The White House issued the following remarks that President Obama made at two rallies today for New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine (D). The first event was at the Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden, New Jersey. The second was as the Prudential Center in Newark. Here’s the full text of both:
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you so much. I am — woo! — (applause) — fired up. I am fired up. (Applause.) Let me first of all acknowledge some extraordinary public servants who are in the house. Rob Andrews, our wonderful Congressman. (Applause.) Steve Rothman, another great member of Congress. (Applause.) Gwen Faison, the Mayor of Camden. Thank you, Gwen. (Applause.) To all the other elected officials who are here, I am just glad to be back in Camden. (Applause.) When I was campaigning last year, I said I’d come back once I was President. (Applause.) I couldn’t stay away. I like — I just like hanging out in New Jersey. (Applause.)
I appreciate all of you who aren’t at the Giants/Eagles game. (Laughter.) I didn’t mean to stir all that up, I’m sorry. All right, settle down now, settle down.
Here’s the reason I’m back. I am back because we are two days away — two days away from making sure that New Jersey has the kind of quality leadership it deserves. (Applause.) Two days away from making sure we’re moving forward on education; two days away from making sure that we’ve got fairness in our economic system; two days away from reelecting Jon Corzine for another four years. (Applause.) Two days.
Now, at this point in the campaign, you’ve heard all the arguments. You’ve seen all the TV ads. You know all the facts of this race. You know that Jon is running for reelection during a challenging time for New Jersey and a challenging time for America. I don’t have to tell you that. You —
AUDIENCE MEMBER: I love you, Obama! (Laughter and applause.)
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Me too!
THE PRESIDENT: You know how tough things are because you see it in your own lives. You see it in your own communities. You see it right here in Camden. Too many folks who are out of work. Too many people who are looking for a job. Too many hardworking families being squeezed by skyrocketing costs of everything on one side and shrinking wages on the other side.
You’ve got men and women who’ve worked hard all their lives, done all the right things, and now they’re worried about whether they’re going to be able to send their kids to college or retire with dignity and respect; whether they can be the kinds of providers they want to be — all because of economic factors beyond their control.
Everywhere you go you talk to people and they say, you know, I was saving up all my life, I had it in a 401(k). Suddenly because of this financial crisis, I may have to go back to work. Young people say, well, maybe I’ve got to put off college for longer than I had hoped.
So I know these are challenging times. Jon knows these are challenging times. This is why he got into public service. He didn’t do it for the paycheck. (Laughter and applause.) He did it because he understands that we can do better. And for the past four years, you’ve had an honorable man at the helm in this state during one of the most difficult periods in its history. (Applause.) You’ve had a leader who’s put the interests of hardworking New Jersey families ahead of the special interests. You’ve had a leader who’s fought for what matters most. That’s the kind of governor Jon Corzine has been. And that’s the kind of governor that he will be for another four years if everybody here does their job. (Applause.)
Now, you know there’s a lot of silliness during campaign season, a lot of distortion. So let’s just make sure everybody understands the record. Let’s make sure we all understand Jon Corzine’s record and what’s happened over the last several years, because, you know, opponents’ records kind of get distorted a little bit during the course of a campaign. This is a governor who provided more property tax relief than any governor in New Jersey history — more than any governor in New Jersey history. (Applause.) So when you hear these other folks talking about how, oh, you know, Democrats are tax-and-spend and, oh, you know, Corzine, he’s putting a big tax — this is the guy who delivered more property tax relief than anybody, right here. So if you care about fairness in the tax system, this is the guy you’re going to vote for. (Applause.)
You hear the other side talking about, oh, they want to expand government. Jon Corzine is the first governor in 60 years who reduced the size of government — reduced it. (Applause.) But he understands that when you’re going to reduce government, when you’re going to lower property taxes, you don’t do it with a hatchet, you do it with a scalpel. You cut out things that don’t make sense so you can keep on doing the things that do make sense. (Applause.)
So here’s a guy who expanded early childhood education for more than 5,000 children, because he understood that pre-K isn’t “babysitting” — it’s a pathway to success for young people. (Applause.) This is a guy who expanded the Children’s Health Insurance Program by nearly 100,000 young people in this state. Think about that — 100,000 kids getting health insurance that didn’t have it before because of Jon Corzine. (Applause.)
New Jersey is now a leader in clean energy. And working families can spend time with a newborn baby or a sick loved one because of paid sick leave that was signed into law by — guess who — Jon Corzine. (Applause.)
When it comes to the issues that matter, like jobs, Jon Corzine has been a true leader — the first governor in the country to pass a recovery plan to get the state’s economy moving.
Now, listening to Jon’s opponent, you’d think that New Jersey was the only state having a tough time right now. He doesn’t seem to mention that we’re in the — coming out of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. And guess what — that crisis didn’t start under Jon’s watch. It wasn’t a consequence of Obama policies or Corzine policies that we went into this hole. (Applause.)
There seems to be some selective memory going on here, some revisionist history about how we ended up in the situation we’re in. This crisis came about because of the same sort of lax regulation, the same sort of trickle-down economics that the other guy’s party had been peddling for years.
And I’ve been saying all over the country, I don’t think it’s right for those who helped get us into this mess to be somehow standing back and saying, “Well, why haven’t you fixed it?” I don’t mind grabbing a mop and cleaning up somebody else’s mess. (Applause.) That’s fine. Jon Corzine doesn’t mind cleaning up somebody else’s mess. But don’t stand there and say, “How come you’re not — how come you’re not holding the mop the right way? How come you’re not mopping fast enough? Why are you using a socialist mop?” (Laughter.) Why don’t you grab a mop? (Applause.) Grab a mop.
We don’t need politicians who are more interested in scoring points than solving problems. We don’t need politicians who are offering the same answers that got us into the mess in the first place. We don’t need politicians who’d rather sit on the sidelines and point fingers than offer any answers, any real solutions.
We need leaders who are committed to moving this country forward. We need leaders who are committed to moving New Jersey forward. (Applause.) And that’s Jon Corzine, which is why you need to work hard on Tuesday. (Applause.)
I served with this man in the United States Senate. I learned about the kind of person he is — somebody who served this country as a United States Marine; somebody who worked his way up from a middle-class family to achieve extraordinary success, and then decided to give back to this country and this state that he loves. He’s committed to giving every American the same opportunities he had. He was one of the best colleagues I had in the Senate, but he’s also one of the best partners I have in the White House. We work together. We work together. (Applause.)
When we were putting together the Recovery Act, we worked together to figure out, how can we put people back to work as quickly as possible; how can we make sure we’re not cutting vital education programs and not laying off cops and firefighters and teachers all across the country. And that Recovery Act that we designed has put a middle-class tax cut in the pockets of 3 million hardworking New Jersey families. (Applause.) It’s extended unemployment insurance for 600,000 men and women in this state. It’s made COBRA 65 percent cheaper so people can keep their health care when they lose their job. (Applause.)
Jon Corzine helped get this done. Now, look, the reason you’re here, the reason I’m here, the reason Jon’s running for reelection is we know our work is far from over. You know we still got big challenges ahead — in New Jersey, here in Camden, and all across America. We’re not going to — we’re not going to rest until we solve them.
And by the way, we’re also not going to pretend that they’re going to be easy. One of the things you’ve got in Jon Corzine is somebody who tells it to you straight. There are all kinds of folks out there who will pretend, well, you know, there are a bunch of simple answers there. These are tough times. Rebuilding Camden, that’s not going to be easy. Anybody who says it is isn’t telling you the truth. Digging ourselves out of this financial hole, that’s not going to be easy. Anybody who says otherwise, they’re not telling you the truth.
But when you have somebody who’s giving it to you straight, and then says, “But I’m confident if we work together we can make it happen, and I’m not going to rest until anyone who’s looking for a job can find a job, and a job that pays a living wage” — (applause) — when you’ve got somebody who says, “I’m not going to rest until not only is Wall Street doing well but Main Street is doing well, and businesses are hiring again. I’m not going to rest until every young person in America is getting a world-class education, and every American’s dream is within their reach if they’re willing to work for it and fight for it. I’m not going to rest until we build a clean energy economy that’s going to free our nation from the grips of foreign oil and generate green jobs right here in New Jersey.” (Applause.) “I will not rest until every single person in America can afford to get decent health care.” (Applause.)
That’s the kind of — that’s the kind of governor you’re looking for. And you’ve got him in Jon Corzine. That’s what we’re fighting for in Washington, D.C. That’s what Jon’s fighting for right here in New Jersey. And he’s going to keep on fighting if you give him a chance on Tuesday. (Applause.)
Now, listen, if you ended up showing up at this rally, let’s face it, I’m preaching to the choir here. (Laughter.) I know you’re going to vote on Tuesday. But because this is a tough period in our economy, because it’s tough here in New Jersey right now, there are a lot of people out there who understandably feel cynical, you know, who think that change should happen overnight. All of you are going to have to be ambassadors for change. All of you are going to have to be out there explaining that it’s hard work, but if we turn out to vote on Tuesday, and we put in somebody who we know is on our side, then we can continue the progress that this extraordinary state has made.
You know, that’s what’s going to be required. And so I just want everybody here to know, yes, you are going to vote on Tuesday, but I need you to go back into your neighborhoods. I’m going to need you to knock on doors. I’m going to need you to make phone calls. I’m going to need you to do the same thing you did last year. (Applause.) You’re going to have to go talk to your family members. You’re going to have to get Cousin Pookie off the couch and tell him, “Pookie, it’s time to go vote.” (Laughter.) You got Cousin Pookie, you know who I’m talking about. (Laughter.) Everybody’s got one of those. (Laughter.)
But if everybody here understands that working hard for 48 hours could end up putting New Jersey on a pathway of success for the next four or the next eight, the next 16, the next 32, then I know you’re going to do the work.
And so I’ll just close with a story I may have told some of you guys a while back, but it’s always a reminder of why it’s so important for you to work so hard because many of you now take for granted that we won the election. But back when I was starting our election, you guys couldn’t pronounce my name. (Laughter.) Nobody gave us a chance. Nobody gave us a chance. Everybody said it was going to be too hard for a guy named Barack Obama, only four years in the Senate — how is he going to win the presidency?
So I remember — yes, everybody now says, “I believed,” but back then you all didn’t believe. (Laughter.) So I went down to — South Carolina was an early state. I don’t know if you remember. South Carolina was one of the early states like Iowa and New Jersey — or New Hampshire. New Jersey was a little bit later. And so — (laughter.) I’m going to have to go talk to this young lady over here. Let me tell my story. (Laughter.)
So I’m in South Carolina and I’ve gone down there to campaign. Nobody knows me. I’m at some legislative banquet. I’m sitting next to a state rep there and I’m begging her, you need to endorse my candidacy for President. She looks at me. Finally, she says, “You know, I think I will endorse you if you are willing to come to my hometown of Greenwood, South Carolina.” Now, I must have had a glass of wine that night because I just, right away, said, “Okay, I’m coming, I promise.”
Only to find out later that Greenwood is an hour and a half from every place else. (Laughter.) You cannot — you can’t fly straight into Greenwood. So about a month later I come back and by this time I’m full-bore into the campaign. I’m exhausted. I’ve been campaigning 16-hour days in Iowa and New Hampshire. And I get in about midnight, get to the hotel by about 1:00 a.m. I’m dragging my bag. I’m going into my hotel room. And suddenly my staff taps me on the shoulder and says, “Mr. President, you got to be up at 6:30 a.m. in the car.” I say, “Why is that?” Said, “Well, we got to go to Greenwood like you promised.” (Laughter.) So I said something that I can’t repeat here — (laughter) — because, you know, I don’t want anybody to punish Jon Corzine for my language.
So the next morning I wake up and I feel awful. I’m exhausted — just beat. And I stagger over to the window hoping to kind of open the shades, kind of wake myself up. It’s pouring down rain outside — miserable day. I go get some coffee and the newspaper, I open it up — there’s a bad story about me in The New York Times. (Laughter.) I go downstairs after I’ve packed up and as I’m walking to the car my umbrella breaks, and the rain pours down and I’m soaked.
So by the time I’m in the car I’m wet, I’m sleepy, and I’m mad. (Laughter.) And we’re driving and we’re driving and we’re driving. It takes forever to get to Greenwood. Finally we get to Greenwood, although you don’t know you’re there right away. (Laughter.) And we pull up alongside a little park district building. It’s tiny. We walk in, and lo and behold after this extraordinary journey, there are only 20 people there. (Laughter.) It wasn’t like a crowd like this. And they’re all looking kind of wet and mad. (Laughter.)
So I’ve got a job to do. I’m shaking hands. “How do you do? What do you do?” Suddenly from behind me I hear this shout: “Fired up?” And I’m stunned, I’m shocked. And everybody else around me, though, acts like this is normal and they all say, “Fired up!” And then I hear this voice, “Ready to go?” And everybody else says, “Ready to go!”
And I look behind me and there’s this little woman there, about I’d say 50, 60 years old. She’s got — she looks like she just came back from church, got a big church hat. (Laughter.) And she’s grinning at me and she’s looking at me and she says, “Fired up?” Turns out she is a city councilwoman from Greenwood, South Carolina, who’s famous for her chant. She’s well known for at events she goes around and she starts saying, “Fired up?” “Fired up!” “Ready to go?” “Ready to go!” This is the thing she’s known for. She also moonlights as a private detective. This is a true story — true story. (Laughter.)
Anyway, for the next five minutes, she just keeps on chanting. “Fired up?” “Fired up!” “Ready to go?” “Ready to go!” She starts putting some twists on it. “Barack Obama/is going to be/the next President!” And she keeps on doing this. “Fired up!” And I realize that I’m being upstaged by this woman. (Laughter.) So I’m looking at my staff and they’re all, “We don’t know what’s going on.” (Laughter.)
Here’s the thing, though, Camden. After about a minute or two, I start realizing I’m feeling kind of fired up. (Laughter.) I’m starting to feel like I’m ready to go. (Applause.) And for the rest of the day — rest of the day, whenever I saw my staff, I’d say, “Are you fired up?” They’d say, “I’m fired up, boss. Are you ready to go?” I’d say, “I’m ready to go.” (Laughter.)
Here’s my point.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Fired up! (Laughter and applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: Here’s my point. That woman’s voice, one voice, changed the room. Now, if one voice can change the room, it can change a city. And if it can change a city, then it can change a state. And if it can change a state, it can change a country. And if it can change a country, it can change the world. (Applause.) Your voice can change the world. Your voice can change New Jersey. Your voice can change Camden. Your voice will get Jon Corzine four more years as governor of New Jersey. And he and I will partner with you to make sure that every child gets a good education, everybody has health care, everybody has a job that pays a living wage. That’s what we’re fighting for. I need you to work, so I’m going to ask you, Camden, are you fired up?
AUDIENCE: Fired up!
THE PRESIDENT: Ready to go?
AUDIENCE: Ready to go!
THE PRESIDENT: Fired up?
AUDIENCE: Fired up!
THE PRESIDENT: Ready to go?
AUDIENCE: Ready to go!
THE PRESIDENT: Fired up?
AUDIENCE: Fired up!
THE PRESIDENT: Ready to go?
AUDIENCE: Ready to go!
THE PRESIDENT: Let’s get to work. Thank you, everybody. God bless you. (Applause.)
——-
THE PRESIDENT: How’s it going, New Jersey? Thank you. Thank you. Yes we can!
AUDIENCE: Yes we can! Yes we can! Yes we can! Yes we can! Yes we can!
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Thank you. It’s good to be back in Jersey. (Applause.) I told you I was coming back. You can’t keep me away. And that’s because we’re just two days away from giving four more years to my good friend and your governor, Jon Corzine. (Applause.)
We’ve got some other outstanding public servants in the house. I just want to mention them: a trifecta of outstanding members of Congress — Donald Payne, Frank Pallone, Bill Pascrell, and Steve Rothman — I actually have four of them. (Applause.) The — one of the finest — one of the finest mayors not just in New Jersey, but all throughout the country — Cory Booker is in the house. (Applause.) Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo is in the house. (Applause.) And Jon Corzine’s partner who’s going to help lead this state to four outstanding years of additional prosperity — Loretta Weinberg is in the house. (Applause.)
Now, look, at this point in the campaign, you’ve heard all the arguments. You’ve seen all the ads. In fact, you’re tired of all the ads. (Laughter.) You know that Jon Corzine is running for reelection. You know that the other guy doesn’t seem to have a very proactive agenda other than going after Jon. You know that it’s a tough time for New Jersey and it’s a tough time for America. I don’t have to tell you that. You see it in your own lives, you see it here in Newark, you see it all around the country — too many folks out of work, too many hardworking families who are seeing their costs of everything go up and seeing their wages shrink, their hours reduced.
You’ve got men and women who’ve been working all their lives, working hard, and somehow they’re worried about whether they can retire with dignity and respect. They’re worried about whether they can send their kids to college. They’re wondering whether they can be the kind of providers, the kinds of husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, they hope to be because of economic factors out of their control.
AUDIENCE MEMBERS: We love you, Obama!
THE PRESIDENT: I love you back. (Applause.) But I’ve got an important message here. But listen up, listen up. You know, when you’ve got seniors worried about retirement, you got young people worried about their ability to pay for college, you know these are challenging times, and so you want somebody who is in politics for the right reason. (Applause.)
Jon Corzine is in politics for the right reason. (Applause.) He knows folks are hurting. But here’s what I know: For the past four years, you’ve had an honorable man, a decent man, an honest man at the helm of this state during extraordinary times. You’ve had a leader who’s put the interests of hardworking New Jersey families ahead of self-interest and ahead of politics. He’s fought for what matters to ordinary folks. That’s the kind of governor Jon Corzine has been, and if everybody in this auditorium works hard in the next two days, that’s the kind of governor he’s going to be for another four more years. (Applause.)
Let’s look at the record. Don’t worry about all that political nonsense that’s out there, all the negative ads. Let’s look at the record. There’s a tendency among politicians to distort their opponent’s record in the heat of the campaign. We understand that. Jon’s a tough guy. But let’s look at the record. Jon Corzine is a governor who’s provided more property tax relief than any governor in New Jersey’s history. (Applause.) He’s the first governor in 60 years who’s actually reduced the size of government in this state.
Now — so, when you hear the other side talking about how Jon Corzine is a tax-and-spend Democrat and all that stuff, just look at the record. He’s done what they couldn’t do, and what they didn’t do. (Applause.) But — but here’s what important — and Cory Booker will testify, folks here in Newark with testify — he has been prudent with your taxpayer dollars, but he’s protected the things that matter the most. (Applause.)
Here’s a guy who stood up when they wanted to cut education. Jon Corzine stood up. Corzine expanded early childhood education for more than 5,000 children. He understood pre-K isn’t “babysitting” — it’s a pathway to success for our young people. That’s the kind of governor you need. (Applause.)
At a time when the other guy doesn’t have too much to say about health care, Jon Corzine, under his leadership, saw the Children’s Health Insurance Program expand by nearly 100,000 more kids. Think about that — 100,000 kids who got health insurance because of the work of this governor and his partners. (Applause.)
Jon Corzine is looking towards the future. And so he’s made New Jersey a clean energy leader because he knows that’s where the jobs are going to come from — jobs that can’t be outsourced, that pay a good wage. (Applause.) Working families can spend time with a newborn baby or a sick loved one because of paid sick leave signed into law by Jon Corzine. (Applause.)
When it comes to the issues that matter most — the issue of jobs — Corzine was at the forefront. He worked with me to develop the Recovery Act. He was the first governor in the country to pass a recovery plan to get this state’s economy moving again. (Applause.)
Listening to Jon’s opponent, you’d think New Jersey was the only state going through a tough time right now. I have something to report: We had the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. By the way, that didn’t start under Jon’s watch. (Applause.) That didn’t start under my watch. I wasn’t — I wasn’t sworn in yet. (Applause.)
You know, you got a little bit of revisionist history, a little selective memory going on, a little amnesia about how we got into this mess. (Applause.) This crisis that we are digging ourselves out of came about because of the same theories, the same lax regulation, the same trickle-down economics that the other guy’s party has been peddling for years.
And you know, look, we’re not interested in relitigating the past here, and I’m more than happy to go ahead and do the work that’s required to get this economy moving again. I think about it every day. Jon Corzine thinks about it every day. (Applause.) Essentially, we don’t mind cleaning up after somebody else’s mess. (Applause.)
Now, the one thing I’d say, though, is, if I’ve got the mop and I’m cleaning up after that mess, and Jon’s got the mop and he’s cleaning up after somebody else’s mess, the least these other folks can do is not stand there and say, “You’re not holding the mop the right way. You’re not mopping fast enough. You’re using a socialist mop.” (Laughter and applause.) Let me tell you something, just pick up a mop. (Applause.) Let’s help clean up this country and make it work for ordinary people right here in New Jersey. (Applause.)
We don’t need politicians who are more interested in scoring points than solving problems. We don’t need politicians who are offering the same half-baked approaches that got us into this mess in the first place. We don’t need politicians who would rather stand on the sidelines and point fingers instead of offering answers and solutions. What we need are leaders who are committed to moving this country forward, who are committed to moving New Jersey forward, who have got your interests in mind — and that’s who Jon Corzine is, and that’s why he deserves another four years as governor of New Jersey. (Applause.)
Let me say this. I know this man. When I was running for the United States Senate, before anybody knew my name, Jon Corzine offered his support. (Applause.) I served with him — I served with him in the United States Senate where I learned about his service as a United States Marine. I learned about how he worked his way up from a middle-class family and wants to make sure every American has the same ladders to opportunity that he had. (Applause.)
He partnered with me in developing our Recovery Act so that we gave New Jersey the kind of help it needed during the downturn, making sure that all across America, but right here as well, we prevented police officers and firefighters and teachers from being laid off. (Applause.) We made sure unemployment insurance was available to hundreds of thousands of folks here in New Jersey. We made health insurance, through COBRA, available for those folks who had lost their jobs so they wouldn’t have to worry about their families’ well-being. We gave a middle-class tax cut to 3 million folks right here in New Jersey. (Applause.)
Those are the kind of changes we brought about. That’s what Jon Corzine is committed to. But we also understand that our work is not yet done. Our work is not yet done. We are digging ourselves out of a hole, and we’ve begun to pull ourselves back from the brink. We just found out the economy is growing again, and that means that people pretty soon are going to start seeing jobs again. (Applause.)
But we’ve got a long way to go. We are not going to rest until we make sure that everybody who wants a job can find a job that pays a living wage. (Applause.) We’re not going to rest until we make sure every child in New Jersey and all across America gets a world-class education from the day that they walk into preschool to the day they graduate from college. (Applause.) We will not rest until we’ve got health care reform in America, because we don’t want families to be bankrupt when they get sick. (Applause.) We are not going to rest until we’ve got a clean energy economy that helps free ourselves from dependence on foreign oil. (Applause.)
We know how much work has to be done. You know how much work has to be done. And here’s the question, is, how do we respond at this moment?
You know, last year when we had the election, everybody was excited, you know, everything felt fresh and new, and we had a — we were going to turn the page. And because of you, because of your extraordinary efforts, because you believed, because you had confidence, because you knew that there was this gap between what America should be and what it was, and we could close that gap by working harder and working smarter and having a government that was more transparent and more trustworthy — because of you, we succeeded at a time when nobody believed we could. (Applause.)
Now, I thank you for that — it wasn’t because of me, it was because of you. But here’s the thing. Here’s the tough part. Here’s the time when it’s not as sexy, it’s not as flashy. You know, this is when governing comes in, and we’ve got to make tough choices. And progress isn’t always as quick as we want it. And we still got to negotiate with an intransigent opposition.
And after a while, people start feeling, well, gosh, I thought after we elected Obama, suddenly everything would be just fine, and suddenly kids would stop dropping out of school and everybody would be employed, chicken in every pot. (Laughter.)
Listen, I want you to remember, when I ran for — when I ran for election, I did not say — (applause) — wait, wait, wait — wait, when I ran for election, I did not say this was going to come overnight. I didn’t say this was going to be easy. I didn’t say you were going to be able to just put your feet up and turn on the TV and kind of watch everything magically get better.
Change is hard. People resist change. The special interests resist change. Jon Corzine, when he was elected governor, he did not promise it was going to be easy. What he promised was that he would wake up every single day thinking about you. What he promised was that you’d have a government that was committed to making sure that families got a fair shot in life. What he promised was that he would be willing to take good ideas wherever they came from, including from the other party, as long as they improved the lives of New Jersey families.
And here’s what I know, is that this guy has been working as hard as he promised. And so now the question is, how do you respond? We will not lose this election if all of you are as committed as you were last year. (Applause.)
So I want everybody in this auditorium to make a pledge that in these next 48 hours, you will work just as hard for Jon as you worked for me. (Applause.) That you’ll knock on just as many doors, that you’ll make just as many phone calls, that you’ll be calling your friends and your neighbors and your coworkers. You’re going to be grabbing, you know, that — those relatives who don’t vote all the time — Cousin Pookie, you’re going to be calling him over — (laughter)– “Pook, you got to come vote.” Because your voice matters.
When Jon came out here, he asked if you were fired up. (Applause.) And I told this story about how I got that story was actually from me traveling to South Carolina, and there was a city councilwoman there who, at a meeting that I was having at a time when my campaign was really just getting started and nobody knew who I was and nobody believed I could win, she looked at me and she said, “Fired up!”
AUDIENCE: Fired up!
THE PRESIDENT: She said, “Ready to go!”
AUDIENCE: Ready to go!
THE PRESIDENT: And even though there were only 20 people in the room, even though I was tired and had been rained on and didn’t have any endorsements — (laughter) — and the pundits in Washington were writing me off, something about her saying “Fired up!” got me fired up. (Applause.) Something about her saying “Ready to go!” got me ready to go.
And it goes to show how one voice — one voice can change a room. And if one voice can change a room it can change a city. And if it can change a city it can change a state. And if it can change a state it can change a nation. (Applause.) And if can change a nation it can change a world. (Applause.) Your voice can change the world. Your voice can change the world.
If you are out there working hard, if Newark votes like it voted last year, if New Jersey votes like it voted last year, if all those folks who had felt disenfranchised and felt forgotten are reminded of the incredible power of ordinary people, the ability to do extraordinary things, if you will let your voice shine through, then I guarantee that you will not only reelect Jon Corzine for four more years, but you are going to put New Jersey on a path for success for years to come. And I can’t wait to see it, Newark. I love you. God bless you. God bless the United States of America. (Applause.)
