Category: September 2009

THE PRESIDENT: Please be seated. Good afternoon, and welcome to the White House. Of all the privileges serving as President, there’s no greater honor than serving as Commander-in-Chief of the finest military that the world has ever known. And of all the military decorations that a President and a nation can bestow, there is none…

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. As Commander-in-Chief, I’m committed to doing everything in my power to advance our national security. And that includes strengthening our defenses against any and all threats to our people, our troops, and our friends and allies around the world. One of those threats is the danger posed by ballistic missiles. As…

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Thank you so much, everyone. Thank you. Thank you so much. What an extraordinary honor to be here tonight. Thank you. Thank you so much. Let me — let me begin by thanking all of you for supporting this wonderful organization. I want to say how much I appreciate my former…

MRS. OBAMA: Good afternoon, everyone. AUDIENCE: Good afternoon! MRS. OBAMA: Awww. (Laughter.) We’re thrilled to welcome all of you to the White House today as we honor some of America’s top Olympic and Paralympic athletes and express our excitement about the opportunity to host the 2016 Summer Olympic/Paralympic Games. I want to thank Mayor Daley…

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Hello, everybody. Prime Minister Harper and I have just had an excellent conversation, reiterating the extraordinary friendship and bond between the American and the Canadian people. We discussed both our bilateral relationship on issues of energy, our borders, issues of trade, and how we can continue to strengthen the already excellent relations that…

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you so much, everybody. Please, have a seat. Thank you. It was, first of all, wonderful to meet all of you as we were taking pictures. And I want to say that I am so pleased to be here not only because of Arlen’s outstanding track record, but because, like me, he…

THE PRESIDENT: Hello, Philadelphia! (Applause.) It is good to be back in Philly with a man who’s always put his state before politics, before party — your senator, Arlen Specter. (Applause.) We’ve got a number of other luminaries here today, starting with the great governor and sports fan — (laughter) — here in Pennsylvania —…

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Thank you, AFL-CIO. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you so much. Please, everybody have a seat. Thank you. Thank you, guys. Thank you very much, everybody. All right, you guys are making me blush. Thank you. AUDIENCE: Obama! Obama! Obama! (Applause.) THE PRESIDENT: Thank you so much, everybody. You…

11:04 A.M. EDT THE PRESIDENT: — (in progress) — they’re just not working. We’ve got a 50 percent dropout rate, and that is not just bad for the kids who are dropping out, that’s bad for the community, that’s bad for the country. The main decision for a lot of companies is where can they…