CHICAGO \u2014 He once forged his political career here, but on Tuesday, President Barack Obama returned to his hometown to play the role of elder statesman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s good to be home!\u201d Obama opened to an almost deafening reception at the United Center. \u201cI don\u2019t know about you, but I\u2019m feeling fired up!\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The nostalgic reference to Obama\u2019s well-known chant \u201cFired up! Ready to go!\u201d brought another roar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As the closer for the night, immediately following his wife, former first lady Michelle Obama<\/a>, he weaved nuts-and-bolts Democratic principles along with what he saw as a road map for the party. He paid tribute to Joe Biden, his former vice president \u2014 one of the few speakers to do so Tuesday night \u2014 and said making that pick was one of the best decisions he had made. <\/p>\n\n\n\n He called for Americans to spurn divisiveness that grows into blind hatred of one another. Obama made the case for Kamala Harris, ticking through her accomplishments as attorney general of California, then as vice president, saying she helped take on drug companies and the high price of insulin and helped lower health care costs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n At the same time, Obama took shots at former President Donald Trump, including chiding him for having \u201cthis weird obsession with crowd sizes,\u201d gesturing with his hands in a way to indicate something small. It was one of his biggest laugh lines of the night. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe do not need four more years of bluster and bumbling and chaos,\u201d Obama said to cheers. \u201cWe have seen that movie before, and we all know that the sequel is usually worse.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Obama also had kind words for Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris’ running mate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI love this guy. Tim is the kind of person who should be in politics,\u201d Obama said. \u201cYou can tell those flannel shirts he wears don\u2019t come from some political consultant. They come from his closet, and they have been through some stuff.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Gwen Walz, the governor’s wife, then showed up on the big video screen in the arena, gesturing that she wholeheartedly agreed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Obama spun out other lines that won big laughs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe other day, I heard someone compare Trump to the neighbor who keeps running his leaf blower outside your window every minute of every day,\u201d Obama said to laughs. “Now, from a neighbor, that\u2019s exhausting. The truth is, Donald Trump sees power as nothing more than a means to his ends.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Trump campaign did not immediately reply to a request for comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Obama also pushed for the U.S. to be a \u201cforce for good\u201d in the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe shouldn\u2019t be the world\u2019s policeman,\u201d Obama said. \u201cWe can\u2019t eradicate every cruelty and injustice in the world, but America can be, and must be, a force for good: discouraging conflict, fighting disease, promoting human rights, protecting the planet from climate change.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Jim Messina, who managed Obama\u2019s second run for the White House, said Obama\u2019s role Tuesday was to help put this political time in perspective. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTonight\u2019s really about him becoming the explainer-in-chief to explain this moment,\u201d he told NBC News. \u201cPeople forget he was the first to realize Kamala was going to be a star. When she was the attorney general, he said to all of us: \u2018Watch the attorney general in California; she\u2019s really good.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Harris has turned Biden\u2019s old campaign on its head. Since the president stepped aside on July 21, Harris\u2019 campaign has raised an eye-popping amount: nearly $500 million<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI mean, that\u2019s insane, and it shows the grassroots enthusiasm,\u201d Messina said, also referring to the massive crowd for Harris in Milwaukee on Tuesday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Asked whether this moment for Harris was reminiscent of the 2008 magic that Obama wielded over voters, Messina said there\u2019s room to grow. He said the Harris campaign had yet to ascend to the next level and really become \u201ca movement.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019re not there yet,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n