Remarks at a Campaign Rally for Gubernatorial Candidate Terence R. McAuliffe in Arlington, Virginia

November 3, 2013

The President. Terry McAuliffe. Hey! Hello, Washington-Lee! Hello, Virginia! How are you doing? Are you fired up?

Audience members. Yes!

The President. Are you ready to vote on Tuesday?

Audience members. Yes!

The President. Well, it is good to be back in Virginia with the next Governor of the great Commonwealth of Virginia, Terry McAuliffe.

Now, let me just say, before I start saying nice things about Terry—[laughter]—that, like me, he married up. [Laughter] Those of you who have had a chance to meet Dorothy know that Terry clearly was very persistent, but whatever he did, it worked. And as a consequence, they've got unbelievable children who are doing outstanding things on their own and are also on the campaign trail. So please give it up for the family because they make some big sacrifices. And Dorothy is going to be a great First Lady of the Commonwealth.

I want to thank Terry for the introduction. Over the last few weeks, a lot of people have been coming out and campaigning for Terry, and I was tired of having other people have all the fun—[laughter]—Bill Clinton and Kerry Washington and all these folks. And I thought, I want to get in on the action. And so did Joe Biden, who I understand is going to be out here tomorrow doing some campaigning.

Mr. McAuliffe. Yes.

The President. But we've also got some folks here who are doing outstanding work in their own right, and I want to acknowledge them. They're fighting every single day for you. First of all, your wonderful Senator and former Governor, Mark Warner. Three outstanding Members of Congress who are fighting for you every single day: Gerry Connolly, Jim Moran, Bobby Scott. Your next Lieutenant Governor, Ralph Northam. And your next attorney general, Mark Herring in the house.

So you've got an all-star team here. There are no weak links. Everybody is ready to work on behalf of Virginia. But obviously, at the top of the ticket is this man. And so let me just say a few things about Terry.

First of all, I think it's clear that he's not shy. [Laughter] This is a man who knows how to work, and he knows how to push through obstacles. And he cares deeply about the opportunities that this country has given him, and he wants to make sure that those opportunities are there for everybody, not just for a few. He knows what it's like to work hard and struggle to get ahead.

You may know that Terry started his own business when he was 14. He started 42 altogether [He's been in business 42 years altogether],^* but the first one was when he was 14, paving driveways to help pay for college. And he's brought that same grit and that same determination to everything he's done, from public service to business, to being a husband and a father to the extraordinary children of the McAuliffe family.

* White House correction.