Remarks by the President on the Economy -- Los Angeles, CA

Los Angeles Trade-Technical College
Los Angeles, California

1:15 P.M. PDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, L.A.!  (Applause.)  Good to see you! Hello, Los Angeles!  (Applause.)  Thank you.  Thank you so much. Thank you, everybody.  Now, if you’ve got a seat, sit down.  I know that a couple people have been getting overheated.  A tip for you -- if you’ve got some water, then drink.  Standing in the sun is rough.  Bend your knees a little bit.  And I'm going to try to be fast.

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  God Almighty, Jesus Christ -- (inaudible.)
 
THE PRESIDENT:  That’s okay.

AUDIENCE:  Obama!  Obama!  Obama!

THE PRESIDENT:  All right.  (Applause.)  Thank you.  Now, I have to admit that I've actually met that guy before.  (Laughter.)  That's a couple of years ago and he had the same line.  He needs to update his material.

All right, everybody, settle down for a second.  First of all, I'd like everybody to say thank you to Katrice not only for the great introduction, but for the great work she’s doing helping to train people to get the kinds of jobs that we want and opportunity for people that don't have it.  So, Katrice, thank you so much.  (Applause.)  We're proud of you.

My understanding -- we understand we also have -- Congresswoman Karen Bass is here.  Where’s Karen?  (Applause.)  We love Karen.  There’s Karen Bass.  We've got -- America’s Secretary of Labor, Tom Perez, is here.  Give Tom a big round of applause.  (Applause.) 

And we want to thank L.A. Trade Technical College for your hospitality.  (Applause.)  This is a school that does good work helping the unemployed retrain for new careers.  And that’s one of the things I want to talk about today.

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  I love you!

THE PRESIDENT:  I love you back.  (Applause.) 

I always love being in California.  I spent a couple good years here in college myself.

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Occi Tigers!

THE PRESIDENT:  Occi -- that's right, Occi Tigers.  Earlier today, I sat down at Canter’s with Katrice and a few Californians who wrote to me.  I get letters from folks all across the country and I read them every night.  And folks tell me their stories -- about their worries and their hopes and hardships and successes. Some say I’m doing a good job.  Some say I'm an idiot -- which let’s me know that I’m getting a representative sample.  (Laughter.) 

But in addition to Katrice, a young woman named Kati Koster was there, and she told me about her life.  She grew up in a working-class neighborhood in Wisconsin.  Her parents taught her to value education, that that was going to be the ticket to the middle class.  First in her family to go to college; moved on to get her master’s degree from Pepperdine, stayed out in California.  (Applause.)   

And she wrote to tell me that she’s always played by the rules, valued education, worked hard but she felt “trapped” because no matter how hard she worked it seemed like she couldn't get ahead.  And she said, “If earning an education doesn’t open doors for someone like me to rise above my socioeconomic class...what does that say about our country?”  “What does it say about our values,” she asked.  She said, “I try not to be cynical, but one shouldn’t have to be rich or from a wealthy family in order to pay their bills, save some money, have fun, enjoy life.” She said, “I didn’t write this letter to complain.  I wrote because I don’t know what else to do, and as the President of my country I hoped you would listen to my story.”

So, L.A., I’m here because I am listening to Kati’s story.  I’m listening to Americans all across the country, everybody who works their tail off, is doing the right thing, who believes in the American Dream, just wants a chance to build a decent life for themselves and their family.  You are why I ran for President in the first place.  And I am always going to be listening to you.  (Applause.)   

Now, the crisis that hit near the end of that campaign back in 2008 cost millions of Americans their jobs, their homes, their sense of security.  But today, our businesses have added nearly 10 million new jobs over the past 52 months.  The unemployment rate is at its lowest point since September of 2008.  (Applause.) And this past year, we saw one of the fastest drops in nearly 30 years in the unemployment rate.  (Applause.)  The decisions we made not only to rescue the economy, rescue the auto industry, but to rebuild it on a new foundation -- those decisions are paying off. 

We’re more energy independent.  The world’s number-one oil and gas producer is not Russia, it's not Saudi Arabia -- it’s the United States of America.  (Applause.)  We’ve reduced our carbon pollution over the past eight years more than any country on Earth.  You saw an L.A. Times headline the other day that said “2014 off to the hottest start on record for California.”  That's why we have to worry about climate change. 

We’ve tripled the electricity we're getting from wind power, generating enough last year to power every home in California.  We now generate 10 times the solar electricity, creating tens of thousands of jobs across the country.  California is so far ahead of the rest of the country in solar that earlier this year, solar power met 18 percent of your total power demand one day.  That's the kind of progress, kind of leadership we need.  (Applause.) 

But it's not just the energy sector.  In education, our high school graduation rate is at a record high.  The Latino dropout rate has been cut in half since 2008.  (Applause.)  More young people are earning their college degrees than ever before.  Meanwhile, 401(k)s have restored their value.  Fewer homes are underwater.  Millions more families have the peace of mind of affordable health care when you need it because we did pass the Affordable Care Act.  (Applause.) 

None of this was an accident.  We made some good decisions, but we also saw the resilience and the resolve of the American people.  And because of that, we've recovered faster, we've gone farther than almost any country on Earth since the economic crisis.  For the first time in more than a decade, business leaders around the world have declared that the number-one place to invest is not China; it’s the United States of America.  And our lead is growing.  (Applause.) 

So -- USA!

AUDIENCE:  USA!  USA!  USA! 

THE PRESIDENT:  So there are reasons -- we've got every reason to be optimistic about America.  We hold all the best cards.  We’ve got the best hand.  But the decisions we make now are going to determine whether or not working Americans like Kati continue to feel trapped, or whether they get ahead; whether the economic gains that we make just go to a few at the top, or they help to grow an economy and grow incomes and growing middle-opportunities for everybody. 

And that’s what’s at stake right now -- making sure our economy works for every working American.  That's why I ran for President.  That's what I’m focused on every day.  (Applause.)   This is the challenge of our time.  We can't be distracted.  And if you’re in public office, and you don’t have an answer for somebody like Kati, if you're not thinking about her and folks who are working hard but still struggling every day, why are you in public service?  (Applause.) 

So today, I’m here to focus on one thing that we should be doing, which is training more Americans to fill the jobs we’re creating.  Right now, there are more job openings in America than any time since 2007.  That doesn’t always make headlines, it's not sexy so the news doesn’t report it, but it’s a big deal.  And the job training programs can help folks who fell on hard times in the recession, help them find a solid path back to the middle class. 

And I’m always impressed by people who have the courage to go back to school, especially later in life.  (Applause.)  Last month, in Minnesota, I met a woman named Rebekah, a wonderful young woman.  A few years ago, she was waiting tables.  She enrolled in a community college, retrained for a new career; today, she loves her job as an accountant.  Joe Biden’s wife, Jill Biden, teaches at a community college.  A lot of her students are in their 30s.  One of the women I met with this morning, Joan Waddell, wrote me to say she’s ready to get back in the game at age 60, after caring for a sick husband, but older workers like her need a little support.  And she wrote, “We are a great investment and we want to be part of the workforce.”  And if you’d met Joan you’d want to hire her because she is sharp.

So Americans are the best workers in the world -- if we're given a chance.  If we work together, we can help more of our fellow citizens learn the skills that growing fields require -- in high-tech manufacturing, in clean energy, in information technology, and in health care. 

Now, the good news is, earlier this week, I signed a bipartisan bill into law that would help communities update and invest in job training programs like these.  And I got to say I had so much fun actually signing a bipartisan bill from Congress -- I said, why don't you all do it more often?  (Laughter and applause.)  Why don't you focus on getting some stuff done for the American people?  It feels good.  (Applause.)  

So my administration has taken some steps on our own.  We’ve rallied employers to give the long-term unemployed a fair shot at a job.  We’re offering grants to community colleges that work with companies to expand apprenticeships.  We’re helping cities identify fields with job openings, and custom-tailor programs to help workers earn the skills employers are looking for right now, whether it’s welding metal or coding computers.  If your job has been stamped “obsolete” and shipped overseas, or displaced by new technology, your country should help train you to land an even better job in the future.  And that's something we can do if we work together.  (Applause.) 

So this is just some of what we should be doing to help strengthen the middle class and help Americans who are working to join the middle class.  And what I keep hearing from folks across the country is that if Congress had the same priorities most Americans did, if they felt the same urgency that you feel in your own lives, we’d be helping a lot more families right now. 

I mean, think about what Congress hasn’t done, despite the fact that I've been pushing them to do it.  Congress won’t act to make sure a woman gets fair pay.  Why not?  I went ahead and made sure more women have the protections they need to fight for fair pay in the workplace -- because I believe equal pay shouldn’t mean equal work -- (applause.)  And when women succeed, America succeeds.  Why isn't Congress doing something?

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  (Inaudible.)

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I get you, I understand that.

Congress won’t act to help more young people like Kati manage their student loan debt.  I acted to give nearly five million Americans the chance to cap their payments at 10 percent of their income.  I don’t want future leaders saddled with debt they can't pay before they’ve even started off in life.  Why don't we see House Republicans working with Democrats who’ve already said, we're behind making student loans more affordable? (Applause.) 

Today marks exactly five years since the last time the minimum wage went up in this country.  That’s too long between raises for a lot of Americans.  I’ve done what I can by requiring federal contractors to pay their employees a fair wage of $10.10 an hour.  And since the first time I asked Congress to raise the minimum wage, 13 states and D.C. have gone ahead and raised theirs.  (Applause.)  And here is something interesting -- states that have increased the minimum wages this year have seen higher job growth than those who didn’t raise the minimum wage.  (Applause.)  America deserves a raise.  It will be good for those workers and good for business.

So I'm not going to stop trying to work with Democrats and Republicans to make a difference in your lives.  But I've got to call things as they are.  What’s really going on is that Republicans in Congress are directly blocking policies that would help millions of Americans.  They are promoting policies that millions of Americans.  Just this year, on the other hand, they voted to give another massive tax cut to the wealthiest Americans.

AUDIENCE:  Booo --

THE PRESIDENT:  Just last week, they actually voted to gut the rules we put in place to make sure big banks and credit card companies couldn’t hurt consumers and cause another crisis.  They’re going in the wrong direction.  Our economy does not grow from the top down; it grows from the middle class out.  We do better when middle-class families and folks who are working hard to get into the middle class have a chance.  (Applause.)  

So just in case some Republicans are listening, let me give you an example of a place where Democrats and Republicans should be able to work together to make a difference.  I want everybody to pay attention to this.  Right now, our businesses are creating jobs, more companies are choosing to bring jobs back to America. But there’s another trend that is a threat to us.  Even as corporate profits are higher than ever, there’s a small but growing group of big corporations that are fleeing the country to get out of paying taxes.

AUDIENCE:  Booo --

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, hold on a second.  I want you -- I say fleeing the country, but they’re not actually do that.  They’re not actually going anywhere.  They’re keeping most of their business here.  They’re keeping usually their headquarters here in the U.S.  They don’t want to give up the best universities and the best military, and all the advantages of operating in the United States.  They just don’t want to pay for it.  So they’re technically renouncing their U.S. citizenship.  They’re declaring they’re based someplace else even though most of their operations are here.  Some people are calling these companies “corporate deserters.”

And it's only a few big corporations so far.  The vast majority of American businesses play by the rules. But these companies are cherry-picking the rules.  And it damages the country’s finances.  It adds to the deficit.  It makes it harder to invest in things like job training that help keep America growing.  It sticks you with the tab to make up for what they’re stashing offshore through their evasive tax policies.

Now, the problem is this loophole they’re using in our tax laws is actually legal.  It’s so simple and so lucrative, one corporate attorney said it's almost like “the Holy Grail” of tax avoidance schemes.  My attitude is I don’t care if it’s legal -- it’s wrong.  (Applause.)  And my attitude is, is that nobody begrudges our companies from turning a profit -- we want them to be profitable.  And in a global economy, there’s nothing wrong with companies expanding to foreign markets.  But you don’t get to pick the tax rate you pay.  Folks, if you're a secretary or you're a construction worker, you don't say, you know what, I feel like paying a little less, so let me do that.  You don't get a chance to do that.  These companies shouldn’t either. 

And the practice they’re engaging is the same kind of behavior that keeps middle-class and working-class families working harder and harder just to keep up. 

So the good news is there’s a way to change this.  We could end this through tax reform that lowers the corporate rate, closes wasteful loopholes, simplifies the tax code so people can't game it. 

And over the past two years, I’ve put forward plans that would have cut corporate taxes and made our tax system more competitive -- but Congress hasn’t done anything -- as usual.  Now, some members of Congress, in both parties, have been working together on responsible corporate tax reform so we don’t have to keep playing whack-a-mole, trying to chase folks around, we’d finally start dealing with these special interest tax loopholes. But that's going to take some time.  And in the meantime, we need to stop companies from renouncing their citizenship just to get out of paying their fair share of taxes.  We can’t wait for that. You shouldn’t get to call yourself an American company only when you want a handout from American taxpayers.  (Applause.)   

That’s why, in my budget earlier this year, I proposed closing this unpatriotic tax loophole for good.  Democrats in Congress have advanced a proposal that would do the same thing.  A couple of Republicans have said they want to address it, too. Let’s everybody get together, Democrats and Republicans, to deter companies from rushing to take advantage of this tax loophole. And let’s make sure that we're rewarding companies that are investing and paying their fair share here in the United States.

And this is not a partisan issue.  Just 10 years ago, a Republican-led Congress cracked down on corporations moving to offshore tax havens like the Cayman Islands.  We should do it again. 

I’m not interested in punishing these companies.  But I am interested in economic patriotism.  Instead of doubling down on top-down economics, I want an economic patriotism that says we rise or fall together, as one nation, and as one people.  (Applause.) 

Economic patriotism says it's a good thing when we close wasteful tax loopholes and invest in education, and invest in job training that helps the economy for everybody.  Instead of tax breaks for millionaires, let’s give tax breaks to families to help on child care or college.  (Applause.)  Let’s stop rewarding companies that ship jobs overseas; give tax breaks to companies that are bringing jobs back to the United States.  (Applause.)   Let’s put America back to work rebuilding roads and bridges and airports.  Let’s make sure the next generation of good manufacturing is happening right here in Los Angeles, and in Wisconsin, and in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.   

Economic patriotism says it’s a good thing when our fellow citizens have access to preschool, and college, and, yes, health care that is affordable.  (Applause.)  It’s a good thing when women earn the same as men for doing the same work.  It’s a good thing when nobody who’s working full-time has to raise a family in poverty.  (Applause.)  That's not un-American.  It’s how we built America -- together.  That’s what economic patriotism is.

So let me just close by saying this.  The hardest thing in politics is to change a stubborn status quo.  It’s even harder when Washington seems focused on everything but the concerns of you.  There are plenty of folks out there who count on you being cynical and say you're not going to vote, you're not going to get involved.  And that just gives more power to the special interests who already benefit from the status quo.   

Cynicism is fashionable these days.  But I got to tell you, cynicism didn’t put a man on the moon.  Cynicism did not create the opportunity for all our citizens to vote.  Cynicism has never won a war, or cured a disease, or started a business, or fed young minds. 

I believe in optimism.  I believe in hope. 

AUDIENCE:  Yes!

THE PRESIDENT:  I believe in America making progress.  And despite unyielding opposition, there are workers with jobs who didn’t have them before because of what we've done.  There are families who have health insurance because of what we've done. There are students who are going to college who weren’t going before because of what we've done.  There are troops who have finally come home after serving tour after tour overseas because of what we've done.  (Applause.)  

Don’t let the cynics get you down.  Cynicism is a choice -- and hope is a better choice.  And if we can work together, I promise you there’s no holding America back. 

Thank you, Los Angeles.  I love you.  God bless you.  God bless America.  (Applause.)

END   
1:37 P.M. PDT   

Remarks by the President at a DNC Event -- Los Angeles, California

Private Residence
Los Angeles, California

5:13 P.M. PDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, everybody.  (Applause.)  Hello, Los Angeles.  Oh, this is a nice looking crowd.  You all got dressed up.  (Laughter.)  Don’t you look cute?  Everybody, have a seat.  Have a seat.  Relax. 

It is good to be in Los Angeles.  Let me first of all say thank you to Shonda for opening up this unbelievable space and arranging for perfect weather.  Give Shonda a big round of applause.  (Applause.)  I’ve gotten to know Shonda over the last couple years, and for somebody who is just so successful and is doing so much, you can’t ask for somebody who is more humble and more thoughtful and has shown incredible kindness to me and my family.  And I am very, very proud to know her and to call her a friend.  So I just want to say thank you so much for everything you do, not just for me, but for a lot of people who she’s given unbelievable opportunities to.  So give Shonda a big round of applause.  (Applause.)  We love Shonda.
 
Kerry Washington I want to thank.  Kerry -- there are few people who worked harder on my campaign, even back when people didn’t pronounce my name right -- (laughter) -- than Kerry Washington.  And she has been -- she’s not a latecomer.  She didn’t jump on the bandwagon.  She pushed when the wagon was stuck in the mud -- she was out there.  (Laughter.)  And she’s just been a great friend.  Plus she showed me her baby pictures, and that is one cute baby.  And I want to thank her and the entire host committee for helping to set this up.

My girl, Janelle Monae.  (Applause.)  Janelle has performed at the White House, like, 15 times.  And we -- there’s going to be an official Janelle Monae room in the White House.  (Laughter.)  We love her.  Michelle and I love Janelle.  We love her energy.  We love her talent.  But we most of all love her character.  And anybody who gets a chance to talk to her, this is just a remarkable, strong, smart young lady. 

And I have to say nice things about her because she may be the only person in possession of a video in which I try to keep up with her and Usher on the dance floor.  (Laughter.)  Now, this is top secret.  She has promised that this will never be released.  But she can blackmail me at any time.  (Laughter.) 

MS. MONAE:  I love you!

THE PRESIDENT:  I love you back.  You do have that video, though, don’t you?

MR. MONAE:  I do.  (Laughter.) 

THE PRESIDENT:  Now, tell the truth, though, Janelle -- I wasn’t bad, though, was I?  (Laughter.)  I’m just saying.  Go ahead, testify just a little bit.

MS. MONAE:  (Off mic.)

THE PRESIDENT:  Let me say I did not drop in splits.  (Laughter.)  But I did bust a move.  That I did do.  (Laughter.) 

Finally, let me say thank you to somebody who’s been tireless on behalf of the Democratic Party.  She is a great congresswoman, but she is also an outstanding chair of the DNC -- Debbie Wasserman Schultz, all the way from Florida.  (Applause.)  Where’s Debbie?  She’s around here somewhere. 

So a little over five years ago, I took office at one of the most difficult times in our history.  And when I reflect back on those five years, and every gray hair that I have to prove that five years have passed, I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that by almost every economic measure we’re better off now than we were then.  (Applause.)  Ronald Reagan used to ask when he was campaigning, “Are you better off than you were four years ago?”  Well, you know what, I don’t mind answering that question, mostly because of the skill and resilience and strength of the American people, but also because we put in place some wise policies. 

We’ve seen the unemployment rate drop faster this past year than any time in the last 30, and we now have an unemployment rate that’s lower than it was before the financial crisis.  We have seen the deficits drop by more than half.  We’ve seen millions of people get health care that didn’t have it before.  We’ve seen health care inflation at the slowest rate in 50 years.  (Applause.)  High school dropouts are down.  College graduations are up.  An auto industry that was on the brink of bankruptcy is now thriving.  Manufacturing, the strongest that it’s been since the 1990s. 

When I came into office, you asked investors around the world what’s the best place to invest in, and they would say China.  Today they say the United States of America.  (Applause.)  So economically we’ve made enormous progress.  Socially we’ve made progress. 

When I came into office, we still saw that there were people who were serving this country, putting their lives on the line, who couldn’t tell the truth about who they were and who they loved.  And we ended "don't ask, don't tell,” and we helped to argue against DOMA.  And ultimately, we’ve now seen this amazing transformation in terms of how our LGBT brothers and sisters are treated all across the country.  (Applause.) 

We’ve ended one war; we’re in the process of ending another.  We’ve made sure that millions of those returning veterans are able to get the kind of college education or skills that they need in order to find a job. 

Across the board, you could argue that we’re in a better place.  But -- and here’s the “but.”  You knew there was a “but,” otherwise there wouldn’t be much of a call to arms here.  The truth is, is that people across the country still feel anxious.  And the question is, why?  Well, one of the reasons they feel anxious is because even though the stock market has hit record highs, and even though corporate profits have hit record highs, for the vast majority of folks in the middle class or people striving to get into the middle class, their wages, their incomes have flat-lined.  No matter how hard they work, they feel as if they’re treading water.  And that’s not a one-year trend, that’s not a five-year trend -- although the Great Recession made it much worse -- that’s a 20, 30-year trend. 

People don’t feel as if the basic American Dream -- if you work hard and you act responsibly you can get ahead -- that that is sufficiently realized for all Americans.  So we got some folks who are doing very well, but there are a whole lot of folks who still aren’t. 

People are still feeling anxious because some of the paths of opportunity for people who were born in a tough situation, those paths seem to be narrower and narrower.  It’s harder to get money to go to college.  If you do get to college, you’re loaded up with a whole lot of debt.  The jobs that might be available if you go may not allow you to service those debts.  And so young people start feeling anxious; they’re not sure whether their hard work will pay off in the future.

Obviously, people are concerned about some of the turmoil that’s taking place around the world.  And they look at the Middle East and they see a transition from an old order to a new order, and they’re not sure how that’s going to happen, and the terrible violence that occurs as a result. 

But the conflict that probably makes people most discouraged is the conflict they see in Washington, where members of Congress can’t seem to do anything; where all we hear about is gridlock, and all we hear about is posturing, and all we hear about are phony scandals.  And no offense, Scandal is a great show -- (laughter) -- but it’s not something that we necessarily want to be living out day in, day out.  And the truth is, is that what we see on the nightly news or on cable news is just this constant clamor of hot air, and folks posturing and opinionating but not actually doing any work that focuses on the people who sent them there. 

And those two things are connected -- the idea that the economy is not working for everybody and that the government isn’t working for anybody.  Because the truth of the matter is, when you look at our history, our economy has always grown best when it grows from the middle out, from the bottom up, not from the top down.  When everybody gets a chance, everybody does well. 

But typically throughout our history, the way that has happened is that the entrepreneurship and drive and energy and focus of the American people is then combined with some collective efforts through our government to give people a shot.  The G.I. Bill for folks coming back from World War II.  Medicare and Medicaid and Social Security for seniors; if they’ve worked a lifetime, they shouldn’t be living in poverty.  The ability for me or Michelle to go to college because somebody was out there providing grants and loans that were affordable.  Decent public schools.  Decent public parks.  A sense of community, and a willingness to invest in the next generation -- even if our kids were going to be okay, we decided, you know what, we want every child to have that same shot.

That’s how we grew this economy.  That’s how we became an economic superpower.  And so when government doesn’t work at all, it means that it’s much harder for folks to get a handle, an ability to climb up those ladders into the middle class

Now, I know I may be preaching to the choir here, but let me just be clear:  The reason government is not working is not because both parties are just at fault and a plague on both their houses; nobody has integrity; politicians are all the same, they’re all -- no.  Democrats are not perfect.  No -- (laughter) -- we got some strong partisan Democrats here.  (Laughter.)  Let me just say, Democrats are not perfect.  There are some times where we’ve done some stupid stuff.  There have been times where we’ve been on the wrong sides of issues.  There are Democrats who are more interested in getting elected than getting things done.  There are Democrats who sometimes cater to special interests. 

But the truth of the matter is that the reason right now we don’t have a government that’s working for the American people is because the Republican Party has been taken over by people who just don’t believe in government; people who think that the existing arrangements where just a few folks who are doing well, and companies that pollute should be able to pollute, and companies that want to cheat you on your credit card should be able to do that, and that anything goes -- that’s their philosophy.  And as a consequence, they have no interest in seeing anything work.  The people they’re fighting for and working for, stuff is working for them just fine.

And so they obstruct, and they obfuscate, and they bamboozle, and they sometimes don’t tell exactly what’s true -- that was a euphemism.  (Laughter.)  And the reason it works for them is because so often we look at what’s happening and we say, you know, we don’t really like the Republicans and what they’re doing, but if nothing is working, it’s not worth my time to get involved.  And people grow cynical, and people grow discouraged.  And over time they start thinking, you know what, all politicians are the same.  And most folks don’t have the time to sort out all the intricacies of Obamacare or Benghazi, or this or that.  They don’t have time for that.  All they know is it’s not working for them.  And so people then pull out and they drop out, and they don’t work.  And that further entrenches those who are protecting an unjust status quo. 

And so I’m here today -- and I hope you are here today -- to help to break that cycle of cynicism.  We can’t afford to be cynical.  We’ve got so much to do.  As much as we’ve done over the last five years, we’ve got so much more to do.  And the truth of the matter is, is that if we are serious about helping the middle class and people trying to get into the middle class, we know what to do.  We know that if we raise the minimum wage, then there are 28 million who are helped.  Janelle has spoken movingly about her family and her mom working, cleaning other folks’ mess.  I tell you what, there are a whole bunch of folks out there who if they have a higher minimum wage, it helps them.  It makes a difference in their lives.  We know it.  And, by the way, if they have more money in their pockets, that means they’re spending more money and businesses are doing better, not worse.

We know that if we were helping more families with child care and early childhood education, our kids would be better.  Every dollar we put into early childhood education we get seven dollars back -- (applause) -- and lower dropout rates, and lower teen pregnancies, and lower substance abuse.  And, by the way, then parents are helped because they don’t have the worry of whether or not somebody is going to be looking after their children safely and properly when they have to go off to work.  We know that.  Other countries are able to provide that.  Why aren’t we, wealthiest nation on Earth?

We know that women are still getting paid 77 cents on the dollar.  We’ve proposed to make sure that we strengthen the laws that ensure equal pay for equal work.  I’ve got two daughters -- I don’t want some boy getting paid more than my daughters for doing the same job.  (Applause.)  And that’s not just good for women, that’s good for America.  When women succeed, America succeeds.  We know that.  Why aren’t we moving forward on that?  (Applause.) 

We know we could be doing more to make college more affordable, helping young people lower their costs so that they start a family or start a business when they -- when I graduated from college in the ‘80s, I didn’t have any money.  I was relying on loans and grants, and working during the summer and working during the year.  But I was able to pay off most of my debt in about a year -- and I wasn’t making a lot of money that first year. 

Young people now, they’re averaging $25,000, $26,000 in debt when they come out of school.  And they start in a hole -- I said average.  There are some folks who have got more.  We could be helping them.  Why aren’t we?

We could be rebuilding America right now.  We’ve got $2 trillion in deferred maintenance.  Shonda just moved into this house.  She was telling me how she’s going to have to do a few renovations.  (Laughter.)  Well, you know what, America is still relying on roads and bridges and dams and water systems that were built in the ‘30s and ‘40s and ‘50s and ‘60s.  When we had a sense of common purpose -- why aren’t we rebuilding all that stuff?  We could be putting folks to work right now, retraining young men and women to be out there rebuilding our roads, our bridges, our ports, our electrical grid, our airports, all of which would make our economy more efficient and would help families right now. 

So we know what to do.  The problem is, is that there’s no political will to get it done.  And that’s where you come in.  That’s where you come in.  I know that sometimes people got so excited back in 2008, they though, all right, we elect Barack and that’s it.  (Laughter.)  That’s it.  Despite the fact that some of you remember -- some of you were there in 2008; you might have gone to an early rally in 2007, 2008.  And what would I tell you?  I told you at the time this is not about me, this is about getting our democracy to work, getting everybody involved and engaged.  And when we win, that’s not the end, that’s the beginning.  It gives us the opportunity to start doing stuff, and we have to continue to be involved.  And that means that I’ve got to have a Congress that has some sense and is willing to work -- (applause) -- and is willing to compromise, and is focused on the American people.  And we don’t have that right now.  And since we don’t have it right now, we’re going to have to work a little harder to get a Congress that works on behalf of the American people.

Now, one of the problems with Democrats is we’re real good on presidential elections.  We get real excited.  But during midterm elections, people don’t even know there’s an election -- don’t know who their congressman is, don’t know who their senators are.  And as a consequence, the other side tends to vote at higher rates.  We’re disproportionately young.  We’re disproportionately minority; disproportionately single women.  And we don’t vote at the same rates.  And so the midterms come around, and lo and behold we’re surprised when John Boehner is the Speaker of the House.  Say, well, how did that happen?  (Laughter.)  What happened to Nancy Pelosi?  What happened was you all didn’t work.  That’s what happened.  (Laughter and applause.)  And then all kinds of -- (laughter) -- stuff happened.  (Laughter and applause.)  That’s what it was -- stuff.  (Laughter.) 

So we’ve got to step it up in the midterms -- not when it’s easy, not when it’s sexy, not when there’s “Hope” posters and Janelle singing, and it’s all cute.  We’ve got to be in the trenches when it’s hard.  And it’s hard right now, but now is exactly when everybody has got to step up.  (Applause.)  You got to step up.  And if you do step up, then we’re going to make progress.  We’re not going to solve every problem, but we’ll make progress. 

We’ll be able to continue to develop our energy in this country in a way that also protects our environment and prevents climate change.  We’ll be able to put people to work rebuilding cars for the future that have twice the fuel efficiency -- save you money, save our environment. 

If you work hard, we will get a minimum wage increase that will help millions of people.  If you are willing to engage, we’ll get “equal pay for equal work” legislation passed.  If you’re willing to work hard, we’ll rebuild some roads and bridges and put people back to work.  If you are willing to work hard, then we can help to transform our criminal justice system so we don’t just have a pipeline from schools to jails, but instead we got pipelines from schools to college to jobs -- if you’re willing to work.  (Applause.) 

If you’re willing to work, then the incredible progress we’ve already made on the Affordable Care Act will be expanded, and more states will make sure that more people have the health care that they need, and they won’t go bankrupt if they get sick.  We’ll be able to make college more affordable.  We’ll make progress. 

So let me just -- let me wrap by saying this:  Sometimes in life, as well as in politics, we don’t get 100 percent of what we want right away.  And in life, at least -- I think when I’m talking to Malia and Sasha, and they confront a setback or an obstacle, I don’t tell them, well, you should just quit.  That’s not the lesson I teach them.  I tell them, yes, this is what life is like, and as you approach adulthood you will confront more obstacles and more difficulties.  But if you apply yourself, if you are persistent, if you’re focused, if you have a vision about where you want to go, you’ll get there. 

Well, politics is no different.  Sometimes we’re so steeped in cynicism, we are so convinced that nothing can change and nothing can happen, we forget the kinds of changes that have already been made. 

We got interns coming to the White House every six months -- incredibly talented, accomplished, idealistic young people. And they come and they’re having so much fun getting to know each other, and they’re working in our offices.  And then at the end I speak to them as a group, and I answer a bunch of their questions, and invariably one of them will ask, well, you know, Mr. President, what’s a piece of advice for us about how we can accomplish our goals, or how we can show leadership or what have you.  I said, you know, most of it is just persistence.  And persistence, however, requires a sense of hope.  Persistence requires a sense of optimism.  You can’t be persistent if you’re cynical.  You can’t be persistent if you don’t believe that at some point this work will pay off.

And so I always tell the interns -- I said, listen, if you had a choice of any moment in human history to be born -- and you don’t know who you’re going to be.  You don’t know that -- there’s no guarantee you’re going to be Shonda.  (Laughter.)  There’s no guarantee that you’re going to be rich, there’s no guarantee that you’re going to be a certain gender or a certain race -- or for that matter, even a certain nationality.  You’re just asking -- when should you be born in the history of human race, you’d choose now. 

Mankind has never been wealthier, healthier, more tolerant, better educated than it is now this moment.  And why is that?  The reason is, is because 50 years ago and 100 years ago and 200 years ago, some people looked out and said, you know what, I think we can do things better.  We can organize society better.  We can be more just.  We can be more fair.  We can give more people opportunity.  And they fought for it -- and it didn’t always happen right away. 

We fought a Civil War in this country that ended in the early 1860s.  It took 90 years before the Supreme Court was even willing to affirm what the 13th and 14th and 15th Amendment said, and declare “separate but equal” unconstitutional.  Almost 100 years from the bloodiest war in our history on our soil, just to get the Supreme Court to even acknowledge what had been the object of the fight.  And then it took 10 years from the time that Brown vs. Board of Education was passed until 1964 when the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act started to become law that could actually implement the rulings of the Court.  And then it took another 10, 15, 20 years before genuine opportunity opened up for a lot of folks.

And at each juncture, somebody could have said, this is too hard, and it ain’t getting -- it ain’t ever going to happen.  And in fact, people did, just like they told me I couldn’t be President.  (Laughter.)

So my point is, nothing worthwhile has ever been accomplished by the cynics and the naysayers.  This week is the 45th anniversary of Neil Armstrong landing on the moon.  Now, I remember sitting on my grandfather’s shoulders when I was six, seven, eight years old -- probably five or six, actually.  And I grew up in Hawaii, and I’d watch the astronauts come back in the capsules because they’d be picking them up out of the Pacific Ocean.  And we’d be waving flags, and you could see the capsule from a distance.  And I had Buzz Aldrin and Mike Collins and the wife of Neil Armstrong into the Oval Office just to celebrate.  And we started talking, and we all agreed it wasn’t the cynics and the naysayers that sent a man to the moon.  There were a whole bunch of folks who said you couldn’t do that.  It was the folks who said, no, we can do that, yes we can -- just like it was the folks who said, yes, we can overcome slavery; yes, we can overcome Jim Crow; yes, we can get a voting rights act passed.  At every juncture, it’s not the cynics, but it’s those who are filled with hope that get things done.  Cynicism is a choice.  Hope is a better choice.

And so, yes, we’ve been through five years of tough times, and yes, sometimes politics looks nasty, and yes, it can be discouraging, and yes, we’re going to have setbacks.  And every step forward we take, sometimes we’ll get two steps back, and we’ll start feeling like it’s not worth it. 

But remember, every single one of us here, at some point somebody was fighting for you when it wasn’t likely that they would succeed.  And we’ve got the same obligation to Kerry’s young daughter, and your sons and daughters, and Malia and Sasha.  And if we have that same sense of urgency in this midterm election, I am absolutely confident we can get a Congress that can work. 

And I’ve got two years left in this presidency.  I want to get a whole bunch of stuff done.  I need your help.  So let’s go out there and work.

Thank you, everybody.  God bless you.  God bless America.  God bless Debbie Allen.  (Applause.)  Love you guys.  Thank you.  And Berry Gordy, too.  Thank you, everybody.  (Applause.)

END
5:43 P.M. PDT

Remarks by the President at a DNC Event -- Seattle, WA

Private Residence
Seattle, Washington

5:04 P.M. PDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, everybody!  (Applause.)  Thank you so much.  Well, first of all, everybody give Libby a big round of applause.  (Applause.)  Libby is the same age as Malia, and it turns out that they’re both learning how to drive.  So we are -- Bruce and Ann and I share some concern.  (Laughter.)  But they seem like sensible young ladies, so we’re hoping that everything goes smoothly this summer.

It is so wonderful to see everybody.  There are just a couple people I want to acknowledge.  First of all, obviously, for Bruce and Ann to have me back in their house and the whole family here -- they’ve been such great friends and great supporters.  So can everybody please just say thank you to them.  (Applause.)  And we are very grateful to them.

Jay Inslee was here, along with Trudi.  They skipped ahead because we’re doing something else.  But give them a round of applause anyway.  You can tell them later that we appreciate them.  (Applause.)

Your outstanding mayor, Ed Murray, is here.  (Applause.)  And County Executive Dow Constantine is here.  (Applause.)  Dow, by the way, is a new dad -- 10-week-old daughter.  Mazel tov.  You can’t beat daughters.  (Laughter.)  You can’t -- sons you’re okay.  (Laughter.)

Let me start just by talking about something that is obviously of great concern to the people of Washington, and that’s the forest fires that have been sweeping across a big chunk of the state.  As I was driving over here, I had a chance to talk to the Governor and get a full briefing on what’s happened.  Obviously, these are very difficult fires.  Our firefighters take such risks and sacrifice so much to fight them, but it’s a big challenge -- and state troopers as well.  And we actually lost a state trooper as he was trying to clear out from a fire that was taking place there -- a former Marine -- and I had a chance to speak with his widow and offer our condolences.

So what we’ve done is to make sure that we are coordinating as best we can with the federal -- or with the state and local officials.  We were able to get on the phone -- my director of FEMA, Craig Fugate -- and we were able to authorize today an emergency declaration when it comes to electrical power, which is one of the most immediate concerns, and then we’re going to be working with the state on additional declarations that may need to take place.  But I just want to make sure that everybody knows that we are going to be thinking about and then helping people who are being severely affected by these fires.

It is also important to know that I’ve been talking to Western governors generally about the issue of forest fires, because although any given year you can’t definitively talk about weather patterns and attribute them to a particular source, what is clear is the trend lines indicate the potential for increased forest fires.  We’ve seen the budget for forest fires jump at an extraordinary pace over the last several years, so much so that we’re going to have to call on Congress to change how we fund forest fires.  And a lot of that has to do with drought.  A lot of it has to do with changing precipitation patterns.  And a lot of that has to do with climate change.

And so I raise that because in all the day-to-day challenges that we face that are extraordinarily important, a long-term challenge that has to be dealt with right now is making sure that the planet works for the next generation and the generation after that.  And so we’re very proud of the work we’re doing right now -- (applause) -- with our Climate Action Plan to make sure that we’re building resilience, and that’s what we’re talking with a lot of Western governors about -- how can we start adapting our infrastructure to what are already increases in temperature, but then also what can we do to mitigate the damage that’s happening in climate change.

All of which brings me to why we’re gathered here today -- in addition to the nice views.  (Laughter.)  When I came into office, we were facing the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.  In fact, the contraction was actually technically more severe than the Great Depression’s.  The difference is, is that we responded faster.  The American people responded with extraordinary resilience.  And so if you look at the last five years, we’ve now had 52 straight months of job growth.  We’ve created 10 million jobs.  The unemployment rate is the lowest since 2007.  (Laughter.)  We’ve seen the biggest drop in the unemployment rate in 30 years just this past year.  Even the long-term unemployed -- which has been a chronic problem -- they’re starting to be able to get back to work.  There are more job openings now than there have been since 2007. 

You look at some of the other trends -- obviously the stock market is up, which is not just good for Wall Street, it’s also good for a lot of 401(k) holders, who remember how scared they were back in 2009 and 2010.  We have seen U.S. companies do extraordinarily well -- not just here, but around the world.  Exports on the rise.  Our deficits have been cut by more than half.  Our energy production has been extraordinary.  We’re now producing more oil in the United States than we are importing, and that’s the first time that’s happening in a couple of decades.  (Applause.)  Our natural gas production makes us the leading producer in the world and has skyrocketed.  But, in addition, when it comes to clean energy, we’ve tripled the amount of wind power that we have; increased solar power by tenfold -- all of which has contributed to the biggest reductions in carbon pollution of any advanced country on Earth. 

And so we’ve made enormous progress across the board on a whole range of fronts -- from an auto industry that’s come back and is now going to be doubling its fuel efficiency standards; to the fact that our high school dropout rate has been reduced.  College attendance is in record highs.  There are a lot of reasons for optimism.  And, by the way, there’s this one other thing -- there are millions of people now who have health care that didn’t have it before.  (Applause.)  And that includes people right here in Washington State.

AUDIENCE:  Thank you!

THE PRESIDENT:  And yet, despite all this, people are anxious.  Now, some of that has to do with some big challenges overseas.  I am very proud that we have ended one war, and by the end of this year we will have ended both wars that I inherited before I came into office.  (Applause.)  But whether people see what’s happening in Ukraine, and Russia’s aggression towards its neighbors in the manner in which it’s financing and arming separatists; to what’s happened in Syria -- the devastation that Assad has wrought on his own people; to the failure in Iraq for Sunni and Shia and Kurd to compromise --although we’re trying to see if we can put together a government that actually can function; to ongoing terrorist threats; to what’s happening in Israel and Gaza -- part of people’s concern is just the sense that around the world the old order isn’t holding and we’re not quite yet to where we need to be in terms of a new order that’s based on a different set of principles, that’s based on a sense of common humanity, that’s based on economies that work for all people.

But here in the United States, what people are also concerned about is the fact that although the economy has done well in the aggregate, for the average person it feels as if incomes, wages just haven’t gone up; that people, no matter how hard they work, they feel stuck.  And that’s not an illusion.  Because what’s happened is, is that a lot of our gains, a lot of the progress that’s been made in this economy -- and this is like a 20, 25, 30-year trend -- have gone to the folks at the very top.  And middle-class families find themselves with stagnant incomes, even as the cost of health care or the cost of a college education for their kids keeps on skyrocketing. 

And part of what people are also anxious about is the fact that government doesn’t seem to be responsive, at least at the federal level, to those concerns.  Things in Congress feel broken.  And that’s why so many people end up feeling cynical, and they feel that, you know what, it doesn’t really make any difference -- whether it’s Democrats, Republicans -- nobody is looking out for us.  Nobody is thinking about our lives and how maybe we can just get a little help.  We’re willing to work hard, we are responsible, we’re looking after our families, but who’s there when things are a little tough or we need to go over a hump, who’s there to give us a hand up?

AUDIENCE:  You are!  (Applause.) 

THE PRESIDENT:  And so -- and part of what happens then is, is that people get cynical.  And when people get cynical, they withdraw.  And you get a spiral effect, a negative spiral in which special interests and those who are most vested in the status quo end up having more power, and people who really need government to work for them, on their behalf, they withdraw, they opt out.  And that makes government even more dysfunctional.

So my job every single day is to make sure that people around the country who are working hard and doing the right thing, they know somebody is fighting for them.  And that’s something that we’ve been doing with Congress, wherever possible.  Today we actually signed a bill.  It was shocking.  (Laughter.)  I said to the -- it was a bipartisan bill.  Republicans and Democrats passed it.  I said, doesn’t this feel good?  (Laughter.)  Let’s do this again.  (Laughter and applause.)  We can do it on immigration reform, or we can do it on the minimum wage, and we can do it on infrastructure spending. 

But -- uh-oh, see, you guys got us too excited.  What happened, everybody?  Do we have a back-up mic, WHCA?  Can you hear me back there? 

AUDIENCE:  Yeah!

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  There’s one behind you.

THE PRESIDENT:  There’s one behind me?  You think that might work?  (Laughter.)  Might as well try it, right?  Testing -- one, two, three.  Testing -- one, two, three.  All right, let’s try this one.  Good idea.  (Laughter.)  How’s that?  No?  It was still a good idea, though.  Testing, testing.  WHCA?

That’s all right.  You know what?  There weren’t always mics around.

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  We can hear you!

THE PRESIDENT:  You can hear me. 

So we passed a bill.  So wherever I can make progress with Congress, I want to do it.  Because right now there are a whole bunch of things we can do that should not be partisan.  We should be willing, as Democrats and Republicans, to work together to rebuild our roads, our bridges, our airports, a smart grid, all of which would put people to work right now, but would also lay the foundation for economic development in this country for years to come.  (Applause.)  We should be able to do that.  We should be able to help working families who desperately need help on child care and early childhood education.  That’s something that shouldn’t be partisan. 

Every study shows if you invest a buck in early childhood education, you get seven dollars back.  (Applause.)  (Inaudible.)  That’s something we shouldn’t be doing on a bipartisan basis.  When it comes to increasing the minimum wage -- 28 million people we could pull out of poverty potentially just by increasing the minimum wage.  And when people have money to spend in their pockets, folks at the bottom of the economic ladder, that money gravitates up.  It means businesses -- (new microphone given).  Oh, thank you.  (Laughter.)  Testing -- one, two, three.  (Applause.) 

It means businesses have more customers.  And you get a virtuous cycle going up.  So there are a bunch of things that we know the American people agree with.  Immigration reform -- we know that it would make the economy stronger, it would drive down the deficit.  You would have 11 million people who can come out of the shadows, pay taxes, pay a fine, and then now are able to live out the American Dream, because this has always been a nation of immigrations as well as a nation of laws.

We know how to solve some of our big problems.  But what we’re going to have to do is break the logjam in Washington.  So where I’m able to get Congress to help, I want to work with them.  Where I can’t get Congress to help, I’m going to do everything I can on my own.  (Applause.)  Everything I can on my own.  If they don’t want to pass a sensible climate change bill, we’re going to go ahead and put forward a Climate Action Plan and make sure we’re working with the EPA under authorities we already have to reduce carbon.  (Applause.) 

If they don’t want to do something on the minimum wage, at least we can make sure that federal contractors are paying their workers a minimum wage, in the same way that we can make sure federal contractors are not discriminating against the LGBT community.  You should not have to worry about being fired just because of who you love.  (Applause.)  The same way that we can make sure that, with respect to federal contractors, that if women are being paid less than men, they should be able to find out about it and do something about it, because I believe that when women succeed, America succeeds.  And I’ve got a couple of daughters; the idea that they would be paid less than men infuriates me if they’re doing the same job.  And I think it does for most Americans.

These should be partisan issues.  If Congress can’t act, we’re going to go ahead and act. 

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Spirit of a (inaudible).

THE PRESIDENT:  There you go.  A Hawaiian girl here.  (Laughter.)

But here is the key part for all of you:  There are some issues that without Congress we can’t solve the way we need to.  Only Congress has power of the purse.  We can’t make sure that everybody across the country has access to affordable child care without congressional action.  We can do some things, but we can’t do everything.  We can’t make sure everybody benefits from a minimum wage, even though states and cities like Seattle are doing the right thing, but there are a whole bunch of folks who don’t live in Seattle.  Without Congress, we’re going to have problems.  We can make college loans somewhat more affordable, but with congressional action we could be doing so much more.

And so the reason you are here today and the reason I’m here today is because I want a Congress that can actually get the job down.  I want a Congress that is serious about you -- not serious about their jobs, but serious about your jobs.  Not serious about their quality of life, but serious about your quality of life.  That’s what we’re fighting for.  (Applause.) 

And that’s why these midterm elections are so important.  I do not want anybody here to succumb to cynicism.  Cynicism is a choice, and hope is a better choice.  But in order for us to make hope live, in order for hope to be more than just a slogan, we’ve got to work.  We’ve got to work to make sure that members of Congress -- whether the Senate or the House of Representatives -- are serious about you.  And I will say, for all the Democrats around here, I’m not overly partisan. 

The truth is, my favorite President is the first Republican President -- he’s a guy named Abraham Lincoln.  (Laughter.)  If you look at historically -- Dwight Eisenhower built the Interstate Highway System.  And Richard Nixon founded the EPA.  And historically, we have had bipartisan cooperation on big issues.  The problem is not the Republican Party per se, the problem is this particular group right now -- (laughter) -- that have kind of gone off the rails.  And what we need is people who are serious about solving problems, and believe in the possibilities of government not solving every problem but solving some problems; not solving every problem 100 percent, but maybe solving some problems 50 percent. 

We can do that.  That is achievable.  But it requires the level of participation that so far, at least, Democrats don’t always display.  We are very good on presidential elections -- I can testify to that.  (Laughter.)  But sometimes during midterms we get lazy and our folks don’t turn out.  That’s going to have to change in this election, and that’s why your help today is so important. 

Let me just close by saying this -- because I think about Libby, and I think about Malia, and I think about the next generation.  Sometimes when you’re watching the news -- which I generally don’t do because I -- (laughter) -- whatever they’re reporting on I usually know about.  (Laughter.)  But it can get depressing, right?  It can feel as if, oh, nothing is working and everything is a crisis.  And when I talk to interns at the White House -- and we have them in every six months or so -- these amazing young people, hugely talented.  They’re idealistic, they’re optimistic.  And I say to them, don’t lose that optimism; don’t lose that idealism.  If you had to choose a period in human history in which to be born, and you didn’t know ahead of time who you were going to be, and what position or what nationality -- you just had to choose what’s the timeframe -- you would choose now.

The world has never been healthier, it has never been wealthier, it has never been more tolerant, there’s never been more opportunity than there is today.  That doesn’t mean that there aren’t extraordinary problems out there to be solved.  That doesn’t mean that there aren’t huge challenges that we have to meet.  But it is worth remembering that even in this country, the greatest country on Earth, 50 years ago I couldn’t be standing here; that 25 years ago, your mayor couldn’t be married.  And because of this extraordinary impulse in all of us to imagine and dream something better, and then work for it and not give up, and be persistent and pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off after setbacks, and being willing to endure skeptics and naysayers -- because of that spirit, we’ve been able to make enormous changes.

This week was the 45th anniversary of man landing on the moon.  And I had Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins and the wife of Neil Armstrong into the White House yesterday.  And I thought about how when I was six, seven, eight years old, sitting on my grandfather’s shoulder in Hawaii as the capsules were brought back from the Apollo launches, nobody went to the moon because they were skeptics.  Naysayers didn’t send anybody to the moon.  That singular moment in human history, that happened because of that spirit.  And that spirit has to translate in our politics as well.

That’s why you’re here.  That’s why we’ve got to get to work.  That’s why I ran for President.  And if we allow that spirit to live, nothing can stop us.

Thank you, everybody.  Appreciate you.  (Applause.)

END
5:26 P.M. PDT

Remarks by the President at the Embassy of the Netherlands

Embassy of the Netherlands
Washington, D.C.

11:26 A.M. EDT

Q    Mr. President, do you have any message for the Dutch people?

THE PRESIDENT:  Obviously, we're all heartbroken by what’s happened.  And this is an opportunity for me to extend on behalf of all the American people our deepest condolences over the loss of family and friends; to express our solidarity with the people of the Netherlands, with whom we've been friends and had the deepest ties for centuries; and to assure the Dutch people that we will work with them to make sure that loved ones are recovered, that a proper investigation is conducted, and that ultimately justice is done.

DEPUTY CHIEF OF MISSION MR. MOLLEMA:  And we thank the President for being here.  There’s been an outpouring of support from the American people, and I can only say that on behalf of the Dutch people, we're deeply grateful.  Thank you very much.

END
11:27 A.M. EDT