He wouldn’t sing a song to his supporters during his campaign stop and speech at Symphony Hall on Monday, but President Barack Obama did take time to taunt Boston sport’s fans for losing Red Sox star Kevin Youkilis to the Chicago White Sox, the president’s home team.
“He is going to have to change the color of his socks,” said Obama, riling up the crowd before delivering a speech that knocked Republican presidential hopeful and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney on his home turf.
Obama’s stop at Symphony Hall, where he spoke to thousands of supporters for close to 40-minutes, was one of three stops made during his trip to the Hub on Monday.
Keeping things “serious” and focusing on his reelection campaign strategy, the president, who flew into Boston’s Logan Airport from New Hampshire in the afternoon yesterday, talked about restoring the American dream and thwarting past political practices that he claims led the country in the wrong direction.
“If we want to try the same policies that we just implemented in the last decade and did not work, those folks should vote for Mister Romney,” said Obama. “They should reelect the Republicans that have been running this Congress. And together I promise you—this is the path that will take America down. They are more than qualified to do it.”
Obama called for plans for better education and training as well as innovation and tax codes to create jobs while asking the wealthiest Americans “to help pay down the country’s deficit.”
“That’s what we need,” he said, before touting some of his achievements as a leader over the last three years.
“I want to create an army of new teachers and I want to pay them better…I want to give 2 million more Americans the chance to attend community college….and I want to make higher education affordable for every American that is willing to work for it…by bringing down the cost of college tuition,” said Obama to a roaring crowd of backers.
Obama also said people, if they voted for him, would be making the decision to say women should be in control of their own health in the United States.
Harvard University Professor Elizabeth Warren, the Democratic hopeful for U.S. Senate, introduced Obama.
Warren will be vying for the Senate seat and going up against incumbent Republican Sen. Scott Brown in the November election.
People paid upwards of $1,000-plus to attend the event.
The MBTA’s Symphony Station was shut down temporarily while the president’s motorcade passed by.
Supporters of Romney were also perched near the event, according to reports, and chanted the presidential hopefuls name when the president arrived.
NECN was one of the media outlets selected to record the president’s speech. They shared the event on their website. You can watch the full speech below, courtesy of NECN.
