![]() So I supported the last administration's efforts to create the financial rescue program. More businesses would certainly have closed. And if we had allowed the meltdown of the financial system, unemployment might be double what it is today. It was about as popular as a root canal.īut when I ran for President, I promised I wouldn't just do what was popular I would do what was necessary. And if there's one thing that has unified Democrats and Republicans and everybody in between, it's that we all hated the bank bailout. Our most urgent task upon taking office was to shore up the same banks that helped cause this crisis. And tonight I'd like to talk about how together we can deliver on that promise. In this new decade, it's time the American people get a Government that matches their decency, that embodies their strength. We do not allow fear or division to break our spirit. Despite our hardships, our Union is strong. It's because of this spirit, this great decency and great strength, that I have never been more hopeful about America's future than I am tonight. One woman wrote to me and said, "We are strained but hopeful, struggling but encouraged." They're coaching Little League and helping their neighbors. ![]() After one of the most difficult years in our history, they remain busy building cars and teaching kids, starting businesses and going back to school. The aspirations they hold are shared: a job that pays the bills a chance to get ahead most of all, the ability to give their children a better life.Īnd you know what else they share? They share a stubborn resilience in the face of adversity. For while the people who sent us here have different backgrounds, different stories, different beliefs, the anxieties they face are the same. And what the American people hope, what they deserve, is for all of us, Democrats and Republicans, to work through our differences, to overcome the numbing weight of our politics. They're tired of the partisanship and the shouting and the pettiness. They don't understand why it seems like bad behavior on Wall Street is rewarded, but hard work on Main Street isn't, or why Washington has been unable or unwilling to solve any of our problems. The toughest to read are those written by children asking why they have to move from their home, asking when their mom or dad will be able to go back to work.įor these Americans and so many others, change has not come fast enough. I hear about them in the letters that I read each night. These struggles are what I've witnessed for years, in places like Elkhart, Indiana Galesburg, Illinois. These struggles are the reason I ran for President. So I know the anxieties that are out there right now. This recession has also compounded the burdens that America's families have been dealing with for decades: the burden of working harder and longer for less, of being unable to save enough to retire or help kids with college. And for those who'd already known poverty, life's become that much harder. Small towns and rural communities have been hit especially hard. ![]() One in 10 Americans still cannot find work. And 1 year later, the worst of the storm has passed.īut the devastation remains. So we acted, immediately and aggressively. Experts from across the political spectrum warned that if we did not act, we might face a second depression. One year ago, I took office amid two wars, an economy rocked by a severe recession, a financial system on the verge of collapse, and a Government deeply in debt. And again, we must answer history's call. And despite all our divisions and disagreements, our hesitations and our fears, America prevailed because we chose to move forward as one Nation, as one people. These were the times that tested the courage of our convictions and the strength of our Union. ![]() When the market crashed on Black Tuesday and civil rights marchers were beaten on Bloody Sunday, the future was anything but certain. But when the Union was turned back at Bull Run and the Allies first landed at Omaha Beach, victory was very much in doubt. It's tempting to look back on these moments and assume that our progress was inevitable, that America was always destined to succeed. They've done so during periods of prosperity and tranquility, and they've done so in the midst of war and depression, at moments of great strife and great struggle. For 220 years, our leaders have fulfilled this duty. Our Constitution declares that from time to time, the President shall give to Congress information about the state of our Union. Madam Speaker, Vice President Biden, Members of Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow Americans:
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