The 2012 presidential election may be more than nine months away, but a group of UW students eager to re-elect President Barack Obama gathered Monday for a teleconference with First Lady Michelle Obama on the coming campaign.
The first lady, calling from Washington DC, thanked the group and said campus teams and volunteers "are the heart and soul of this campaign."
Chairman for Young Progressives and Students for Barack Obama in Madison Sam Gehler said Monday marks the start of the field program to reelect Obama. At Monday's event, 58 new volunteers signed up to be a part of the campaign.
"We were really excited to have a lot of interested students turn out. A lot of new people that we haven't seen involved before were drawn out by the first lady and we're really happy to bring them on board," Gehler said.
She said in his first term, President Obama enacted policies that directly affect students' lives, mentioning legislation that doubled the number of Pell Grants, health care reforms that help recent college grads stay insured, raised school standards and more.
"But let's be very clear, while we've made some real progress, we have a long way to go," the first lady said. "There is plenty of work left to be done."
Soon, Young Progressives and Students for Barack Obama will start knocking on doors, making phone calls and holding events.
Rep. Chris Taylor, D-Madison, also attended the event and spoke about the coming election.
