Obama’s Checklist of Choices for Voters
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JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images(BOSTON) — At his 99th fundraiser of the year, on the home turf of rival Mitt Romney’s re-election campaign, President Obama Monday night presented a vigorous case for a second term, framing the November vote as a series of personal choices that will have tangible effects on the lives of everyday Americans.
“The only way we’re going to break that gridlock is through you,” Obama said, underscoring an emerging theme in his campaign. “Very rarely do you see such a stark choice in an election with so much as stake. On every challenge we face, you have the final say on where do we go from here.”
On Afghanistan: “You can decide whether we keep our men and women in Afghanistan indefinitely, as Mr. Romney proposes, or we can stick to the timeline that I established that allows us to finally bring our troops home,” Obama said. “That’s my decision.”
On Women’s Health Issues: “You can decide whether we should restrict access to birth control or defund Planned Parenthood. Or we can make a decision that in this country, women control their own health choices,” he said to thunderous applause and a standing ovation. “That’s the decision that I make.”
On Wall Street: “You can decide whether ending taxpayer bailouts of Wall Street Banks was the right thing to do. Whether protecting consumers from unscrupulous practices, like Elizabeth [Warren] fought for, is the right thing to do,” he said.
On Health Insurance: “Whether preventing insurance companies from discriminating against people who are sick is the right thing to do, or allowing over 3 million young people to stay on their parent’s health insurance plan is the right thing to do, or bringing down the cost of prescription drugs for seniors was the right thing to do,” he said.
“I think it was the right thing to do. I know it was the right thing to do. And it’s your choice whether we keep moving forward,” Obama shouted.
On Gay Rights: “You can decide whether we go back to the days when you can be kicked out of the U.S. military because of who you are or who you love. I know where I stand on this,” he said.
On Immigration: “You can decide whether it’s time to stop denying citizenship to responsible young people just because they were brought here as children of undocumented immigrants,” he said. “I know where I stand on this.”
On Campaign Finance: “You can decide whether we can continue to have elections where multimillion-dollar donations, $10 million checks speak louder than voices of ordinary citizens,” Obama said. “This is going to be up to you.”
Obama spoke in Symphony Hall before an energetic crowd of 1,800 donors who paid $250 or more to attend the reception. The three presidential fundraisers in Boston Monday night were expected to raise north of $3.2 million for the Obama Victory Fund.
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