In biggest national speech of his career at Iowa Jefferson-Jackson dinner, a fiery Windy City boss defends and  then contrasts Obama’s record with Mitt Romney’s, says the President “did not make choices based on politics.”

Emanuel: “Over the next four years, there will be a series of choices. It won’t be clear what the outcome will be. We will need leadership; we will need values as guideposts.“

Chicago’s mayor turns his focus to the Bay Stater: “Middle class Americans cannot afford Mitt Romney’s leadership and values… They cannot have a leader who turns a blind eye to their daily struggles.”

Emanuel pokes fun at the GOP polling frontrunners.