I link to Obama's Full speech, but I cut and present the most impressive part of what this Superb Campaigner said :
Appearing at his second fundraiser last night at the Hancock Park home of Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas, This is Obama's speech :
Wilshire and Washington
Obama at L.A. Latino Event: "These President Years Are Dog Years"
By Ted Johnson
Tuesday, October 25, 2011, 8:25 AM
Obama at L.A. Latino Event: "These President Years Are Dog Years"
Some excerpts of the Speech :
Hello, everybody! Well, it is good to be here tonight. Everybody please have a seat. Make yourselves comfortable.
Although some of them have already been acknowledged, I just want to say, first of all, thank you to Eva. She is just a powerhouse. I don’t know how much -- (applause) -- I couldn’t say no if she had called me. (Laughter.) So -- and between her and Giselle and all the folks who helped to make this Futuro Fund possible, I am grateful.
To Melanie and Antonio -- could not be more gracious hosts, and their beautiful family. Thank you so much. (Applause.) We are grateful to you.
We have some great guests. Somebody who -- daughter of a Teamster, fighting for working people every single day, and one of my favorite people, just a great member of my Cabinet, Hilda Solis. We are so proud of her. (Applause.)
There are two of my majors -- two -- there are two of my favorite mayors as well: Mayor Villaraigosa and Mayor Castro. They work hard every single day on behalf of their constituents. So we’re proud of them. (Applause.)
One of the finest senators we have in the country, Bob Mendendez of New Jersey is here in the house. (Applause.) And a personal hero of mine, Dolores Huerta is here. (Applause.) Where’s Dolores at? Where is she? There she is back there. We love her.
Before I came to Los Angeles today, I was in Las Vegas. And I think as many of you know, Las Vegas has been hit as hard as any part of the country as a consequence of a housing bubble that burst. Unemployment is higher than it is any place in the country. There are more homes that are underwater than just about any place in the country.
And we went to announce a new program that we have for refinancing of mortgages, because so many people are having difficulty refinancing, taking advantage of these low rates. Their mortgages are now higher than what the homes are being valued for, and as a consequence the banks won’t refinance. And so we took some executive action to try to get this fixed.
But what was interesting was the setting. We went into this subdivision and we visited the home of the Bonillas -- Jose and Lissette. And their story is a classic American story. Jose had come here 26 years ago as an undocumented worker. And he got a job sweeping floors in a supermarket.
He met Lissette, who was also undocumented, and was a housekeeper. And when the amnesty program came, they were able to get legal status here in this country. They had three beautiful children, and for 17 years they lived in a one-bedroom apartment -- all three, the three kids in bunk beds in one room and Jose and Lissette slept in the living room. And that’s how they raised their family. But they worked incredibly hard, they saved. Eventually each of them got U.S. citizenship. And Jose rose up through the ranks until he was finally a manager at this supermarket. But they still didn’t have enough money for a home. And then a program that we had set up, that we’re now trying to replicate all across the country, took homes that were vacant, that had been foreclosed on, and converted them. And so they finally got their first home.
And they invited in the President of the United States, after apologizing to their neighbors for blocking the streets -- (laughter) -- to their home, and we sat around the dining room table and talked about their life and their experience and what was happening to their friends and neighbors and those who had lost their homes and those whose families had been separated. And at one point in the conversation, Jose says, “Understand our dream is not complete. Our dream will not be complete until my children have all gone to college, and they have a home of their own, and everybody here in this country understands that they are full-fledged Americans.” (Applause.)
Now, what struck me in this conversation was not how unique their story is but how typical their story is of what built this country -- that spirit of being willing to take enormous risks, of coming to a new land, of charting a new course, of starting at the bottom and working your way up, of putting your blood, sweat and tears into this distant vision for the future. That’s what built this country. That’s the essence of America; that’s its foundation. And when I ran for President I ran not because of the title, not because of a pursuit of power, but because I so deeply believed in those ideals and those values -- (applause) -- that helped to propel this country forward and made it a beacon for all the world.
That’s what America is. That’s why all around the world even today people still think about this country differently than they think about other countries, no matter how critical they may be sometimes, no matter how frustrated they may be. The American ideal, the American creed is one that animates the entire world. And I ran for President because I want to make sure that this country remains that beacon and remains that ideal. (Applause.) And that the hopes of the Joses and the Lissettes, people all across the country, regardless of their station, regardless of what they look like, regardless of where they come from, that they’re going to be able to have that piece of the American Dream.
Now, part of the reason that I ran was because too many people felt that dream slipping away. For a decade, we saw that dream neglected. And so even though some of us were extraordinarily fortunate, those of us at the very top were doing very well, the average family saw their wages flatline, their incomes flatline -- even as the cost of everything from a college education to their health care to their groceries to their gas was going up. More and more people felt like they were working harder just to stay in the same place, or not to fall behind.
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Here I cut a lot
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But here’s the message I want to deliver to you today -- is, don’t get weary. (Laughter.) Don’t get tired. Because I’m not tired. I may be gray, but I’m not tired. (Applause.) My passion is still there. My commitment is still there. (Applause.) My vision for this country is still there. (Applause.) And if you’re still there, then we’re going to win this election, and we are going to create the kind of America that our children and our grandchildren deserve.
God bless you. God bless the United States of America. (Applause.)
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