Obama knows his audience... The kiddies at the University of Maryland, like most college students, are largely ignorant about US history because only “social studies” gets taught in high school. So Obama can suggest that FDR was actually a conservative and these young adults will seize on that contrarian idea because they lack the framework to evaluate the crappola that the president is selling.
Student #1: “Psst! Dude, who’s this ‘FDR’ guy?”
Student #2: “I think he plays bass for Lady Gaga.”