SIOUX CITY, Iowa - President Obama received a less than warm welcome and a warning upon arrival at the airport here on the second stop of his Iowa visit, which was aimed at recapturing some of the magic the state gave his run to the White House in 2008.

Greeting Air Force One as it touched down under sunny skies and sultry heat was a hand-painted banner draped across the top of an airplane hangar that reads, "Obama Welcome to SUX - We Did Build This." "SUX" is the airport code for Sioux City.

The message appeared to be a response President Obama's "you didn't build that" remark from a July campaign rally, when he was trying to explain that government - not businesses - constructed public infrastructure on which the economy relies. Republicans have used the four words to attack Obama as out of touch with the realities of owning and operating a small business.

The banner is a reminder that this part of the state remains hotly contested turf for both Obama and his Republican rival Mitt Romney, just as the campaign enters the home stretch.

Sioux City, which sits on the border with Nebraska in the northwest corner of the state, is territory Obama lost in 2008 to Sen. John McCain, even though he won the state overall. Obama won 49 percent of the vote here to McCain's 50 percent, a difference of just 500 votes.

Obama also won the Iowa caucuses, an early confirmation that his message was resonating with Democrats.

This time around, the president's campaign believes it can turn the Sioux City region blue by appealing to middle class values and highlighting the administration's record of tax cuts for small businesses and families.

Polls show Iowa, which Obama won handily four years ago carrying 54 percent of the vote, is up for grabs in November. Obama and Romney have been locked in a dead heat since early this year.
"Iowa, this is our first stop on the road to our convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. But there was a reason for me to begin the journey right here in Iowa, where it first began more than four years ago," Obama told a crowd of 10,000 in Urbandale, Iowa, earlier in the day.

"Because it was you, Iowa, who kept us going when the pundits were writing us off. It was in your living rooms and backyards and VFW halls and diners where our movement for change began," he said. "And it will be you, Iowa, who choose the path we take from here."

A campaign spokeswoman said the banner was not visible from the presidential motorcade.

There were no identifying markers on the hangar or the banner to suggest who made it, and a call to the Woodbury County GOP was not immediately returned.

The president is on the first of a four-day tour through battleground states, leading up to his formal nomination for the presidency at the Democratic National Convention on Thursday. He spends Sunday rallying supporters in Boulder, Colo.

The could have made that (welcome to) smaller. He would have to really squinted to see if he was invited.

Hundreds are gathering for a march through Charlotte's central business district ahead of the Democratic National Convention to protest what they say is a corporate takeover of the nation's political process.
Late Sunday morning, about 250 demonstrators had gathered at Frazier Park on the outskirtsof Charlotte's Uptown district for the march that was set to begin at 1 p.m. Organizers havesaid they were expecting thousands.
Demonstrators had signs indicating that some were union workers, anti-war veterans and undocumented immigrants.
The route of Sunday's March on Wall Street South will go past the corporate headquarters of Bank of America and a major office hub for Wells Fargo. Theyare two of the nation's largest financial institutions.
Organizers say the protest will be peaceful, but hundreds of police officers will also be on the streets.

doesnt 'we' built this reaffirm that people dont do things 'on their own'?


I think they only reaffirmed a point they were trying to disparage,,,

,,,,shows the educational level there in good old Utah,, or the level of 'sheep' like behavior,,,
Yea, kinda like the voters that elected Obama. Except they probably couldn't spell.

always did well in school

patience is another issue,, pasted before I read after looking up mormon population of Iowa,,,


honest mistake, quickly corrected upon review