It is the first time Obama has used that line, which was well received by the union-heavy crowd of more than 300 people, according to the Flint Fire Dept.

Obama singled out Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as a false prophet of change, tweaking her for being for the “Bridge to Nowhere” before she was against it.

“You can’t just make stuff up!” he told the largely middle-aged crowd. “You can’t just reinvent yourself,” he added, arguing that the GOP ticket cannot offer change when it promises the same Republican policies on taxes, health care, education, ethics and rebuilding American infrastructure.

MI Gov. Granholm has been stumping for Obama.

Obama spoke while standing in front of three large hybrid sport utility vehicles — he told voters  an Obama administration would build cars in Flint, not Japan — and beneath a giant American flag. He took some questions from the friendly crowd, discussing military spending, Fannie Mae, Social Security and economic challenges. Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm and Congressman John Conyers accompanied Obama, but did not speak at the event.

Obama’s speech focused on populist economics, and he repeatedly linked ending the war in Iraq to renewing the U.S. economy.

About 10 million Americans experience cancer during their lifetimes, and the medical costs alone topped $78 billion last year, according to the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

The NIH. (Photo Credit: Culhanen)

“Under the Bush administration, federal cancer research funding has remained basically flat as inflation and medical costs increased,” said Sen. John Kerry, speaking about the plan on a media call with Jill Biden and campaign policy director Neera Tanden. Kerry, who noted that he, Obama and Sen. John McCain had all faced family battles with cancer, criticized McCain for voting “against NIH funding” and lamented that the Republican nominee said the NIH was “not effective.”

Asked by a reporter how an Obama-Biden administration would pay for its plan, Kerry said Obama’s broader health care initiative would be funded by rolling back tax cuts for the wealthy. Then he proactively raised Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s nomination speech, saying it was riddled with inaccuracies, and slammed it as “blatantly false.”

On Friday night, an Obama campaign video will be broadcast during the “Stand Up To Cancer Telethon.” Obama’s aides argue that his record demonstrates a longstanding commitment to funding cancer research and treatment:

Obama has spent his career fighting to improve prevention and treatment of cancer. As an Illinois state senator, Obama passed laws to mandate insurance coverage of colorectal cancer examinations, ensure Medicaid coverage for treatment of breast and cervical cancers [and] promote early detection of prostate and testicular cancers,… As U.S. senator, he has fought for increased funding for cancer research, and championed genomics and personalized medicine to identify new and better treatments for cancer and other diseases.

While the Obama campaign tapped major surrogates and senior policy staff to unveil the cancer plan, interest among the traditional media appeared anemic. Only one reporter asked a question during the call — an AP journalist who said he joined late — and the only other question came from a self-described doctor. (It was not clear how he joined the media call or if he was affiliated with the campaign.)

Fighting cancer is not a hot political story, but it’s another task where, as Obama thundered in his nomination speech, Democrats want to use the government to serve the public and Republicans say “you’re on your own.”