Remarks by the First Lady at Panama City Beach

The Boardwalk Hotel
Panama City Beach, Florida

5:22 P.M. EDT
 
MRS. OBAMA:  Well, thank you, guys.  Good afternoon.  I have sand in my shoes.  (Applause.)  Which means that I have to come back, right?  (Applause.)
 
I want to thank all of you for the warm and wonderful welcome here to Panama City Beach.  It is truly beautiful out here.  I mean, these beaches are gorgeous.
 
I want to start by thanking your mayor, Gayle, who has just been a terrific supporter of this community, and she has been a wonderful host to me.  Thank you, Gayle, for everything that you’re doing for the people of this city.  Let’s give her a big round of applause.  (Applause.)
 
And I want to thank a few other people that I got a chance to meet today.  Commissioner Dozier, who’s here, let’s give him a round of applause.  And we have the Panama City mayor, Scott Clemons, here as well.  (Applause.) 
 
So there’s one thing that I’ve learned after spending a very short time here, but I’ve learned it in that quick time, is that this is really a friendly place with a lot of warm and open people.  It’s welcoming, it’s pristine, and everybody should come here.  (Applause.)
 
But it wasn’t always this way, as I have been told.  Back in 1935, in the heart of the Great Depression, most people came to Panama City to focus on growing crops.  Did you all know that?  I’ll give you a little history lesson.  (Laughter.)  Planting fruit trees and making a living in the soil instead of the sand. 
 
And then there was this one man, a developer named Gideon Thomas, who had a different plan in mind.  He saw things a little bit differently.  He built the Panama City Hotel to attract tourists to the Florida coast.  And many people thought he was crazy for staking the claim on the beaches rather than in the fields, but Gideon didn’t listen, thank God.  He said, “I’m not attempting to grow vegetables here.”  He said, “I’m going to grow people.”  And that’s exactly what he did.
 
Things took a while to get going, but pretty soon folks from all over the country were doing what many of you do.  They’re bringing their families down here.  They staked a claim, and they found out that this is one of the most beautiful stretches of land not just in the country but in the world.  As one newspaper wrote, “Panama City has a destiny as sure as the sun will shine tomorrow.” 
 
But I know that today, for a lot of folks here in Florida and along the Gulf Coast, that destiny doesn’t seem as certain anymore.  The oil spill in the Gulf is the worst environmental disaster in our nation’s history.  And over the last few months, oil spewing from the well a mile beneath the surface of the ocean has polluted our beaches, it’s endangered our wildlife, and it’s threatened the livelihoods of fishermen and small business owners from Biloxi all the way to Pensacola.
 
I also know that this community is home to many military families, as Gayle mentioned, including the men and women in the Coast Guard and the National Guard who mobilized in response to this crisis. 
 
And I just want to say to you and your families, for the military servicemen and women who are here, again, you have always made extraordinary sacrifices, and I want to thank you all, all across the Armed Forces, for everything that you do to serve and protect us.  We continue to be proud of you all.  (Applause.)
 
But their families make up this community as well.  So there’s no question that this is a difficult time for anyone who lives or works on the coast.  And that’s why my husband and his administration are doing everything they can to get that cap on that well, to clean up the mess, and to make sure that BP is held accountable for the damages that they’ve caused and the disruption that they’ve caused in so many lives.  (Applause.)
 
But it’s also important to remember that there are many places along the Gulf Coast, like right here in Panama City Beach, that as you can still -- these places are still clean, they are safe, and they are open for business.  (Applause.)
 
That’s one of the reasons why I’m here.  It’s important for the rest of the country to know that these places are just as vibrant and just as beautiful as they’ve always been.  And folks here in Florida and across the Gulf Coast are still depending on visitors and tourist dollars to put food on their tables and to pay their mortgages and to send their kids to college -- because everybody’s going to college, right?  (Applause.)  All right.
 
Today I got the chance to meet some of the business owners and restaurant owners here in Panama City Beach -- a wonderful group of determined and dedicated men and women who care deeply about this community.  And many of them have been a part of this community for generations.  The stories you hear -- I’ve met grandchildren and sons and daughters who have been building their lives here for a very long time, and they hope that their children and grandchildren can stick around for generations to come and carry on these traditions.
 
But it’s not just the folks who own the businesses who make up this community but it’s also folks who come here on vacation -- the families that have rented that same condo or visited the same stretch of beach for as long as they can remember.  Who falls into that category?  How many kids just come here and play on the beach every summer?  Yeah, yeah, don’t point to him, you look like you could still play.  (Laughter.) 
 
The parents who packed up the van with the kids and the dog and headed south for a little slice of paradise, which this is -- these people, the residents and the visitors, are the lifeblood of the Gulf Coast.  And that’s why it’s so important to spread the word that despite what everyone is seeing on TV and reading in the newspaper, that most of the coast is still open for business.  It is truly important for people to understand that.  Most of these beaches are perfectly clean. 
 
And there’s so many wonderful places all across the coast -- Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas -- that are ready to welcome visitors like they have every summer.
 
And I know that there have been lots of questions lately about how we can best help people here on the Gulf Coast who’ve been affected by the oil spill.  And to be honest, truly, one of the best ways that fellow Americans can help is to come on down here and spend some money.  (Applause.)
 
And that’s one of the reasons why I wanted to come this summer.  I mean, my husband has been down here several times.  We’ve got administrative officials.  But I wanted to shed a light on the terrific people and the great places to come and relax and have fun, because that’s the time of year that we’re in.  People are looking for that place to go, their kids are driving them crazy.  (Laughter.)  They want them out of the house.  And this is a great option.
 
Right now my husband and so many members of his administration are working tirelessly to help make the Gulf Coast whole again.  And part of that means ensuring that the leak is plugged, and they’re making progress on that front.  Part of it is ensuring that residents are compensated for their losses, and that’s happening.  And part of it is ensuring that the beaches are clean and the ecosystem is restored so kids can come back and bring their kids and their kids and remember the beauty that this coast has to offer.
 
So that will always be the first priority of this administration -- making sure that those components continue to happen.
 
But it’s also our responsibility to help the people of the Gulf return to the lives that they love.  And it’s our job to make sure that visitors who have enjoyed this beautiful coastline for generations can keep the tradition alive.
 
And it’s up to us to let Americans everywhere know about the extraordinary hospitality and about all the wonderful places to bring your families and enjoy yourselves right here on the Gulf where the future will always be bright.
 
And just driving around, I saw golf courses, I saw that upside-down house.  (Laughter.)  It’s a whole building that’s upside-down.  I don’t know what’s going on there, but if I’m a kid, I want to go in that house.  Water parks, beautiful beaches, there’s so much to do here, and I can guarantee you that people will be ready to welcome all of America with open arms.
 
So on behalf of my family and the administration, know that we are working on your behalf.  We care deeply about getting things right here.  And I look forward to coming back down to the coast and getting some more sand in my shoes. 
 
But for now, I’m going to come down and shake some hands.  (Applause.)  Thank you all so much.  
 
END
5:32 P.M. EDT

Remarks by President Obama and President Fernandez of the Dominican Republic in Joint Press Availability

Oval Office

2:50 P.M. EDT

PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Hello, everybody.  Good afternoon.  President Fernandez and I just had an excellent conversation.  We first met and I think forged a good working relationship and friendship at the Summit of the Americas last year.  And we have built on that relationship, as have our respective administrations, on a whole host of issues.

We had a wide-ranging discussion.  One of the first messages I wanted to deliver was my appreciation for the role that the Dominican Republic played in helping the international community respond to the crisis in Haiti after the devastating earthquake there.  And I think that the Dominican Republic’s role, President Fernandez’s role in particular, in helping to facilitate a rapid response was extraordinarily important.  It saved lives and it continues as we look at how we can reconstruct and rebuild in Haiti in a way that is good not only for the people of Haiti but also good for the region as a whole.

That was just one example of the leadership that President Fernandez has shown.  He and his government have been extremely helpful in resolving the political crisis that existed in Honduras.  And we discussed ways that we can manage that process so that Honduras can once again be fully integrated into the regional groupings and organizations in a way that is respectful of democracy.  And we coordinated closely between our two countries on that issue.

We discussed the critical issue of drug trafficking and crime and how that has the potential to be destabilizing throughout the region.  And we have already seen great cooperation between our countries through the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative, but more needs to be done.  And so President Fernandez and I discussed how we can do a better job coordinating through multinational groupings to address what is a scourge on so many countries.  And that involves us dealing both with the supply side of the equation but also the demand side. 

And as I’ve said before in conversations, for example, with President Calderón in Mexico, we here in the United States have an important obligation to make sure that we are dealing with the demand of drugs.  There are also cross-border flows that involve guns and weapons and cash.  So the problem involves all of us and if we’re going to solve it, we’re going to have to work coordinating together.

And we also talked about how working together we can expand trade opportunities, commercial opportunities, business opportunities.  One area that I expressed to the President that is of particular interest to me is clean energy.  Last year when I met with President Lula of Brazil, I noted that Brazil had made enormous progress around clean energy, sugar cane-based ethanol, the possibilities of real energy independence in the region.  I think those same opportunities exist for the Dominican Republic.  And President Fernandez and I discussed how we can work more closely together around energy security issues -- something that my administration is very interested in partnering with Central American and Latin American countries to work on.

So the main message I have to the people of the Dominican Republic is thank you for your friendship.  I think the American people appreciate greatly the bonds between our two countries -- bonds that express themselves obviously in our extraordinary Dominican population, Dominican American population that we have here in this country.  And obviously I’ve got to note that we got some pretty good baseball players here from the Dominican Republic.

PRESIDENT FERNANDEZ:  Yes, sir.

PRESIDENT OBAMA:  But for some reason I’ve got a lot of Red Sox fans here, so they keep on talking about Ortiz, but I’m a White Sox guy.

But, Mr. President, welcome.  Thank you for your friendship.  And we look forward to a long and constructive relationship between not only our countries but our two governments.

PRESIDENT FERNANDEZ:  Thank you, Mr. President.  Well, first of all, I would like to thank President Obama for extending an invitation to come here to the White House and speak on issues that are of mutual interest for the U.S. government and for the Dominican Republic.  As the President has indicated, we have agreed on several issues, some bilateral issues between the U.S. and the Dominican Republic, and also on regional issues.

We do appreciate, Mr. President, that with all you have on your agenda, with all the international issues, with all the crises, with the economic situation that’s affecting worldwide, you have put on your agenda the Caribbean, Latin America, and the Dominican Republic.  I think this is evidence that you do have an interest for the region and the problems that affect not only the Dominican Republic but the region as a whole.

As you have indicated, one of our major concerns has to do with drug trafficking, with transnational crime, with violence related to all these criminal activities.  I think that the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative has been the right path forward.  I commend you for that, Mr. President.  And I think now we should move into a more collaborative environment with the other Caribbean nations, Central America, and Mexico.  It is only by coordinating our efforts that we can really defeat this epidemic that has become overwhelming to all of our countries.  And whatever we can do from the supply side, as you said, or the demand side, will be of great significance for the safety and security of our people.

Other issues, like you said, related to clean energy -- we’re working on that in the Dominican Republic with wind energy and with the potential production of ethanol in our country.  We’ll move on also with trade.  We have a free trade agreement between both of our countries, of which we have not benefited fully because of the global financial crisis and how it has affected trade.  But we can look into the future hopefully that we will increase our trade activities and more investment coming from the U.S. into the Dominican Republic.

So once again, Mr. President, I thank you for your friendship, I thank you for your vision, for your leadership, and for your commitment to the region and the Dominican Republic.

PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Thank you very much.  Thank you, everybody.

END
2:58 P.M. EDT

Remarks by the First Lady to the NAACP National Convention in Kansas City, Missouri

Kansas City convention Center, Kansas City, Missouri

11:38 A.M. CDT
 
MRS. OBAMA:  Wow.  Oh, my goodness.  (Applause.)  Thank you all.  Thank you so, so much.  Everyone, please, please, please take your seats. 
 
Thank you so much.  It is such a pleasure and it is an honor to be here today for the 101st NAACP Convention.  Yes!  (Applause.)
 
I want to start by thanking Chairman Roslyn Brock, beautiful woman, for that very kind introduction.  (Applause.)  And I mentioned to her, I said, her mother’s hot.  She’s gorgeous.  Good genes.  (Laughter.) 
 
I also want to thank both her and your President and CEO Ben Jealous for their inspired leadership of this organization.  Give them a round of applause.  (Applause.)
 
I want to thank a few other people as well who are here.  I want to thank Governor Nixon and the First Lady, Georgeanne Nixon, who are here.  (Applause.)  I want to thank Senator McCaskill, who was here, who’s no longer here, but I wanted to say hello to her.  Representatives Cleaver, Moore and Scott, who are here.  (Applause.)  And Mayor Funkhouser for all the outstanding work that all of you are doing for the people of this city and for this great state and for taking time to join us today.  So let’s give them all a round of applause.  (Applause.)
 
And finally, I want to thank all of you.  I want to thank you for a few things.  First of all, thank you for being here today and thank you for the outstanding work that you’ve done in making this a great American institution.  And also, I have to thank you for your prayers, for your support.  I cannot tell you how much that means to me and my girls and my mom, and then my husband as well.  (Applause.)  Thank you all so, so much.  It really keeps us going, and I am just thrilled to be here.
 
One hundred and one years ago, the NAACP was established in pursuit of a simple goal, and that was to spur this nation to live up to the founding ideals, to secure those blessings of liberty, to fulfill that promise of equality.
 
And since then, the work of this organization has been guided by a simple belief:  that while we might not fully live out that promise or those blessings for ourselves, if we worked hard enough, and fought long enough, and believed strongly enough, that we could secure them for our children and for our grandchildren, and give them opportunities that we never dreamed of for ourselves.  (Applause.)
                                           
So, for more than a century, the men and women of the NAACP have marched and protested.  You have lobbied Presidents and fought unjust laws.  You’ve stood up and sat in and risked life and limb so that African Americans could take their rightful places not just at lunch counters and on buses, but at universities and on battlefields -- (applause) -- and in hospitals and boardrooms; in Congress, the Supreme Court; and, yes, even the White House.  (Applause.)  Think about it -- even the White House. 
 
So I know that I stand here today, and I know that my husband stands where he is today, because of this organization -- (applause) -- and because of the struggles and the sacrifices of all those who came before us.
 
But I also know that their legacy isn’t an entitlement to be taken for granted.  And I know it is not simply a gift to be enjoyed.  Instead, it is an obligation to be fulfilled. 
 
And when so many of our children still attend crumbling schools, and a black child is still far more likely to go to prison than a white child, I think the founders of this organization would agree that our work is not yet done.  (Applause.)
    
When African American communities are still hit harder than just about anywhere by this economic downturn, and so many families are just barely scraping by, I think the founders would tell us that now is not the time to rest on our laurels.
 
When stubborn inequalities still persist -- in education and health, in income and wealth -- I think those founders would urge us to increase our intensity, and to increase our discipline and our focus and keep fighting for a better future for our children and our grandchildren.  (Applause.)
 
And that’s why I really wanted to come here today -- because I wanted to talk with you about an issue that I believe cries out for our attention -- one that is of particular concern to me, not just as First Lady, but as a mother who believes that we owe it to our kids to prepare them for the challenges that we know lie ahead.  And that issue is the epidemic of childhood obesity in America today. 
 
Now, right now in America, one in three children is overweight or obese, putting them at greater risk of obesity-related conditions like diabetes and cancer, heart disease, asthma.
 
And we’re already spending billions of dollars in this country a year to treat these conditions, and that number is only going to go up when these unhealthy children reach adulthood.
 
But it’s important to be clear that this issue isn’t about how our kids look.  It’s not about that.  It’s about how our kids feel.  It’s about their health and the health of our nation and the health of our economy. 
 
And there’s no doubt that this is a serious problem.  It’s one that is affecting every community across this country.  But just like with so many other challenges that we face as a nation, the African American community is being hit even harder by this issue.  (Applause.)
 
We are living today in a time where we’re decades beyond slavery, we are decades beyond Jim Crow; when one of the greatest risks to our children’s future is their own health. 
 
African American children are significantly more likely to be obese than are white children.  Nearly half of African American children will develop diabetes at some point in their lives.  People, that’s half of our children.
 
And if we don’t do something to reverse this trend right now, our kids won’t be in any shape to continue the work begun by the founders of this great organization.  (Applause.)  They won’t be in any condition to confront all those challenges that we know still remain.
 
So we need to take this issue seriously, as seriously as improving under-achieving schools, as seriously as eliminating youth violence or stopping the spread of HIV/AIDS or any of the other issues that we know are devastating our communities.
 
But in order to address this challenge, we also need to be honest with ourselves about how we got here, because we know that it wasn’t always like this for our kids and our communities.   
 
The way we live today is very different from even when I was growing up.  And I like to tell my kids I’m not that old.  (Laughter.)  They don’t agree.  (Laughter.)
 
Many of you probably grew up like I did -- in a community that wasn’t rich, not even middle class, but where people knew their neighbors, and they looked out for each other’s kids.
 
In these kind of strong African American communities, we went to neighborhood schools around the corner.  So many of us had to walk to and from school every day, rain or shine.  I know you’ve told that story.  (Laughter.)  And in Chicago, where I was raised, we did it in the dead of winter.  (Laughter.)  No shoes on our feet -- it was hard, but we walked!  (Applause.)
 
And in school, we had recess twice a day and gym class twice a week, like it or not.  (Applause.)  And then when we got home in the afternoon, after school or in the summer, there was no way we’d be allowed to lie around the house watching TV.  (Applause.)  First of all, there wasn’t that many channels.  (Laughter.) 
 
Our parents made us get up and play outside.  Had to get up, get out, didn’t have to -- just couldn’t be inside.  And we would spend hours riding bikes, playing softball, freeze tag, jumping double-dutch.  Kids nowadays don’t even know how to jump double-dutch!  (Laughter and applause.) 
 
 We were constantly on the move, only stopping to eat or what?  When the streetlights came on, right?  (Applause.) 
 
And eating was a totally different experience back then.  In my house, we rarely ate out -- rarely.  Even when both parents worked outside of the home, most families in my neighborhood sat down at the table together as a family for a meal.  (Applause.)  And in my house, Marian Robinson’s house, we ate what we were served.  (Laughter and applause.)  My mother never cared whether me or my brother liked what was on our plates.  (Laughter.)  We either ate what was there or we didn’t eat.  It was as simple as that.  (Laughter.)
 
    We never ate anything fancy, but the portion sizes were reasonable and there were rarely seconds -- maybe for your father, but not for you.  (Laughter.)  And there was always a vegetable on the plate.  (Applause.)
 
And many of our grandparents tended their own gardens or they relied on, as my father told me, “The Vegetable Man” who brought fresh produce.  That was how people got by back then -- they had fresh fruits and vegetables in their own backyards, and in jars in their cellar during the winter.  And that wasn’t just being thrifty -- that was healthy too, little did we know.
 
And unless it was Sunday, or somebody’s birthday, there was no expectation of dessert after our meals.  And we didn’t dream of asking for soda or pop.  That was for special occasions.
 
Now, if you were lucky, you might get a quarter or two to take to the corner store and get some penny candy.  But you did not eat it all at once because you never knew when you’d see another piece of candy.  (Laughter.)  So you saved it in that little brown bag under your bed.  (Laughter and applause.)  That bag would be all worn out and sweaty.  (Laughter.)  You’d hold on to that bag, take out a half a piece of candy every other day.  (Laughter.) 
 
Back then, without any expert advice and without spending too much money, we managed to lead pretty healthy lives.  But things are a little different today, and many kids these days aren’t so fortunate. 
 
So many kids can’t attend neighborhood schools or don’t, so instead of walking to school, they ride in a car or they’re in a bus.  And in too many schools, recess and gym class have been slashed because of budget cuts. 
Fears about safety mean that those afternoons outside have been replaced by afternoons inside with TV, video games, the Internet. 
 
In fact, studies have found that African American children spend an average of nearly six hours a day watching TV -- and that every extra hour of TV they watch is associated with the consumption of an additional 167 calories. 
 
For many folks, those nutritious family meals are a thing of the past, because a lot of people today are living in communities without a single grocery store, so they have to take two, three buses, a taxi, walk for miles just to buy a head of lettuce for a salad or to get some fresh fruit for their kids. 
 
Most folks don’t grow their own food the way many of our parents and grandparents did.  A lot of folks also just don’t have the time to cook at home on a regular basis.  So instead, they wind up grabbing fast food or something from the corner store or the mini-mart -- places that have few, if any, healthy options. 
 
    And we’ve seen how kids in our communities regularly stop by these stores on their way to school -- buying themselves sodas and pop and chips for breakfast.  And we’ve seen how they come right back to those same stores after school to buy their afternoon snack of candy and sugary drinks.
 
According to one study, on average, a trip to the corner store, a child will walk out of that store with more than 350 calories worth of food and beverage -- this is on average.  So if they’re going two and three times a day, that can really add up. 
 
And taken together, all of these things have made for a perfect storm of bad habits and unhealthy choices -- a lifestyle that’s dooming too many of our children to a lifetime of poor health and undermining our best efforts to build them a better future.
 
See, we can build our kids the best schools on earth, but if they don’t have the basic nutrition they need to concentrate, they’re still going to have a challenge learning.  (Applause.)  And we can create the best jobs in the world -- we must -- but that won’t mean that folks will have the energy and the stamina to actually do those jobs. 
 
We can offer people the best health care money can buy, but if they’re still leading unhealthy lives, then we’ll still just be treating those diseases and conditions once they’ve developed rather than keeping people from getting sick in the first place.  (Applause.)
 
See, and the thing is, is that none of us wants that kind of future for our kids or for our country. 
 
And surely the men and women of the NAACP haven’t spent a century organizing and advocating and working day and night only to raise the first generation in history that might be on track to live shorter lives than their parents. 
 
And that’s why I’ve made improving the quality of our children’s health one of my top priorities. 
 
As many of you may know, my efforts began with the planting of a garden on the South Lawn of the White House.  (Applause.)  But it’s important to understand that this garden symbolizes so much more than just watching beautiful things grow.  It’s become a way to spark a broader conversation about the health and well-being not just of our kids but of our communities.
 
And in an effort to elevate that conversation nationally, we launched “Let’s Move.”  It’s a nationwide campaign to rally this country around a single, ambitious goal, and that is to solve childhood obesity in a generation so that children born today reach adulthood at a healthy weight.
 
And through this initiative, we are bringing together governors and mayors, businesses and community groups, educators, parents, athletes, health professionals, you name it, because it is going to take all of us, working together, to help our kids lead healthier lives right from the beginning. 
 
“Let’s Move,” the campaign, has four components. 
 
The first, we’re working to give parents the information they need to make healthy decisions for their families. 
 
For example, we’re working with the FDA and the food industry to provide better labeling, something simple, so folks don’t have to spend hours squinting at labels, trying to figure out whether the food they’re buying is healthy or not. 
 
Our new health care legislation requires chain restaurants to post the calories in the food they serve so that parents have the information they need to make healthy choices for their kids in restaurants.  (Applause.)
 
And we’re working with doctors and pediatricians to ensure that they routinely screen our children for obesity.  And I can personally attest to the value of these screenings based on my own personal experiences, because it wasn’t that long ago when the Obamas weren’t exactly eating as healthy as we should have been.  And it was our daughters’ pediatrician who actually pulled us aside and suggested that I think about making some changes to our family’s diet.  And it made a world of differences. 
 
    But we also know that giving better information to parents is not enough, because with 31 million American children participating in federal school meal programs, many of our kids are consuming as many as half their daily calories at school. 
 
That’s why the second part of “Let’s Move” is to get healthier food into our schools.  (Applause.)
 
And we’re working to reauthorize our child nutrition legislation that will make significant new investments to revamp our school meals and improve the food that we offer in those school vending machines, so that we’re serving our kids less sugar, salt and fat, and more vegetables, fruits and whole grains. 
 
This is bipartisan legislation and it is critically important for the health and success of our children, and we are hoping that Congress will act swiftly to get this passed.  (Applause.)
 
But we also know that healthy eating is only half the battle.  Experts recommend at least 60 minutes a day of activity.  That’s at least the bare minimum, and many of our kids aren’t even close. 
 
So the third part of “Let’s Move” is to help our kids get moving, to find new ways for them to get and stay active and fit.  And we’re working to get more kids participating in daily physical education classes and to get more schools offering recess for their students. 
 
We’ve set a goal of increasing the number of kids who walk or ride their bikes to school by 50 percent in the next five years. 
 
And we’ve recruited professional athletes -- they’ve been fantastic -- from different sports leagues to inspire our kids to get up off that couch and to get moving. 
 
But we know that even if we offer the most nutritious school meals, and we give kids every opportunity to be fit, and we give parents the information they need to prepare healthy food for their families, all that won’t mean much if our families still live in communities where that healthy food simply isn’t available in the first place. 
 
And that brings me to the fourth and final component of the campaign, and that is to ensure that all families have access to fresh, affordable food in their communities where they live.  (Applause.)
 
And one of the most shocking statistics for me in all of this is that right now, 23.5 million Americans, including 6.5 million children, live in what we call “food deserts” -- areas without a single supermarket. 
This is particularly serious in African American communities where folks wind up buying their groceries at places like gas stations and bodegas and corner stores where they often pay higher prices for lower-quality food.  (Applause.)
 
    But the good news is that we know that this trend is reversible, because when healthier options are available in our community, we know that folks will actually take advantage of those options. 
 
One study found that African Americans ate 32 percent more fruits and vegetables for each additional supermarket in their community.  So we know the kind of difference that we can make with some changes.  We know that when we provide the right incentives -- things like grants and tax credits, and help securing permits and zoning -- businesses are willing to invest and lay down roots in our communities. 
 
And many grocers are finding that when they set up shop in high-need areas, they can actually make a decent profit.  They’re learning that they can do well by doing good.
 
So as part of “Let’s Move,” we’ve proposed a Healthy Food Financing Initiative -- a $400 million a year fund that we’ll use to attract hundreds of millions of more dollars from the private and non-profit sectors to bring grocery stores and other healthy food retailers to underserved areas across the country. 
    
And our goal is ambitious -- we want to eliminate food deserts in this country within seven years, and create jobs and revitalize neighborhoods along the way.  (Applause.)
 
So, I know these goals are ambitious, and there are many, many more.  And as First Lady, I am going to do everything that I can to ensure that we meet them.
 
But I also know that at the end of the day, government can only do so much. 
 
I have spoken to so many experts about this issue, and not a single one of them said that the solution is to have government tell people what to do.  It’s not going to work.  Instead, this is about families taking responsibility and making manageable changes that fit with their budgets and their needs and their tastes.  That’s the only way it’s going to work.
 
It’s about making those little changes that can really add up -- simple things like taking the stairs instead of the elevator, walking instead of riding in a car or bus, even something as simple as turning on the radio and dancing with your children in the middle of your living room for hours.  That will work up a sweat.  (Applause.)
 
How about replacing all of that soda and those sugary drinks with water?  (Applause.)  Kids won’t like it at first, trust me.  But they’ll grow to like it.  Or deciding that they don’t get dessert with every meal.  As I tell my kids, dessert is not a right.  (Laughter.)  Or they don’t get it every day.
 
Or just being more thoughtful about how we prepare our food -- baking instead of frying.  I know.  (Laughter.)  Don’t shoot me.  (Applause.)  And cutting back on those portion sizes.
 
Look, no one wants to give up Sunday meal.  No one wants to say goodbye to mac and cheese and fried chicken and mashed potatoes -- oh, I’m getting hungry -- (laughter) -- forever.  No one wants to do that.  Not even the Obamas, trust me. 
 
But chefs across the country are showing us that with a few simple changes and substitutions, we can find healthy, creative solutions that work for our families and our communities.
 
And that’s why I am excited about our new “Let’s Cook” video series, which we’re launching on our “Let’s Move” website at letsmove.gov. 
 
This is a great series featuring Sam Kass, who a lot of people think is cute -- I don’t know if that helps.  (Laughter.)  But this series features some of the country’s top chefs, who will be demonstrating how folks can prepare simple, affordable, nutritious meals for their families.
 
The first guest chef is a guy by the names of Marvin Woods, who’s known for his cuisine based in North Africa, the Caribbean, South America, the Low Country.  He’s demonstrating how to prepare a week of healthy and tasty dinners for a family of four on a tight budget.  And he provides recipes, shopping lists, so that folks can do it all themselves at home.
 
And finally, it’s one thing we can think about, is working to make sure that our kids get a healthy start from the beginning, by promoting breastfeeding in our communities.  (Applause.)  One thing we do know is that babies that are breastfed are less likely to be obese as children, but 40 percent of African American babies are never breastfed at all, not even during the first weeks of their lives. 
 
And we know this isn’t possible or practical for some moms, but we’ve got a WIC program that’s providing new support to low-income moms who want to try so that they get the support they need.
 
And under the new health care legislation, businesses will now have to accommodate mothers who want to continue breastfeeding once they get back to work.  (Applause.)  Now, the men, you may not understand how important that is.  (Laughter.)  But trust me, it’s important to have a place to go. 
 
But let’s be clear, this isn’t just about changing what our kids are eating and the lifestyles they’re leading -- it’s also about changing our own habits as well.  Because believe it or not, if you’re obese, there’s a 40 percent chance that your kids will be obese as well.  And if you both you and the child’s other parent are obese, that number jumps to 80 percent. 
 
And this is more than just genetics at work.  The fact is, we all know we are our children’s first and best teachers and role models.  We teach them healthy habits not just by what we say but by how we live.  Shoot, I can’t tell Malia and Sasha to eat their vegetables if I’m sitting around eating French fries -- trust me, they will not let that happen.  And I can’t tell them to go run around outside if I’m spending all my free time on the couch watching TV.
 
And this isn’t just about the example that we set as individuals and as families, but about the lifestyle we’re promoting in our communities as well.
 
    It’s about the example we set in our schools.  It’s about schools like the Kelly Edwards Elementary School in Williston, South Carolina.  It’s a Bronze Award winner in our USDA Healthier U.S. School Challenge.  This is a school where students have planted their own garden so that they can taste all kinds of fresh vegetables, they can stay active because they’ve got their own dance team. 
 
    And it’s about establishing strong community partnerships that involve folks from every sector and every background. 
 
There’s a Fresh Food Financing Initiative in Pennsylvania -- it’s a great example.  This initiative is a collaboration between business, non-profit and government that’s funded more than 80 supermarket projects, bringing nutritious food to hundreds of thousands of people in underserved communities.
 
These are just a couple of the thousands of programs and projects that are making a difference in communities across the country already.
 
So if there’s anybody here, after all this talking I’ve done, who feels a little overwhelmed by this challenge -- because it can be overwhelming -- if there is anyone here who might even already be losing hope thinking about how hard it will be to get going, or giving up, I just want you to take a look around at all the things that are already being accomplished, because I want folks to learn from each other and to be inspired by each other, because that’s what we’ve always done.
 
That is exactly what happened here in this city half a century ago.  See, because back in 1958, folks right here in Kansas City saw what folks down in Montgomery had achieved with their bus boycott.  So they were inspired by all those men and women who walked miles -- walked miles home each day on aching feet because they knew there was a principle at stake.
 
So folks here organized their own boycott of department stores that refused to serve African Americans.  (Applause.)  Handbills publicizing their meetings stated, and this is a quote:  “They stopped riding in Montgomery, so let’s stop buying in Kansas City.”  (Applause.)
 
A local music teacher even composed a song that became the anthem for their efforts.  It was entitled “Let’s take the walk that counts.”
 
And then, as you know, a few years later, in April of 1964, folks turned out in droves to pass a public accommodations law mandating that all residents, regardless of their skin color, be served in restaurants, hotels and other public places.  Even folks who were too sick to walk showed up to vote.  (Applause.) 
 
One organizer recalled that they used wheelchairs to get people to the polls and even brought one man in on a stretcher.  So think about that -- being carried to the ballot box on a stretcher.  (Applause.)  Those folks didn’t do all that just for themselves.  They did it because they wanted something better for their children and for their grandchildren.  That’s why they did it. 
 
And in the end, that’s what has driven this organization since its founding. 
 
It is why Daisy Bates endured hate mail and death threats to guide those nine young men and women who would walk through those schoolhouse doors in Little Rock. 
 
It is why Thurgood Marshall fought so hard to ensure that children like Linda Brown, and children like my daughters and your sons and daughters, would never again know the cruel inequality of separate but equal. 
 
It is why so many men and women -- legends and icons and ordinary folks -- have faced down their doubts, their cynicism and their fears, and they’ve taken that walk that counts. 
 
So we owe it to all those who’ve come before us to ensure that all those who come after us -- our children and our grandchildren -- that they have the strength and the energy and the enduring good health that they need to continue and complete that journey.  (Applause.)
 
So I’m asking you, NAACP, will you move with me?  (Applause.)  Let’s move!  I’m going to need you, NAACP.  (Applause.)  This is not an endeavor that I can do by myself.  We cannot change the health of our community alone.  I’m going to need each and every single one of you to work together for this campaign for our children’s future.  If we do this together, we can change the way our children think about their health forever. 
 
So I want to thank you all in advance, again, for your prayers and your thoughts and your support.  The struggle continues.
 
Thank you all.  God bless you, God bless this organization, and God bless America.  Thank you all so much.  (Applause.)

END
12:13 P.M. CDT

Remarks by the President at Fundraiser Event for Senator Harry Reid

Aria Resort and Casino
Las Vegas, Nevada

6:25 P.M. PDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, Vegas!  (Applause.)  Si se puede!  (Applause.)  Oh, it is good to be back in Vegas!  (Applause.)    This is a pretty good crowd.  I know you're disappointed, but I'm not singing tonight.  (Laughter.) 

Listen, I love being in Vegas again, love being in Vegas.  (Applause.)  I love this town.  Maybe not as much as my staff.  (Laughter.)  For some reason, every time we come here, Air Force One is a little more crowded.  (Laughter.)  I'm seeing people in the couches and --

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  We love Obama!  (Applause.)   

THE PRESIDENT:  I love you back.  I love you back.  A couple other people I love here.  I want to make mention -- Congresswoman Dina Titus is in the house.  (Applause.)  Love Dina.  Secretary of State Ross Miller is in the house -- give a big round of applause to Ross, right here.  (Applause.)  One of my earliest supporters, not just here in Nevada, but anywhere in the country -- State Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford is in the house.  (Applause.)  He’s somewhere out here.  Your wonderful Speaker of the State Assembly, Barbara Buckley, is here.  (Applause.) 

Give it up for Brandon, David and Mark -- The Killers.  (Applause.)  These guys, by the way, for the Fourth of July, performed for military families on the South Lawn -- and so have just been unbelievable for us.  Really nice guys -- they don't look like killers, let’s face it.  (Laughter.)  I mean, one of them is tall, but they don't look like you’d be scared of them.  (Laughter.)  But they are wonderful people, and we are grateful to them.

And then, how about Sarah McLachlan?  (Applause.)  She was   -- I met her back stage -- just delightful, and a couple of beautiful daughters.  And I'm always partial to daughters. (Laughter.)

Now, despite the entertainment, despite the nice digs, despite seeing all these old friends, the main reason I'm here is because there’s a guy from Searchlight, Nevada -- (applause) -- who has been fighting on behalf of Nevada for most of his life and is now fighting for working families all across America -- and that's your Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid.  (Applause.)       

I have known Harry since I arrived in the Senate five years ago, and we have become dear friends.  He is a man of principle. He is a straight shooter.  (Applause.)  He is a man of his word. He comes across as soft-spoken -- you know, how he’s all like “well, you know.”  (Laughter.)  Even when he’s in front of a big crowd, he’s like “well, you know.”  (Laughter.)  “Okay, okay, we're trying here, trying hard.”  (Laughter.)  I mean, that's just how Harry is.  (Applause.)  But anybody who knows Harry knows he is made of strong stuff.  This is one tough guy.  (Applause.)  A lot of people talk tough; Harry is tough.  (Applause.)

A lot of people in Washington forget where they came from.  Harry remembers every single day.  (Applause.)  A lot of people  -- instead of taking the tough votes, showing leadership, making difficult decisions, they do what’s politically expedient.  They're not making the choices that give them the best chance of staying in Washington.  That's not Harry Reid.  He doesn’t always do what’s easy.  He doesn’t always do what is popular.  But he always does what’s right for the people of Nevada.  And that's why you’ve got to send him back there for one more -- for one more term.  (Applause.)  As the Senate Majority Leader, he has always done what’s right.  (Applause.)  You’ve got to send him back. 

You know, Harry used to be a boxer.  He likes to brag about this.  (Laughter.)  But it’s -- you know, he brags in his Harry way -- he’s all, “well, I used to box.”  (Laughter.)  He’ll say, “you know, I wasn’t the most talented guy.”  (Laughter.)  “I wasn’t very fast.  I wasn’t big, obviously.”  (Laughter.)  “But I could take a punch.”  (Applause.)  “I could take a punch.”  (Applause.)

He would outlast the other guys.  And that’s exactly how Harry Reid has been able to orchestrate one of the most productive legislative sessions in the history of America.  And that's how he’s going to win this race, so he can serve the people of Nevada one more time.  (Applause.)

He’s taken his lumps.  We all have.  But I have no doubt that the people of Nevada will realize the quality of public servant that they have in Harry Reid, partly because he knows no matter what kind of lumps he’s taking, they're nothing compared to lumps that folks back home have been taking.  (Applause.) 

Harry comes from humble beginnings.  He knows what’s it like not to have a lot.  He knows what it’s like to see your folks scraping by and have to tell you, no, I’m sorry, we can’t afford this, we can’t afford that.  He’s been there.  So when he hears the stories of Nevadans who are losing their homes, when he hears stories of Nevadans who have lost their jobs, when he hears stories about people who are feeling desperate, who after doing the right thing, somehow have gotten the short end of the stick, that's who he identifies with.  That's who he’s fighting for.  (Applause.)

I just came from the birthplace of another Harry, a guy named Harry Truman.  (Applause.)  Harry Truman was a lot like Harry Reid.  You know, in 1948, Harry Truman campaigned across this country, making the case against the “do-nothing” Republicans in Congress.  (Applause.) 

For the last two years, Harry has been dealing with the do-nothing Republican leadership in the Senate, just like Harry Truman.  (Applause.)  But despite all their tactics, despite all their political maneuvering, he’s just been steady.  And we keep on making progress.  He does not give up.  He does not give in.  He keeps on fighting.  (Applause.)  And he outlasts them.  And he’s changed the landscape of America as a consequence.  (Applause.) 

We need Harry Reid because we’ve taken quite a few punches as a nation.  About 17 months ago, I took office after almost a decade of economic policies -- a decade of economic policies that gave us sluggish job growth, falling incomes, a record deficit -- I want everybody to remember this -- a decade of economic policies that culminated in the worst crisis since the Great Depression.   

Three million Americans had lost their jobs in the last six months of 2008.  Another 750,000 Americans lost their jobs in the month I was sworn in.  The month I was sworn in -- the next month, it was 600,000.  And these weren’t just numbers.  Most of you have somebody in your family who was touched by this crisis, if you weren’t yourself.  And the economic policies that led to this economic disaster were pretty straightforward.  Harry mentioned it:  You cut taxes for millionaires and billionaires, even if they don't need them and weren’t even asking for them.  You cut rules and regulations for the most powerful industries -- big banks on Wall Street, big oil on the Gulf, and then you cut working families loose. 

You tell people, you’re on your own.  You don't have health care?  Too bad, you’re on your own.  Young person born into poverty, can’t afford college -- tough luck, you’re on your own. That was their reigning philosophy.  They might call it different things -- the Ownership Society, or laissez-faire, or whatever, but this was their philosophy. 

Now, I want somebody to argue that somehow this was working well for the people in Nevada.

AUDIENCE:  Nooo!

THE PRESIDENT:  It was bad for workers.  It was bad for business owners.  And it was bad for this country.  And that's why, with Harry Reid’s help, I took a different path as President.  (Applause.)  I had a different philosophy, one that's based on how do we help ordinary families seize opportunity and use their innovation and their drive to rebuild an America that's stronger than before.  That was our job.  That was our task.  (Applause.) 

So we’ve got a different philosophy.  We said we’d cut taxes for the 95 percent of working families and small business owners who really needed help in this recession.  (Applause.)  We believe in the free market, but we also think that everybody should be following basic rules of the road, so we made sure Wall Street banks and other big corporations have to play by the same rules that small banks and small business owners have to play with.  That just makes sense. 

There shouldn’t be two sets of rules.  There shouldn’t be loopholes and special tax breaks and lack of oversight.  (Applause.)  And we decided that we were going to invest in our people and in our future; in the skills and education of our workforce; in the research and clean energy technologies that will create new jobs and new industries, and make sure America is competitive in the 21st century.  That's our vision for America. (Applause.) 

Now, since we had a crisis on our hands, since the financial system was melting down, since we -- people couldn’t get auto loans, couldn’t get home loans, people weren’t traveling.  You remember.  You remember last year.  So we had to make a bunch of decisions and we had to make them fast.  And they were tough decisions, difficult decisions.  Some of them weren’t popular.

And by the way --

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  It’s all right.

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I know it’s all right because -- because you know what?  (Applause.)  Let me tell you something. As we were making these decisions, sometimes the pundits would say, boy, you know, why is he doing that, why is Harry Reid doing that?  That's not going to be popular.  Well, we’ve got polls.  You know, Harry Reid and I, we’ve got pollsters.  They let us know when things aren’t going to be popular.  (Laughter.)  It’s not like we were surprised.  (Laughter.)  But my job isn’t to put my finger up to the wind and see which way the wind is blowing.  That's not Harry Reid’s job.  That's not leadership.  (Applause.) Our job is to focus not on the next election but on the next generation.  (Applause.)  And that's why we made those decisions. (Applause.)

We knew it would take us months, years, to dig ourselves out of the holes that we found ourselves in.  That's longer than anybody would like, but here’s what I also know.  An economy that last year was shrinking by 6 percent is now growing.  (Applause.) An economy that was shredding jobs at an unbelievable pace -- we’ve now had six months in a row of private sector job growth.  That's because of policies that Harry Reid helped bring about.  We have turned things around, and we are moving in the right direction.  (Applause.)

That's not enough.  It hasn’t moved as fast as I want.  I’m not going to be satisfied, and Harry won’t be satisfied, until everybody in Nevada who wants a job can find a job.  (Applause.) We don't want to just survive; we want to thrive.  We want Nevada to be on the move.  We want the Las Vegas dream to be a reality for everybody.  (Applause.)  And so we understand we’ve got a lot of work to do. 

Basically, the other party, their whole argument is based on the notion, well, it hasn’t moved fast enough.  Well, I agree.  I’d like to see us get out of this hole sooner, but you have to understand we are heading in the right direction.  And what the other side is offering is basically to go back to the same ideas that got us into this mess in the first place.  (Applause.)  That's all they're doing.  (Applause.) 

This is a choice between the policies that led us into the mess, or the policies that are leading out of the mess.  This is the choice between falling backwards, or moving forward.  Now, I don't know about you, but Harry Reid wants to move forward.  (Applause.)  I want to move forward.  I think most people in Nevada want to move forward.  They don't want to go backwards.  (Applause.)   America doesn’t go backwards, we go forwards.  That's who we are as Americans.  (Applause.)

What the other party is counting on is that all of you don't have very good memories.  (Laughter.)  I mean, think about it. They're not making new arguments.  It’s not like they're coming back and saying, you know what, we know we screwed up and we learned from our mistakes, and we’re going to do things differently this time.  That's not what -- that's not what you’re hearing.  They are peddling the same stuff they’ve been peddling for years and years and years.  (Applause.)

They basically -- they spent a decade driving the economy into a ditch.  And now they're asking for the keys back.  (Laughter.)  And my answer is, no, you cant have the keys.  (Applause.)  You can’t drive.  You don't know how to drive.  You drive in the wrong direction.  You can’t have them back.  (Applause.)  We’re just getting the car out of the ditch.  We can’t have you drive it back in the ditch.  (Laughter.)   

Harry Reid and I, we got mud on our shoes.  We’re -- we’ve been pushing and shoving -- car is just kind of getting out, almost -- almost on some pavement.  (Laughter.)  Some, they're all, “no, no, we want to pull into reverse.”  (Laughter.)  Run right over Harry and me.  (Laughter.)  Get you back in the mud.  That doesn’t make sense. 

I mean, look, Harry Reid’s opponent doesn’t just believe in these old, worn-out theories.  On a lot of these issues, she favors an approach that's even more extreme than the Republicans we got in Washington.  (Laughter.)  That's saying something.  (Laughter.)  That is saying something. I mean, she wants to phase out and privatize Social Security and Medicare.

AUDIENCE MEMBERS:  Booo!

THE PRESIDENT:  Phase out and privatize them.

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Phase her out.  (Laughter.) 

THE PRESIDENT:  Wants to eliminate our investment in clean energy.  Wants to eliminate the federal investment in our children’s educations.

AUDIENCE MEMBERS:  Booo!

THE PRESIDENT:  Said the answer to the BP oil spill is to deregulate the oil industry.  I'm not making this up.  Harry, am I making this up?  (Laughter.)  I know some of you are saying, no, she didn’t really say that.  (Laughter.)  She said it.  She said that if only there were fewer rules and safeguards, then BP would have been more careful -- (laughter) -- about their drilling. 

Some of you might have heard about the Republican congressman who apologized to BP -- I think you heard Harry mention him.  This, by the way, is the guy who heads up the Energy Committee for the Republicans.  We decided let’s get $20 billion to make sure the fishermen and small business people and -- (applause) -- hotels are compensated for their loss.  That makes sense.  I mean, most people around the country, it doesn’t matter whether you're a Democrat, Republican, independent -- you say, well, yeah, of course, that makes sense.  They shouldn’t be punished for somebody else’s carelessness. 

Well, this congressman, he, in a hearing, apologized to BP executives -- said -- said that the fund we’d set up was a tragedy, a shakedown -- (laughter.)  A tragedy?  You think about all those people down there who -- a lot of folks down there, just like Vega, rely on tourism.  And it’s much more seasonal than Vegas, so they’ve got basically three, four months where they make money for the entire year.  You talk to some fishermen -- they had already -- or guys who own boats who take fishermen out -- they’d already bought all their supplies, bought all their gasoline, and suddenly that's it, wiped out.  That's the tragedy. It’s not asking BP to do what’s right and what’s fair. 

But Harry’s opponent, she agreed with this guy.  She called the compensation we're providing a slush fund. 

AUDIENCE:  Booo!

THE PRESIDENT:  To compensate fishermen and compensate shrimpers and compensate small restaurant owners. 

Now, a few hours later, her campaign puts out a memo saying, well, she didn’t mean that.  (Laughter.)  They said there was some “confusion.”  (Laughter.)  And I'm sure she meant “slush fund” in the nicest possible way.  (Laughter and applause.)

Let me tell you, most Nevadans I meet -- and I've spent a lot of time here -- you know that.  (Laughter and applause.)  I've been seeing you.  Most of the people I meet here in this state, they don't think like that.  They don't subscribe to that kind of thinking.  So why would you want somebody who has that philosophy representing the people of Nevada?

AUDIENCE:  Nooo!

THE PRESIDENT:  You need somebody like Harry Reid representing you in Nevada.  (Applause.) 

My simple point is this:  You have a choice in this election -- and, look, obviously you're here -- you guys are some diehards, you guys are supporters, and you need to be energized in this election.  But when you're talking to your friends and your neighbors, they’re not following politics as closely, they’re not sure how things should go; they’re frustrated about what’s happening and they say, ah, it doesn’t make any difference.  You have to remind them, it makes a difference.  There is a real choice here.  We know how the movie ends if the other party is in charge.  (Laughter.)  You don't have to guess how they’ll govern because we're still living with the damage from the last time they were governing.  (Applause.)  And they’re singing from the same hymnal.  They haven't changed.  They want to do the same stuff.

Right after we took office, working with Harry, we passed tax cuts for over one million families here in Nevada, made over 400 loans to Nevada’s small businesses, extended unemployment benefits to 300,000 Nevadans who’d lost their jobs.  (Applause.) Twenty-seven thousand men and women in this state are working today because of what Harry Reid did.  (Applause.)  They’re in clean energy companies, producing solar power and geothermal power and new jobs.  (Applause.)

That's what Harry Reid fought for, but, you know what, his opponent -- she’s got a different way of seeing things.  And if we had had her way, there would be a lot of Nevada families and small businesses right now paying higher taxes.  There would be a lot of small business owners who wouldn't have received those loans to keep their doors open and make payroll.  Those 27,000 jobs, they wouldn't be there today.  All that clean energy work that those companies are doing wouldn't be here today. 

They want to take us backwards.  We want to move forwards.  That's the choice in this election. 

You would have thought -- you would have thought that after this financial crisis -- bear with me here because you might be scratching your head -- you would think that everybody would agree that proper oversight over the financial sector would be the smart thing to do -- just to prevent this from happening again.  We want businesses to thrive.  We want banks to thrive.  But we want to make sure that they’re doing sensible things.  We don't want them selling crazy derivatives that nobody understands.  We don't want them selling subprime mortgages with fine print that result in people losing their homes and entire communities collapsing.  We don't want them overcharging people on their credit cards for hidden fees.

So Harry and I and a bunch of people just tried to put together a sensible bit of reform.  Now, the Republican Leader in the House says, no, we can't do that, we're against that.  He says, having this big financial regulatory reform, that's like killing an ant with a nuclear weapon.  That's what he said.  (Laughter.)  So he thinks the worst crisis since the worst -- since the Great Depression, he analogized to an ant.  It’s like it should be a movie:  The Ant That Ate the Economy.  (Laughter and applause.)

So all the Republicans -- a whole bunch of the Republican leadership fought against Wall Street reform.  There are a handful of Republicans who are supporting it, and we appreciate that.  And they’re pretty much the same handful that have been supporting us on just about everything and they’re good people.  But Harry’s opponent said she’d leave everything exactly the way it is.  The status quo.

Now, I don't believe in the status quo.  Harry Reid doesn’t believe in the status quo.  You don't believe in the status quo.

AUDIENCE:  Nooo!

THE PRESIDENT:  So, thanks to Harry’s leadership, we are about to pass this landmark legislation that will end this era of irresponsibility.  (Applause.)  That's the kind of leadership that you’ll have in place.  That's what he’s fighting for.  That's why you’ve got to send him back for one more term.  (Applause.) 

You go through the list:  health care.  Now, this is an interesting example.  People in Washington, they were all surprised when I said -- well, I said in the campaign I was going to do health care, so, yes, we're going to do health care reform. Applause.)

They said, well, no, this is hard.  This is hard.  You’re going to use up a lot of political capital.  They said the same thing to Harry:  Harry, you’re going to have a tough race.  You don't want to do this.  This is hard.  But we said we were going to do it because we had met too many families out there who, because of a preexisting condition, couldn’t get insurance.  We had met folks working two, three jobs, still couldn’t get insurance.  We’d met too many people who had hit lifetime limits, couldn’t get insurance.  So we said, we’re going to do the right thing.  (Applause.)  And we did it, even though it was hard, because it was the right thing to do.  (Applause.)

Now, not only do the folks in the other party say no to reform, now they say they want to repeal it -- go back to the days when insurance companies could jack up your rates any time they felt like it, or drop your coverage when you get sick.  That's going backwards.  What do you want to do?

AUDIENCE:  Forward!

THE PRESIDENT:  I want to go forward.  But in order to go forward, you got to send Harry for another term as the senior senator from Nevada.  (Applause.)

Look, the bottom line is this:  This is going to be a tough race.  Harry reminds me, he’s never been in an easy race.  That's because he talks softly and says, “well, you know” -- (laughter.) “I don't like to brag about myself.”  (Laughter.)  “I’m from Searchlight.”  (Laughter and applause.)

So Harry is always in a tough race.  He’s just not a flashy guy.   I mean, considering we’re in Vegas, you’d think somebody could give him some tips.  (Laughter.)  You know, spruce up the wardrobe a little bit, take some voice lessons.  (Laughter.)    So he’s always in a tough race.  But ultimately, what you want out of your elected officials is somebody who knows your life, who remembers what it’s like to struggle, so that when we’re making a whole bunch of decisions that continue to face us over the next several months and next several years, that person is going to advocate for you.  He’s going to have you in mind when he’s deciding are we going to have an energy future that is clean and bright, and creating jobs and allowing us to compete?  (Applause.)  Are we going to make sure that young people continue to get the student loans and scholarships they need so we’ve got the best trained workforce in the world?  (Applause.)

Are we finally going to get our budget and our debt under control in a way that doesn’t do it on the backs of working families?  Let me just talk about -- let me talk about this whole debt and deficit thing.  This keeps me up -- this keeps me up at night.  We’ve got serious issues with debt and -- deficits and debt.

Now, keep in mind that we had a surplus -- remember that? -- with the last Democratic President.  Do you remember that?  (Applause.)  But when I walked in, this is right in the middle of this huge crisis, what had been a record surplus was suddenly a $1.3 trillion deficit.  That was when we walked in.  All right?

So we said even though we’re doing all these other things -- even though we’re giving tax cuts, even though we have to make sure that small businesses get loans, even though we are making sure that the economy stays afloat -- despite all that, let’s start taking some steps that over the long term can help control the budget.  So I proposed a three-year freeze on all government spending outside of national security, something that was never enacted by the previous administration.

And then we identified 120 government programs that weren’t working that well, so we said, let’s eliminate those and consolidate and streamline and make them work.  And then I -- then we said, well, let’s form a bipartisan fiscal commission -- an idea of a Republican senator and a Democratic senator, the two leading experts on the budget in the Senate -- let’s go ahead and adopt this proposal to come up with a long-term solution on how we’re going to deal with entitlements and all this stuff.

Now, here’s what happens.  Harry knows this, Harry remember this.  We had seven Republicans who were sponsors of this fiscal commission.  They said we’ve got to deal with the deficit; we’ve got to deal with debt.  So I say, okay, let’s do it.  I make an announcement.  And in front of the entire country I said, I embrace this bipartisan fiscal commission idea.  Let’s get this legislation passed.  I’ll sign it into law.  Next thing you know the seven folks on the Republican side who had been co-sponsors of it voted against it.  Their legislation. 

Now, this is typical.  So, look, I don't want you guys to get bamboozled.  I don't want -- when these folks start running the okeedoke on you, I want you to be clear.  (Laughter.)  When they start intoning about how “we care so much about the deficit and debt,” and “we’re tired of this out-of-control government spending” -- look, these are the folks who delivered to you a structural debt -- deficits that broke the record; turned record surpluses into record deficits.  So this is like a lecture on sobriety from folks who had been spending money like drunken sailors.  (Laughter.)  You don't want to put them in charge.  (Applause.)  You definitely don't want to put them behind the wheel!  (Applause.)  Given their track record, they’ve been weaving on the road when it comes to fiscal responsibility!  That's part of the reason they drove us into the ditch!  Don't give them the keys back!  (Applause.) 

You got to make sure that Harry Reid is in a position to look after you when we make these difficult debates.  So here’s my hope.  This is going to be close election.  Everybody here I expect will vote for Harry.  (Applause.)  That's good.  Everybody here will vote for Harry.  A couple of you who won’the -- you know because you’re scouting out what we’re saying -- (laughter) -- that's okay.  That's part of politics.  And then the other two of you who thought this was how you got to the slots.  (Laughter.)  But all the rest of you, you’re going to all vote for Harry Reid. 

But it’s not enough for you just to vote for him.  I need you to work for him.  (Applause.)  I need you to knock on doors for him.  I need you to make phone calls for him.  (Applause.)  Don't do it for me.  Do it for you.  More importantly, do it for your children, and do it for your grandchildren.  (Applause.)  And do it because -- do it because despite the storm clouds we’ve been going through, you see out in the horizon a future that's bright.  You see a future where we’re no longer relying just on dirty energy and expensive energy, but clean energy.  And it’s creating jobs all across Nevada.  We’re harnessing the sun and the wind. 

You see a future where every child in Nevada has a world-class education, and they're getting the jobs of the future.  You see a future where health care is available for every American, and we’re driving the costs of health care down for every American.  (Applause.)

And you see a future where we’re respected around the world. And you see a future where you can retire with dignity and respect.  (Applause.)  And you see a future where our air and water is clean.  (Applause.)  And you see a future where the 21st century is just like the 20th century -- it is the American century.  (Applause.) 

And you know in your heart of hearts, the only way that's going to happen is if we make sure that leaders with the integrity and honesty and the willingness to take tough decisions like Harry Reid are sent back to Washington to fight for you.  I need you to work for Harry Reid.  (Applause.) 

And if you do, then our future is, indeed, bright, and Nevada’s future is bright.  And Las Vegas’ future is bright.  Thank you very much, everybody.  God bless you.  God bless the United States of America.  (Applause.)

END
7:10 P.M. PDT