At an LGBT fundraiser in Los Angeles last night, President Barack Obama told the crowd about how multiple Hawaii Marines thanked him for ending Don’t Ask Don’t Tell when he was working out in Kaneohe, according to a pool report. An excerpt: 

“I tell that story so that if anybody out there asks you what this campaign’s about, you tell ‘em it’s still about hope and change. You tell them I still believe in the American people and the innate goodness of this country,” he said.

The fundraiser, which drew about 600 people, was at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. Attendees included Cher, Ellen DeGeneres, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and Modern Family actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson, among others.