CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Actress and Obama campaign co-chairwoman Eva Longoria went after GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney Thursday for his tax plan, saying she knows as both a former struggling student and a now millionaire that his plan of more cuts for the rich isn't needed.
"The Eva Longoria who worked at Wendy's flipping burgers -- she needed a tax break," Longoria told the crowd at the Democratic National Convention. "But the Eva Longoria who works on movie sets does not."
Longoria serves as a fundraiser and surrogate for Obama, particularly to young people and Latinos. She spoke Thursday about her struggle to afford college, saying she, like the president and first lady Michelle Obama, took out loans to pay for school. She said she also "signed up for financial aid, Pell Grants, work study, anything I could," along with jobs teaching aerobics, changing oil in a mechanic shop and flipping burgers.
"Like a lot of you, I did whatever it took and, four years later, I got my degree. More importantly, I got a key to American opportunity," she said.
Obama understands that struggle, she said, and can help students and small businesses to succeed. She also touted his support for the Dream Act, health care reform and equal pay for women. Romney, on the other hand, "wants to take us back to yesterday," she said.
Longoria finished with an anecdote about her friend who tried to buy the URL of her first and last name, which turned out to be owned by a 13-year-old. The young girl responded that she needed the website for her eventual presidential campaign, Longoria said.
"Here is a girl who at 13 years old firmly believes she can build her American dream," she said. "And here's a president who's building an America where that dream is possible. Let's fight for the American dream."
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