President Barack Obama urged students to focus on this fall's elections Tuesday in his fourth visit to Wisconsin in three months as he tries to keep the governor's office and a U.S. Senate seat in Democratic hands.
Addressing an overflow crowd that police estimated to be 26,500, Obama recalled his victories in Wisconsin in the presidential primary and general election in 2008. Then he prodded Democrats to vote in the fall, saying the "stakes could not be higher."
"I need you fired up, Badgers. We need you to stay fired up. Because there's an election on Nov. 2 that's going to say a lot about the future," Obama said on Library Mall in the heart of the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus.
Before the event, Obama made a surprise visit to Madison's LaFollette High School, where he told football players the Green Bay Packers lost Monday to his hometown Chicago Bears because of mental mistakes and turnovers. He also visited with the girls' tennis and volleyball teams.
Democrats said the large and vocal turnout at the rally showed there is no enthusiasm gap between them and Republicans. But state Republican Party Chairman Reince Priebus said Democrats this year are sluggish while Republicans are "bursting at the seams with volunteers."
"Our energy is coming from the ground up, and they're trying to manufacture energy from the top down, with Obama," Priebus told reporters on a conference call.
Obama entreated the crowd not to let Republican predictions about Democratic apathy come true. "We can't sit this one out," he said.
His visit marked the first time a sitting president had come to the UW-Madison campus since 1950, when President Harry S. Truman spoke at the Field House.
Obama - as a candidate - was last on campus in February 2008, when he rallied voters at the Kohl Center just before winning the state's Democratic primary.
Tuesday's visit, organized by the Democratic National Committee, was part of his effort to protect Democrats who face tough odds across the country. He plans at least three more major rallies around the country before the elections, in Philadelphia, Ohio and Las Vegas.
Before Tuesday's rally, he held a DNC fund-raiser at a downtown Madison hotel that was expected to raise $250,000 for the party, according to the DNC.
At the rally, Obama said if Republicans return to power, they will pursue the same policies that sent the U.S. into the worst recession since the Great Depression. He said he's fought recalcitrant Republicans to pass health care reform, rein in Wall Street excesses and make other changes that he argued help ordinary Americans.
"I refuse to go back to the days when insurance companies could drop you or deny you coverage just because you're sick," he said. "I refuse to go back to the days when credit card companies can jack up your rates without reason."
Both Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, the Democrat running for governor, and U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold appeared with Obama. Feingold skipped Obama's Labor Day stop in Milwaukee and was expected to miss Tuesday's event because the Senate was in session earlier in the day.
Obama has shown his interest in those Wisconsin races with his frequent visits to the state. He held a fund-raiser for Barrett last month, and Vice President Joe Biden is hosting an Oct. 7 fund-raiser for Barrett in Madison. In addition, first lady Michelle Obama will help raise money for Feingold Oct. 13 in Milwaukee.
According to UW-Madison police, Obama drew 26,500 people - 17,200 at the event, and the remainder in overflow areas. Police said they determined the crowd size because they know the capacity of Library Mall and the surrounding area. The line to get into the event was over a mile long at one point, police said.
Dems seen in trouble
Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker, the Republican running against Barrett, has said Obama's visits to the state are a sign Democrats are worried about keeping the governor's office. Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle decided last year not to seek a third term. Doyle did not appear with Obama Tuesday because he is in China to promote Wisconsin businesses.
Walker, who campaigned on campus Saturday, used Obama's visit to repeat his opposition to a high-speed train line from Milwaukee to Madison. Obama's administration this year awarded Wisconsin $810 million for the project.
Walker has promised to stop it because he says the state can't afford the $8 million a year to operate it. Barrett argues that would mean Wisconsin would have to give up the grant and pay back any money spent on the line, while Walker says he would lobby Congress to let Wisconsin keep the money for its roads and bridges.
"The people of Wisconsin can't afford President Obama's train or his choice for governor," Walker said in a statement. "After eight years of Jim Doyle, we've had enough of the high taxes, job losses and out-of-control spending."
Walker has led Barrett in recent polls, just as Oshkosh businessman Ron Johnson has shown an advantage over Feingold.
A Fox News poll released Tuesday showed Walker with 49% and Barrett with 45%. That was within the poll's margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. The poll of 1,000 likely voters was conducted Saturday.
The poll showed a tighter race than ones last week, such as a CNN/Time poll that showed Walker with a 53%-42% advantage.
Tuesday's Fox News poll showed Johnson leading Feingold 52% to 44%, in line with the CNN-Time poll. Obama had a 41% approval rating in the Fox News poll, consistent with recent national polls.
Obama dismissed his sagging approval ratings.
"You didn't elect me to look at the polls. You elected me to do what was right," he said.
The day was sunny as thousands of students and others lined up to see Obama and the opening musical acts, singer-songwriter Ben Harper and The National. As students filled Library Mall - and others sought higher seats on Bascom Hill - the sky turned cloudy and the weather became chilly before Obama went on stage at 6 p.m.
Nineteen-year-old Edie Bjerstedt of Hudson said she came to hear the president speak ahead of the first election in which she'll vote. Bjerstedt said she hadn't tuned in to the Wisconsin races yet and hadn't thrown her support behind a single party but was open to hearing the president's take on the election.
"I would say definitely what he has to say will influence my decision," she said.
Josh Havelka, 20, of Waukesha said he voted for Obama in 2008 but had cooled toward the president since then, particularly because of the health care reform law.
"I voted for him in 2008, but I don't think I'll vote for him again," Havelka said of Obama, but added he is considering voting for Feingold.
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