NY Times-President Obama Rallies Workers At Chicago Ford Plant

President Obama at Chicago Ford Plant:Stephen Crowley/NY Times

(Story reported by Peter Baker)

CHICAGO — Against a backdrop of American-made cars, President Obama cast his Republican critics on Thursday as having lost faith in the American people, part of an emerging campaign strategy to try to turn the country’s populist mood against his opponents.

Visiting his third auto plant in the last week, Mr. Obama portrayed his efforts to save the industry as an act of patriotism, and the opposition to them as a fundamental expression of pessimism in the country. Even more than he did during a swing through Michigan last week, he suggested that his adversaries lacked confidence in the resilience of American workers and the American economy.

“I wish they were standing here today and saw what I see,” he told an audience of cheering workers at a Ford Motor Company plant here in his hometown. “I wish they could see the pride you take in building these great cars, American-made cars. And my message to them is: Don’t bet against the American worker; don’t lose faith in the American people; don’t lose faith in American industry. We are coming back.”

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