Never mind his absurd statement about the GOP turning America into a shithole, when did we stop calling it the “Third World”?

(Chicago Sun Times) — Saving the most raucous for last, President Obama kicked off fund-raising for his re-election campaign Thursday with three sessions in Chicago, raising $2 million from 2,500 supporters.

“This is the city where I fell in love and started a family,” Obama told 2,300 cheering fans at Navy Pier. He also spoke to a smaller crowd at MK restaurant, where he used to take his wife on dates.

“This is where we’re going to be basing our headquarters for the 2012 campaign,” Obama told the Navy Pier crowd. . . .

Obama defended his record and warned how far the country could fall if Republicans retake the White House and seniors could no longer afford health care:

“Under their vision, we can’t invest in roads and bridges and broadband and high-speed rail,” Obama said. “We would be a nation of potholes and our airports would be worse than places that we used to call the Third World but that are now investing in infrastructure.”