Remarks by the First Lady at the Poetry Student Workshop

State Dining Room

2:36 P.M. EDT

      MRS. OBAMA:  Hey!  Thank you, everybody.  (Applause.)
      Good afternoon!

      AUDIENCE:  Good afternoon!

      MRS. OBAMA:  Like that.  That's good.  I like the (inaudible) part.  (Laughter.)

      Well, again, let me welcome you all to the White House.  I am thrilled to be here today and to have you all here today.

      I want to start by thanking Tiesha for that wonderful poem and those words and that attitude and that suit and everything else that goes along with it.  (Laughter.)  I had a terrific time visiting the students at your school.  You weren’t in the classroom, but you all were a terrific challenge.  It was an honor for me.

      And I also -- before I go any further -- I want to acknowledge one of my dear friends who is here with us, the First Lady of Mexico, Mrs. Margarita Zavala, who is here, right here.  (Applause.)

      Yeah, I get to meet a lot of First Spouses in my work, and sometimes you just click with people, and this woman, who is an attorney, she’s a passionate advocate for young people in her home country and around the world, she’s somebody that I click with.  And she happened to be here, and I was like, you got to come, you got to come and check this out.  So I’m pleased that she’s been able to join us today.

      I see some -- a bunch of people around here.  I won’t start naming names, but we’ve got a pretty good room full of people here.  So I want to thank the extraordinary group of poets and artists who’ve taken time out of their busy schedules to run today’s workshop.

      My dear friend, Elizabeth Alexander -- hey.

      MS. ALEXANDER:  Hey.  (Laughter.)

      MRS. OBAMA:  Rita Dove, Billy Collins, Kenny Goldsmith, Alison Knowles, and Aimee Mann, let’s give them a round of applause.  We’ll get to hear from these folks.  (Applause.)

      They have moved and inspired so many of us with their words and their music, and we’re honored to host them here at the White House.

      And finally I want to recognize all of the student poets who are here today.  You all are the reason why we do this workshop.

      So we’re going to do this big, fancy poetry reading this evening, and that's all fun, and we’re going to hear some stuff.  It’s going to be good.  But this is the real reason, this workshop today, this is why we do it, because we’ve flown you guys here from all over the country because we want you to be a part of this conversation, sitting here in the State Room of the White House of the United States of America, because you’re just that important, right?  You’re just that important.  And this is the best part of the day, every time we do these.  It’s today.  So thank you for being here.

      I was a budding writer.  Elizabeth doesn’t know this.  She thinks she knows everything about me.  But when I was young, I was a passionate creative writer and sort of a poet.  That's how I would release myself.  Whenever I was struggling in school, or didn’t want to go outside and deal with the nonsense of the neighborhood, I would write and write and write and write.

      So this workshop and celebrating you all is important to me, as well, because I think it was my writing that sort of prepared me for so much of what I’ve had to do in my life as an adult.

      But you all come from all different backgrounds and different schools and different states across the country.  But all of you students have one thing in common, and that is that same passion for poetry and writing that I had when I was young, and I understand that you all are a pretty talented bunch.  I think that's why you got to come here, because you’re pretty good at what you do.  (Laughter.)

      As poets, you all work wonders with the English language, arranging, rearranging words to tell stories and help paint pictures.  That was something I loved to do with words, is just to paint a picture and make it real so that you felt like you were right there; to evoke the emotions of your readers.

      But in addition to being very talented, you all are something that -- what I think is even more important for being a poet, and that is you’re brave.

      Robert Frost once wrote, “A poem begins as a lump in the throat.”  In writing poetry, you all put words into that kind of emotion.  You give voice to your hopes, your dreams, your worries and your fears.  And when you do that, when you share yourself that way, and make yourself vulnerable like that, you’re taking a risk.  And that's brave.  Not many people are willing to do that, to put themselves out there like that.

      And when you write poetry, you’re not just expressing yourself.  You’re also connecting to people.  And that's the key to everything we want to be and do as human beings -- is our ability to connect to one another.

      Think about how you feel when you read a poem that really speaks to you; one that perfectly expresses what you’re thinking and feeling.  When you read that, you feel understood, right?  I know I do.  You feel less alone.  I know I do.  You realize despite all our differences, there are so many human experiences and emotions that we share.

      And poetry doesn’t just show us how much we share.  It also exposes us to wonderful new ideas and experiences.  It helps us see the world in an entirely different way.

      As Rita Dove once wrote, “What writing does is to reveal.  A good poem can awaken our senses and help us notice things that we’ve never noticed before.  It can take us to places we’ve never gone -- to a mountaintop or a battlefield or a city halfway around the world.”  And I know that writing poetry is not easy.  I know that sometimes you really got to work hard to make it happen.  I know that it can be discouraging when you’re struggling with writer’s block and you can’t find that word that is just right, or get that line exactly the way you want it to be.

      I know I was talking to Malia last night -- was working on a paper, and it’s her first draft.  And she said, I hate first drafts.  (Laughter.)  It’s the toughest thing, is the first draft.  And I know that feeling.  I know we all know that feeling of the first draft.

      But when you start to feel that kind of frustration, when you feel like you’ve been working on a poem forever but it’s just not coming together, I want you all to know that you’re not alone.  Rita Dove goes through as many as 50 or 60 drafts when she’s writing a poem.  I try to tell my kids that all the time.  It is not the first draft.  There’s no such thing as a first draft.  You write and you write and you write.  And for Rita, she might take as long as two years to finish a poem.  Is that true?  Does it take you two years to finish a poem, Elizabeth?

      MS. ALEXANDER:  Upon occasion.

      MRS. OBAMA:  See there?  So even the best.  So I want you all to keep at it.  Keep taking those risks.  Keep having the courage to share your work, which is so important.  That was the best part of writing -- it was reading it back to my mother, making them sit and listen to my work.  And I also had to read it and perform it.  So keep sharing, keep reading poetry, and learning from other poets.  And even if you don’t grow up to be a professional poet, I promise that what you learn through reading and writing poetry will stay with you throughout your life.  It will spark your imagination and broaden your horizons and even help your performance in the classroom.  And that’s what Melody was talking about just a little while ago.

      That’s why it is so critically important that we integrate the arts into schools.  It is a must.  It’s critically important that we continue to encourage after-school programs and engage community partners to help young people like all of you develop your gifts and to fulfill your potential.  This is not an option.  This is a must.

      For so many young people this will be the air they breathe, the reason they keep going to do the right thing.  That’s what you’ll all be doing today here with these brilliant poets and artists.  This is a true gift to you all to be in this room with these people.  They will share their own stories with you; give you tips and advice that are invaluable.

      So I hope that you take the fullest potential of your time here in the White House.  I want you to ask lots of questions and listen carefully.  Do not be afraid.  Don’t let the cameras or the lights intimidate you.  We’re just here.  I just happen to be the First Lady, but that’s not a big deal.  (Laughter.)  Hard to say.  Because these folks have a lot of wisdom to share, and I know that they are as excited as I am to be sharing it with you.

      And know that, as I always say, you got to keep passing it on.  You got this experience to be here, right?  So you are fortunate.  You are blessed.  So the question after this is what are you going to do to pass it on?  What are you going to do to give this gift back -- because not everybody could fit in this room.  If we could, we would have had -- it’s small rooms.  The White House seems big; kind of small.  So it’s up to all of you to keep passing this on.

      So with that, I’m going to stop talking so that all of you can start learning.  Thank you again for joining us at the White House.  You’re going to get to see the performance this evening.  So we’ll wave to you into the cameras.  So I hope you have a wonderful time today.  I’m going to sit for the first session and hear a little bit, but we’ll probably get up while you keep going.  So with that, do I turn it over to you, Elizabeth?

      MS. ALEXANDER:  Yes, you do.

      MRS. OBAMA:  All right.  It’s on you.  (Applause.)  Thank you all.

                             END           2:46 P.M. EDT

Remarks by the President at a DNC event in Austin, Texas

Moody Theater

Austin, Texas

5:49 P.M. CDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, Austin!  Thank you.  Thank you so much.  It is good to be back in Austin!  (Applause.)

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  We love you!

THE PRESIDENT:  I love you back!  (Applause.)  I love Texas -- (applause) -- and I especially love Austin.  (Applause.)  Love this city.  It was always one of my favorite places to visit during the campaign.  And I intend to drop by a few more times during this campaign.  (Applause.)

Can everybody please give it up for Robert Earl Keen one more time?  (Applause.)  During the campaign, I was up here -- I was singing with some folk.  But I kept my day job.  (Laughter.)

It is wonderful to see all of you.  I really do just have incredible memories of this city.  This may -- I think this may be the last time I took a walk, was here in Austin.  It was right before a debate and I started walking down the river and at the time nobody quite noticed me.  (Laughter.)  And I got pretty far down from the hotel and then somebody said, you’re Obama, aren’t you?  (Laughter.)  And that was it.  (Laughter.)  Secret Service started coming around and -- but I had wonderful memories of this place and I have so many good friends here.  It is great to see all of you.

It is also great to be out of Washington, D.C.  (Applause.)  Now, don’t get me wrong, D.C. is a wonderful town.  But the conversation in Washington -- did somebody fall?  (Laughter.)  You guys all right?  Those photographers are incorrigible.  (Laughter.)  The conversation you hear in Washington is just very different from the conversation you’d hear around the kitchen table, or around the office coolers.  And that’s why we recently decided our reelection campaign will be the first one in modern history to be based out of Washington, D.C.  We’re going back to Chicago.  (Applause.)  We are going back to Chicago.  I was thinking about coming to Austin -- (applause) -- but I had to go home.

Because I don’t want our campaign to only be hearing from pundits and lobbyists and political insiders.  I want our campaign to be hearing from the folks who got me to the Oval Office.  I want to be hearing from you.  I want to make sure we’re putting the campaign in your hands -- the hands of the same organizers, the same volunteers, the same ordinary people who did extraordinary things the last time around.  That’s what this campaign is still about.

Now, I’ll confess a few things have changed since that time.  A few of us are a little bit older.  Some of us are a lot grayer.  (Laughter.)  But all of us I hope can still remember that night in Grant Park -- (applause) -- the excitement in the streets, the sense of possibility in the air.  And I hope you also remember what I said back then -- that that wasn’t an ending, that was just the beginning.  It was just the beginning of what we knew was going to be a steep climb.

Now, I confess I didn’t know how steep it was going to be. (Laughter.)  It turned out we took office in the middle of the worst recession in our lifetimes, one that left millions of Americans without jobs, hundreds of thousands without homes.  It was a recession that’s so bad that a lot of families are still dealing with the aftershocks to this day.

And so coming in, we immediately had to take a bunch of tough decisions.  And they were not always popular.  But two and a half years later, an economy that was shrinking at about 6 percent is now growing again.  (Applause.)  Over the last three months, just the last three months alone, we’ve added about a quarter -- about three-quarters of a million private sector jobs just in the last three months.  Over the last 14 months, we’ve added more than 2 million private sector jobs to our economy.  (Applause.)  

Some of the things that folks said wouldn’t work, they’ve worked.  Remember our intervention in the auto industry when a whole bunch of folks were saying, let it go by the wayside?  G.M. is now hiring back all of its workers.  All of the Big Three automakers are expecting to make a profit again.  (Applause.)  

So we’ve made progress, but we still got some climbing to do, so don't take off your boots.  (Laughter.)  Because the summit we want to reach is one where every child in America has opportunity.  It’s one where we’re looking out for one another, whether we’re poor or disabled or infirm or in our golden years.  It’s one where America is more prosperous then ever before, and all Americans are sharing in that prosperity.  That's the summit we want to reach.  And it’s going to take more than a couple years to get there.  In fact, it’s going to take more than one term to get there.  (Applause.)  It’s going to take more than one term.

And I’m reminded every night when I -- some of you know I get letters from all across the country, and I read 10 of them every night.  And I get letters from people who are really working hard, doing everything right, but they can barely afford to keep up, barely keep their families afloat.  You get a letter from somebody who has sent out 50 resumes and hasn’t gotten an answer back.  You get a letter from a child who says their parents are having to sell their homes -- Mr. President, is there anything you can do?

Those are the Americans I’m thinking about every day when I wake up in the morning, and every night when I go to bed.  And they're the reason you elected me President.  You didn't elect me President for a fancy title or a nice place to live, you elected me to bring about real change in the lives of people all across this country and make sure everybody is getting a fair shot at the American Dream.  That’s why you elected me.  (Applause.)

And because of you, we’ve made great progress.  I want you to remember that.  We have made incredible progress.  Sometimes, folks forget.  Progress shouldn’t make us complacent, but it should remind us that change is possible.

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Thank you for getting bin Laden.

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, there you go.  (Applause.)  Case in point.  (Applause.)  It should inspire us to finish what we started.  Because of you, we were able to prevent a second Great Depression.  But in the next few weeks, in the next few months, the next few years, we have to make sure that the new jobs in industries of our time are created right here in the United States of America.  We have to make sure that America is prepared to win the future.

Because of you, we have ended taxpayer subsidies that were going to banks under the student loan program.  We’re taking that money, billions of dollars, and making college more affordable for millions more students, including those right here in Austin at UT -- (applause) -- including right here.  (Applause.)

We’ve raised standards for teaching and learning in schools across the country by launching something we call Race to the Top.  We’ve got to keep on going, though.  Our reforms are not done.  I want every child in Texas and every child in America ready to graduate, ready to go to college, and actually able to afford going to college.  That’s how we’re going to out-compete and out-educate the rest of the world.  That’s how America will succeed in the 21st century.  Because of you, we made the largest investment in clean energy, renewable energy in our history -- (applause) -- investments that are already creating new jobs and new businesses.

But we’ve got more work to do.  Some of you may have noticed gas prices are a little high.  And with all the instability around the world we’ve got to keep making those investments in alternative energy.  And to help pay for it, by the way, because we’ve got to worry about our fiscal situation, it’s time to eliminate the $4 billion in taxpayer subsidies that were given to oil and gas companies -- (applause) -- $4 billion of your money that they’re making for record profits while you’re struggling at the tank.  Instead of subsidizing yesterday’s energy sources, let’s invest in tomorrow’s energies.  (Applause.)

Because of you we’re putting hundreds of thousands of people back to work repairing crumbling roads and bridges, our infrastructure.  But now we’ve got to make sure America is built to compete in the 21st century -- not just new roads and bridges, but high-speed rail lines and high-speed internet.  We always used to have the best stuff.  Texas knows something about that.  But today South Korea has faster high-speed Internet than we do.  China has got high-speed rail.  It doesn’t have to be that way.  We created the Internet.  Austin knows a little bit about the high-tech industry.  We should be leading the world when it comes to cutting-edge technologies and innovation.

Because of you we did what we’ve been trying to do for almost a century.  We said health care should no longer be a privilege, it should be a right in this country.  (Applause.)  Everybody should get affordable health care in this country.  (Applause.)  They said we couldn’t get it -- couldn’t do it, and we did it.  We said in the United States of America, you should never go broke because somebody in your family gets sick.

Because of you we passed Wall Street reform that helps make sure you aren’t cheated when you apply for a mortgage or take out a credit card, and we don’t have to bail out banks anymore.  We passed a law that says women should get an equal day’s pay for an equal day’s work.  (Applause.)  And while we were at it we put two more women on the Supreme Court, including the first Latina.  (Applause.)

Because of you we overturned “don’t ask, don’t tell” so everybody in this country can serve the country they love.  (Applause.)  We removed 100,000 troops from Iraq.  We ended combat missions there, just like I promised we would.  We’re taking the fight to al Qaeda.  And because of the extraordinary bravery of the men and women who wear this nation’s uniform and the outstanding work of our intelligence agencies, Osama bin Laden will never again threaten the United States of America.  (Applause.)  We couldn’t be prouder of them.

But we’ve still got more work to do.  We’ve still got more work to do when it comes to keeping America safe and making sure America is prosperous.  We’ve got to move forward on a whole bunch of challenges that are still facing this nation.

I was just down in El Paso before I came here.  And we needed to -- yes, nice place, El Paso.  (Laughter.)  And I talked about how we need to confront the challenge of immigration and pass comprehensive immigration reform that upholds our tradition as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants.  We can do that.  (Applause.)

We’ve got to break the cycle of one energy crisis after another and bring about real energy reform that grows our economy.  I know oil is big in Texas, and that's fine.  We’ve got as much production going on as we have since 2003 right here in the United States of America, but we only have 3 percent of the world’s oil reserves.  We use 25 percent of the world’s oil.  We’re going to have to free ourselves from the grip of foreign oil, and we can clean up the planet in the process if we make the investments in basic research that are necessary.  (Applause.)  We want to leave America better off than we got.  (Applause.)

So ultimately that's what this budget debate in Washington is all about.  It’s about who we are.  It’s not just about numbers.  It’s about our values, what we care about, the kind of country we believe in.

Now, I believe in an America where government lives within its means.  We need to cut spending in Washington.  We need to cut domestic spending, defense spending, health care spending, spending in our tax code.  We’ve got to eliminate every dime of waste.  And if we’re serious about taking responsibility for the debt we owe, then we’ve got to make some tough decisions about the things that we can afford to do without.

We all need to share and sacrifice, but we’re not going to reduce our deficit by sacrificing the things that have always made us prosper.  I’m not going to sacrifice our investment in education.  I will not sacrifice scholarships to students.  (Applause.)  I will not sacrifice medical research for our scientists.  I will not sacrifice our highways and our airports, making sure they're safe.  I will not sacrifice investments in clean energy at a time when our dependence on foreign oil is causing folks so much pain at the pump.  I’m not going to sacrifice America’s future.

If we want to reduce our deficit, our sacrifice has to be shared.  And that means even as we’re making spending cuts, we also have to end the tax cuts to the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans in this country.  (Applause.)  It’s not because we want to punish success.  It’s because if we’re going to ask Americans to sacrifice a little bit, we can’t tell millionaires and billionaires that they don't have to do a thing.

I don't want a $200,000 tax cut that’s paid for by asking 33 seniors each to pay more than $6,000 in extra Medicare costs.  I don’t want that.  I don’t want my tax cut paid for by cutting kids out of Head Start or doing away with health insurance for millions of people on Medicaid, seniors in nursing homes and poor children and middle-class families who are raising a child with a disability like autism.  That’s not a tradeoff I’m willing to make.

And I don’t believe that’s a tradeoff that most Americans are willing to make, no matter what party you belong to.  It’s not who we are as a country.  We’re better than that.  See, what makes America great is not just the scale of our skyscrapers, the might of our military, the size of our GDP.  What also makes us great is the character of our people.

We’re rugged individualists, especially here in Texas.  We’re self-reliant.  We don’t like being told what to do.  We believe each of us is endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights and liberties.  That’s part of what makes us American.  We’re proud of that.

But what also makes us American is the idea that we’re all in it together; that I am my brother’s keeper, that I am my sister’s keeper; and that when I look out for somebody else, it’s not out of charity.  It’s because my life is better.  My life is richer.  (Applause.) Because I’m driving down in Austin and I see some kids playing, I know they’re in a good school.  And I see some seniors taking a walk together holding hands, I know that they’ve got some security.  And if I go by a small business owner, I know that they’ve got opportunity.  That’s -- that makes my life better -- when I know that the people around me have some measure of security and dignity and a shot at the American Dream.

That’s our vision of America.  It’s not a vision of a small America.  It’s a vision of a big America, a bold and optimistic America, an America that does big things.  It’s a vision where we’re living within our means but we’re still investing in our future; where everybody is making sacrifices, but nobody alone bears all the burden; where we live up to the idea that no matter who you -- what you look like, or who you are, no matter whether your ancestors landed on Ellis Island or came over here on a slave ship or crossed the Rio Grande, that we’re all connected to one another, and that we rise or fall together.

That's the idea at the heart of America.  (Applause.)  That's the idea at the heart of this campaign.  (Applause.)  And that's why, Austin, I’m going to need your help more than ever.  This campaign is still in the early stages.  But now is the time where you can help shape this campaign, just like you did the first time; make sure we get out of the gate strong.

And I know there are times where some of you have felt frustrated because we haven’t gotten everything done as fast as you want or exactly the way you wanted it.  I know.  (Laughter.)  I know those conversations you have with your friends.  (Laughter.)  Oh, why is Obama compromising with the Republicans?  Why haven’t we gotten judges appointed faster?  And why didn’t we get a public option?  You know, I know, all the grumbling.  (Laughter.)

And there are times where I get frustrated, but we knew this wasn’t going to be easy.  We knew that on a journey like this, there were going to be setbacks and detours, and at times we would stumble.  And I always laugh when people say, boy, you know, the Obama campaign back in 2008, that was just so smooth and flawless -- and I’m thinking, what campaign were they looking at?  (Laughter.)  We screwed up all the time during our campaign.  (Laughter.)  We made mistakes.  We lost all kinds of primaries and caucuses, and there were all kinds of times where I said things that I wish I hadn’t or didn't say things I wish I had.  That's life.

But you guys stuck with me because you knew that at each and every juncture in our history, when our future is on the line, when our country is at a crossroads -- like we are now -- we can come together and we can do big things.  And we somehow have managed to transform ourselves from just this ragtag band of colonies to the greatest country in the world.  (Applause.)

We took an agricultural economy and transformed it into an industrial economy, then into an information economy.  And we absorbed new waves of immigrants.  And we finally dealt with the stain of slavery, and we made sure that women could participate fully in our democracy.  And we made sure that workers had basic rights.  And we managed to do this, to move forward, not as Republicans or Democrats, but as Americans.  As one people, as one nation.

So whenever you hear people saying that our problems now are too big to solve, or we can’t bring about the change that we were talking about, or boy, politics is so nasty -- whenever cynicism rears its ugly head -- I want you to think about all the progress we’ve made already.  I want you to think how unlikely it was the first time around.  I want you to think about all the unfinished business that lies ahead.  And I want to -- I want you to remember and I want you to remind everybody else those three simple words that summed up our last campaign and that will sum up our spirit as a people:  Yes, we can.

Thank you very much everybody.  God bless you.  God bless the United States of America.  God bless Texas.  Thank you.  (Applause.)

END
6:14 P.M. CDT

Remarks by Vice President Joe Biden to the Opening Session of the U.S.-China Strategic & Economic Dialogue

Department of the Interior Washington, D.C.

9:50 A.M. EDT
 
     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Good morning.  Thank you.  Thank you, all.  It’s an honor to welcome back to Washington for the third meeting of the Strategic and Economic Dialogue between the United States and China, two good friends.
 
     Let me acknowledge the co-chairs at the outset here.  Vice Premier Wang and State Counselor Dai, welcome back.  I got an opportunity to spend some time with you -- not as much as my colleagues have -- but your trip with President Hu was a great visit, and we got a chance to spend some time together.
 
     The United States co-chairs are our A-Team, our superstars:  Secretary Clinton and Secretary Geithner, two of the best America has to offer, so we expect great things to happen.  We expect great things to happen with the four of you.
 
     Ladies and gentlemen, we each have a number of important tasks in the days ahead and all designed to continue to guide our relationship to an even better place than it’s already moved.
 
     I also would like to recognize, by the way, Secretary Gary Locke, the President’s choice to be our next ambassador to China.  Gary has served with distinction in the Cabinet, as well as before that serving as the governor of the state of Washington.  And I know that once the Senate confirms Gary, and I expect that to be quickly, he’ll do an outstanding job in Beijing.  (Applause.)  There he is.
 
     And I’m not going to mention the Trade Representative sitting next to you because I told him if he was able to deliver a deal on -- with Korea, I would nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize.  (Laughter.)  He did and I have to.  (Laughter.)
 
Any rate, I’ve made my -- I hate to acknowledge this, gentlemen, but I made my first trip to China as a young man, meeting with Deng Xiaoping in 1979, in April of ’79.  I was privileged to be with what I guess I’m now part of, a group of very senior senators at that time.  I think we were the first delegation to meet after normalization -- with senators like Jacob Javits of New York, and Frank Church, and a number of other very prominent members.
 
     And on that trip when we met with then Vice Premier Deng and witnessed the changes that were being initiated, beginning to spark China’s remarkable -- absolutely remarkable transformation, even back then it was clear that there was -- that great things were happening.  And there was also a debate -- there was a debate here in the United States and quite frankly throughout most of the West as whether a rising China was in the interest of the United States and the wider world.  As a young member of a Foreign Relations Committee, I wrote and I said and I believed then what I believe now:  That a rising China is a positive, positive development, not only for China but for America and the world writ large.
 
     When President Obama and I took office in January of 2009 we understood -- we understood absolutely clearly that our relationship with China would be a key priority.  The President and I were determined -- determined to set the relationship on a stable course that could be sustained for decades.  Our two countries, now the world’s two largest economies, were bound by ever-growing ties of commerce and investment.  We, the United States, we always talk about what we import; we, the United States, exported $110 billion in American goods and services to China last year.
    
     But we’re bound my much more than commerce.  Over the last three decades, our people have become increasingly linked through education, through work and through travel.  Last year, 130,000 Chinese were studying in the United States.  They’re really good.  We’re going to try to keep some of them.  I’m only joking.  I’m only joking.  (Laughter.)  But they are.  (Laughter.)
 
     We cannot claim the same number of Americans in China, but our 100,000 Strong Initiative will dramatically increase the number of young Americans living and studying in China.  As a matter of fact, my niece who -- excuse me, as we say in the Senate, a point a personal privilege -- who graduated from Harvard not too long ago, works for Secretary Geithner, she did exactly what we hope another 100,000 will do:  She studied Chinese and went and lived in China and is now devoted to making sure the relationship gets better and better and better.
 
     And we’re linked by our shared global responsibilities.  We both serve as permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.  We’re both Pacific powers.  And for many of the world’s pressing challenges, it’s a simple fact, that when the United States and China are not at the table, the solution to the problem is less possible than when we are at the table.  It’s no exaggeration to say that our relationship and how we manage it will help shape the 21st century.
 
     Our commitment starts at the top.  Our Presidents have met face-to-face nine times in two and a half years.  Nine times.  President Hu, as I mentioned, was just here in January for what all would acknowledge was a very successful state visit.  I’ll go back to China this summer at the invitation of Vice President Xi, and I’m looking forward to hosting the Vice President for a reciprocal visit later this year.   
    
     Even these frequent visits and summits, though, as you all know, are not enough on their own to sustain and build a relationship across our entire government, across all agencies.  That's why we’re here.  It’s not merely, merely our mil-to-mil or economic issues.  We want to build a relationship across the entire spectrum of our governments.  That’s why we’ve asked all of you to come together for these dialogues.
 
     When President Obama launched the first strategic and economic dialogue in 2009, he issued a challenge to all of us to work together to address some of the defining problems of our time.  Some would say that's somewhat presumptuous for China and the United States to decide we’re going to work on the defining problems, but as I said earlier, how we cooperate will define in significant part how we deal with the challenges that the world face in the beginning of the 21st century.
 
     This is at the heart of our effort to build a cooperative partnership.  We seek to cooperate to advance our mutual interests in not only promoting economic growth that is strong, sustainable and balanced, but trade that is free and is fair.  We seek cooperation to advance our mutual interests in the prosperous future that will come from an energy supply that's clean and secure and addresses climate change.
 
     And we seek to cooperate to advance our mutual interests in a range of pressing global and regional security challenges.  This includes continuing our work to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and specifically to curb proliferation of those weapons and technology from both Iran and North Korea.
 
     Where do we stand two years after the President issued his challenge that we cooperate more?  Through this dialogue and the dedicated efforts of our governments and our people, I believe history will show we’ve made progress.
 
     But there's much more to do, and that's why we’re here.  Along with our partners in the G20, we’ve worked to sustain global economic recovery.  We’ve recognized that the United States-China relations generate global economic benefit, not just to both our countries, but global benefit.
 
     Last year our trade with China supported over 500,000 jobs here in the United States, and we made tangible progress during President Hu’s visit, especially in the areas of innovation, intellectual property, and exports, all of which we’re following up on.
 
     Over the next two days, we need to build on this momentum and to make sure our commitments are aggressively implemented so we can continue to move.
 
You may have noticed that there is a debate in this nation how best to secure America’s long-term fiscal future.  We know that overcoming our economic challenges begin at home.  We in the United States have to restore financial stability and we need to make the investments necessary, as well, to win the future.  We need to maintain our commitment to what we believe, the President believes, is the pillars of our economic future:  education, innovation, and infrastructure.
 
I know that you’re adjusting to your economy in the world situation as well.  I know that in China you're working to rebalance your economy and make growth more sustainable, with greater reliance on domestic demand.  None of this is easy.  But success in re-orienting growth will be not only good for China, in our humble opinion, but it will be good for the United States and for the rest of the world.
 
The United States and China are the world’s largest producers and consumers of energy and we share the common challenges that flow from that.  And this creates not only a problem, but great opportunity -- great opportunity for common efforts to find clean energy solutions.  Secretary Chu likes to say -- and I love this expression -- “Science is not a zero-sum game.”  Science is not a zero-sum game.  That amply is illustrated by the remarkable cooperation we've begun to forge in this area.  Let me just mention one example.
 
Our joint Clean Energy Research Center is funding new approaches to energy efficiency, clean coal -- which we both need to deal with -- and clean vehicles.  We need to build on and expand our efforts in this area, and I know you’ll be doing -- having much discussion these next two days on that area, and it seems to me an area where there’s potential for great progress.
 
On global security challenges, we've also made progress.  President Hu joined us at the Nuclear Security Summit -- in January, we signed the memorandum of understanding to build a center for excellence to promote nuclear security in China.  We have cooperated in stemming nuclear proliferation from both Iran and North Korea, including preventing sensitive technologies from being exported to both those countries.
 
The strategic dialogue is important to both our countries.  Just look at the agenda that you have for the next two days.  It’s a fulsome agenda.  To list just a few of the topics on the agenda for the next two days -- and it illustrates the sheer breadth of our relationship:  Climate change; clean energy; mil-to-mil operations -- our military relationships; regional issues such as Sudan and Afghanistan.
 
Our goal -- our goal, in part, is to enhance the communication and understanding that we believe, and I believe you believe, will build trust and confidence.  We have to be honest with each other.  We are not going to agree on everything; we will clearly find areas where there will still be disagreement.  But as we work to advance our respective national interest, we have to move on what we seek in common, find the common ground, and I would argue much of our mutual national interest will find common ground.  But only by discussing a diverse range of topics, including sensitive ones, can we help mitigate the risk of misperception and miscalculation.
 
My father used to say the only disagreement worse than one that is intended is one that is unintended.  That's why it’s so critically important we talk to one another honestly.  We should be realistic; we won't always be able to work together.  In some areas we have vigorous disagreement.  In some we'll have vigorous competition.  In still others we'll have vigorous collaboration.
 
     But I believe on balance we have much more to agree on than to disagree on, and so does the President believe that.  A healthy competition, in our view, is good for both of us.  Competition is not bad.  Competition that’s healthy is good.
 
     This is the reason why I’ve held the view for so many years and continue to hold the view that a rising China is a positive development.  As you might expect, it’s my -- I have overwhelming confidence in the capabilities of the American people.  And those capabilities are enhanced when there’s genuine competition from equally capable people.  I welcome this healthy and fair competition because I believe we’ll see it will spur us both to innovate and both will benefit from it.
 
As I’ve said earlier, it’s important to be straightforward with one another.  There is one area where we have vigorous disagreement.  And I know and I understand that disagreement, when we voice it, is upsetting or rankles -- I don’t know how that translates into Chinese -- but how it concerns some of our friends in China.  We have vigorous disagreement in the area of human rights.
 
We’ve noted our concerns about the recent crackdown in China, including attacks, arrests and the disappearance of journalists, lawyers, bloggers and artists.  And again, no relationship that’s real can be built on a false foundation.  Where we disagree, it’s important to state it.  We’ll continue to express our views in these issues, as we did in the Human Rights Dialogue in Beijing two weeks ago.
 
Now, look, as I said, I recognize that some in China see our advocacy as -- human rights as an intrusion and Lord only knows what else.  But President Obama and I believe strongly, as does the Secretary, that protecting fundamental rights and freedoms such as those enshrined in China’s international commitments, as well as in China’s own constitution, is the best way to promote long-term stability and prosperity of any society.
 
The transformation of China’s economy and society since my first trip as a young man in 1979 has truly been breathtaking.  I doubt whether it’s occurred at any other period in world history -- it’s been so significant and so rapid.  The immense talent of the Chinese people, the incredible hard work and perseverance of the Chinese people and their leaders have literally lifted tens of millions of people out of poverty and built an economy that now helps fuel the world’s prosperity.  It’s remarkable.
 
During this same period, the relationship between the United States and China has also seen a remarkable transformation -- again, through the talent, hard work and respected political leaders who have governed our countries over the last three decades.
 
The bonds between our country -- our countries come about through -- have come about through intense engagement from the moment of normalization -- events like this one.  We’ve already done much to make our relationship positive, cooperative, and comprehensive.  And I’m absolutely confident that we can do more for ourselves and for generations of Americans and Chinese as well.
 
And as I said, presumptuous of me to say this, if that occurs and continues to occur, it will benefit the whole world.  So now it’s time to get to work.
 
Again, welcome, gentlemen; welcome to your delegations.  And I thank you all for the honor of being able to address you.  Thank you very much.  (Applause.)

END
10:07 A.M. EDT

Remarks of First Lady Michelle Obama at University of Northern Iowa Commencement

Cedar Falls, Iowa

Thank you so much.  I am thrilled and honored to be here today to help celebrate the UNI class of 2011 – congratulations to all of you on making it to this day. Before I get started, I wanted to let you know that if my remarks run long, I promise to take a break and we’ll crank up the music for the Interlude Dance. I’ve been practicing to get that ninja robot part just right.

In all seriousness, I want to thank President Ben Allen for that very kind introduction as well as Executive Vice President and Provost Gloria Gibson, Board of Regents President David Miles, all of the members of the Board of Regents and Katie Berge for her wonderful speech. I also want to thank Congressman Bruce Braley, former Governor Chet Culver, Cedar Falls Mayor Jon Crews and Waterloo Mayor Buck Clark for being here today. And I want to say a special thank you to everyone here in the UNI-Dome especially all of you who changed your plans so that we could celebrate our graduates together today.

Now, as many of you know, this is not my first time here in Iowa. In fact, it feels like I’ve spent more time in this state than anywhere besides Illinois or Washington, D.C.  My family was here a lot back in 2007.  Long enough for my husband to have a sculpture of his head made out of butter.

But while a campaign is what initially brought me to Iowa, what brings me back today is something so much bigger, so much deeper and so much more personal to me. You see, this state, the people I’ve met here, and the things that I’ve learned here have all become an important part of my own journey.

Now, I have to admit that back when I first started coming here, I was pretty nervous.  Most folks barely knew who my husband was, let alone who I was.  I was still a bit uneasy about the whole “President thing,” as our daughter Malia called it.  I didn’t know what it would do to our family or how it would affect our girls.  I’d never been to Iowa before and I had no idea how folks would react to a perfect stranger waltzing into their kitchens and living rooms.  So I didn’t know what to expect.

But soon you all showed me exactly what makes Iowa such a special place.  I’ll always remember this one gathering in Sioux City, back in the early days.  We were all at the home of a lovely family.  It was a beautiful day, so we were all out in the backyard, folks of all ages sitting on lawn chairs and on the grass, and even though not one single person there had ever met me before, I was warmly welcomed like an old friend.  So, we just started to talk to one another about our lives and our experience, and the more we talked, the more my fears and apprehensions started to fade away.

I realized that these folks weren’t strangers at all.  They reminded me of my parents, my aunts and uncles, the neighbor kids from down the block.  I just felt at home.  So at home, in fact, that I kicked off my high-heels and started walking around barefoot in the grass.  And that’s how I wound up feeling just about everywhere I went throughout the state.  Though for the record, I kept my shoes on most of the time.

And it wasn’t just how folks treated me.  It was how they treated my whole family.  In Pella, an entire neighborhood sang “Happy Birthday” to Malia on the 4th of July.  At the State Fair, they poked fun at Barack when he lost a carnival game.  I’ll never forget how people looked after our girls, encouraging them to jump on a trampoline with their kids or play with a puppy in a park.

They welcomed us into their homes in Perry and Cedar Rapids, at coffee shops in Waukee and Oskaloosa, and the historical society right here in Cedar Falls.

Now, these communities may not have been exactly like the one I grew up in.  The folks I met may not have come from exactly the same background as me.  But the more that I shared my story with all of you and you shared your stories with me, the more I realized that what truly connects us is our shared values, in the end there is so much more that unites us than divides us.

And that’s really what I want to talk with all of you about today – I want to talk about those values.  The values you’ve learned here at UNI.  The values you’ve learned growing up and spending time here in Iowa.  And how those values will serve you every step of the way on the journey ahead.

The first value I want to discuss is in many ways the most important – but it’s also the most often taken for granted – and that is the power of family.  Now, this is something that all you folks here in Iowa understand in your bones, to your core.  I saw it everywhere I went – strong, connected families that looked out for each other and supported each other through good times and bad.  And I can tell you from my own experience that nothing else in your life – nothing, not your job, not your hobbies, not the money in your bank account – nothing will sustain you like family.

When I was growing up, we might not have had much, but my family was – and still is – my rock.  I was raised in modest means, probably like many of you.  We lived on the top floor of a two-family home on the South Side of Chicago.  My dad worked in the boiler room at the city water plant.  My mom stayed home until my brother, Craig, and I reached high school, then she took a job as a secretary.  In our household, we had rules, we did our chores, we minded our Q’s and we ate our peas.

And while we had our share of struggle and heartache, we sure did laugh a lot.  And we loved each other more than I could ever put in words.  And even though those moments might seem far away, even though my father has passed and my brother lives 3,000 miles away, the bonds that we formed in that tiny apartment still connect us.  They are – and will always be – my core and my compass in life.

So, graduates, after this ceremony is over, I want you to hug those folks up in the stands just a little harder.  And then make sure that you call them next week.  And the week after that, and the one after that.  Because these are the folks who made you who you are.  These are the folks who will stand by you no matter what life throws your way.  These are the folks who prepared you to succeed here at UNI and who prepared you to contribute to your communities and to your country.

And that leads me to the second value I want to discuss – another thread which is woven throughout this university and this state – and that is the value of service to others.  Now, the truth is, many of you could give this part of my speech yourselves because you’ve been living this value every day of your lives.

During the floods of 2008, so many of you were out there sandbagging.  After the tornado, you went over to Parkersburg to provide all kinds of relief services to the victims there.  There were the Volunteer Tuesdays, where many of you served at agencies like the Salvation Army and the Northeast Iowa Food Bank.  And students here have stepped up to serve our country and wear its uniform at a time when we’re asking so much of our troops and their families.

That includes four members of your class who were commissioned as Second Lieutenants in the US Army just this morning.  And I am proud that so many of you have stepped up to support them.  You’ve already launched a veterans student organization.  You’re putting together a website to connect military students to UNI resources.  You’re working with the VA to provide matching funds to help vets cover tuition and fees if they need it.  And I encourage all of you, no matter where you go in life, keep doing that – keep honoring our troops and their families.

We’ve all seen, just in the last week, how much these folks deserve our support.  Just imagine, a small group of brave men, dropped by helicopter, half a world away in the dead of night … into unknown danger inside the lair of the most sought after man in the world.  They did not hesitate, risking everything for us, for our freedom and security. And they did it not just as Navy SEALs.  They did it as husbands, as fathers, as sons.  Their families were back here, with no idea of their mission or whether their loved one would ever come home.  That is the very essence of the word “service.”  And the least we can do is give something back to these troops and their families who have given us so much.

I have seen again and again that giving back, that serving others, keeps everything in perspective.  Service is what connects us to one another, to our neighbors, our communities, our country, it reminds us that we are not simply individuals living isolated lives, but that we’re all woven together.

So graduates, I hope that you all keep finding new ways that you can make that kind of impact.  In my own life, I’ve found that helping military families is just one way that resonates with me.  It’s one of my passions, and it has driven me to start a nationwide effort called Joining Forces to honor these military families.  This passion keeps me going every day, knowing that I’m part of something so much bigger, so much more important than just my own individual wants and needs.   

And that’s the third value I hope that you will all embrace – to find that passion within yourself, and follow it wherever it takes you.  With all of the classes, extracurricular activities, and other experiences you’ve had over the last four years, this university has given you so many chances to discover that passion.

But that process of discovery doesn’t stop when you leave this campus.  I know that from my own experience.  Back when I graduated from college, I was certain that I wanted to be a lawyer.  So I did everything I was supposed to do.  I got my law degree.  I went home and got a job at a big firm in Chicago.  By all appearances, I was living the dream.  But the truth is, all the while that I was climbing, I knew something was missing.

Sure, I was working up in a tall building downtown, but when I looked out across the skyline of the city, even though I could see the community I’d come from off in the distance, I was so far up, and so far away, I couldn’t feel that community.  I felt like I was beginning to lose that connection to where I had come from.  And I realized that I didn’t want to climb anymore.  I wanted to be grounded, working with the folks that I knew, folks like the ones I grew up with.  I wanted to be mentoring young people, I wanted to be helping families put food on the table and a roof over their heads, I wanted to be giving folks the kind of chances that I’d had.

So I did something that shocked my friends and family, and added about a decade onto my student loan debt: I quit that job. I left that high-paying firm to go work for the city government.  And from there, I moved on to lead a nonprofit organization called Public Allies, helping young people pursue public service careers.  I wasn’t making nearly as much money and my office wasn’t nearly as big or as nice, but I was working with terrific young people and colleagues who inspired me.

I found that I would wake up every day with excitement, with a sense of purpose and possibility, because I was finally doing something that made me feel fully alive.  And graduates, that’s what I wish for all of you today – for you to find that career, that calling, that makes you feel alive.

Now, I know that your passions may not be the same as mine.  You may feel most alive in front of a classroom, or a board room, or even in one of those high-rise Chicago office buildings.  But no matter what it is, keep that fire burning.  I know that it won’t always be easy.  The path won’t always be laid out neatly for you.  Sometimes you won’t be able to find that perfect job.  Sometimes you might momentarily take a job just to stay afloat.  Those are the realities of life.

But no matter what you do from nine to five, know that you should always try to find some way to pursue what you love.  Maybe it’s a hobby that one day becomes your own business.  Maybe it’s some volunteer work that helps you develop new skills and passions.  You will have some false starts and setbacks along the way.  But I promise you that if you keep listening to yourself, and keep yourself open to new possibilities, new people, and new ways of thinking, you will find a place in this world that feels right for you.

And that openness – that willingness to be exposed to new people and experiences – that is the final value I want to discuss today.  This is something that I think truly defines the state of Iowa and its people.  You all don’t rush to judgment.  You’ll give just about anyone a respectful hearing.  That was certainly my experience.

People didn’t know a thing about me, yet they listened, they asked questions, they gave me the benefit of the doubt and a chance to show who I was.  And that’s because people here in Iowa understand that everyone has something to offer.  Just think about your classmates here at UNI.

While you all might look similar in your black robes today, I know there is a kaleidoscope of talents, passions and experiences with which you’ve enriched each other these past four years.  We’ve got graduates like Darion Watson, from Gary, Indiana.  He’s the first person in his family to go to college – and he’s inspired his older siblings to think about getting their degrees, too.

We’ve got graduates like Ashleigh Peska from Martelle, Iowa, who works tirelessly across the state to raise awareness for people with muscular dystrophy.

We’ve got graduates like Renee Rapier, a singer from Marion, Iowa, who has won opera awards all across this country, even being invited by one of the Three Tenors to sing out in Los Angeles.

And we’ve got graduates like Nadine Ishimwe, who survived the Rwandan genocide as a child and came to Cedar Falls four years ago when she couldn’t even read, write, or speak English.

Each of these students – and every single one of you – is unique in some way.  Each of you has something different to teach the rest of us.  And I would urge you to be curious about those who have experiences different from yours. Learn from them.  Let their ideas and experiences challenge your own assumptions and perspectives.

But at the end of the day, don’t ever lose sight of what makes you unique.  Don’t ever stop believing in what you have to offer.  Don’t ever count yourself out.  And if you ever do begin to doubt yourself, if you ever start to wonder whether you can fulfill all those dreams.  I want you to think of two words that showed this country that young people here at UNI have got what it takes.

Those words?  “Ali Farokhmanesh.”

And then I want you to think about all those other men and women who have come before you, the long list of distinguished alumni who have sat where you’re sitting today. There’s Molly Boyle, Iowa’s Teacher of the Year.  Chuck Grassley, a six-term U.S. Senator.  The first African-American principal in Iowa, Walter Cunningham.  Nancy Powell, the Director-General of the United States Foreign Service.

And then there’s Nancy Aossey.  Nancy grew up in Cedar Rapids, dreaming of faraway countries and peoples.  She got her B.A. and her MBA at UNI in the early ‘80s, and then took a job selling phones.  She went out to California, where she heard about a small startup nonprofit called International Medical Corps, an organization that worked in those faraway lands, responding to emergencies and helping local residents become self-reliant.  She asked if they needed a volunteer, and it turned out they needed a CEO.  So Nancy listened to her heart.  She took over, and IMC took off.  All told, they’ve directed more than a billion dollars in assistance and training worldwide.   They’ve touched millions of lives, from Somalia, to the Balkans, to Haiti and Japan. And as CEO, Nancy has earned awards that put her in the company of Presidents, Generals, Nobel Prize recipients and Oscar winners.

Now you might hear Nancy’s story and think, “That’s pretty cool…but I could never do something like that.”  But if there’s one thing I want to leave you with, it’s this: this university and this state have given you everything you need to do something exactly like that.  The values you’ve learned here—commitment to family, openness to diversity, willingness to serve your community and your country, the courage to follow your passion—those are the keys to success in any field.

They are the building blocks of a fulfilling life.  They’re the foundation of healthy families, vibrant communities, and a strong country.  That’s what I saw when I first started coming to Iowa.  And graduates, that’s why I wanted to come back, to remind you what makes you special and unique.

I want you to realize the power and value of your experience.  I want you to feel the strength of this place that so many of you call “home.”  And I want you to carry the values that you’ve learned here with you wherever you go.  Share them with everyone you meet.  Pass them down to your children and your grandchildren.  Spread them throughout our country and throughout our world.

And whether your next step is New York or New Hartford, whether you’re looking for a job in Des Moines or New Delhi, I want you to truly believe that you can kick off your shoes and walk around in the grass anywhere in the world.

Because you can.

So congratulations again, graduates.  And Godspeed on the road ahead.