An ever-shifting bar has put prosperity, affordable health care, good housing and a college education out of reach for too many Americans, Michelle Obama told a crowd of thousands in Asheville on Friday.

Raised from humble beginnings, Barack Obama is the lone presidential contender who identifies with everyday people and understands what it takes to lift them up, the candidate’s wife said in a lively and wide-ranging speech at UNC Asheville.

"Life has gotten harder, not easier, for working people," Obama said to thunderous applause from a podium on the campus quad. "Barack will work every day to make that bar even."

Read the full article from The Asheville Citizen-Times