BOWIE, Md. — In an effort to infuse a fresh burst of energy among youthful voters, President Barack Obama made his first return visit as Commander-in-Chief to Maryland’s oldest Historically Black University Thursday to rally support for Gov. Martin O’Malley and the state’s Democratic candidates.
In a rousing and occasionally humorous speech in which he portrayed Republican contenders as friends of big business who don’t have middle-class interests in mind, Obama cast the Nov. 2 general election as a choice between tax cuts for the rich versus investments in education.
“That is the choice in this election,” Obama told an audience of hundreds of students, alumni, faculty and supporters in the courtyard at Bowie State University. “Instead of tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires, we want to make permanent the tax breaks we gave to the middle class, because you deserve a break.”
Obama and a slew of Democratic elected officials seeking to retain office also touted reforms the Obama administration has made in the realm of higher education, such as taking big banks out of the student loan system as middle men and passing the savings on to students.
And they heaped praise upon O’Malley for making Maryland’s public school the top-ranked in the nation, freezing college tuition, driving down crime and overseeing the addition of 30,000 jobs at a time when unemployment rates continue to besiege the nation.
U.S. Rep John Sarbanes (D-Towson, Md.) reminded the audience that Democrats made Pell Grants larger and changed health-care policy so that young people can remain on their parent’s health insurance until age 26.
The rally’s focus on college affordability had an impact on the BSU student body, many of whom say they are feeling the effects of the economy as they struggle to pay for higher education.
