The addresses are separated by three asterisks: ***
Dates of Addresses by Barack Obama in this eBook:
February 24, 2009
January 27, 2010
January 25, 2011
January 24, 2012
February 12, 2013
January 28, 2014
January 20, 2015
January 12, 2016
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Address Before a Joint Session of the Congress
Barack Obama
February 24, 2009
Madam Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, the First Ladyof the United States--she's around here somewhere: I have come heretonight not only to address the distinguished men and women in thisgreat Chamber, but to speak frankly and directly to the men and womenwho sent us here.
I know that for many Americans watching right now, the state of oureconomy is a concern that rises above all others, and rightly so. Ifyou haven't been personally affected by this recession, you probablyknow someone who has: a friend, a neighbor, a member of your family.You don't need to hear another list of statistics to know that oureconomy is in crisis, because you live it every day. It's the worry youwake up with and the source of sleepless nights. It's the job youthought you'd retire from but now have lost, the business you builtyour dreams upon that's now hanging by a thread, the college acceptanceletter your child had to put back in the envelope. The impact of thisrecession is real, and it is everywhere.
But while our economy may be weakened and our confidence shaken, thoughwe are living through difficult and uncertain times, tonight I wantevery American to know this: We will rebuild, we will recover, and theUnited States of America will emerge stronger than before.
The weight of this crisis will not determine the destiny of this Nation.The answers to our problems don't lie beyond our reach. They exist inour laboratories and our universities, in our fields and our factories,in the imaginations of our entrepreneurs and the pride of the hardestworking people on Earth. Those qualities that have made America thegreatest force of progress and prosperity in human history, we stillpossess in ample measure. What is required now is for this country topull together, confront boldly the challenges we face, and takeresponsibility for our future once more.
Now, if we're honest with ourselves, we'll admit that for too long, wehave not always met these responsibilities as a Government or as apeople. I say this not to lay blame or to look backwards, but becauseit is only by understanding how we arrived at this moment that we'll beable to lift ourselves out of this predicament.
The fact is, our economy did not fall into decline overnight, nor didall of our problems begin when the housing market collapsed or thestock market sank. We have known for decades that our survival dependson finding new sources of energy, yet we import more oil today thanever before. The cost of health care eats up more and more of oursavings each year, yet we keep delaying reform. Our children willcompete for jobs in a global economy that too many of our schools donot prepare them for. And though all these challenges went unsolved, westill managed to spend more money and pile up more debt, both asindividuals and through our Government, than