CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Appearing before the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel praised President Barack Obama for his leadership during a "time of crisis."

Emanuel, who served as Obama's White House chief of staff, said Tuesday the president entered office when the economy was in free-fall. He said the auto industry was on its back, the banks were frozen up and the armed forces were fighting the longest wars in the nation's history.

Emanuel said Obama, while tackling those problems, "listened to the voices that matter to him the most - the voices of auto workers and the communities that depended on them."

The mayor said the auto industry "weren't just companies that needed a loan; they were communities that needed a leader to stand up for them."

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