Describing himself as a fighter, President Barack Obama told an Ohio campaign rally that he doesn’t “get tired” despite months of grueling campaigning.
“I’m a very nice guy,” Obama said on Friday. “People will tell you. I really am. … [But I] got a lot of fight left in me. I don’t get tired. I don’t grow weary.”
“If the price of peace in Washington is cutting deals that kick students off of financial aid, or getting rid of funding for Planned Parenthood, or [letting] insurance companies discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions, or eliminating health care for millions of folks on Medicaid who are elderly or disabled or poor, I’m not going to make that deal. I’ll fight against that deal. That’s a price I’m not willing to pay.”
Obama, who promised civility and a new tone in Washington in 2008, said he is “a long ways away from giving up on this fight,” adding, “I hope you aren’t tired either, Ohio.”
Obama, locked in a tight race with Republican rival Mitt Romney for Ohio’s 18 electoral votes, said his supporters know what to expect if he’s elected to a second term.
“After four years as president, you know me. You may not agree with every decision I’ve made. Sometimes you may have been frustrated at the pace of change. But you know what I believe. You know where I stand,” Obama said.
“You know I tell the truth. You know I’ll fight for you and your families every single day, as hard as I know how. That’s why I’m running for a second term, because I want to fight for you.”
Obama described his challenger as a “gifted salesman.”
“He’s been trying in this campaign as hard as he can to repackage these ideas that didn’t work, the very same policies that did not work, and he’s trying to pretend that they’re change,” Obama said.
“Have you heard him? He’s going around saying, I’m the candidate of change. Except when you look at the policies, they’re the same ones that didn’t work.”