For the fifth straight month, the U.S. economy lost jobs, 324,000 so far this year.
Meltdown in the mortgage industry. This is the biggest point drop that has ever
been seen in a day. The worst financial collapse since the Great
Depression. This is cataclysmic.
American workers were laid off in numbers not seen in over three decades.
Whoever wins in November is going to come into office in January facing a deep recession,
facing trillions of new liabilities. This is a once in a half century, probably
once in a century, type of event. Today I say to you that the challenges we
face are real, they are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily, or in a
short span of time. But know this America: they will be met.
On the day Barack Obama took office, America had already lost 4.4 million in jobs, an economic
disaster the worst in a generation. Some said America's best days were behind us. But like
America, he dug deep, fought back and never lost faith in our ability to meet the challenge.
The president's stimulus plan saved up to 4.2 million jobs, including teachers, construction
workers, police and firefighters working to build a stronger America. And when a flagship
of the American economy was going down, his auto rescue forced companies and workers to
retool and restructure, saving 1.1 million jobs.
Today, since the first time since 2004, all three U.S. automakers are operating at a profit.
Don't bet against the American worker. And now, instead of losing jobs, we're gaining
them. The first increase in manufacturing jobs in a decade. And over the last 25 months,
4.1 million new private sector jobs. And while there's still more to do, there's been real
progress, because President Obama never stopped believing in us, and fighting for us. He took
on the credit card companies, stopping unfair fees and hidden penalties, took on the Wall
Street banks too, fighting for tough new reforms to make sure they never again wreck our economy.
He passed historic health reform, and now insurance companies can't deny children coverage
for preexisting conditions. Seniors pay less for prescriptions, contraception coverage
guaranteed, and by 2016, 32 million more Americans will finally have health coverage. Wind and
solar power has doubled. But that's not all. Middle class taxes at historic lows, college
loans more affordable and easier to repay, equal pay for women protected by a historic
new law, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" history. Hard work, determination, real results.
But instead of working together to lift America up, Republicans were waging a campaign to
tear the president down. Virtually every Republican has decided to just say no to anything the
president proposes. Put me in the no column.
Vote no. Vote no.
Republicans are getting a rap as the party of no.
Yesterday in the end, not a single Republican voted for the bill, and apparently the relative
merits of the legislation had nothing to do with it.
Our top political priority over the next two years should be to deny President Obama a
second term. And still he persevered, here at home and
as commander-in-chief. Over the last two years you've seen a depletion
of the senior bench for Al Qaeda. Anwar Al-Awlaki has been killed.
Another huge victory in the war on terror. And then, there was the victory no one saw
coming. Tonight, I can report to the American people
and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama Bin
Laden, the leader of Al Qaeda, and a terrorist who is responsible for the murder of thousands
of innocent men, women and children. This is truly one of those moments. People
will remember where they were when they heard Osama Bin Laden is dead.
And now, the war in Iraq is over. Fore nearly nine years, our nation has been
at war in Iraq. So as your commander-in-chief, and on behalf of a grateful nation, I'm proud
to finally say these two words: welcome home. A promise kept by a president who understands
America's promise, who understands America's greatness comes from a strong, secure middle
class. That's the America President Obama believes in, and that's what he's fighting
for, every day. This is a make or break moment for the middle
class, and for all those who are fighting to get into the middle class, because what's
at stake is whether this will be a country where working people can earn enough to raise
a family, build a modest savings, own a home, secure their retirement. I believe this country
succeeds when everyone gets a fair shot, when everyone does their fair share, when everyone
plays by the same rules. And I believe America is on the way up. Thank you, God bless you,
God bless the United States of America.