The tag team of Obama & Obama is becoming the most powerful surrogate operation backing Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and the most effective scourge of Republican candidate Donald Trump.

President Barack Obama has the lighter touch, while first lady Michelle Obama is the more somber advocate. But they are sending the same message, which grabs headlines and holds media and public attention: Reject Trump and accept Clinton.

The president, whose job approval ratings have climbed to more than 50 percent, told a Democratic fundraiser in Ohio Thursday night that the rise of Trump is due to a long-term pattern in which Republicans played to the anger and fear of a segment of the electorate and stirred it into a profound sense of grievance.

"They've been riding this tiger for a long time," the president said. "They've been feeding their base all kinds of crazy for years," such as the fiction that he wasn't born in the United States and fear that the country is being destroyed.

"This is in the swamp of crazy that has been fed over and over and over and over again," Obama declared. "If I watched Fox News I wouldn't vote for me. I understand. If I was listening to [conservative commentator] Rush Limbaugh, I'd say, 'Man, this is terrible.'"

Obama said the choice in the Nov. 8 election should be an easy one: between Clinton, who he said is as qualified as anyone who has ever sought the presidency, and Trump, who he said is "unfit and unqualified."

First lady Michelle Obama was more emotional and serious, and seemed effective in summarizing the case against Trump's character. With a quavering voice, she said the election is about decency, not just politics and policy. "I can't believe I am saying that a candidate for president of the United States has actually bragged about sexually assaulting women," the popular first lady told a crowd in New Hampshire Thursday. "This is not normal. This is not politics as usual. This is disgraceful. This is intolerable."

She added: "The men in my life do not talk about women like this. Strong men, men who are truly role models, don't need to put down women for themselves to feel powerful....This is not something we can sweep under the rug as just another disturbing footnote in a sad election. This was a powerful individual speaking freely and openly about sexually predatory behavior."

Trump, a billionaire real-estate developer, has been widely criticized in the past week for newly revealed remarks he made years ago that he could kiss and grope women without their consent because he was a celebrity. After a firestorm of criticism engulfed him a few days ago because of these comments, he apologized but said his remarks were only "locker room talk."

Michelle Obama disagrees. "We cannot endure this or expose our children to this any longer, not for another minute, let alone for four years," the first lady said.

At the second presidential debate with Clinton on Sunday, the moderator asked if he had actually done the things he bragged about such as kissing women or groping them without consent, and Trump replied, "No, I have not." Spokesmen for Clinton said this has now been shown to be a lie. Several women have come forward this week with accusations that Trump made unwanted sexual advances against them years ago.

On Thursday in Ohio, Trump said the accusations from these women are part of an anti-Trump media and political conspiracy. Trump said the allegations are false.