SAN ANTONIO -- The last time Barack Obama was in San Antonio, he was a presidential candidate. Tuesday marked his first visit to the Alamo City as president of the United States.
President Obama arrived at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center just before noon Tuesday and he left around 1:30 p.m. His goal was to raise campaign cash, but along the way, he is energizing his supporters hoping to win four more years in the White House.
"He's persevering. He's standing his ground and, you know, he cares about the common person, not just the corporate entities," said supporter, Dan Alcantara.
Representative Charlie Gonzalez, State Representative Joaquin Castro and Mayor Julian Castro were with the president. Actress Eva Longoria delivered remarks at the event.
The president was in San Antonio to make sure he has the financial edge in the fall. About 1,300 people attended the event at the convention center. Many took off from work to support the president. Not everyone made it inside, but they showed up anyway.
Outside, a few protesters, young and old, gathered to express their concerns. As the presidential motorcade arrived, one protester came out of nowhere with a bullhorn.
"I am tired of giving my taxes to people who can and won't work," said Barbara Miller.
Others were clearly affected by his words.
"Women's rights, you know, he spoke about it and it's something I feel pasionately about," said Christina Garcia. "So, it's really inspiring to hear it from the president, you know, that he cares and the other thing that also stood out is he said, 'You know, the other side calls it "Obamacare", but, you know what? I do care.'"
Obama played to the hungry crowd, hammering home his core campaign message: Take care of the middle class.
"When the middle class folks are doing well and those striving to get in the middle class are doing well, everybody does well," he said.
Never mentioning his opponent by name during his re-election address, the president attacked the right, calling GOP nominee, Mitt Romney, "my opponent" and the Republican Congress "They".
Saying the right is wrong on taxes, Obama used the San Antonio platform to talk about his middle class tax cut plan.
"We want a country where everybody gets a fair shot , and everybody is doing their fair share, and everybody is playing by the same set of rules," he said. "That's why I ran for president in 2008, and that's why I'm running for a second term for president of the United States of America."
During his stop, the president touched on the need for more college aid, the Dream Act and jobs. He said his administration has created 4.5 million jobs and believes the economy has bounced back.
President Obama is expected to break campaign record for the amount of money raised in San Antonio during his visit. It's predicted that the president pocketed around $4 million to $5 million for his re-election bid.
As he left the convention center after a short one-and-a half-hour event with his supporters in San Antonio, the president boarded Air Force One and waved goodbye to the Alamo City.
Security was evident at every turn during the president's visit. Police made very few arrests and things were back to normal soon after the event ended.
President Obama will be in Austin Tuesday evening for two fundraisers there.
