By Johnette Jernigan and Kathy Wray Coleman, Cleveland Urban News.Com

Cleveland, Ohio -Michelle Obama (pictured) told a cheering crowd at Cuyahoga Community College Metro Campus in Cleveland, Oh. on Monday evening that she knows President Barack Obama not only as a president but as a man whose vision for America was shaped long before he won the White House in 2008.

“Barack knows the American dream because he has lived it,” said Mrs. Obama."'I have seen up close and personal what being president is like."

Some 2,000 people came out for the get-out-the-vote rally, according to Claire Rasacco, vice president of the Tri-C  Metro Department of Government and Community Relations.

The eldest Obama supporter there made it clear that she believes the country is moving forward under the leadership of President Obama.

“I’m a lifelong Democrat, and I pray for the president all of the time,” said Marie Lukacevic, a retired pediatric and maternity nurse who turned 101 this year.  “I support the president because he is for the general public and healthcare.”

Before delivering her speech the first lady had met to thank Obama for America Campaign volunteers and other Cleveland area supporters, including former East Cleveland Councilman Charles E. Bibb Sr., Cuyahoga County Councilman Julian Rogers (D-10), former Cuyahoga County Commissioner Mary Boyle, Meryl Johnson, and Edwina Moss, the wife of retired Olivet Institutional Baptist Church senior pastor the Rev. Dr. Otis Moss, Jr.

Michelle Obama talked jobs, education, domestic policy, health care, women’s rights, and getting out the vote in Ohio.

“If we win in Ohio, we will be well on our way to putting Barack Obama back in the White House for four more years,” the first lady said.  “When it comes to standing up for our rights or opportunities we know that my husband will always have your back.”

Mrs. Obama said that her husband has done an excellent job as a president,  even though former president George W. Bush and the Republicans handed him "an economy in rapid decline.”

She said that Mitt Romney, on the other hand, is promoting Republican-centered tax policies to help the rich get richer on the backs of the middle class and the working poor, and that “teachers and firefighters should not pay more taxes than millionaires and billionaires.”

Others that came to hear the first lady include Congresswomen Marsha L. Fudge (D-11) and Marcie Kaptur (D-9), state Sen. Nina Turner (D-25), Cleveland Ward 6 Councilwoman Mamie Mitchell, and the Reverends Jimmy Gates and Larry Harris.

Turner, who is one of three state senators representing the Cleveland metropolitan area and its eastern suburbs, said that Ohio can make a difference in the election and that who better to promote the president than the first lady herself.

“She knows the measure of a man,” said Turner, before leaving the rally to appear for a segment on the Rev. Al Sharpton's nightly talk show on MSNBC. “It’s great to have the first lady in the heart of Cleveland speaking to the American people.”

Reach Johnette Jernigan@jernigan@clevelandurbannews.com

Reach Cleveland Urban News.Com by telephone at 216-659-0473 and by email at editor@clevelandurbannews.com.

By Kathy Wray Coleman, Executive Publisher, Editor, Cleveland Urban News. Com and The Cleveland Urban News.Com Blog(www.clevelandurbannews.com)

CLEVELAND, Ohio-The Cleveland Chapter NAACP will take nominations for branch offices and executive committee members at its meeting tonight Tues, Oct 16 and the Obama for America Campaign and state Rep. Nickie Antonio (D-13) (pictured) will host a presidential debate watch party at a private home in  Lakewood, Oh., a suburb of Cleveland. (Editor's note: The debate between President Obama and Mitt Romney will begin at 9 pm at New York's Hofstra University and can be seen on CNN and C-Span)

Cleveland NAACP Executive Director Arlene Anderson sent letters to Cleveland NAACP members urging them to attend tonight's meeting and to volunteer for the local chapter of the nations' most renowned Civil Rights organization.

The data for the Cleveland NAACP meeting are as follows:

Cleveland NAACP general membership meeting at 6 pm today, Oct 15, at Cathedral Church of God in Christ, 2940 Martin Luther King Blvd. in Cleveland, will take nominations for branch officers and executive committee members, including president, for the upcoming November 11 election. for more information contact the Cleveland NAACP at 216-231-6260.

Reach Cleveland Urban News.Com by telephone at 216-659-0473 and by email at editor@clevelandurbannews.com.

By Johnette Jernigan and Kathy Wray Coleman, Cleveland Urban News. Com and The Cleveland Urban News.Com Blog

Less than a week after nearly 10,000 people weathered the rain at Krenzler Field at Cleveland State University in Cleveland, Oh. to listen to a speech by President Obama (pictured), the majority Black major metropolitan city continues to be a draw in a key presidential election year, and the vice presidential debate is no different.

Obama supporters, national senior campaign strategist Broderick Johnson (pictured), and London Sunday Times USA editor, best selling author and prize winning war correspondent Christina Lamb attended a spirited vice presidential debate watch party at Frederick’s Wine and Dine in the Cleveland area Thursday evening. (Editor's note: The debate was shown live on television from Centre College in Danville, Ky).

“The president continues to fight for issues that are important to all Americans, including women and the middle class,” said Johnson, a Black lawyer who also lectures on government relations and public policy at the University of Michigan. “We have to reelect this president and we are working to get the electoral votes in Ohio.”

Johnson has been a top adviser in the last two Democratic presidential campaigns and he said that while driving from Cleveland Hopkins Airport to Cleveland on Thursday morning he could not help but notice the controversial voter suppression billboards in Cleveland that threaten poor people and minorities with a felony, prison and a 10,000 fine if they vote this year.

Community activists and Black elected officials, including state Sen. Nina Turner (D-25) and Cleveland Councilwomen  Phyllis Cleveland and Mamie Mitchell, all Democrats, rallied earlier that day under a voter suppression billboard at E. 35th Street and Community College Ave. in Cleveland, one of several throughout Ohio.

And the billboard in question is down the street from Cuyahoga County Community College where First Lady Michelle Obama spoke to a cheering crowd on Oct. 15.

“I was startled by the signs and believe they are designed to intimidate,” said Johnson of the billboards.

Spearheaded by the Obama for America Campaign, media consultant and construction entrepreneur Ariane Kirkpatrick, and retired Cleveland schools elementary principal Anna Smith, last week’s vice presidential debate watch party, where Democratic Vice President Joe Biden and Republican Vice-Presidential nominee and Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan squared off, drew practically every major local news television channel, including 3, 5, 19 and 8.

Editorial lBy Karl Kimbrough (pictured), Cleveland Urban News.Com Sports Writer

CLEVELAND, Ohio-After a losing 2011 NFL football season where the Cleveland Browns won only four out of 16 games, the coaches identified the offense as priority in building a winning team.

By using their first three picks in the 2011 NFL draft on offensive players and fourth and second round supplemental draft picks on wide receivers, the Browns began to reshape their offense. The first two draft picks in the first round were used to acquire a top rated running back and quarterback. So, after one quarter of the 2012 season has been played, have these picks helped the Browns?

If wins is the barometer, then the answer is a resounding no as the Browns have begun the season with four losses in a row. Last year the Browns averaged 13.6 points per game for the entire season: This year, through four games, they have averaged 18 points.  So, Browns fans should be happy with this improvement right? Not so fast. Even though they average more points and even more yards passing, there is an alarming imbalance in rushing and passing attempts, making the team’s offense one dimensional. The Browns have been inconsistent in making first downs and maintaining drives. Trent Richardson, the Browns all American running back, only attempted three rushing plays in the second half of the game against the Baltimore Ravens and four times against the Buffalo Bills. In both games, the Browns trailed by seven points or less going into the second half.