Remarks by the President at a Campaign Event

W Hotel
San Francisco, California 

October 25, 2011
2:25 P.M. PDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, San Francisco!  (Applause.)  Thank you.  (Applause.)  Thank you so much.  Everybody have a seat.  It is wonderful to be back in San Francisco, great to be back in California. 

I want to thank a couple of people, especially, first of all, I want to thank Jack Johnson for flying from Hawaii to perform here.  (Applause.)  Terrific.  He told me the waves are good right now.  (Laughter.)  So this is a big sacrifice.  His nephew is going to Berkeley -- (applause) -- and he's trying to surf here, too, and it's a little colder, he's discovered.  (Laughter.)  But he's going to make a go at it.

I also want to acknowledge the outstanding mayor of Sacramento, who I expect to try to settle the NBA strike, along with the other work he's done -- Kevin Johnson is in the house.  (Applause.)

And even though she had to be back in D.C., I just want to make sure that everybody knows that Nancy Pelosi continues to fight on behalf of you every single day, and she's doing a great job.  (Applause.)  So we're very proud of her.

Now, as I look around the room, there's some people who've been supporting me since I was running for the United States Senate.  And some of you are relatively new to this process.  But I’m here to tell you, whether you're an old grizzled veteran -- (laughter) -- or new to the scene, I need your help.  I need your help.  But I also, more importantly, want to talk to you about how the country needs your help.

I’m here because if you thought the last election was crucial, then I've got to tell you that what happens in this year is going to be more consequential, more important to the future of our kids and our grandchildren than just about any election that we’ve seen in a very long time.

For the past three years, we’ve been wrestling with two kinds of crises -- the worst financial crisis and economic crisis since the Great Depression, but we’ve also been dealing with a profound political crisis.  

All across the country, people are crying out for action.  A lot of folks have spent months looking for work -- they’re living paycheck to paycheck; some are living day to day.  Others are doing their best just to get by.  Maybe they’re giving up going out to a restaurant or going to a movie, in order to make sure that they can pay the mortgage.  There are folks who maybe have delayed retirement so that they can send their child to college. They’re feeling enormous pressure and enormous stress. 

And they’re not looking for that much -- they’re not asking for that much.  They aren’t asking for handouts.  They don’t think that government can or should do everything to solve their problems.  But they do believe what most of you believe, which is that America should be a place where you can make it if you try. That no matter who you are, where you come from, what circumstances you’re born into, that if you’re willing to put in the work and the effort and you do the right thing, that you can make it.  A country where everybody has a fair shake, and everybody does their fair share.  That’s what people are looking for.

And those values, which are reflected in how people deal with each other every day in the workplace and at schools and in their communities and their neighborhoods, they’d like to see those values reflected in Washington as well.  And they haven’t seen enough of that. 

Most folks feel as if the economy works best when it works for everybody, not just those at the very top.  They believe that hard work should pay off, and that responsibility should be rewarded.  And these beliefs are not Democratic values; they’re not Republican values.  They’re American values.  They’re the bedrock of what this country has always stood for. 

While I was in line I met a gentleman who came here from India with 9 bucks in his pocket, and is now the president of a community bank.   This country continues to attract talent from all across the world precisely because people believe that there’s something special about this place where what you put into it means you can get that piece of the American Dream.  And that’s why so many of you worked on the campaign in 2008 -- because you have that same belief.  And you didn't see it reflected in our politics.

Now, three years later, it’s clear that Washington has not gotten the message yet.  That’s why, over the last month, I’ve been hammering at Congress to see if they can actually do something for folks who are hurting out here.  That’s why we introduced a jobs bill that could actually start putting people back to work right now. 

And this is a bill that’s filled with Democratic and Republican proposals.  These are the kinds of proposals that in the past would have gotten bipartisan support  -- tax cuts for workers and small businesses, funding to rebuild our roads and our bridges and our schools and to put construction workers back to work, funding to hire teachers and our veterans.  It’s a bill that’s fully paid for by asking those of us who've been most blessed in this society to do a little bit more, to pay a little bit more. 

So it’s all paid for.  And independent economists -- people who look at this stuff for a living, not the economists who work for me -- say it’s the only jobs plan out there that would create jobs right now, and grow the economy right now.  One economist estimated that we could see as many as 2 million jobs created as a consequence of this bill.  And polls show that Americans overwhelmingly support the proposals that are in this bill -- not just Democrats, but independents and Republicans as well.

But despite all this support, despite the fact that these are bipartisan ideas, despite all the experts who say this would give the economy the kind of jolt that it needs right now, we’ve got Republicans in the Senate who keep on voting against it. 

Last week we had a separate vote on a part of the jobs bill that would put 400,000 teachers and firefighters and police officers back on the job.  And it was paid for by asking people who make over a million dollars a year to pay one-half of 1 percent more in taxes.  So for someone making $1.1 million a year, that’s an extra $500 that would save 400,000 jobs all across the country.  And not just any jobs, but jobs that are vital to the well-being of our kids and our communities.
 
Most people I know who make more than a million dollars a year would make that contribution willingly.  (Applause.)  They’re patriots.  They want to see America strong.  But all the Republicans in the Senate, 100 percent, voted no. 

And their leader, Mitch McConnell, actually said that saving the jobs of teachers and cops and firefighters would be nothing more than a “bailout.”  A bailout?  Now, these aren’t bad actors who acted irresponsibly and recklessly to destroy the economy.  They are the men and women who teach our children, and protect our communities, and risk their lives for us every single day.  They’re heroes and they deserve our support.  And it would be good for all of us, because it would give the entire economy a boost.  

So this is the fight that we’re having right now.  And this is, frankly, what the next year is probably going to be about.  The Republicans in Congress and the folks running for president have made their agenda crystal clear.  They have two basic economic priorities -- two basic proposals:  tax cuts for the wealthiest individuals and biggest corporations paid for by gutting investments in education and research and our infrastructure -- all the things that helped make America an economic superpower; weaken programs like Medicare and our basic social safety net.  That’s one proposal.  And the second proposal is to gut just about every regulation that you can think of.

Now, I agree that there are some rules and some regulations that put an unnecessary burden on businesses at a time when they can least afford it.  And that’s why we’ve already identified 500 regulatory reforms that will save billions of dollars over the next year.  But what we can’t do, and what I won’t do, is to let this economic crisis be used as an excuse to wipe out the basic protections that Americans have counted on for decades.  (Applause.) 

I reject an argument that says we’ve got to roll back protections that ban hidden fees by credit card companies, or rules that keep our kids from being exposed to mercury, or laws that prevent the health insurance industry from exploiting people who are sick.  And I reject the idea that somehow if we strip away collective bargaining rights that we’ll be somehow better off. 

We should not be in a race to the bottom, where we take pride in having the cheapest labor and the most polluted air and the least protected consumers.  That is not a competition we can win.  What we can win is a future in which we have the highest skilled workers, and the best technology, and the best manufacturing, and the best education system, and the best infrastructure.  That’s the race to the future that I want to win.  And I know that’s the race to the future that you want to win.  (Applause.) 

And the worst part of it is, is that it’s not as if this is a new argument that they’re making.  They’ve been making it for decades -- and we tried it for an entire decade.  For an entire decade we cut taxes for people who didn't need it and weren’t asking for it; we basically suspended environment regulations; we didn't do anything with respect to consumers; we didn't reign in health care costs and the health care industry; the financial system pretty much could go and do whatever it wanted.  And the result was the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.
So it’s not as if we haven’t tried what they’re talking about. 

And during that period, for middle-class families, wages and incomes actually fell, even as the economy was growing.  It’s not as if we haven’t tried what they’re selling.  We have.  And it didn't work. 

More than that, their basic idea that the only thing we can do to restore prosperity is to somehow break up government and refund everybody their money through tax cuts and let every company write its own rules and tell every American that they’re on their own -- that’s not who we are.  That’s not the essence of America.   

Yes, we are rugged individualists.  And we’ve got entrepreneurs here and folks who work in Silcon Valley -- you’ve been able to take an idea and go out there and make something out of it.  It’s remarkable.  Changing the world.  And many of you have been rewarded very well for that.  So we take pride in our individualism and our creativity and our self-reliance.  We understand that it’s the drive and the initiative of our workers and our companies that make this economy prosperous.  But there's always been another thread in our history that says we’re all connected; that there are some things we can do better, as a nation, some things we can do better together. 

Because a big chunk of the entrepreneurs who are in this room -- you got an education somewhere and somebody paid for it. You got a college scholarship somewhere along the line, and somebody paid for it.  Somewhere along the line you were able to use platforms and technologies that have been developed because, collectively, we decided we were going to invest in basic research.  There were rules of the road that governed our economic system that allowed you to prosper. 

That, too, is not just a Democratic idea.  Our very first Republican President, Abraham Lincoln, in the midst of a civil war, invested in the Homestead Act and the National Academy of Sciences, and built the Transnational Railroad, and land-grant colleges.  Because he understood that for America to succeed, everybody had to have a shot, and to do that, all of us had to chip in to make that investment.

Dwight Eisenhower understood it when he built the Interstate Highway System and invested in all the math and science education that ended up helping us send a man to the moon.  My grandfather would not have gone to college had it not been for the G.I. Bill -- and there were Republicans in Congress who supported that along with FDR to make that happen.  And as a consequence, not only did millions of Americans end up entering the middle class, but we went on the largest economic boom that we’d ever seen in history.

It’s not just a Democratic idea -- it’s an American idea.  And that’s what we’re fighting for.  That’s what this election is all about.  That’s the reason I’m standing here -- because somebody gave me a shot.  Somebody gave me a fair shake.  And that required folks before me -- not just my mom, not just my grandparents -- but an entire society that was committed and invested in every child having opportunity for me to be able to stand here today.  And that is true for most of you.

So the question is, are we going to continue that story, are we going to continue on that journey for our kids and our grandkids?  That’s what we’re going to have to do today.  If we want to compete with other countries for good, middle-class jobs, then we’re going to have to make America the best place on Earth to do business.  And, yes, that means cutting away unnecessary regulations.  It means making government more efficient and more effective.  Yes, it means bringing down our deficit and reducing spending that we don't need so we can make investments where we do. 

But we can’t just cut our way out of prosperity.  If we want win the future, then we’ve got to invest in education, so that every single child has an opportunity not just to graduate from high school, but to get some secondary education, and get the skills and the training they need to succeed.  If we want businesses to come here, we’ve got to invest in new roads and bridges and airports and wireless infrastructure and a smart-grid.  We’re not going to be able to succeed otherwise. 

We used to have the best stuff.  Anybody been to Beijing Airport lately?  Or driven on high-speed rail in Asia or Europe? What’s changed?  Well, we’ve lost our ambition, our imagination, and our willingness to do the things that built the Golden Gate Bridge and Hoover Dam and unleashed all the potential in this country. 

If we want industries to start here, we’re going to have to make sure that all the research and technology that was developed through programs like DARPA or over at NIH, that that continues. That’s how the next Apple or the next Google or the next Skype ends up being created.  And instead of just buying and consuming things from other countries, we need to go back to what America has always done best, and that is building and manufacturing and selling goods around the world that are stamped with three words -- “Made in America.”  That is something that we can do.  (Applause.)  

So we can’t just go back to an economy that’s built on debt, or built on outsourcing, or built on risky financial ventures that jeopardize our economy and threaten the security of the middle class.  We need an economy that is built to last and built to compete, an economy where responsibility is rewarded and hard work pays off and everybody has a chance to get ahead.  And that’s what we’re fighting for.  That’s what’s at stake right now. 

And that’s why I need your help.  I know times are tough right now, and this has been a difficult three years for a lot of Americans.  And when you look at what’s going on in Washington, it’s easier to become cynical than ever before about the possibilities and prospects of change through our politics.  But here’s what I want you to remember.  The one way to guarantee that change won’t happen is for all of us just to give up, to give in -- to go home. 

The one thing that we absolutely know for sure is that if we don’t work even harder than we did in 2008, then we’re going to have a government that tells the American people, you are on your own.  If you get sick, you’re on your own.  If you can’t afford college, you’re on your own.  If you don’t like that some corporation is polluting your air or the air that your child breathes, then you’re on your own. 

That’s not the America I believe in.  It’s not the America you believe in.  So we’re going to have to fight for the America that we believe in.  And that’s what this campaign is going to be all about. 

And change is hard.  Change takes time.  But change is possible.  It took years to overcome the Great Depression and win World War II.  But when we did we emerged as the most prosperous nation on Earth with the largest middle class in history.  And from the moment that we emerged from that war, then we had other struggles to fight.  It took years for the civil rights movement to culminate not just in Brown v. Board of Education, but ultimately the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act and all the things that we now take for granted. 

It took years from the day that JFK told us we were going to the moon for us actually to get to the moon.  But eventually, because of steady progress, we made that "giant leap for mankind."
 
And even on this campaign journey that we’ve been on together -- I notice that people now have a revisionist history. They say, oh, that campaign was so easy.  It was so smooth.  (Laughter.)  That’s not how I remember it.  (Laughter.)  It was hard.  And you signed up for hard, because you decided to support a candidate named Barack Hussein Obama.  (Laughter.)  Nobody thought that was going to be easy.  (Applause.)  Nobody thought that was going to be easy, but you did it anyway.  You thought it was worth it. 

And today, even though we’ve got a hard road to travel, we can look back on the change that we’ve made over the past three years with enormous pride.  Change is the first bill I signed into law that says in this country an equal day’s work gets an equal day’s pay -- because our daughters need to have the same opportunities as all of our sons get.  (Applause.)
 
Change is not just pulling this economy out of the possibilities of a Great Depression and stabilizing and making sure we didn’t have a financial meltdown, but it’s also making sure that we restored the American auto industry so that it is more profitable than it’s been in a decade.  And, by the way, it’s profitable making cars that are more fuel-efficient than ever before.  And we’ve now doubled fuel-efficiency standards on cars and trucks, which is going to take carbon out of our atmosphere and make us less dependent on foreign oil.  (Applause.)  That’s change that you produced.  That’s what change looks like.  (Applause.) 

Change is the fact that for the first time in our history, you can serve this country that you love regardless of the person that you love.  We ended “don’t ask, don't tell.”  That is change.  (Applause.)

Change is the reforms that we made in the financial system so that you can't have credit card companies charging you hidden fees, and lenders deceiving homeowners into mortgages that they can't afford, and Wall Street banks acting so recklessly that you end up having taxpayers bail them out.  That's change.

Change is keeping the promise that I made when I started this campaign, that this December we will have all of our troops out of Iraq, back home for the holidays.  (Applause.)  And we’re transitioning out of Afghanistan.  And we’ve refocused our efforts on the terrorists who perpetrated 9/11 -- which is why we’ve been able to decimate al Qaeda and make sure that Osama bin Laden never again walks on the face of this Earth.  That's change.  (Applause.)

Change is the thousands of families who are able to pay for college because we took on the banks and the lenders and made tuition more affordable.  Change is the 1 million young adults who already have health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, and the 30 million more that are finally going to be able to get coverage.  (Applause.)  When that law is signed, it will mean for families all across the country they won’t be bankrupt if somebody in their family gets sick. 

So change is possible.  We’ve made change.  And we’ve made it because of you.  And so the question is how committed are you going to be to continue this process. 

I keep a checklist in my drawer of my campaign promises.  About once a week I take it out and make a little check.  (Laughter.)  And we’ve gotten about 60 percent done so far -- in three years.  (Applause.)  But I need another five to get the other 40 percent done -- (applause) -- so we can get comprehensive immigration reform done, and we can have a serious energy policy that finally deals with climate change in a serious way, and make sure that we continue to grow our economy in a way that's productive and makes our kids' futures bright.

We’ve got more work to do.  We’ve got more work to do to reform our education system.  We’ve got more work to do to bring our deficit down in a balanced way.  And I can only do it with you.  You are the ones who produce change. 

This campaign has never just been about me.  It’s always been about you and your commitments to each other, as fellow Americans -- as neighbors and coworkers and friends.  Who are we? What do we believe in?  What do we care about?  What are the better angels of our nature that we want to make sure are reflected in our politics day in, day out?  That’s what you signed up for back in 2007-2008. 

We didn't promise you easy.  But we said that, together, we’ve got this vision for what we want America to look like.  So we made a lot of change, but we’ve got a lot more work to do.  And I know that I’m now a little grayer -- (laughter) -- and it’s not as trendy to be an Obama supporter as it was back in 2008, when I was sort of the new thing, sort of the new new thing.  (Laughter.)  We’ve had setbacks.  We’ve had disappointments.  I’ve made mistakes on occasion -- Michelle reminds me of those frequently.  (Laughter.)  The “Hope” poster is kind of faded and a little dog-eared.  (Laughter.) 

But that vision is still there.  That commitment is still there.  That fundamental belief in the American people is still there. 

So if you’re with me, if you’re all in, if we remind ourselves that America was built because each of us decided to believe in a big, generous, bold America -- not a cramped, small America -- if we remind ourselves that we are tougher than the times that we’re in, and if we remind ourselves that we’re better than the politics that we’ve been seeing, then I’m absolutely confident we are not just going to win this election; we’re going to remind everybody around the world just why it is that America is the greatest country in the world.

Thank you, so much, everybody.  God bless you.  Thank you.  (Applause.)

END
2:55 P.M. PDT 

Remarks by the First Lady at DNC Event -- Plumber's Hall, Chicago, IL

Plumber's Hall
Chicago, Illinois

October 25, 2011
6:26 P.M. CDT

MRS. OBAMA:  Chicago!  (Applause.)  I see all my neighbors, all my friends, all my -- hey, Pauline, how you doing?  Love you guys!  This is so good!  (Applause.)  Thank you.  I am just thrilled to be back home -- even though I don't get to go to my house.  (Laughter.)  But I am thrilled to be with all of you.

I want to start by thanking Sydni for that very kind introduction.  And this is one of those full-circle moments, because I didn’t know Sydni, didn’t know why she was picked.  And then she comes up the rope line, we take a picture -- and her folks, grew up with them, round the corner.  (Laughter.)  Full circle.  Knowing her mom all my life.  (Laughter.)  She is a lovely young lady, just like she's supposed to be.  (Applause.)  So we are so proud of you, Sydni.  Thank you so much. 

I also want to recognize Secretary of State Jesse White who is here this evening.  (Applause.)  Thank you for being here, Secretary White.  Thank you for joining us.  Thank you for your support.  And, finally, I want to recognize our host committee, all of you out there, but particularly two very dear friends of ours -- John Rogers and Les Coney, for all of their outstanding work and their friendship.  (Applause.)

It is so good to be here, so good to see you all.  And I know that there is that all of us are out tonight.  What is it?  Tuesday? 

AUDIENCE:  Yes!

MRS. OBAMA:  A Tuesday night and you're standing up in the hallway -- there's a reason we're here.  (Applause.)  You're here because you know that we stand at a fundamental crossroads for our country.  And you're here because you know that in little over a year we are going to make a choice that will impact our lives for decades to come.  And I know all of you are here because you care about this country, you care about your fellow citizens, more importantly, you care about your kids and your grandkids, and the world that we’re leaving behind for them.  (Applause.)  That's why you're here. 

And that is why I’m here tonight.  And that's why I'm going to be out on this campaign trail, because I care, too.  The beautiful thing about being First Lady is that I have the privilege of traveling all across this country, meeting folks from different backgrounds and hearing what’s going on in their lives.  Every day, I hear about folks' struggles -- the businesses they’re trying to keep afloat, the doctor bills they cannot pay, the mortgage they can no longer afford.  And I hear about how they’re trying to do everything they can to keep it together -- working that extra shift, taking the extra job, how they’re scrimping and saving and sacrificing, many never spending a dime on themselves because they desperately want something better for their kids. 

And make no mistake about it, these struggles are not new.  For decades now, middle-class folks have been squeezed from all sides.  And the cost of things like gas and groceries, tuition have been constantly rising.  The people’s paychecks just haven’t kept up.  So when this economic crisis hit, for that many families the bottom just fell out.  Just fell right out. 

So the question today is, what are we, as a country, going to do about all this?  Where do we go from here?

And I know that amidst all the chatter and the debates -- because there's a lot of that going on -- it can be hard to see clearly what’s really at stake here, because these issues are complicated.  And, truly, folks are busy.  We’re raising our families, working full-time jobs, many of us helping out in our communities at the same time.  And many of us just don’t have the time to follow the news and sort through all of that back-and- forth and figure out how all of these issues connect to our daily lives.  But the fact is that in just over a year now, we are going to make a decision between two very different visions for this country -- very different.

And I am here tonight because when it comes to just about every one of those issues -- from the health of our community, our economic security, to the quality of our schools -- the stakes for our families, and for our country, have never been higher.  Never.

Let’s start with the jobs act that my husband sent to Congress, and understand when we talk about how this bill would give tax cuts to six million small business owners, we’re talking about regular folks who run restaurants and stores and startups that create two-thirds of all new jobs each year -- in this economy, two-thirds.  Understand that we’re talking about people who work themselves to the bone every day to keep these businesses open.  And then they head home and pore over the books late into the night, determined to make those numbers add up.  And we’re talking about a tax cut that could mean the difference between these people hiring new employees, or handing out pink slips -- between keeping their doors open, or closing up shop for good.  That is what’s at stake in this election.

And when you talk about how this bill would extend unemployment insurance for six million Americans, you’re talking about folks who are just weeks away from losing their only source of income.  This is what we're talking about.  So this is literally about whether or not millions of families with children will have food on their tables and a roof over their heads.

It’s about whether folks will have more money in their pockets -- and more money in their pockets means more money in our economy, which means more jobs.  (Applause.)  But more importantly, this is about whether or not we as a country will honor that fundamental promise that we made generations ago, that when times are hard, we do not abandon our fellow citizens.  That's not who we are.  (Applause.)  We do not let everything fall apart for struggling families.  That's not what we do.  (Applause.)  Instead, we say, “There but for the grace of God goes my family.”  Instead, what we remember is that we’re all in this together -- and we extend a helping hand.  That's who we are.  (Applause.)   

That is why, even though some are trying to stop this bill from moving forward, your President, my husband, will not give up.  (Applause.)  He is going to keep fighting for what are common-sense proposals.  Common-sense.  Things like tax cuts for working people, tax credits for businesses that hire unemployed veterans, jobs for teachers and construction workers -- (applause) -- job training for unemployed or low-income people, whether we can rebuild our crumbling schools, refurbishing vacant foreclosed homes and businesses.  Look, all of this -- all of this -- is part of that American Jobs Act.  Common-sense approaches. 

So that is what we’re fighting for.  That is the choice in this election.

And what about the very first bill my husband signed into law -- the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act to help women get equal pay for equal work,  (Applause.)  Now, he did this because, as he put it, we believe that here in America, there are no second-class citizens in the workplace.  (Applause.)  He did it because he understands that when nearly two-thirds of women are breadwinners or co-breadwinners, women's success in this economy is the key to families' success in this economy.  (Applause.)  And closing that pay gap can mean the difference between women losing $500, $100, $50 from each paycheck, or having that money to buy gas and groceries and put clothes on their children’s backs.  That is the choice we’re making in this election.

Let us talk about health care for a minute, because last year, we made history together by finally passing health reform. But wait a minute -- now there are folks are out there talking about repealing this reform.  So today we have to ask ourselves will we let them succeed? 

AUDIENCE:  No!

MRS. OBAMA:  What kind of country are we living in?  Will we let insurance companies deny us coverage because we have preexisting conditions like breast cancer or diabetes? 

AUDIENCE:  No!

MRS. OBAMA:  Or will we stand up and say that in this country, we will not allow our fellow citizens to go bankrupt because they get sick?  Who are we?  Will we let insurance companies refuse to cover basic preventitive care -- things like cancer screenings, prenatal care that save money and save lives? Or will we stand up for our lives -- and, more importantly, for the lives of the people we love?  That is what’s at stake here.  That is the choice in this election.

And think for a moment about what your President has done on education.  Just think about the investments that have been made to raise standards and reform public schools.  This is about improving the circumstances for millions of our children in this country -- children we all know -- kids sitting in crumbling classrooms.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Amen.

MRS. OBAMA:  Kids like Sydni, all over this country, with so much promise.  Kids who could be anything they wanted if we gave them a chance.  Think about how the investments -- tripled investments -- for job training at community colleges that -- just this year.  Your President has done that. 

It’s about millions of hardworking folks who are determined to get the skills they need for the better job and for the better wages; folks willing to do whatever it takes to improve their own lives.  These are folks who are working full-time, raising their kids, but they still make it to that class every evening.  They study late into the night because they desperately want something better for their families.

So make no mistake about it -- this investment in our students, in our workers, will determine nothing less than the future of this economy.  It will determine whether we’re prepared to make the discoveries and to build the industries that will let us compete with any country anywhere in the world.  That’s what’s at stake. 

Let’s not forget what it meant when my husband appointed those two brilliant Supreme Court justices, and for the first time in history -- (applause) -- our daughters and our sons watched three women take their seat on our nation’s highest court.  (Applause.)  But more importantly, let us never forget the impact their decisions will have on our lives for decades to come -- on our privacy and our security, on whether we can speak freely, worship openly, and, yes, love whomever we choose.  That is what’s at stake here.  (Applause.)

Think about how we're finally bringing the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to a responsible end.  (Applause.)  Think about how we’ll be bringing the last of our troops home from Iraq by the end of this year, and, yes, those troops will be able to celebrate the holidays with their families.  (Applause.) 

Just think about what we’re doing to help our veterans and their families get the education to get the employment and the benefits that they’ve earned -- because we believe that in this country we should serve our men and women in uniform as well as they’ve served us.  (Applause.)  And let us not forget how, because we finally ended "don't ask, don't tell," our troops will never again have to lie about who they are to serve the country they love.  (Applause.) 

And think about how we brought to justice, finally, the man behind the 9/11 attacks and so many other horrific acts.  (Applause.)  Think about what it means to have a foreign policy where we work to keep our country safe, but we also restore our standing in the world.  That is what’s at stake in this election. (Applause.)

So make no mistake about it -- whether it’s health care, the economy, education, foreign policy -- the choice we make in this election will determine nothing less than who we are as a country.  But more importantly, it will determine who we want to be. 

Who are we?  Will we be a country that tells our neighbors, who’ve done everything right but are still struggling, “tough luck, you’re on your own”?  Is that who we are? 

AUDIENCE:  No!

MRS. OBAMA:  Or will we honor that fundamental American belief that I am my brother’s keeper, that I am my sister’s keeper -- and if one of us is hurting, then all of us are hurting?  (Applause.)  Who are we? 

Will we be a country where opportunity is limited to the few at the top? 

AUDIENCE:  No!

MRS. OBAMA:  Who are we?  Or will we give every child a chance to succeed -- every child -- no matter where they’re from, what they look like, or how much money their parents make?  Who are we?  (Applause.) 

Will we lose sight of those basic values that made our country great and built our thriving middle class?  Will we rebuild our economy for the long term so that work pays, that responsibility is rewarded, and that everyone -- everyone -- gets a fair shake and does their fair share?  That is the choice we face.  It’s clear.  Those are the stakes.

And believe me, Barack Obama knows this.  He understands these issues because he’s lived them.  He was raised by a single mother who struggled to put herself through school and pay the bills.  And then when she needed help, who stepped in?  His grandmother, waking up every morning before dawn to take a bus to a job at a bank.  His grandmother worked hard.  She was good at what she did.  But for nearly two decades, she was passed over for promotions.  Why?  Because she was a woman.  And she watched men no more qualified then she was, men she had actually trained, climb the corporate ladder ahead of her.
 
So believe me, Barack Obama knows what it means when a family struggles.  He knows what it means when someone doesn’t have a chance to fulfill their potential.  And today, as a father, he certainly knows what it means to want your children to grow up with no limits to their dreams.
 
See, those are the experiences that made him the man -- and, yes, the President -- he is today.  And we are blessed to have him.  (Applause.)  And that is what I hear from my husband when he returns home from a long day, traveling around the country, or working in the Oval Office.  And he tells me about the people he's met.  That’s what I see in those moments of quiet late at night, long after the girls have gone to bed.  He's still up, poring over papers and letters and briefings -- like the letter from the woman dying of cancer whose insurance company won’t cover her care; the letter from the father struggling to pay his family’s bills; oh, and the many letters from young people with so much promise but so few opportunities.

And I hear the passion and the determination in his voice -- say, "You won’t believe what folks are going through."  That’s what he tells me.  He says, "Michelle, this is not right.  We have to fix this.  We’ve got so much more to do." 

See, what you all -- many of you who know this President, right, you’ve known him for years, when it comes to the people he meets, Barack has a memory like a steel trap.  It drives me nuts, because I can’t remember anything.  (Laughter.)  He might not remember your name, but if he's had a few minutes and a decent conversation with you, he will never forget your story because it becomes imprinted on his heart.  And that is what he carries with him every day.  It is our collection of struggles and hopes and dreams.

And that is where Barack Obama gets his passion.  That is where he gets his toughness and his fight.  And that’s why, even in some of the hardest moments when it seems like all is lost and we’re all sweating it -- or we’re sweating him -- (laughter) -- Barack Obama never loses sight of the end goal.  Never.  He never lets himself get distracted by the chatter and the noise.  He has got this gift of just keeping -- moving forward, just seeing the goal line.  (Applause.)

But I have said this before and I know I’ve said it to many of you here, but I will say it again:  He cannot do this alone.

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  He can do it.

MRS. OBAMA:  He cannot do this alone.  He needs your help.  He needs you to make those calls and register those voters.  Get young people involved.  Get people up and out.  Let them know what’s at stake.  He needs you to take those “I’m in” cards, get them signed up.  Sign up your friends and your neighbors and people who are not paying attention.  You know how this goes.  Folks aren’t bothering right now.  Everybody is struggling.  You need to get them focused.  Convince them to join this effort and to invest a little part of their lives in this campaign.  That’s what he needs from you.

But let me tell you again -- and I said this before -- this journey is going to be long and it is going to be hard.  As Barack says, you think it's going to be easy for a man named Barack Obama?  (Laughter.)  Did anybody ever think that would be easy?  (Laughter.) 

And there will be plenty of twists and turns along the way. But the truth is that’s how change always happens in this country.  The reality is change is slow.  Real change doesn’t happen all at once.  But if we keep showing up, if we keep fighting the good fight and doing what we know is right, then we always get there.  We always get there -- maybe not in our lifetime, but maybe in our children’s lifetimes; maybe in our grandchildren's lifetimes, like the people who sacrificed for us.

Because in the end, that is what this is all about.  In the end, we are not fighting these battles for ourselves.  We’re fighting them for our sons and our daughters, for our grandsons and our granddaughters.  We’re fighting for the world we want to leave for them.  That’s what this is about.
 
And I am in this not just as a mother who wants to leave a legacy for my children.  I’m in this as a citizen who knows what we can do together to change this country for the better and what more we still have to do.  (Applause.)  Because the truth is no matter what happens, I believe my girls will be okay, because they are blessed -- and I remind them of that every day.  My girls will have plenty of advantages and opportunities in their lives.  And that’s probably true for many of your children and grandchildren as well.
 
But I think the last few years have shown us the truth of what Barack has always said -- that if any child in this country is left behind, then that matters to all of us even if she is not our daughter, even if he is not our son.  If any family in this country struggles, then we can’t be fully content with our own family’s good fortune, because that is not what we do in America. That is not who we are.  (Applause.)

In the end, we know that we cannot separate our individual story from the broader American story.  Like it or not, we are all in this together.  And that is a good thing.  And we know that here in America, we can shape our own destiny.  We know that if we make the right choices, have the right priorities, we can ensure that everyone -- everyone -- gets a fair shake and a chance to get ahead.
 
So we can’t afford to be complacent, or tired, or frustrated.  We don’t have the time.  It’s time to get to work.  It’s time to get to work. 

So I have one last question:  Are you in?
 
AUDIENCE:  Yes!  (Applause.)

MRS. OBAMA:  Wait, wait.  Are you in?

AUDIENCE:  Yes!

MRS. OBAMA:  Are you ready to work?  Are you fired up?  (Applause.)  Let me tell you, I am fired up.  I’m going to be walking around, running around this country for the next 12 months making sure people understand what’s at stake.  But we have got to be ready to roll up our sleeves and work hard.  This is another battle, but I am looking forward to doing it.  I am looking forward to seeing all of you out there.  You ready to roll? 

AUDIENCE MEMBERS:  Yes!

MRS. OBAMA:  Let's stay fired up!  Thank you all.  God bless you, Chicago.  (Applause.)  It’s good to be home.  Love you all. (Applause.)

END
6:51 P.M. CDT

Remarks by the First Lady at Mayor's Summit on Food Deserts, Chicago, Illinois

Walgreens Store
Chicago, Illinois 

2:55 P.M. CDT

MRS. OBAMA:  Well, goodness.  (Applause.)  Keica, that was beautiful.  You know, we can just stop right there.  (Laughter.) That means so much to all of us, that statement.  So we're just so happy for you, just so proud.  Thank you so much for that kind introduction. 

And I have to tell you, I'm thrilled to be -- I'm so glad that we're doing this here, at home, in Chicago.  (Applause.)  This is just -- it's a truly wonderful homecoming.  And it's a good reason to be here.  And we're not just anywhere -- we're on the South Side -- right?  (Applause.)  On the South Side.  And I am just so proud and honored.

And I want to thank Greg for his leadership.  You can just see how much it means to communities, to families, to individuals.  So thank you.  Thank you for taking the lead.  Thank you for being bold.  Thank you for hiring tremendous staff who have the kind of relationships with their customers and with the rest of the community.  (Applause.) 

And thank you to all the Walgreens staff.  You all should be incredibly proud of yourselves.  This is a great day for you, to celebrate you and all you do, and for being from the community.  I know everybody is from this community as well.

And of course, I have to recognize my dear friend, and Chicago’s Mayor -- still getting used to that.  (Laughter.)

MAYOR EMMANUEL:  So am I.  (Laughter.) 

MRS. OBAMA:  Mayor Emmanuel -- Rahm -- this is tremendous.  We've been talking about doing this for a while.  I am glad that we're here.  Your leadership means so much.  This Mayor's Summit today is just an important step towards what we hope will be a national effort across this country for mayors and cities and towns.

And I also want to recognize Craig Herkert, who's here from SuperValu, as well.  Thank you, Craig, for everything that SuperValu is doing to bring healthy food into this city and cities across America.

And I want to thank all the mayors.  Many of you I've worked with individually.  I've visited your cities -- and I hope to get to all of yours.  I've met the kids in your communities.  We danced, we played games.  It is -- you are setting the tone for what this country can do for our children and our families.  So we should applaud you all as well for your leadership.  (Applause.)

So, of course, I can’t think of a better place to end this summit than here at this store in this community -- because the story of this Walgreens is a story that we want to be telling in cities and in towns all across this nation.  As Keica said, before Walgreens started selling fruits and vegetables and other grocery items, there were not a whole lot of convenient places for people in certain communities to buy fresh produce.  And a lot of folks wound up buying their groceries at gas stations at ridiculously high prices, not the right quality at times, or convenience stores, places with few, if any, healthy options. 

And I saw this growing up in my own community, you know?  Starting out with wonderful grocery stores and places to go -- you could walk down the street.  But slowly, but surely, as the economy changed, many of these resources just disappeared into thin air.  And this is true for so many communities across this country.  This isn't just happening here in Chicago or on the South Side.  In so many neighborhoods, if folks want to buy a head of lettuce for a salad, or some fruit for their kids' lunch, they'd have to take two or three buses, maybe pay for a taxi cab in order to do it, to go into a different community just to do the basics for their kids. 

And a lot of people don’t have the time, and quite frankly, they don't have the money.  That adds to the cost of doing the right thing for your family.  So what we know in our shop is that we can talk all we want about making healthy choices, about the food we serve our kids, but the truth is if parents don’t have anywhere to buy these foods, then all of that is really just talk.  And that's something that I don't like, is just talking about anything. 

And that’s why, last spring, as part of our "Let's Move" initiative, we brought together non-profit organizations and grocery stores, both large and small, and we asked them one simple question.  We asked them, what can we do, together, to start solving this problem?

And I'm happy to say that within a couple of months, we were getting some of those answers.  And that's important for the community to know, is that people do want to do the right thing, particularly when it comes to the health of our children.

Back in July, we unveiled a new collaboration with Walgreens and Walmart, SuperValu, Calhoun Grocer, and Jeff Brown of Shoprite -- and the collaboration was to build or expand 1,500 stores in underserved areas.  The Fresh Works Fund, which is a coalition of companies and non-profits, agreed to dedicate $200 million to this effort.  And altogether, these companies believe that they will serve 9.5 million people currently living in food deserts and create tens of thousands of new jobs.
 
And since then we have seen other companies get on board.  So it wasn’t just those first few.  What we had hoped would happen was that with that leadership of those first few, others would step up to the plate.  And that has happened.  For example, right here in Chicago, ALDI has promised to work with local farms to buy produce directly from the community, as Rahm has mentioned.  And both ALDI and Roundy’s are planning to open new stores as well. 

And the leaders of these companies are making these investments -- which is important for the community -- though they're not doing this just as executives who care about their bottom lines.  As Greg said, these folks are parents and they're grandparents, and they care about their kids and they care about our kids and our kids’ futures.  So they're doing it for the greater good because they know how big the payoff can really be on things like this -- and not just in dollars, but in the lives of our families and communities.  Stories like Keica's, they impact these business leaders. 

Studies have shown that people who live in communities with greater access to supermarkets, they eat more fresh fruits and vegetables -- surprise.  (Laughter.)  And that can have a real impact on the health of our families. 

I mean, truly, we all grew up in communities with grandmothers who cooked two, three vegetables that you had to eat.  (Laughter.)  There was no ifs, ands or buts about it.  But that’s because many of our grandparents, they had community gardens; there was the vegetable man that came around.  There were many other resources that allowed them to have access.  So it’s not that people don't know or don't want to do the right thing; they just have to have access to the foods that they know will make their families healthier. 

So these companies have really made a truly groundbreaking commitment.  And that’s why it was important for me to be standing here with these companies, with these mayors. 

But we’re here today because we all know that these companies cannot fulfill this commitment alone.  They can do a lot, but they need support as well.  We know that a company cannot just show up one day in a neighborhood and start building a supermarket.  They can’t just scout out an empty lot and start setting up a farmers market.  They need to meet land use and licensing requirements.  They need tax incentives that make it worth their while -- their business interest to make it happen.  They need public transportation that will bring customers to their doors.  And most of all, they need to understand the needs of the community that they want to enter so that the people in those communities will come. 

Keica comes here because Walgreens speaks to her.  She has a relationship with the people here.  And the only way that companies can get that understanding is to connect with those communities and understand where they’re coming from. 

And that’s where all of the mayors come in.  That’s where all of you come in.  And I’m not just talking about how you, as mayors, can help with things like zoning and permitting and public safety –- and all that’s critical.  I’m also talking about how you can use your bully pulpit -- your platform as mayors. 

And that might mean doing something like this -- convening other people, other non-profits, foundations, corporations to help pitch in.  It might mean mobilizing community support by working with civic groups and parent groups and health advocates and neighborhood leaders who are engaged with this issue on the ground, and making clear that everyone has a role to play on issues like this.

It might mean planting community gardens in your cities and towns, or bringing in fresh produce trucks, or finding other creative ways to get healthy food into more neighborhoods.  And that’s what Mayor Emmanuel has done here in Chicago.  As he’s said, he is bringing more urban farms -- and more jobs on those farms -- into underserved communities by passing the urban agriculture bill that’s created fish and plant systems across the city that sell their goods to local stores and restaurants that normally wouldn’t have been able to do that without the bill.  And that, in turn, is creating jobs here in the city.  So it’s very important work. 

And we also have people like Mayor Lozano, who’s here from Baldwin Park, California, who we worked with for a good part of the “Let’s Move” initiative.  And in that area, their motto is -- and this is a quote -- “Health is the heart of business."  Health is the heart of business.  And they’re proactively seeking out grocery stores to serve as anchors in new development areas. 

So the notion is you don't start a new development without the basics, like food and places for kids to play and to walk.  They’ve offered low-interest loans to these stores to attract them into areas, and they’ve expedited the paperwork so that construction can begin more quickly for these new stores.  And they worked with one grocer to design a new floor plan where healthier items would be more prominently displayed for shoppers -- because people know if they see it, they buy it.  So if we put the apples up front instead of the candy up front, that’s what mom is going to pick up, or the kids are going to ask for.

These are just examples that show us that success here doesn’t have to cost a whole lot of money, because there are wonderful ideas that can be implemented that don't require more money.  And it’s certainly not about government telling people what to do.  That is not what “Let’s Move” is about, and that’s not what anyone here is talking about. 

We also know that no one-size-fits-all solution is going to work.  Every community and every city and every town are different, but they all have one thing in common -- they all have leaders like all of you who have joined us today who have the power to make a real difference.  And really, that’s all that’s needed, sometimes, is a little power and a little will.

And if we think about it for a minute, just imagine what we could achieve if mayors across the country started taking on this issue.  Just really think about it.  Every mayor of every town, large and small, just said, I’m going to put this issue -- the health of our children -- on the top of the priority list.  Think about all the jobs that would be created.  As we’re seeing here, we just multiply that across the country.  Think about all the neighborhoods that could be transformed, because people want to live in communities where they have resources.  And a grocery store -- a good-quality grocery store -- is the first step.

And think about what it means when our children finally get -- all of our children -- finally get the nutrition they need to grow up healthy.  Think about what that means for the health of our nation -- the health care system -- when healthy kids grow up to become healthy adults -- adults who are less likely to suffer from illnesses like diabetes and heart disease or cancer, that cost us billions of dollars a year.

Think about what it means for our economy when kids have the nutrition they need to focus in the classroom.  Because starting out with that apple really makes a difference in terms of how kids focus and are ready to learn.  And what it means as they grow up into adults with the energy and the stamina to succeed in the workplace and to go on to succeed in life.  And if we transform children’s eating habits today, think about the effect that will have on how they feed their own children in the years to come. 

And that’s really why we start with kids.  Sometimes, grownups, we’re a little bit hard -- we’re a little hardheaded.  Kids, you start them out early, they don't develop those bad habits and they have the information they need for their kids. 

So make no mistake about it -- we’re not just making this generation of kids healthier, but we’re talking about the next generation as well.  And that’s huge.  That’s the kind of impact that all of you here can have; all of you here are having.  So don't underestimate the power of what is going on here, especially to the employees and people who live in the community. This is big stuff. 

So I hope that all of you will continue to lead the way.  I hope that the country and the nation that is watching will decide to pick up this issue and find a way to make it work in their communities.  Because I know we can make a difference -- we’re already seeing it.  If I can tell you how many kids come up to me and tell me that, because of “Let’s Move” they’re eating different, they’ve got their families eating different.  Kids lead the way.  They make us do for ourselves what we would never do on our own -- right? 

So we are making progress.  And with the help of our leaders -- the continued help of our leaders -- we can expand this in such a grand way, and really change the fate of our children and of our nation.

So I’m so proud of all of you.  This has been just a wonderful reason to come back home.  And let’s keep up the good work.

Thank you all.  Congratulations.  (Applause.)

END
3:12 P.M. CDT

Remarks by the President at a Campaign Event

Private Residence
Los Angeles, California

8:27 P.M. PDT

THE PRESIDENT: Hello, everybody! Well, it is good to be here tonight. Everybody please have a seat. Make yourselves comfortable.

Although some of them have already been acknowledged, I just want to say, first of all, thank you to Eva. She is just a powerhouse. I don’t know how much -- (applause) -- I couldn’t say no if she had called me. (Laughter.) So -- and between her and Giselle and all the folks who helped to make this Futuro Fund possible, I am grateful.

To Melanie and Antonio -- could not be more gracious hosts, and their beautiful family. Thank you so much. (Applause.) We are grateful to you.

We have some great guests. Somebody who -- daughter of a Teamster, fighting for working people every single day, and one of my favorite people, just a great member of my Cabinet, Hilda Solis. We are so proud of her. (Applause.)

There are two of my majors -- two -- there are two of my favorite mayors as well: Mayor Villaraigosa and Mayor Castro. They work hard every single day on behalf of their constituents. So we’re proud of them. (Applause.)

One of the finest senators we have in the country, Bob Mendendez of New Jersey is here in the house. (Applause.) And a personal hero of mine, Dolores Huerta is here. (Applause.) Where’s Dolores at? Where is she? There she is back there. We love her.

Before I came to Los Angeles today, I was in Las Vegas. And I think as many of you know, Las Vegas has been hit as hard as any part of the country as a consequence of a housing bubble that burst. Unemployment is higher than it is any place in the country. There are more homes that are underwater than just about any place in the country.

And we went to announce a new program that we have for refinancing of mortgages, because so many people are having difficulty refinancing, taking advantage of these low rates. Their mortgages are now higher than what the homes are being valued for, and as a consequence the banks won’t refinance. And so we took some executive action to try to get this fixed.

But what was interesting was the setting. We went into this subdivision and we visited the home of the Bonillas -- Jose and Lissette. And their story is a classic American story. Jose had come here 26 years ago as an undocumented worker. And he got a job sweeping floors in a supermarket.

He met Lissette, who was also undocumented, and was a housekeeper. And when the amnesty program came, they were able to get legal status here in this country. They had three beautiful children, and for 17 years they lived in a one-bedroom apartment -- all three, the three kids in bunk beds in one room and Jose and Lissette slept in the living room. And that’s how they raised their family. But they worked incredibly hard, they saved. Eventually each of them got U.S. citizenship. And Jose rose up through the ranks until he was finally a manager at this supermarket. But they still didn’t have enough money for a home. And then a program that we had set up, that we’re now trying to replicate all across the country, took homes that were vacant, that had been foreclosed on, and converted them. And so they finally got their first home.

And they invited in the President of the United States, after apologizing to their neighbors for blocking the streets -- (laughter) -- to their home, and we sat around the dining room table and talked about their life and their experience and what was happening to their friends and neighbors and those who had lost their homes and those whose families had been separated. And at one point in the conversation, Jose says, “Understand our dream is not complete. Our dream will not be complete until my children have all gone to college, and they have a home of their own, and everybody here in this country understands that they are full-fledged Americans.” (Applause.)

Now, what struck me in this conversation was not how unique their story is but how typical their story is of what built this country -- that spirit of being willing to take enormous risks, of coming to a new land, of charting a new course, of starting at the bottom and working your way up, of putting your blood, sweat and tears into this distant vision for the future. That’s what built this country. That’s the essence of America; that’s its foundation. And when I ran for President I ran not because of the title, not because of a pursuit of power, but because I so deeply believed in those ideals and those values -- (applause) -- that helped to propel this country forward and made it a beacon for all the world.

That’s what America is. That’s why all around the world even today people still think about this country differently than they think about other countries, no matter how critical they may be sometimes, no matter how frustrated they may be. The American ideal, the American creed is one that animates the entire world. And I ran for President because I want to make sure that this country remains that beacon and remains that ideal. (Applause.) And that the hopes of the Joses and the Lissettes, people all across the country, regardless of their station, regardless of what they look like, regardless of where they come from, that they’re going to be able to have that piece of the American Dream.

Now, part of the reason that I ran was because too many people felt that dream slipping away. For a decade, we saw that dream neglected. And so even though some of us were extraordinarily fortunate, those of us at the very top were doing very well, the average family saw their wages flatline, their incomes flatline -- even as the cost of everything from a college education to their health care to their groceries to their gas was going up. More and more people felt like they were working harder just to stay in the same place, or not to fall behind.

We had a health care system that was broken. We have an energy policy that leaves us subject to the whims of the world oil market. We had a Washington that seemed less and less responsive to those values and ideals that we believe in so deeply. And this was all before the worst economic crisis and the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

And so we came in knowing that those problems hadn’t been created overnight; they weren’t going to be solved overnight. But what we were determined to do was to start realigning Washington to our best selves, not our worst; to start pushing to make sure that folks’ voices were heard and that we went back to a system in which everybody has a fair shake, everybody gets a shot, that if they’re willing to try they can make it in this country; and where we ask a fair share from everybody. And that’s what we’ve been working on over the last three years. And it hasn’t always been easy; the other side has been fighting us every step of the way.

But despite that, we brought about change. Despite that, we got health care passed, and 30 million Americans are going to have health care in this country. (Applause.) And a million young people already have health care now that didn’t have it before. Despite the resistance we were able to not only prevent this country from going into a Great Depression, and stabilized the financial system, but were also able to pass financial reform so that we never have the same kinds of irresponsibility on Wall Street again. (Applause.) And we have consumers protected, and people, including in places right here in this city, are protected from unscrupulous mortgage brokers and from credit card companies that are charging hidden fees and taking advantage of families. (Applause.)

Despite the resistance, we were able to make sure that anybody can serve this country that they love -- (applause) -- put an end to “don’t ask, don’t tell.” Despite their resistance, we were able to bring about an end to a war and start bringing our troops home. (Applause.) Despite that resistance, we were able to stop sending $60 billion to banks for the student loan program and start sending that $60 billion to students and expand the Pell Grant programs -- (applause) -- and expand access to college.

And all this has made a incredible difference to people all across the country. And that’s before you even get into the amazing work that the Cabinet has done -- of people like Hilda Solis making sure that workers are treated fairly and not exploited by their employers -- (applause) -- and working in concert with people like Bob Menendez, making progress across a whole range of issues.

So we’ve seen change. We know what it looks like. We know what it takes. But we’ve got so much more work to do. And I keep a checklist in my desk, and I kind of see, all right, I made a bunch of these promises during the campaign -- (laughter) -- and let me see, yes, I got that done -- (laughter) -- and that one, yes. No, that one’s not done yet. (Laughter.)

So we’ve got about 60 percent done in three years but -- (applause) -- so I’m pretty confident we can get the other 40 percent done in the next five years. (Applause.) But to do that, I’m going to need your help. To do that I am going to need your help, because this campaign, this presidency was never about me; it was about you. It was about the commitments you made to each other. It was about giving voice to the aspirations and the hopes and the dreams of your friends and your neighbors and your family. It’s about folks in this room, all of whom have been incredibly successful, remembering that we’re successful because somebody allowed us to be successful, because our parents worked hard.

Just meeting Eva’s parents, from San Antonio, and I thought how proud they must be, but also the sacrifices they made. Remembering that the history of this country is, is that we have always have had to make investments in the future -- in our kids, in our grandkids. And those are commitments that you made to each other when you signed on to this campaign those three or four years ago.

So we’ve got more work to do, because the economy is still hurting right now. I’ve been spending the last month trying to get Congress to do something about jobs in this country. We’ve put together a jobs proposal that contains the best Democratic and Republican ideas. Historically, these are things that both sides support: putting construction workers back to work rebuilding our roads and our bridges and our hospitals so we’ve got the best infrastructure in the world. (Applause.) Rebuilding our schools -- we’ve got kids in trailers all across the country. They’ve got science labs that were built in the 1960s. What are we doing? We’re in the 21st century. Put those folks back to work. Put teachers back in the classroom. (Applause.) We can’t be laying off teachers. We’ve got to be hiring teachers right now so our kids are doing better than any other kids around the world in terms of math and science and technology.

Giving tax breaks to small businesses so they can excel and hire more people. Giving them tax breaks for hiring our veterans. (Applause.) We ask these incredible men and women in uniform to put the pause button on their careers, to leave their families, to put themselves at risk. They shouldn’t have to fight for a job when they come home. We should be doing everything we can to put them back to work, right now. And yet 100 percent of Republican senators so far have said no. Maybe it’s just because I proposed it. (Laughter.) Because the American people support it. It’s paid for. Economists say it would create almost 2 million jobs.

So that’s what we’re up against. We’re going to have to fight for jobs. We’re going to have to fight to have the kind of energy policy that makes sure that we’re freeing ourselves from dependence on foreign oil. We are going to have to fight to make sure that we’re continuing to improve our schools all across the country. And yes, we are going to have to fight to make sure that immigration reform is a reality in this country. (Applause.)

I want to make a special point about this, because Giselle, she -- (laughter) -- she’s opinionated, so she comes up to me and -- before we come out, and she’s like, “Barack, we got to” -- I won’t tell exactly what she said, because there’s still press here, and it would have to be edited out. (Laughter.) She said, “That’s true.” She said, “Yes, that’s true.” (Laughter.)

But I want to be clear: I believe this is a nation of laws, and this is a nation of immigrants. And those two things don’t contradict each other. We have a system that is broken, and we are doing everything we can administratively to try to lessen the pain and the hardship that it’s causing. Yes, to make sure our borders are secure, but also to say that families like the Bonillas, who are here, they are building this country, they are making it better, they are making it stronger, and we’ve got to give them opportunities. (Applause.)

And it makes no sense -- it makes no sense for us, at a time when we’re competing with talent all around the world, to have kids here who are excelling in school, who want to go to universities, who want to get an engineering degree or get a business degree and start some enterprise that could end up growing into the next Apple and the next Google, and we want to send them away? These American kids? These kids who grew up alongside our children? It makes no sense.

But again, I’m going to need your help. Because we’re not going to be able to get this done by ourselves. We’re going to have to mobilize and we’re going to have to organize, and we’ve got to tap into those best instincts of the American people in order to make it happen. But we’re going to get it done. (Applause.) We are going to get it done. Have no doubt -- (applause) -- that we’re going to get it done.

But here’s my final point: In order to get it done, we’ve got to have the same determination, the same focus, the same hard-headedness, the same passion that that family I saw in Las Vegas today has; the same determination that our parents and our grandparents or great-grandparents had. We’ve been through tougher times before in this country. We’ve been through slavery and Jim Crow and a Civil War and two World Wars and a Great Depression. And there have been times where most of the folks in this room wouldn’t have had opportunity of the sort we have today. We’ve been through tougher times.

But somewhere along the way, somebody said it doesn’t have to be like that. We can imagine something better. We are determined to create a better future. That’s what the Futuro Fund is all about. And that’s what this campaign has always been about. This campaign has never been about glitz and glory, or just the blind pursuit of power. That’s not why we got involved. That’s not why you guys signed up back in 2007, 2008. You supported a candidate named Barack Hussein Obama; the odds were not in your favor. (Applause.) The odds were not in your favor.

You knew it wasn’t going to be easy. (Laughter.) If you thought it was going to be easy you would have signed up for somebody else. You knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but you also knew that if we pulled it off, it would be worth it. And so I was joking with some folks -- well, not joking, really -- I’m a lot grayer now than I was then. (Laughter.) And these president years are dog years. (Laughter and applause.) And so there’s not the same excitement, it’s not quite as cool as it was. Nobody -- folks, I don’t know if you guys still have those “Hope” posters; they’re all kind of –- (applause) –- all kind of dog-eared.

But here’s the message I want to deliver to you today -- is, don’t get weary. (Laughter.) Don’t get tired. Because I’m not tired. I may be gray, but I’m not tired. (Applause.) My passion is still there. My commitment is still there. (Applause.) My vision for this country is still there. (Applause.) And if you’re still there, then we’re going to win this election, and we are going to create the kind of America that our children and our grandchildren deserve.

God bless you. God bless the United States of America. (Applause.)

END
8:51 P.M. PDT