First Lady Fires Up Leesburg, VA Supporters

First Lady Michelle Obama inspired a crowd of eager Loudoun County area voters and campaign supporters at the Leesburg 4-H Fair Grounds yesterday where she stressed the urgency of voter registration and voting in the upcoming election.

 

First Lady inspires crowd in Leesburg to move 'Forward'. Photo/CD Brown.

Along the road to the fairgrounds were stark reminders of that need as several Romney yard signs decorated the sides of the road way. 

But with Al Green's Let's Stay Together being played and the anticipation of the first lady speaking, the crowd was clearly in an Obama state-of-mind.  The attendees listed intently as the first lady remarked, "So for the next 28 days, 28 days" she repeated, "we need you to work like you’ve never worked before. You hear me? Sign up with one of our volunteers here today to make phone calls, to knock on doors. I want you more importantly to talk to everyone you know; your friends, your neighbors, that nephew you know who's not registered. Smack him in the back of the head", motioned Mrs. Obama, to laughter from the audience.

Voter registration ends on October 15 in Virginia.

"The classmate you haven't talked to in years, call them", Mrs. Obama pleaded. "Tell them what’s at stake. Make sure they register to vote", she said.


First Lady Michelle Obama delivers passionate campaign speech at Leesburg Fairgrounds.  Photo/CD Brown.

Virginia is a swing state that the Obama campaign is hoping to win in 2012, as they did in 2008.  That's encouraging for Obama supporters again this year.

"And if we win enough precincts, we will win this state once again. And when we win Virginia, we’ll be well on our way to putting Barack Obama back in the White House for four more years", said Mrs. Obama.

Also in 2008, President Obama received voter support from young Americans, and the first lady mentioned the youth in her speech.

"We want to give all of our children opportunities worthy of their promise, because we know that all of our kids are worthy ...We want to give these kids that sense of limitless possibility and the belief that here in America, the greatest country on the planet, there is always something better out there if you’re willing to work for it. 

Joan Gardiner with Michelle Obama T-shirt that she designed, shows a gift T-shirt for the First Lady.

While the youth we spoke to in the audience weren't quite old enough to vote, they were inspired by the first lady's speech.

Said eleven year-old Cansin Joseph, "I really liked her speech.  It sounded like she put a lot of work into it."

Brothers Dalton (age 13) and Remy (age 8) S. couldn't believe their eyes when the first lady walked in, and described the first lady as "gorgeous".  Remy was swept off his feet - literally - when the first lady, working the rope line at the end or her remarks, scooped the eight year old up out of the crowd and gave him a huge hug.  

"I didn't believe it", he exclaimed. 

While the first lady may have won the hearts and minds of those she addressed, recent polls show that presidential candidate Mitt Romney is neck-in-neck with her husband, President Obama, despite repeated reports of Romney's questionable dealings with Bain Capital, several suggesting that Romney shipped thousands of U.S. jobs to China.

Still, Romney maintains he'll create 12 million U.S. jobs should he win the election.

"I'll vote for whoever can fix the economy", said one attendee at the Leesburg rally who admits he's still 'on the fence' as to who he'll vote for.

The general election is November 6.

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