Text of President Obama's Speech In Buffalo

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READ FULL TEXT of President Obama's Speech in Buffalo


Buffalo, NY (WBEN) -- Following is the complete text of President Obama's "town hall meeting" speech to the staff of Industrial Support Inc. on Buffalo's east side.

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I don’t need to tell all of you that we are still emerging from one of the worst recessions in history. It’s been tough everywhere, but cities like Buffalo have been hit especially hard. Even before the most recent downturn began – years before – you were seeing jobs disappear and factories shut their doors. Your costs went up but your wages didn’t. And that is tough on families and devastating to communities.

So breaking our economic free fall was job number one when I took office. Remember, we were losing 750,000 jobs a month. Our economy was shrinking. And experts of all political stripes were warning of another Great Depression. It wasn’t that long ago, but it’s easy to forget just how fragile things were. And we had to take some steps that weren’t particularly popular.

Having just inherited a $1.3 trillion deficit from the last administration, the last thing I wanted to do was spend money on a recovery package, or help the American auto industry keep its doors open, or prevent the collapse of the Wall Street banks whose irresponsibility helped cause this crisis. But I knew that if we didn’t act boldly and quickly – if we didn’t defy the politics of the moment and do what was necessary – we would have risked an even greater disaster. If we simply gave in to the partisan posturing in Washington – all the poll-taking and calculation that caused an entire party to sit on the sidelines – the same party that was in charge when this crisis unfolded – millions more Americans would lose their jobs, their businesses, and their homes.

But Buffalo, I didn’t run for President to preside over decline. I didn’t run for President to watch the erosion of the middle class continue. I ran for President to keep the American Dream alive in our time. So we met our responsibilities. We did what the moment required.

Now, I won’t stand here and pretend that we’ve climbed all the way out of this hole. I read too many letters each night from folks who are still hurting or out of work to believe that. You know, economists have all kinds of fancy formulas and mathematical equations to measure the exact moment the recession ended. And it’s great that the stock market has bounced back. But if you’re still looking for a job, it’s still a recession. If you can’t pay your bills or your mortgage, it’s still a recession. No matter what the economists say, it’s not a real recovery until people can feel it in their own lives – until Americans who want work can find it; until families can afford to pay their bills and send their kids to college. That’s what we’re working for. That’s our goal.

But I can say this beyond a shadow of a doubt: Today, we are heading in the right direction. Those tough steps we took – they’re working. Despite all the naysayers – who were predicting failure a year ago – our economy is growing again. Next month it will be stronger than last month. And next year will be better than this year. Last month, we gained 290,000 jobs – the largest increase in four years and the fourth month in a row that we’ve added jobs. And last month also brought the largest increase in manufacturing employment since 1998 – a good sign for companies like this one.



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[polichick]

1. With the incredible problems for him to deal with (oil disaster, wars, etc)...

...why is he running around the country giving speeches at commencements and town halls?