Barack Obama bid to recapture 2008 spirit

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The US Navy supply ship USNS Rappahannock maintains station as it prepares a replenishment at sea in this US. —Reuters Photo

Barack Obama evokes the memory of his 2008 White House election as the Democrats face a Republican landslide in next month's midterm elections, report agencies.
He was speaking to 35,000 supporters at Ohio State University, one of the biggest Democratic rallies since he became president President
Obama spent the weekend on the campaign trail in hopes of boosting his party's chances in midterm elections.
The president's goal is to make sure Democrats who voted for him in '08 - especially young people - don't sit this year out. With elections just 15 days away, the focus has shifted to voter turnout.
In Columbus, Ohio, Franklin County Democratic Party Chairman William Anthony began worrying about whether Democrats would show up at the polls this year, almost as soon as the votes were counted in 2008.
This is what he said in an NPR interview last October: "I'm concerned about voter apathy. I'm concerned about low voter turnout. I'm concerned about folks that just give up on it, go back to life as normal.
Just because we won, don't mean we're going to continue to win. I mean, we could lose everything - or we could retain it."
Polls show independents are moving toward Republican candidates this year. And even Democrats, who still back the president are frustrated over the slow pace of the economic recovery. So Obama is out on the stump - trying to re-energize his base.
At an outdoor rally on the campus of Ohio State University in Columbus Sunday night, the president was introduced by his wife. It was their first joint campaign appearance since 2008.
"Are you fired up and ready to go," Michele Obama asked. "Then it is my honour to introduce to you my husband." Police estimated that the crowd on campus totaled 35,000.
The president's voice was noticeably hoarse as he spoke: "I know there are people out there who are just hanging by a thread, people who are hurting. It's what keeps me up at night. It's what keeps me fighting.
But I also know this: The biggest mistake we could make right now, Ohio, is to go back to the very same policies that caused all this hurt in the first place."
All year, polls have given Republicans a big edge in enthusiasm but Democrats are turning to their ground game to mobilize voters. It's an area where they have traditionally held an advantage.
There's a special focus on groups the party can usually count on: lifelong Democrats, union members and voters under 30. That includes Ohio State students, who spent part of the weekend making phone calls for Gov. Ted Strickland who trails in polls.
Jenna Schwartz, 19, is a sophomore who says she's been talking to students trying to convince them they need to vote in November.
"Definitely getting people to understand that this is really important and that it's really relevant to their lives.