January 24, 2012

President Obama gave a very forceful speech at a joint session of Congress, in which he addressed many of the concerns and complaints from both his supporters and detractors. 

He began by noting the sacrifices made by the troops who came home from Iraq and those who are still in Afghanastan emphasized that political and religious differences: "They're not consumed with personal ambition. They don't obsess over their differences. They focus on the mission at hand. They work together." 

He, then, reviewed the events that led to our present economic crisis and summarized the progress we have made:

"In the last 22 months, businesses have created more than 3 million jobs.  Last year, they created the most jobs since 2005.  American manufacturers are hiring again, creating jobs for the first time since the late 1990s. Together, we've agreed to cut the deficit by more than $2 trillion.  And we've put in place new rules to hold Wall Street accountable, so a crisis like this never happens again."

Then he warned those who plan to stand in the way of progress:

"The state of our Union is getting stronger.  And we've come too far to turn back now.  As long as I'm President, I will work with anyone in this chamber to build on this momentum.  But I intend to fight obstruction with action, and I will oppose any effort to return to the very same policies that brought on this economic crisis in the first place."

If you would like to read the complete transcript of Mr. Obama’s address, please click here.

"MAKE NO SMALL PLANS. THEY HAVE NO MAGIC TO STIR MEN'S BLOOD." -- Daniel Burnham