Speaking about the economy this afternoon at a Boca Raton fundraiser, Vice President Biden said Florida’s economiy is “still in trouble.”

Florida, Arizona and California, Biden said, “got killed when this bubble burst, and you’re still getting killed.”

But nationally, Biden said the economy was improving, according to a pool report of the fundraiser.

“We’re getting to the end of this toboggan run,” Biden said. “We’re no longer talking about a depression. We’re talking about the shape of a recovery.”

“We inherited a God-awful mess,” he said

Biden spoke for about 30 minutes and then took questions behind closed doors for another half-hour

Among the crowd of about 60 people — who paid between $1,000 and $30,000 to attend — were state Sens. Ted Deutch, D-Boca Raton, and Jeremy Ring, D-Parkland; Fort Lauderdale attorney Mitchell Berger; and Palm Beach County Democratic Chairman Mark Alan Siegel.

The fundraiser, for the Democratic National Committee and Organizing for America, was held at the home of Mark Gilbert.

President Obama’s grassroots group, Organizing for America, announced today it will bring its “Health Insurance Reform Now” bus tour to Florida.

The bus has made 10 stops between Pheonix and Raliegh since Aug. 26 and claims to have made contact with more than 12,000 supporters.

The bus is scheduled to stop Wednesday in Atlanta before Obama’s address to a joint session of Congress. Following the event, the bus will stop in Tallahassee, Orlando and Tampa during the next couple weeks.

More from Obama’s campaign trail
A year ago Friday, candidate Barack Obama proved he could fill a football stadium with 80,000 cheering supporters.

But as president, Obama has seen his rock star status begin to fade.

In some polls, he’s even slightly less popular now than George W. Bush was at this point in his first term. At town hall meetings on health care, the bulk of the passion seems to come from activists opposed to Obama’s agenda.

It’s a far cry from what many supporters might have expected on Aug. 28, 2008 — the mile-high summit of Obama’s history-making road to the White House.

That night, the young Illinois senator stood on a raised blue platform in front of an elaborately columned backdrop in Denver’s Invesco Field, spoke to the country and accepted his party’s nomination for president.

The iconic images from that speech reflected a campaign that inspired volunteers across the nation. As a candidate, Obama drew on the deep reach of his grass-roots organization, his skill raising money on the Web, and the desire of tens of millions of voters to turn the page on Bush.

Since then, strategists attribute Obama’s declining poll numbers to his decision to quickly confront a series of controversial issues without the benefit of the scapegoat Bush represented in the campaign.

“The Parthenon they built behind Obama has crumbled,” Florida Republican strategist Rick Wilson said.
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TALLAHASSEE — Less than three weeks after President Obama complained about liberal activists attacking Democrats over health care reform, his own grass-roots campaign will put the heat on U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson on Thursday by rallying outside six of the Florida Democrat’s offices around the state.

Organizing for America, which continues to operate an Obama campaign Web site and use the president’s campaign logo, is scheduled to hold afternoon rallies in front of six of Nelson’s eight state offices. They include his West Palm Beach location at 500 Australian Ave., where the rally begins at 3 p.m.

Nelson has given little indication of how he would vote on key aspects of the health care legislation being debated, and he’s one of a key group of Senate Democrats whose support would be critical to overcoming a GOP-led filibuster.

The group will also demonstrate outside one of the seven Florida offices of Republican U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez.

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Lisa Smith of Lake Worth is featured in this video from President Obama’s Organizing for America, the latest in the group’s “Faces of Health Care Reform” video press release series.

In the video, Smith says she lost her job and her insurance and then was denied coverage by private insurers because of a preexisting condition. Smith has hydrocephalus, or water on the brain, and monthly prescriptions that cost about $800.

Obama’s team says that with regular checkups, it’s easier to control her condition. But without those visits, Lisa is “forced to wait until her situation is dire enough to warrant a trip to the emergency room.”

Organizing for America Director Mitch Stewart doesn’t say exactly how the government should help Smith, just that it should.

“Unfortunately, her story is indicative of what’s wrong with our broken system – we must reform our system to lower costs, increase access and protect patient choice,” Stewart said in a release.

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Ashley Walker, one of President Obama’s initial organizers in Florida, will rejoin the team as state director of Organizing for America, the group announced Tuesday night.

Organizing for America is the post-election repackaging of Obama for America, the grassroots machine that launched Obama into the White House. If you gave any money to the campaign, volunteered in any capacity or patronized the online campaign store, you’ve probably received an e-mail or two about this development.

The OfA team in the midst of a listening tour in Florida that has been put together mainly by John Bivona, the state field director. Click here to find meetings in your area.

Walker said in an e-mail that the tour will be used to introduce new state staff members and collect ideas to write the group’s Florida-specific plan. (Our suggested tongue-in-cheek title for the plan: 100 Really Innovative Ideas for Florida’s Future)

From Walker:

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