Remarks by the President at Campaign Event

Private Residence
Seattle, Washington
 

2:41 P.M. PST

THE PRESIDENT:  That was a one-time affair.  The fewer the shows, the higher the admission.  (Laughter.)

But, first of all, I just want to thank Jeff and Susan for opening up their extraordinary home.  (Applause.)  We're thrilled to be here.  It is wonderful to be back in the Pacific Northwest. I was reminding some folks who may not know, I've got Seattle roots -- my mother went to Puget Sound High School --

AUDIENCE:  Mercer Island --

THE PRESIDENT:  They lived in Puget Sound and went to Mercer Island High School.  Some of you did not know this.  But that's why I love this place, every time I come up.

So many of you have been extraordinary friends in the past. More importantly, so many of you have done such important philanthropic work and charitable work -- that in some ways, you guys just feel like a bunch of old friends, and I don't want to spend too much time giving a long speech at the front end.  I want to spend more of our time in discussion.  But maybe what I can do is give you a sense of where I think the country is right and give you a sense of where we need to go over the next five years.  

We've obviously gone through the toughest three years in my lifetime -- the toughest three years economically since the Great Depression.  The month I was sworn in we were losing 750,000 jobs a month.  We had lost 4 million jobs in the six months before I was sworn into office.  We would lose another 4 million in the six months after I was sworn in, before our economic policies had a chance to take effect.  The housing market was decimated.  People lost jobs.  They saw their homes underwater, in some cases, hundreds of thousands of dollars where they would never probably recover all the equity in their homes. 

And so there has obviously been a lot of pain and a lot of hardship for a lot of families for a long time and that's not over.  There are people in this region of the country like communities all across America that are still hurting, folks who are still looking for work, still struggling to get by, still having a tough time paying the bills.

At the same time, though, what we're starting to see is the incredible resilience of the American people and the American economy.  So this month, we saw 250,000 jobs created.  I'm sure some of it had to do with Microsoft -- (laughter.) That's a million-job swing.  We've now had 23 consecutive months of job growth, about 3.7 million jobs being created, the highest manufacturing job growth since the 1990s.  And you get a sense as you talk to small businesses, large businesses, people across the country, there is a sense that we may have gotten through the heaviest storms.

But what is also true is that when I ran for office in 2008, my goal wasn’t simply to get us back to where we were -- we had decades of challenges that had been accumulating that nobody attended to.  And what I determined was in addition to righting the ship, in addition to making sure we didn’t tip into a Great Depression, that we stayed focused on those things that are going to ensure that this country is competitive, but that it is also a country where no matter what you look like, no matter where you come from, you can still make it if you try -- that that central American promise that’s based on everybody getting a fair shot, everybody doing their fair share, and all of us playing by the same set of rules -- that we had to rebuild that foundation for an economy that was built to last.

And so even as we were working to stem a crisis, we were still focused on some long-term issues.  Health care -- the fact that we spent 17 percent of our GDP on health care -- every other advanced industrial country spends 11 percent on average and gets better outcomes -- was unsustainable.  And so as difficult as it was, we pushed through reforms that not only are going to give 30 million people without health insurance health insurance; that not only are currently providing 2.6 million young people health insurance because they can stay on their parent’s plans, but that promises actually to start bending the cost curve because we’ve changed delivery systems and we changed incentives within this incredibly complicated piece of our economy in a way that will save businesses and families and ultimately both federal and state governments a whole lot of money, and make us better equipped to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

Education -- we said that we keep on issuing reports and talking about how important it is, and every President is the education President, but we don’t seem to make real progress, partly because there was an ideological division between Democrats and Republicans -- Republicans saying the public schools don’t work and teachers unions are the problem and let’s tear them down; and Democrats saying the only problem is not enough money, but we don’t want to initiate real changes. 

And what we were able to do was to break through that logjam.  Through programs like Race to the Top, we now have a situation where we’re putting more money into education, but we’re also asking for accountability.  We’re saying more resources and more reform; that we are going to respect, in fact elevate teachers, because the single-most important criteria for whether our kids succeed is that person standing in front of the classroom -- and we’re going to give them more flexibility, make sure they don’t teach to the test, so that they can teach with creativity and passion, but we’re also going to insist on greater accountability and high standards, because that’s the only way we’re going to succeed.

And then we said it’s not going to be enough if they just graduate from high school.  So even though we got 40 states to initiate K-12 reform, we said we've got to do more with community colleges and higher education.  And the biggest barrier, in addition to performance in K-12, is financial.  And so we took $60 billion that was being funneled to banks to manage to student loans programs, and we said, you know what, let’s cut out the middleman and take that $60 billion, and now millions of kids all across the country are able to afford college that they couldn’t afford before.

And we said, let’s stop -- let’s not stop there.  We need more scientists and mathematicians and engineers.  This group knows a little something about that.  And so working not only in the public sector but the private sector, we’ve initiated a whole range of programs to start elevating and lifting up the importance of STEM education, and redesigning how it’s taught so that my daughters are starting to get interested in math and science early.  We’re not waiting until it’s too late.

Well, we still had to do something about energy.  And although we were not able to get, at this stage, the kind of climate legislation that I think is ultimately going to be necessary, we were able, without a lot of fanfare, to initiate the most significant environmental legislation probably since the Clean Air Act by doubling fuel-efficiency standards on cars and trucks and heavy trucks, which is not only good for our environment, but good for our economy. 

And what we've also started to say is, is that we've got to have an even bolder program to get the low-hanging fruit when it comes to our energy challenges, and that’s making everything more energy efficient.  If we had the energy efficiency that exists in Japan right now, we would lower our energy consumption by 20 percent.  It's remarkable.  It's doable.  It doesn’t require new technologies. 

Ultimately, Bill Gates is right -- what we need to actually solve the problem is a massive technological breakthrough.  But for us to spend the next 10, 20 years focused on what we know we can do right now, even as we're investing in the basic research, is critical.

And then we said, on the international front, if we're going to adapt to a changing world, we're going to have to wind down one war that probably should not have been fought in the first place.  We've got to transition another war so that Afghans start taking more responsibility, and we have to stay focused on the folks who actually did us harm.  And as difficult as that’s been over the last three years, we were able to effectuate the plan and the promise that I made back in 2008.

Across the board, we have made tough decisions -- whether it's saving the auto industry, or making sure that we have a health care system that actually works for our economy.  And there have been times, let's face it, during the last three years, where some of you have said, hmm, I'm not sure it's working out.  But what we've always been convinced of, what I've always been convinced of, is that if we sustain this effort, even in the face of huge political obstacles, that, eventually, not only would the economy come back, but eventually our politics would align with common sense and our traditions of hard work and mutual responsibility -- the basic idea that, yes, we're rugged individualists and we're entrepreneurs, and we focus on what we can accomplish on our own, and we don’t ask for handouts or expect anybody to do anything for us, but we're also part of something bigger -- part of neighborhoods and communities, and a United States of America, and that if we keep that in mind, then there's nothing we can't accomplish.

Now, this election is not going to be as sexy as 2008.  (Laughter.)  You know, my hair is grayer.  I've got little dings and bruises -- although you're right, I can still sing.  (Laughter.)  It's not going to be as new as it was in 2008.  But I have to tell you, the stakes are so much higher, in some ways.

I think in 2008, everybody recognized, there was unanimity that change had to happen.  And frankly, I think that I had a very capable Democratic opponent who also could have won.  In this situation, we’ve got fundamentally different visions about the direction where our country is going -- fundamentally different visions between us and the [other] party's.  Never has it been as probably as stark, in my lifetime, as it is now.  Because on every single issue, you’ve got a party that says they are not willing to balance our budget, even if you’ve got a 10 to 1 deal, spending cuts to tax increases. 

We’ve got a party that denies climate change even exists rather than debates how do we best address it.  We’ve got a party that, when it comes to foreign policy, seems to only talk about military adventures and never seems to talk about how can we create a diplomatic climate that allows the world to organize itself to ensure mutual security and prosperity. 

Across the board, I have not seen in my lifetime as stark a choice as we’ve got in 2012.  And that means we’re going to have to work harder this time than we did last time.  If you agree with Mr. Gates here, who’s spoken so eloquently about the fact that we’ve got to have a balanced approach to how we reduce our deficits, well, this is for all the marbles right here.  Because the Bush tax cuts are going to expire at the end of this year and whoever is the President is going to shape what our tax policy is, and how we reduce our deficits and how we maintain fiscal stability for the next 20, 30 years. 

And unless you think that it makes sense for us to cut basic research by 35 percent, and education support from the federal government by 35 percent, and add about $6,000 of additional costs on every senior, whether they can afford it or not, for Medicare and Medicaid, then this election is going to require a lot of work.

I’m optimistic that the American people want common sense.  I’m optimistic that the American people want balance.  I’m optimistic the American people don’t want to just think about the next election -- they want us to think about the next generation. But we’re going to have to fight for that.  And I have to tell you that it is true I look a little older, but in some ways my determination is even greater now than it was in 2008. 

One of the great things about occupying this job is that every single day, you’re wrestling with these enormous, sometimes seemingly insoluble problems -- right?  Nothing hits my desk if it was easy to solve because then somebody else would have solved it.  (Laughter.)  But in addition to just being fascinating, what’s also amazing about this job is you’re able to see sort of the spectrum of American life. 

There’s not an inch of this country that I haven’t seen.  There’s not a group of people I haven’t talked to.  And that’s an enormous source of inspiration and optimism.  We’ve got really good people and we have to make sure that we’ve got a government that is reflective of their core decency.  That’s what we’re fighting for -- that’s what this is all about.  And the fact that you’re joining me here today is just one more reason why I feel encouraged.  So let me stop there. 

Thank you.  (Applause.)

END                                                     
2:57 P.M. PST

Remarks by the President on American Manufacturing

Boeing Production Facility
Everett, Washington

11:47 A.M. PST

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, Everett!  (Applause.)  It is great to be in Washington -- not Washington, D.C., in Washington State.  (Applause.)  And it is great to be here at Boeing.  (Applause.) 

I want to begin by first of all thanking Kathleen for that wonderful introduction.  We were up there talking a little bit, and she’s a pretty good representative of Boeing workers.  Kathleen told me, I have a motto:  Every day, nobody will outwork me.  And that’s a pretty good motto for Boeing, but it’s also a pretty good motto for America.  So give Kathleen a big round of applause.  (Applause.)

I’ve been told we’re standing in the biggest building in the world, so big you could fit Disneyland inside.  Your heating bills must be crazy.  (Laughter.) 

I want to thank Jim McNerney and Jim Albaugh for hosting us here today.  Give them a big round of applause.  (Applause.) Your Machinist’s leadership, Tom Buffenbarger, Rich Michalski, Tom Wroblewski and SPEEA President Tom McCarty are here.  (Applause.)  One of the finest governors in the country, Chris Gregoire is in the house.  (Applause.)  And I want to thank the mayor of Everett, Ray Stephanson for having us here today.  (Applause.)  

Now, I want to thank all of you for also giving me a pretty smooth ride.  (Laughter.)  As some of you may know, Air Force One was built right here in Everett 25 years ago.  In fact, I met -- one of my guys that I met during the tour worked on the plane.  (Applause.)  So I told him he did a pretty good job.  (Laughter.)  It’s flying smooth.  I get to see your handiwork in action every single day.  But as wonderful as it is to fly Air Force One -- and it is wonderful -- it’s hard not to be amazed by the Dreamliner.  (Applause.)  I notice this one is going to United -- one of our outstanding carriers.  And I have to mention that just because I’m from Chicago, so I’ve got to -- (laughter) -- give a few extra props there. 

But this is the first commercial airplane to be made with 50 percent composite materials.  It’s lighter, it’s faster, it’s more fuel-efficient than any airplane in its class.  And it looks cool.  (Laughter and applause.) 

The Dreamliner is the plane of the future.  And by building it here, Boeing is taking advantage of a huge opportunity that exists right now to bring more jobs and manufacturing back to the United States of America.  (Applause.)

We know that the last few decades haven’t been easy for manufacturing.  New technology has made businesses more efficient and more productive, and that’s a good thing.  That’s what raises our standards of living.  It means we can get better products for less.  But that also means that companies need fewer workers to make the same amount of product as they used to.  And technology makes it easier for companies to set up shop and hire workers anywhere where there’s an internet connection.  And so the result has been this -- this transition process that’s been incredibly painful for a lot of families and a lot of communities.  A lot of communities that used to rely on a lot of factory jobs, they saw those shrink.  They saw those get shipped off overseas.  Too many factories, where people thought they’d retire, left home.  Too many jobs that provided a steady, stable life, a middle-class life for people, got shipped overseas.

And look, the hard truth is, a lot of those jobs aren’t going to come back because of these increased efficiencies.  And in a global economy, some companies are always going to find it more profitable to pick up and do business in other parts of the world.  That’s just the nature of a global economy.  But that does not mean that we’ve got to just sit there and settle for a lesser future.  I don’t accept that idea.  You don’t accept that idea.  America is a place where we can always do something to create new jobs, and new opportunities, and new manufacturing, and new security for the middle class, and that’s why I’m here today.  That’s our job.  (Applause.)  That’s what we’re going to do together. (Applause.)

Now just today, we actually took an important short-term step to strengthen our economy.  Just before we got here, Congress did the right thing and voted to make sure that taxes would not go up on middle-class families at the end of this month.  (Applause.)  Congress also agreed to extend unemployment insurance for millions of Americans -- maybe some of your family members -- who are still out there looking for a job.  So I’m going to sign this bill right away when I get back home.  (Applause.) 

You guys may remember, this middle-class tax cut is something I proposed in my jobs bill back in September.  And because you kept the pressure on Congress, because you reminded people what it means to have 40 bucks taken out of your paycheck every week, it got done.  This is a big deal.  And I want to thank members of Congress for listening to the voices of the American people.  It is amazing what happens when Congress focuses on doing the right thing instead of just playing politics.  This was a good example, and Congress should take pride in it.  (Applause.) 

But the payroll tax cut is just a start.  If we want middle-class families to get ahead, we've got to deal with a set of economic challenges that existed even before this recession hit.     
 
And we've got a choice right now:  We can either settle for a country where a few people do really well, and everybody else is struggling, or we can restore an economy where everybody gets a fair shot, and everybody does their fair share, and everybody plays by the same set of rules, from Washington to Wall Street to Main Street.  Everybody is doing their part.  (Applause.)  

We’re still recovering from one of the worst economic crises in three generations -- the worst in our lifetimes, for most of us.  And we've still got a long way to go to make sure everybody who can -- everybody who wants a job can find one, and every family can regain that sense of security that was slipping away even before this recession hit.

But the tide is turning.  The tide is beginning to turn our way.  Over the last 23 months, businesses have created 3.7 million new jobs, and American manufacturers are hiring for the first time since 1990, and the American auto industry is back, and our economy is getting stronger.  And that’s why we can look towards a promising future.  (Applause.)  And Boeing is an example of that.  (Applause.)  But to keep it going, the last thing we can afford to do is to go back to the very same policies that got us into this mess in the first place.  (Applause.)  We can't go backwards, we got to go forwards.  We can't go back to an economy that was weakened by outsourcing and bad debt and phony financial profits. 

I want us to make stuff.  I want us to sell stuff.  So, in the State of the Union, I outlined a blueprint for an economy that's built to last, that has a strong foundation -- an economy based on American manufacturing and American know-how, American-made energy, skills for American workers, and the values that made America great, the values that Kathleen talked about:  hard work and fair play and shared responsibility.  That's what America is about. 

And that blueprint starts with American manufacturing.  It starts with companies like this one.  A lot of people say, well, there are going to be fewer manufacturing jobs than there were in the past.  I already said we're more efficient now.  What used to take a thousand people to make, you might only need a hundred now.  We understand that.  We understand that there are going to be more service jobs -- that's important.  We want to make sure that we're promoting service industries as well.  But manufacturing has a special place in America.  When we make stuff, and we're selling stuff, that creates jobs beyond just this plant.  It raises standards of living for everybody. 

And here at Boeing, business is booming.  Booming.  Last year, orders for commercial aircraft rose by more than 50 percent.  (Applause.)  And to meet that demand, Boeing hired 13,000 workers all across America, including 5,000 right here in Everett.  (Applause.)  Now the biggest challenge is how to turn out planes fast enough.  Jay, that’s a high-class problem to have.

So this company is a great example of what American manufacturing can do in a way that nobody else in the world can do it.  And the impact of your success, as I said, goes beyond the walls of this plant.  Every Dreamliner that rolls off the assembly line here in Everett supports thousands of jobs in different industries all across the country.  Parts of the fuselage are manufactured in South Carolina and Kansas.  Wing edges, they come from Oklahoma.  Engines assembled in Ohio.  The tail fin comes from right down the road in Frederickson.  And the people in every one of these communities, some of whom -- who are here today, they are benefitting from the work that you do.

All those workers, they spend money at the local store.  They go to restaurants.  So the service economy does better because you’re doing well.  And what’s happening here in Everett can happen in other industries.  It can happen not just here but it can happen in Cleveland, in Pittsburgh, in Raleigh.  We can’t bring every job back.  Anybody who says we can, they’re not telling you the truth.  But right now, it’s getting more expensive to do business in places like China.  Meanwhile, American workers have never been more productive.  And companies like Boeing are finding out that even when we can’t make things faster or cheaper than China, we can make them better.  Our quality can be higher.  And that’s what America is about.  That’s how we’re going to compete.  (Applause.)

Now, during the State of the Union, I issued a challenge to America’s business leaders.  I said, ask yourselves what you can do to bring and create jobs here in this country, and your country will do everything we can to help you succeed.  And I’m encouraged.  We’re actually seeing a number of companies –- large and small, domestic, but even some foreign companies –- recognizing, you know what, we’re going to open new facilities and create new jobs here in America. 

This is a good place to work.  This is a good place to be.  And our job as a nation is to make it easier for more of these companies to do the right thing. 

That starts with our tax code.  Right now, companies get tax breaks for moving jobs and profits overseas. 

AUDIENCE:  Booo --

THE PRESIDENT:  Meanwhile, companies that choose to stay in America get hit with one of the highest tax rates in the world.  That doesn’t make any sense.  So my message to Congress is, what are we waiting for?  Let’s get this done right now.  Let’s make some changes to the tax code.  (Applause.)

And let’s follow some simple principles.  First, if you’re a business that wants to outsource jobs, that’s your choice, but you shouldn’t get a tax deduction for doing it. 

AUDIENCE:  Nooo --

THE PRESIDENT:  That money should be used to cover moving expenses for companies that are deciding to bring jobs back home -- that’s who should be getting tax breaks.  (Applause.) 

Second, no American company should be able to avoid paying its fair share of taxes by moving jobs and profits overseas.  My attitude is every multinational company should have to pay a basic minimum tax.  You should not have an advantage by building a plant over there, over somebody who’s investing here and hiring American workers.  (Applause.)  And every penny of that minimum tax should go towards lowering taxes for companies like Boeing that choose to stay and hire here in the United States of America.  (Applause.)  

Number three, if you’re an American manufacturer, you should get a bigger tax cut.  And if you’re a high-tech manufacturer, we should double the tax deductions you get for making your products here. 

And finally, if you want to relocate in a community that’s been hard hit by factories leaving town, then you should get help financing that new plant or financing that equipment or training for new workers. 

Everett, it is time to stop rewarding companies that ship jobs overseas.  Reward companies that are creating jobs right here in the United States of America.  Congress should send me these tax reforms.  I’ll sign them right away.  (Applause.)

Now, another thing we’re doing to support American jobs is making it easier for businesses like Boeing to sell their products all over the world.  Two years ago, I set a goal of doubling U.S. exports in five years.  We’re on track to meet that goal.  We’re actually ahead of schedule.  So last November when I was in Indonesia, Boeing announced a deal with the help of the Export-Import Bank to sell more than 200 planes to one of the fastest-growing airlines in the world.  Boeing is one of the largest exporters in America; this was one of the biggest deals Boeing had ever done.  Over the years, it will help support thousands of American jobs, including jobs here in Everett.  So I tease Jay every time I see him -- I said, I deserve a gold watch because I’m selling your stuff all the time.  (Laughter.)

I will go anywhere in the world to open up new markets for American products.  And by the way, I will not stand by when our competitors don’t play by the rules.  (Applause.)  That’s why I directed my administration to create a Trade Enforcement Unit that just has one job:  investigating unfair trade practices in countries like China, or places like Europe. 

That’s why it’s so important for Congress to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank.  This Bank is led by -- (applause) -- this Bank is led by Fred Hochberg, who is right here.  He's out there working with Jay all the time, selling on behalf of Boeing.  And the Export-Import Bank helps companies like this one sell its products.  It also helps thousands of small businesses. 

And today, the Bank will be launching a new program to help small businesses get the financing they need to sell more products overseas.  I’m also instructing the Bank to give American companies a fair shot by matching the unfair export financing that their competitors receive from other countries.  (Applause.) 

American workers -- you guys, folks like Kathleen -- you're the most productive on Earth.  You can compete with anybody.  You will out-work anybody, as long as the level -- as long as the playing field is level.  You can compete with any worker, anywhere, any time -- in China, in Europe, it does not matter.  If we have a level playing field, America will always win because we've got the best workers.  (Applause.)

It's also because we've always believed in the power of innovation.  Innovation requires basic research.  Look at this plane.  This plane was first designed virtually using the same technology that was developed by NASA.  Government research helped to create this plane.  We got -- I was in there fooling around with those windows, where you press them and they dim on their own.  (Laughter.)  I kept on pressing the button, and -- dimmed and got light -- one touch with a finger.  And the display is in the cockpit.  They're projected on the windshield so pilots don’t have to look down at their instruments; they can maintain their line of sight, even as they're getting all these readings.

Now, some of the work -- the most advanced work -- was done by engineers down in Huntsville, Alabama, who used to work on the International Space Station.  Their expertise, a lot of those ideas, came out of government research.  We've got to support this kind of cutting-edge research.  (Applause.)  We need to maintain our innovative edge, so that jobs and industries take root right here in the United States, not someplace else.  (Applause.)

So, Everett, if we want to build an economy that lasts, that is strong, that has a strong foundation, that helps families get into the middle class and stay in the middle class, we've got to do everything we can to strengthen American manufacturing.  We've got to make sure we're making it easier for companies like Boeing to create jobs here at home, and sell our products abroad.  We've got to keep on investing in American-made energy, and we've got to keep training American workers.  And, above all, we've got to renew the values that have always made this country great:  hard work, fair play, and shared responsibility.

These are not Democratic values or Republican values.  These are American values.  (Applause.)  They’ve seen us through some tough challenges, but we've always emerged stronger than before because of these values.  And we’re going to come out stronger than before this time as well.  And I know it because of the people who are here.    

In December of 2009, the first Dreamliner took off on its maiden flight right here in Everett.  Some of you were probably out there seeing it.  It was a cold and windy day.  That didn’t stop 13,000 employees all from coming out and seeing what they had built, seeing the product of all their hard work suddenly filling the skies. 

And one of these people was Sharon O’Hara.  Is Sharon here?  Where is Sharon?  There’s Sharon right there.  (Applause.)  Sharon works as an executive office administrator for the leaders of the Dreamliner team.  Now, executive assistant means basically you’re doing all the work.  (Laughter.)  Now, some of you may know that Sharon has been undergoing some treatment for cancer recently, so she’s got her own battle.  But her doctors recently told her she’s healthy enough to come back to work.  That’s worth applauding.  (Applause.)  Sharon, there are a lot of people who are happy to see you back at work.  (Applause.) 

And I was hearing about this, and as Sharon tells the story about watching the first plane lift gently off the runway, just the way it was designed to do, she thought about everything that had gone into making this day possible -– all the challenges, all the setbacks; the thousands of hours of brainpower and manpower -- and womanpower.  (Applause.)  And what Sharon says is -- this is a quote -- “I had goose bumps and tears.  We said we would do it and we did.”  That’s a pretty good motto.  (Applause.)  You said you would do it, and you did. 

That’s what we do as Americans.  (Applause.)  That’s the spirit we need right now.  In this country, we don’t give up, even when times are tough.  We look out for one another.  We reach for new opportunities.  We pull each other up.  We stay focused on the horizon.  That’s who we are.  That’s who we’ve always been.  And if we work together right now, with common purpose and common effort, I have no doubt we will build an economy that lasts, and we will remind the world just why it is that the United States of America is the greatest country on Earth.  We said it, we will do it.

God bless you.  God bless the United States.  (Applause.)  Thank you.

END
12:13 P.M. PST

Remarks by the President at a Campaign Event

Private Residence
San Francisco, California

7:26 P.M. PST

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, everybody.  Thank you.  (Applause.)  Ah, I've got a little blues track going on here.  I like that.  Please, everybody have a seat.  Instead of "Ruffles and Flourishes," we might have to get this crew every time I come on stage.  It sounded smooth.  (Laughter.)

I want to -- first of all, obviously, I want to thank Robert and Nicole and all the kids for letting us crash their house.  They have been extraordinary friends and supporters for so long, and for them to help to organize this is something that means so much to me.  So I want to thank them.

In addition, I want to thank Reverend Al Green for taking the time to be here.  (Applause.)  I took a chance at the Apollo -- (laughter) -- and I'm not going to take a chance again. 

AUDIENCE:  Awwww!

THE PRESIDENT:  No.  No, I'm sorry.  Now, what is possible is after reelection -- (laughter) -- I might go on tour with the good Reverend.  (Applause.)  Be his opening act.  But I don't want to lose any further votes because of my singing voice.  But we are greatly honored to have you here.  Thank you so much.

To Booker T. Jones, Les Claypool, Charlie Musselwhite, thank you so much, gentlemen, for being here.  (Applause.)  We are all big fans.  (Applause.)  We are all huge fans of your music, and it is a great honor to have you guys here.  As Robert and Nicole know, the arts are part of what brings us together, what binds us together as a people.  And one of the things -- we're actually having a Blues Night next week, which is going to be part of our effort at the White House to lift up the importance of the arts in our lives and make sure that our kids understand the power of expression.

And then, finally, I just want to acknowledge -- those of you who are going to come down to North Carolina for our outstanding convention, we've got the person who will be our host -- the Mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina, Anthony Foxx is here. (Applause.) 

As I look around the room, I've got some new friends and I've got some folks who have supported me since I had just been elected to the U.S. Senate and who I've known for quite some time.  All of you have been doing good work, separate and apart from my campaign, for a lot of years, making this community better, making sure that folks who are vulnerable got the help they need, making sure that our kids have a chance to excel in this globalized world, helping to promote understanding.  And so we've got a lot of do-gooders in this room and I'm grateful for everything that you guys do, day in, day out.

I am not going to speak long at the top, because usually in a setting like this, what I love to do is take questions and bounce things around.  But I just want to reflect a little bit on where we've been over the last three years. 

We've gone through the toughest economy, the worst financial crisis, worst economic crisis, since the Great Depression -- since our lifetimes -- in our lifetimes.  And things are still tough.  There are a lot of people here in California and all across the country who are still struggling each and every day.  Their homes may be underwater.  They may be out of work.  If they've got work, they're struggling to pay the bills.  And what was true before 2008 is still true for too many today, which is the sense that their concept of the American Dream, what it means to be an American, feels like it's slipping away from them; that idea that if you work hard, if you're responsible, if you're looking out for your family and a good citizen, that you can make it, you can afford to buy a house, and send your kids to school, and retire with some dignity and respect -- that sense was slipping away from too many people far before this economic crisis, and this economic crisis made it that much tougher.

Having said that, three years from when I took office, America is moving on the right track.  We are stronger than we were.  (Applause.)  The month that I took office, we were losing 750,000 jobs; last month we gained 250,000.  That's a turnaround of a million jobs in this country.  (Applause.)  We've seen 3.7 million jobs created over the last 23 months, the strongest job growth in a long time -- since 2005 -- and the strongest manufacturing job growth since the 1990s.

An economy that was in danger of tipping into a Great Depression is starting to heal and rebuild itself.  And our challenge right now is not just to settle for getting back to where we were in 2008.  Our challenge is, how do we address all those accumulated problems that helped to lead to the crisis, and how do we restore a sense for folks in the middle class and those aspiring to the middle class or beyond that they've got a fair shot and everybody is doing their fair share, and fair play reigns across the country, and our core values as Americans are being respected and honored.  That’s what’s at stake.

And so even as we were dealing with the economic crisis, we tried not, over the last three years, to take our eye off the larger purpose of rebuilding an economy that has a firmer foundation.  And that meant making sure, for example, that people in this country don’t go bankrupt when they get sick.  And as tough as it was for us to be able to pass universal health care that had alluded previous Presidents, and 2.6 million young people already have health insurance now because of that law that didn’t have it before, and millions of seniors across the country are seeing the cost of prescription drugs going down for them, and us setting the stage so that in my second term we will have fully implemented this law and 30 million people will have coverage that didn’t have it before -- (applause) -- and prevention is covered, and insurance companies can’t drop people because of the fine print right when they need it the most -- that’s part of building an economy that’s built to last.

We wanted to make sure that at a time when education has never been more important, that we made sure that we started digging in and figuring out how do we guarantee every child has a decent education.  And that meant taking on our friends and not just our enemies, and saying, yes, we’re going to put more money into the system, but we’re also going to insist on reform, and we’re going to do a better job training our teachers and giving them the support that they need, but also demanding some accountability, and instead of just teaching to the test, making sure that we have a way of measuring outcomes so that our young people can compete in math and science but also the arts and the humanities.
 
And 40 states now across the country have made significant education reforms because of our efforts -- unprecedented effort at school reform over the last several years.  It doesn’t get a lot of notice.

And then we realized, you know, it’s not enough for them just to get through high school these days, they’re going to have to go college.  But the barriers of college costs, tuition costs have been so great we decided let’s stop sending $60 billion in subsidies to the banks and let’s channel that money directly into student loans and increase Pell grants, so that now you’ve got millions of students who are less burdened by debt and have greater opportunity not just to go to four-year colleges but also to go to two-year colleges, or, in some cases, adults who have the capacity now to go and get retrained so that they can get back into the workforce with the new skills that they need.  (Applause.)

And we decided that if we’re going to have economy built to last that we’ve got to finally take on energy.  But it’s not enough for us to just drill our way out of the problem.  We recognize that we’re not going to immediately transition off of fossil fuels and we’ve got to increase American energy production.  But it can’t just be oil and natural gas.  We also have to make sure that we’re investing in the energies of the future. 

And so we’ve doubled clean energy because of the investments that we’ve made -- created entire industries here in the United States in things like advanced battery manufacturing.  Because we understand that we can’t keep on going every spring -- we basically, like clockwork, say to ourselves, well, gas prices are going up and the economy is now going to be held hostage.  Not to mention our concern about the planet that we’re going to be leaving our kids and our grandkids.

And we decided, although the global economy shifted, and because manufacturing has become more efficient, we are going to have to recognize that a bigger and bigger portion of the economy will be service-based, we still want America to have the best manufacturing capacity in the world -- which is part of the reason why at a time when it was unpopular not just with the Republicans but also Democrats to save the auto industry, we decided to go in there and restructure and force workers and management to work together.  (Applause.)  And GM, which was on the verge of liquidation, is now once again the number-one automaker in the world, with the highest profits that they have ever seen.  (Applause.)

And part of our commitment to that economy of the future was making sure that we restored science to its rightful place.  And so we increased our investments in NIH and NSF, and made sure that stem cell research could proceed.  (Applause.)  And insisted that we place the highest priority on technology and innovation, in government, through our research -- because nobody understands better than this region of the country and how important that is to our economic future.

And then, finally, we had to make sure that fair play meant something.  And so the first bill I signed said, equal pay for equal work, because I want my daughters to have the same opportunities that anybody’s sons have when they go out into the job market.  (Applause.)
 
And we determined that your capacity to fight for the country you love shouldn’t be contingent on who you love, and we ended “don’t ask, don’t tell.”  (Applause.)  Because there was something quintessentially American about treating everybody equally and judging them on the merits. 

And there were great predictions that this was going to be impossible to do, but we did it.  And you know what, I was in Marine Base Kaneohe in Hawaii during vacation, and while I was working out at the Marine base -- which is a bad idea because they’re all in much better shape than you are -- (laughter) -- on three different occasions people came up and said, thank you for doing that.  And I don’t know whether they were directly impacted or they just had a fellow Marine that was impacted, but they understand this makes us stronger.  It doesn’t make us weaker.

And then, as Robert mentioned, we recognize that our strength at home has to be matched with strength abroad.  But that strength is not just defined by our military might.  It’s also defined by our values and our diplomacy and our respect for rule of law, which is why we ended torture, and why we kept our commitment to responsibly end that war in Iraq. 

That didn’t make us weaker.  It gave us the capacity to refocus our attention on those who had attacked us on 9/11.  And there is a direct line between the strategic decisions we made there and our ability to begin dismantling al Qaeda, and to restore a sense of respect for America all around the world that has huge dividends over the long term -- so that when I took a trip to Asia, rather than feeling neglected or feeling America was no longer relevant, people were hungry for American leadership.  People recognized that we remain the one indispensable nation, not just because we’re big and powerful, but also because we have this idea that there are certain universal principles and universal rights and international norms that have to be observed and that we are perhaps the only superpower in history that obviously is looking out for our own self-interest, but also thinks about what’s good for everybody.  And that is part of our power.

So we’ve been busy these last three years.  And for all the difficulties, and all the challenges, and all the political twists and turns that this journey has taken, I’m here to report to you that all that work you did back in 2008, it's paid off. And you should feel pride and confidence in the fact that change remains possible if you’re persistent, if you’re focused.
 
But I’m also here to report that you shouldn’t feel complacent, because we’ve got a lot more to do.  We’ve got to fully implement health care reform.  We’ve got to fully implement financial reform.  We’ve got to make sure that our Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that is protecting consumers for the first time isn’t rolled back.
 
We’ve still got to get immigration reform done, because we are a nation of immigrants and we’re a nation of laws, and those two things don’t contradict each other.
 
We have to have an even more robust energy policy if we’re going to create the kind of jobs in this new energy sector that are needed and we’re going to deal with climate change in a serious way.

We’ve still got to follow through on the education reforms that we’re doing, and that’s going to require enormous effort.  And we’re going to have to figure out how to pay for all this stuff.  And part of fair play and everybody doing their fair share is making sure that we have an economy in which we’re getting rid of programs that don’t work and we’re making government more efficient.  But it also means people like those of us in this room that have been unbelievably blessed can do a little bit more to make sure that kid around the corner has a chance like we did, and to make sure that that senior is protected -- (applause) -- make sure that student can get a loan that doesn’t leave them broke after they graduate, and to make sure that senior is able to live with dignity and respect after they retire.

All these things can be accomplished, but we’re going to have to feel as determined, we’re going to have to be as focused as we were in 2008.  And that’s not going to be easy because, first of all, I’m older and I’m grayer.  (Laughter.)  So it’s not as new, it’s not as trendy to be part of the Obama campaign -- although some of you still have your posters, I’m sure.  (Laughter.)  And part of it is we’ve gone through three tough years and so people want to hope, but they’ve been worn down by a lot of hardship.

But as I travel around the country, I have to tell you, there’s a core decency to the American people.  There is a resilience to the American people.  There is under all the cynicism, a basic optimism to the American people.  That’s what we tapped into in 2008 and it’s still there.  It’s still there. 

And if we pull together and if we work just as hard, I guarantee you that five years from now we’re going to be able to look back and say, you know what, that change we believed in we delivered.
 
Thank you very much, everybody.  Thank you.  (Applause.)

END  
7:44 P.M. PST

Remarks by the President at a Campaign Event

Private Residence
Los Angeles, California

8:07 P.M. PST

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, everybody.  It is great to see you.  Obviously I want to, first of all, thank the Bell family, Colleen and Brad, for opening up this spectacular venue and for being such incredible friends.  And thanks your kids, too, for putting up with all of us.  (Laughter and applause.)

I want to just make -- in addition to the host committee, I want to make two other acknowledgements.  First of all, your outstanding mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa is in the house.  (Applause.)  And the mayor who is going to be responsible for making sure that we have a great convention in Charlotte, North Carolina -- Anthony Foxx is here as well.  (Applause.) 

So I'm going to be very brief at the top because I want to spend most of this time in conversation and answering your questions, getting your comments and advice. 

We've gone through three pretty tough years in this country. And as I was just telling the crowd outside, I think when I think back to 2008, nobody here got involved in that campaign because you thought it was going to be easy.  The odds were not in favor of Barack Hussein Obama ending up as President of the United States.  (Laughter.)  The reason you got involved was because we shared a vision of what this country should be.

We believed in a country where everybody gets a fair shot. It doesn’t matter who you are, what you look like, where you come from, if you're willing to put in the sweat and hard work, you're able to achieve.  And we believed in a country where everybody does their fair share.  It's not just some people who are required to be good citizens, not just some who are required to the common good, but everybody has to pull their weight.  Whether it comes to service, whether it comes to taxes, whether it comes to participation, whether it comes to caring for those who are vulnerable, all of us are called.

The third idea was a country in which everybody follows the same set of rules, a country based on fair play.  We don't have one set of rules for Wall Street and a different set of rules for Main Street.  We don't have one set of rules for kids who are born into wealthy neighborhoods and another set of rules for kids that are born into poor neighborhoods -- that we expect everybody is showing responsibility and everybody is acting in accordance with some of our deepest-held values.

And that's what the campaign was about.  There were issues, specific things we wanted to accomplish.  We wanted to end the war in Iraq; we ended the war in Iraq.  (Applause.)  We wanted to reinstate rule of law as we're fighting terrorism and stop torture -- and we did that.  We wanted to make sure that we reversed this economic chaos coming out of the recession where we were losing 750,000 jobs a month, and we're now gaining 250,000 jobs a month and have created 3.7 million jobs over the last 23 months.  (Applause.) 

We said that in this country nobody should go bankrupt because they get sick.  This country is too wealthy for us to allow something like that to happen.  And despite all the frustrations and barriers and setbacks that we experienced, we got it done.  And right now 2.5 million kids have insurance right now that didn’t have it before -- 2.5 million.
 
I get letters from young people who say, you know what, I got diagnosed with a treatable cancer -- wouldn’t have had a chance if it hadn’t been for the fact that this health care bill passed, and I was on my parent’s health care plan, and I was able to go in and get a checkup.  That’s happening right now.  (Applause.)

We said that it shouldn’t matter who you love if you want to serve the country you love.  And we ended “don’t ask, don’t tell.”  (Applause.)  And I was telling the folks outside about the fact that when I was out in Kaneohe Marine Base, working out with Marines -- which is a bad idea because -- (laughter) -- they’re in better shape than you are -- on three separate occasions the Marines came up and said, thank you for ending “don’t ask, don’t tell.”  And you know what, I didn’t even ask them, did it apply to you, because it didn’t matter.  The point was they understood that the integrity of our armed forces would be enhanced, not debilitated, when we got rid of that law.

And so there were a bunch of specific objectives and specific issues that we wanted:  Making sure that the kids got health care.  Making sure that we expanded student loans for young people so that the circumstances they were born into wouldn’t be a barrier to their ability to achieve.  Being able to project an America around the world that is based not just on our might but also on our values.

There were specific things that we did in each of those categories.  But the bigger mission in 2008 was everybody getting a fair shot, everybody doing their fair share, everybody playing by the same set of rules.  And that’s still what this election is about.  It’s still what this battle is about in this country.
 
The other side has a very different vision about where they want to take this country.  And they’ve got fervor and sincerity -- a vision that says, you know what, it’s okay if just a few people do very well, and those who are left behind, it’s probably their fault.  And if we just go back to a philosophy that says we slash taxes for those of us who've been most fortunate -- the folks in this room -- that somehow that’s going to be good for everybody else.  If we get rid of regulations that keep our air clean and our water clean, that somehow business will be unleashed.  That if we roll back reforms that were designed to make sure that the kind of recklessness that got us in this mess in the first place, that those same institutions have a free hand, that somehow we’re going to better off.
 
That’s their working theory.  And it’s wrong.  And it’s not who we are. 

And so we’ve got to fight for what we believe in as much now as we fought for it in 2012.  And it’s not going to be easy because there are a lot of folks out there who are still hurting, and there are a lot of people out there who, understandably, after just slogging for three years, and after, maybe, in some cases, slogging for a decade or two decades, and seeing their standard of living deteriorating, and seeing their home underwater, and seeing their families struggling and folks losing jobs -- it’s understandable that some of them may feel discouraged and feel cynical, and say, you know what, nothing changes.

But part of our job is to say, as tough as it is, as incremental as it sometimes seems, things have changed.  And they can change more if we fight for it, if we’re determined, if we have confidence in each other, if we decide to unite instead of divide. 

And I think the American people, beneath all the pain and hurt and frustration that they feel, they still want to believe that that change is possible, and there's still that hope there. They’re optimistic, fundamentally, about this country.  They love it so deeply.
 
And our job over the next year is to make sure that they can channel that fundamental optimism and decency and courage, and come together to create the kind of country that we want for our kids and our grandkids.
 
I mentioned outside I am much grayer now than I was when I started this thing.  (Laughter.)  And Mario Cuomo once said that campaigning is poetry and governance is prose.  And we’ve been slogging through "prose" for the last three years, and sometimes that gets people discouraged.  Because people, they like the poetry.  That’s what’s inspiring.  The prose is frustrating, because it involves compromises, and it involves half-loaves, and it involves getting some progress but not as much as you want.  And so people get frustrated. 

And I guarantee you, there are all kinds of friends of yours who, when you talk to them -- well, Guantanamo is not closed yet, or the war in Afghanistan is still raging, or why isn't it that the housing crisis hasn’t been completely fixed and climate change is still going on.  And I understand that.  I feel the same way sometimes. 

Every morning I wake up and I say, are we doing everything we can to get everything that needs to be done, done right now?  But one of the things that’s happened over the last three years is a recognition that nothing beats persistence.  Inspiration is wonderful, nice speeches are wonderful, pretty posters -- that’s great.  (Laughter.)  But what’s required at the end of the day to create the kind of country we want is stick-to-it-ness.  It’s determination.  It’s saying, we don't quit. 

And we’ll be tacking and zigging and zagging, and sometimes it will feel like there’s no wind behind us, and we’re just sitting there and it’s frustrating.  But that North Star is still out there.  And if you are determined, then you’ll get there.

And this country has always gotten there.  We have always been able to tack towards that North Star.  And we’re not going to stop now.  That’s what this election is about.  That’s why you’re here.  And I couldn't be more excited about the prospect.

All right.  Thank you very much, everybody.  Thank you.  Thank you.  (Applause.)

END          
8:20 P.M. PST