You know, because we’re racists or something.

BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — Raising campaign cash in reliably Democratic Vermont, President Barack Obama on Friday called this year’s presidential race a “clarifying election” that will determine what the country stands for.

Obama spoke at a $7,500-per-person luncheon fundraiser Friday, where he said the general election would be a “healthy debate for the nation.” Obama said Republicans are peddling a “fundamentally different vision of America.”

Obama said the health care overhaul that passed “after over a century of trying” would allow young people to emain on their parents’ health insurance for a longer period, help seniors pay less for prescription drugs and keep millions of people from being denied coverage.

Taking a shot at his GOP rivals, Obama said President Abraham Lincoln “couldn’t win the nomination” for the Republican Party right now.