Obama In Full-On Fiery Campaign Mode In Speech To Under-40 Crowd

President Barack Obama spoke to Generation 44, a group of under-40 supporters, tonight in Washington. CSPAN televised the proceedings, which proved that Obama still has his fierce supporters – and still has a fierce way with words, when he summons it.

Speaking to a very supportive crowd, Obama lauded the accomplishments of his administration, such as reform on Wall Street, student loans, health care, credit cards, and the end of combat missions in Iraq. All, of course, received rousing cheers from the audience, but he added that change doesn’t come easily and that “we’re not close to being finished” (which also got some applause).

He also used several of his favorite recent lines/stories, such as that the GOP is “counting on amnesia,” and the parable of the car stuck in the ditch, where the Republicans are the irresponsible ones who drove the car into the ditch, the Democrats did the hard work trying to get it out while the Republicans watched…then the Republicans wanted the keys back.

Mostly, though, this was a speech of grand proclamations delivered in equally grandiose fashion, lines like “We’re all about making it in America” and especially, “The United States doesn’t play for second place – we play for first place!” He even turned on the Everyman charm, saying that under the Republicans’ economic plan, “I’d get a tax break under their plan. It’d be good for me. But not – not for most of y’all.”

Video of the speech below, broken up into two parts. If it proves anything, it’s that his oratorical skill didn’t disappear with the grind of the presidency – he just needed another campaign.

Part 1: (Minor Video/Satellite Problems Were Due To Bad Weather In Washington, DC)

Part 2: