Obama chides GOP ahead of Ill. primary

Associated Press

JIM KUHNHENN,Associated Press

Updated: Mar 16, 2012 12:49 PM

CHICAGO (AP) — Four days before the Illinois primary, President Barack Obama says he hopes the moderation of the Land of Lincoln will "rub off" on the Republicans running to take his job.

At a Chicago fundraiser on Friday, Obama said Lincoln understood Americans are one nation, and they rise and fall together. He said conservative GOP hopefuls would do well to follow the example of the first Republican president.

Obama also noted the barrage of attack ads the primary season has unleashed and said they're not exactly appealing to — in Lincoln's famous words — "the better angels of our nature."

The Chicago donor event was the first of five Obama is headlining on a day that also includes campaign events in Atlanta.

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