By Jason Chow
President Obama speaks to the crowd at an Ohio University rally in Athens, Ohio, Wednesday.
In a second wind following last week?s presidential debate, President Obama riled up a crowd of 14,000 Wednesday in the heart of Ohio University?s campus, hoping to earn their vote.
?I came here today, Ohio, because I want your vote,? Obama said. ?I want your vote. I am not too proud to beg.?
Introduced by OU?s College Democrats president, Shannon Welch, on a beautiful fall evening, the president touched on issues regarding college tuition, energy, economics, women?s rights and the faults of his opponent, Mitt Romney, during his 30-minute speech.
?Everyone has something at stake during this election,? Welch said.
From the beginning, Obama got right to the point dismissing Romney?s five-point plan.
?He has a tax plan that doesn?t add up,? Obama said. ?He?s got a jobs plan that doesn?t create jobs. He?s got a deficit plan that doesn?t reduce deficits. You?ve heard of the New Deal, Ohio. You?ve heard of a fair deal. Mitt Romney is trying to sell you a sketchy deal.?
Romney has said that his five-point plan will result in the creation of 12 million jobs during his first term. In the debate the night before, Romney also said Obama?s ?policies have been exercised over the last four years, and they haven?t put people back to work.?
Obama?s criticism of Romney during the debate continued at the rally.
?Now, we had our second presidential debate last night,? he said. ?I?m still trying to get the hang of this thing. But there are a couple of things that I noticed that keeps on recurring in this debate and during the course of this campaign. Governor Romney continues to run around talking about his five-point plan for the economy.
?But as we saw last night, the five-point plan really boils down to one point ? folks at the very top get to play by a different set of rules than you do.?
Throughout the president?s speech, the crowd continued to interrupt with bouts of laughter, cheers and, at times, a large swarm of boos in reference to the Republican Party.
?Don?t boo ? vote,? Obama said.
Realizing that the majority of his viewers were college students from Ohio University, Obama made sure to follow in the footsteps of his vice president?s speech during his previous stop to Athens ? football and college tuition.
?I just want to point out that I was pushing for a playoff system,? he said.
By Jason Chow
Ohio University students began waiting for President Obama?s 7 p.m. speech at 8 a.m. Wednesday. The line extended more than two miles.
Mentioning the expansion of Pell Grants, Obama highlighted the system created by the Democrats to keep interest rates low and tuition assistance high.
?If [students] have debt, they?re never going to have to pay more than 10% of their income,? he said. ?If they choose to become a teacher or do something that doesn?t pay a lot of money, they can still manage the debt from getting an outstanding education.?
Though not all spectators in the crowd were as easily swayed, OU student Mat Buchman, 19, said he believed the event was important for all to attend, no matter party affiliation.
?It?s a historic event for our college and for Athens, Ohio,? he said.
Fellow student, Cody Smith, 18, has a similar belief, saying that the large and versatile crowd is a sign of the importance of the election and of voting.
?Your voice counts,? he said. ?I think everyone should at least be well educated on the issues and what?s going on during the election. It affects all of us.?
The visit marked Obama?s 13th day in Ohio since kicking off his campaign May 5 at Ohio State University, and the seventh in regards to rallies on college campuses.
?I believe in you, and I need you to keep on believing in me so I can finish the job that we started,? he said. ?And only you have got the power to keep us moving forward. I can?t do it by myself. I need you. I?m only in Washington because of you.?
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