statehouses. So even though my name is not on the ballot, my agenda--our agenda--is going to be dependent on whether folks turn out to vote today.”
The president made similar comments during three other interviews on hip hop and contemporary music stations in Las Vegas, Chicago and Jacksonville, Fla.
Obama cited improvements in the economy—despite the fact that unemployment has risen from 7.6 percent in January 2009 when he came into office to 9.6 percent now.
Obama also said that 100,000 troops are back from Iraq, a measure taken largely in compliance with the Bush administration’s Status of Forces Agreement in late 2008.
Obama additionally cited his health-care reform legislation and more money going for higher education funding.
“We put money that was going to big banks and we actually put it to student loan programs and the Pell Grant program so that young people can afford to go to college,” Obama told KPWR. “We passed health care reform, which means that young people can stay on their parents' health care until they are 26 if they don’t have health care, so insurance companies can’t jack you around. We passed credit card reform so that when you're out there with your credit card, the company can’t jack up your rates.”
Big Boy, the KPWR DJ who interviewed Obama, asked, “What’s your next big goal for America, Mr. President?”
Obama pointed to making college more affordable, creating more green jobs and immigration reform.
“My next big goal right now is to make sure we keep up our policies that improve education. Make college more accessible. Make college more affordable. Number one,” Obama said.
“Number two, stay focused on jobs. Creating jobs,” Obama continued. “Rebuilding our infrastructure, our bridges, our roads, transportation systems, making sure we’re working on things like clean energy, so folks can get work weatherizing buildings and building solar panels and creating whole new industries in that area. Those two things, if we can focus on those two things over the next couple of years, along with a couple of areas like immigration reform, all that stuff can make a big difference in terms of getting this country moving on the right track.”
The president encouraged voters to vote today for Sen. Barbara Boxer, facing a challenge from Republican Carly Fiorina, and asked Californians to vote for Democrat Jerry Brown over Meg Whitman in the state’s governor’s race.
He had a similar message for listeners of KVEG Hot 97.5 FM, a contemporary music station in Las Vegas, as he encouraged them to vote for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, struggling in polls against Republican challenger Sharon Angle.
“You look at Nevada, every poll shows that the race between Harry Reid and his opponent neck and neck,” Obama said. “So you know that if people who voted in 2008 turn out to vote in 2010, Harry will win. If they don’t turn out, he will lose.
"If I don’t have Harry Reid in the United States Senate, it is going to be much harder for me to keep making improvement in the economy that need to be made,” said Obama.
He also told WGCI in Chicago, 107.5 that Republicans would roll back new education funding because “they want to roll that back to help pay for a tax cut for millionaires and billionaires.”
“So if Republicans have their way, they would be able to cut the budget by 20 percent, and that means young people directly would see their Pell Grants reduced by 20 percent, or their loans reduced by a certain percentage, especially at a time when education is expensive and necessary,” Obama said. “That’s just one example of the kinds of things that are at stake here if we’re not serious about this election and people aren’t turning out to vote.”
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