Obama urges Philadelphians to vote

President Obama urged thousands of people at a rally in Philadelphia's Germantown neighborhood Sunday to look past their frustration with "the pace of change" and turn out Nov. 2 to vote for Democrats in the midterm elections to keep progress alive.

"The other side has decided to ride that anger and frustration without offering solutions," Obama said. "Pundits in Washington say it's a smart strategy. I think the pundits are wrong. You care too much about this country to let it fall backwards."

It was the second in a series of four planned presidential rallies in key states leading up to the election, part of an all-out effort to turn out the base that elected Obama in 2008 as Democrats fight to retain control of Congress.

Obama, who was introduced by Vice President Biden, spoke for 28 minutes, arguing that it would be wrong to go back to the Republican economic policies that "left such a big mess." He said the GOP should not be rewarded for what he called its cynical obstructionism aimed at a short-term electoral victory.

City officials estimated that 18,500 people turned out for the late afternoon event in a field next to Robert Fulton Elementary School, though it was hard to see how that many could fit in the space. Organizers said there were several overflow lots where people listened on speakers. They were all treated to the hip-hop band The Roots and DJ Diamond Cut and some red-meat political remarks.

In Pennsylvania, the Democratic ticket faces an uphill run in state races. Polls show that Senate candidate Rep. Joe Sestak trailing his Republican opponent Pat Toomey and gubernatorial nominee Dan Onorato down by double digits to his GOP rival Tom Corbett, the state attorney general.

To have any prayer of winning those races, the Democrats must pump up the vote in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, as Obama did two years ago in carrying the state by 10 percentage points over Republican John McCain.

Nationally, polls have shown that Republican-leaning voters, energized in part by the tea party movement, are more intensely interested in the election and are considered more likely to vote.

A president's party almost always loses congressional seats in midterm elections. But this year, Democrats, burdened by high unemployment and voter angst, are trying to avoid heavier-than-usual losses in the midterm elections.

Earlier this week, the Gallup Poll found that Republicans enjoyed a 13 percent to 18 percent turnout advantage among likely voters. In 1994, when Republicans took control of the House, their voters were 7 percent more enthusiastic than Democrats were in the last Gallup Poll before election.

As he has at recent campaign events, Obama railed against the recent Supreme Court decision that has enabled corporations to use nonprofit organizations with undisclosed donor lists to spend millions attacking Democrats and boosting Republicans.

"We need you to fight their millions of dollars with our millions of voices," the president said. "The other side is counting on your silence, your amnesia and your apathy."

Barbara Mack, a volunteer for Sestak who admires his service in the Navy, said she hoped the president's visit would help her man and Onorato make up some ground.

"They're not strong enough candidates," Mack said, as she was leaning on a cane and shopping for an Obama button at a table outside the rally. "Corbett and Toomey have that staunch Republican look."

Still, she doubted it would make that much difference. "No, let's be honest," Mack said.

Mary Hilliard, 87, of Mt. Airy, was standing next to her fiance, Richard Thompson, 80, of North Wales. Hilliard, a retired Water Department employee, didn't know who the Democratic candidates for governor and Senate were. Thompson, sitting on the ground, shouted them up to her.

"I don't know their names," Hilliard said. "I know they can do it."

Lashea Davis, 29, of Mt. Airy, said she finds it hard to slog through the TV ads and focus on the candidates and their positions. She isn't "100 percent sure" she's going to vote for Sestak, for instance, because she doesn't know enough about him.

But it's important to back the president, said Davis, supervisor of a school-based social service program. "I think there's a lot of opposition against him," she said, adding that the polls don't discourage her. "Obama never said he would change everything overnight."

Lisa Polsky, 43, of Plymouth Meeting, said she thinks Obama is doing a great job and has pointed the country in a good direction. She also supports Sestak and Onorato.

"This is the party doing something about it," she said of helping the economy rebound. "It's not just going to change overnight."

Toomey, the Republican Senate candidate, said during a conference call with reporters that the event was a reminder that Sestak has been voting "in lockstep" with Obama and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) "pursuing a very liberal agenda that's doing a great deal of harm to our economy."

The cost of the stimulus, health care overhaul and bailouts will prevent the possibility of a strong recovery, Toomey said.

The crowd chanted "Yes, we can!" and "Obama" at times and cheered loudly at the proper moments in the president's 28-minute speech, but the atmosphere seemed more subdued than at the spine-tingling mega rallies of 2008.

"Don't let them hijack your agenda," Obama said.

Contact staff writer Thomas Fitzgerald at 215-854-2718 or tfitzgerald@phillynews.com