First lady tells Reno crowd Obama needs their support

RENO - First lady Michelle Obama told a cheering crowd of 3,800 Wednesday that her husband needs their help to continue the progress he already has made for America.

Obama said that she and President Barack Obama were celebrating their 20th anniversary Wednesday and that he still is a "gorgeous" man. She said that she married her husband for his "character," however, not his looks and that he has displayed that character through his term as president.

But, she added, all "his hard work and progress is on the line" in the Nov. 6 election.

"Slowly we are pulling out of what we started with," she told students and others gathered on the Quad at the University of Nevada, Reno, referring to an economy on the verge of collapse. "Are we going to continue moving forward?"

"Yes," responded the crowd loudly.

During her half-hour speech, Michelle Obama never mentioned Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who would debate her husband six hours later in Denver.

Instead, she outlined what she described as the progress made under Barack Obama since he took office in January 2009. She said that progress includes the creation of 5.1 million jobs, working to double the number of Pell Grants so students can attend college and reducing college loan rates, passing health care reform that allows young people to stay on their parents' policies until they are 26, prohibiting insurance companies from refusing to insure people because of pre-existing conditions, and ending the financial limits that some companies imposed on insurance policies.

"Think where we were four years ago," she said. "Our economy was on the verge of collapse. We were losing 800,000 jobs a month."

Indirectly, Michelle Obama attacked Romney, who paid a 14 percent tax rate on $13 million of income last year. She said, "Teachers should not be paying as high of tax rates as millionaires and billionaires."

No protesters were anywhere near where Obama spoke. Police, security guards and Secret Service agents stood at all entrances to the campus, and everyone was required to pass through metal detectors. Guarding the first lady was no easy chore because the Quad is an open space .

One person pleased to listen to the first lady was Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev. 

Berkley, who is running for the U.S. Senate, said Obama's race against Romney won't be close, predicting an 8 percentage point victory. In 2008, Obama won by 12 percentage points over Republican John McCain. Still, the first lady told the crowd that Nevada is one of the battleground states that Obama must win if he is to retain the presidency.

As their anniversary present to her, Michelle Obama asked people to contact 34 friends or relatives and ask them to register and vote for her husband, noting Election Day is 34 days away. Early voting in Nevada starts on Oct. 20.

She spoke of how she and her husband came from humble backgrounds but with the help of others secured help and college grants and achieved the American dream.

"Our families did not ask for much," she said. "We did not begrudge others' successes. We believe in the American promise that if you work hard, you should be able to provide a decent life for yourself and your family. Give other folks the same chances you had to succeed."

But she received the biggest applause after telling the crowd how Obama respects the rights of women, supports equal pay for "our daughters as well as our sons" and backs the right of women to choose what happens to their bodies.

"Character is what truly made me love him, his decency, his honesty."

Her words struck home with Carson City resident Mary Pennington and daughter Elizabeth Hefner.

"She is a natural," Pennington said of the first lady. "Her care shows. I have grandchildren, and I care about their future. There is an obligation to make sure their future is better than ours."

Hefner, who held her two children's hands, said she appreciates the honesty President Obama has shown about the economy.

"There are so many problems we have to face head-on. We are moving forward and there is always hope," she said.