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1:18 P.M. PST

        MRS. OBAMA:  All right!  (Applause.)  All right, this is some good stuff.  This really is.  (Applause.)  Wow.  Thank you all so much.  Please, rest yourselves, because you obviously have been working hard already.  (Laughter.)

        Wow, the power of women — and a few brave men, too.  (Laughter.)  It's a good thing.  Thank you so much.  It is such a pleasure and an honor to be here with so many fabulous, fabulous women.  And you all brothers are okay, too — the men — men are good, men are good.  (Laughter.)

        I want to start by thanking Mattie for that very kind introduction.  But, more importantly, she and Michael have — they have been with us from the way beginning; the "Barack Obama Who?" beginning; the Barack — what?  You want me to write a check for that guy?  (Laughter.)  They were there from the very start, and they have not just been supporters but they have been friends, they have been our encouragers, they have been the handful of people who kind of keep us grounded in ways that I don't think they even really understand.  So I want to take this time to just give them a shoutout of love, because they are just amazing people.  Thank you.  Thank you, guys.  Thank you for opening up your home.  (Applause.) 

        I've been in L.A. for a couple of days, doing a few things, but today we had a wonderful event with your wonderful mayor, in Inglewood.  And it was a true privilege.  I mean, that's something that — I know we come here to raise money, but it is so important for us to get out in the neighborhoods and to focus on what's going on on the ground.  (Applause.)  Thank you, mayor.  Thank you for your leadership, thank you for your service, and thank you for taking time to be here with me today.  It means a lot.

        And of course, I want to recognize all the co-chairs and all the host committee people, and everyone here who worked so hard to make this event what is obviously a tremendous success.  Thank you all so much. 

        And finally, I want to thank everyone — everyone — for being here this afternoon.  Because the women in this room, the people in this room are busy folks.  And I know there's a reason why you are all here today.  And while you all may love me, it's not just because you like me — which I hope you do.  (Laughter and applause.)

        But you’re here because you also know that we stand at a fundamental crossroads for our country.  This is serious stuff.  You’re here because you know that in less than a year from today, we're going to make a choice that will impact our lives for decades to come.

        And you’re here because you know that that choice won’t just affect all of us, but more importantly, it's going to affect our children and our grandchildren and the world we leave for them long after we're gone.  And that's why I'm here today.  That’s why I'm going to be out there, working hard.  That's — we have only just begun.

        You see, as First Lady, I have had the privilege — and this is a wonderful job — of traveling all across this country, something that we should all have the privilege and the honor to do.  Because when you do that, you get to meet folks — folks from all different kinds of backgrounds — and I get to hear what’s going on in their lives.

        Every day, I hear about how people are struggling to keep it together — the bills they're trying to pay, the business they're trying to keep afloat.  I hear about how folks are doing everything in their power to make it work, taking the extra shift, or working that extra job; how so many people are saving and sacrificing, not spending a dime on themselves because they desperately want something better for their kids.

        This is our America.  And make no mistake about it, these struggles are not new.  For decades now, middle-class folks have been squeezed from all sides.  While the cost of things like gas and groceries — tuition — have continued to rise, people’s paychecks just haven’t kept up.

        So when the economic crisis hit, for far too many families the bottom completely fell out.  Now, over the past three years, your President has worked very hard to dig us out of this mess.  And there has been a lot of progress made.  A lot of progress made.  (Applause.)  What I want you all to remember, if anybody asked:  We have had 22 straight months of private sector job growth.  (Applause.)  And the unemployment rate is now the lowest it’s been in nearly three years.  (Applause.)

        But we know that we still have a very long way to go.  Folks are still struggling.  And your President has been working hard to rebuild our economy based on a vision.  See, a President has to have a vision, and his is one that we all share — the belief, as my husband says, that hard work should pay off; that responsibility should be rewarded; and that everyone — everyone — in this country should get a fair shot, do their fair share, and play by the same rules.  (Applause.)  See, these are basic American values.  They're the values that so many of us were raised with, including myself.  We know these values.  We know who we are.

        My father was a blue-collar city worker; worked at water plant.  My family lived in a little-bitty apartment on the South Side of Chicago.  Neither — (applause) — yeah, South Side.  (Laughter and applause.)  Neither of my parents — I'm sure like many people in this room — they didn't attend college.  But what my parents did, like so many — they worked, and they saved, and they sacrificed everything for us.  My mother is still sacrificing her life to be a part of ours.  Because they want so much to have me and my brother to have more than they could ever imagine.

        See, and more than anything else, we have to remember that's what’s at stake — that fundamental promise that no matter who you are, or how you started out, if you work hard, you can build a decent life for yourself, and yes, an even better life for your kids.  That's what's at stake.

        And on just about every issue — from health care to education to the economy — that's the choice we face.

        For example, when we talk about tax cuts for middle-class families, when we talk about unemployment insurance for folks out of work, we're talking about whether people can heat their homes; put a hot meal on the table; put gas in their car so that they can even look for work.  We talk about these issues — this is about whether folks can afford to own a home, send their kids to college, retire with just a little dignity and security.  It’s about whether people will have more money in their pockets, which means more money in our economy, which in turn means more jobs.

        And that’s what’s at stake.  That is the choice we face.  That's why you're here.

        And if you think, for a minute, about what the Obama administration has done to stand up for the American consumer — see, I’m talking about families getting hit with those hidden credit card fees; I’m talking about students — our students, America's students — drowning in debt; our seniors losing their homes, losing their savings because they were tricked into loans they couldn’t afford, couldn't understand. 

        And that’s why my husband created a new consumer watchdog with just one simple mission, and that is to protect folks from exactly these kind of abuses.  Because when you’ve worked, and you’ve saved, and you've followed the rules, you shouldn’t lose it all to someone looking to make an easy buck.  That is not fair.  That is not right.  And your President is working to do something about that.  That's what's at stake.  (Applause.)

        And what about what we've all done together for our small businesses?  I mean, these are the companies that create two-thirds of all new jobs each year in this country — two-thirds.  We're talking about the mom who opens up a drycleaners in her neighborhood to help provide for her kids — that's who we're talking about.  We're talking about the family that's been running that neighborhood diner for generations, or the veteran who launches a startup and pursues that American Dream that he fought so hard for.

        See, it's these folks who work themselves to the bone during the day, and then they head home, pore over the books late into the night, determined to make those numbers add up.  See, for these folks, the small business tax cuts that this administration has passed, that means the difference from these folks hiring new employees or handing out pink slips; it's the difference between them closing their doors for good, or having a place open forever.

        That is the choice we face.

        And how about the very first bill my husband signed into law — the very first thing he did as President of the United States:  the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, to help women get equal pay for equal work.  (Applause.)

        And he did this because he knows what it means when women aren’t treated fairly in the workplace.  See, he watched his own grandmother, woman with a high school education, who worked her way up to become the vice president at a little community bank.  And he saw how hard she worked.  He saw how good she was at her job.  Yet, like so many women, she hit that glass ceiling and watched men no more qualified than she was — men she had actually trained — climb that corporate ladder ahead of her.

        So, believe me, Barack, for him, this issue is not abstract.  This is not hypothetical for your President.  He signed this bill because he knows that closing that pay gap can mean the difference between women losing , 0, 0 from each check, or having that money to buy gas and groceries, to put school clothes on the backs of their children.

        He did it because when nearly two-thirds of women are breadwinners or co-breadwinners, he knows that women’s success in this economy is the key to families’ success in this economy.  (Applause.)  And he did it because, as he put it, we believe that here in America, there are no second-class citizens in our workplace. 

        That is what’s at stake in this election.

        And let’s talk just a minute about health care.  Just a little second about health care.  (Applause.)  Because last year, we made history together by finally passing health reform.  We did that together.  But now, there are folks actually talking about repealing this reform.  So today, we have to ask ourselves, are we going to stand by and let that happen?  Or are we going to stand up to those insurance companies?  Are we going to let them refuse to cover things like cancer screenings, prenatal care; things that save money, but more importantly, save lives?  Or are we going to stand up for our lives, and the lives of the people we love?  What are we going to do?  (Applause.) 

        Are we going to go back to the days when insurance companies could deny our children coverage because they have a pre-existing condition like cancer, diabetes, even asthma?  Or will we stand up and say that in this country, no one should ever have to choose between going bankrupt or watching their child suffer because they can’t afford a doctor?

        And when our kids get older and they graduate from school, we all know how hard it is for them to find jobs, let alone jobs with insurance.  And that’s why, as part of health reform, kids can now stay on their parents’ insurance until they’re 26 years old.  (Applause.)  And today, that is how 2.5 million of our young people are getting their coverage.

        So will we take that insurance away from our kids?  Or will we say that we don't want our sons and our daughters going without health care when they’re just starting out, trying to build families and careers of their own?  But that is the choice we face.

        And think, for a minute, about what's been done on education.  Think about all the investments your President has made to raise standards and reform our public schools.  I mean, this is about — (applause) — yes, it's about improving the circumstances for millions of children in this country.  I mean, these are all our kids we know are sitting in crumbling classrooms; our kids, with so much promise, kids who could be anything they wanted if we just gave them a chance.

        And think about how we've tripled investments for job training at community colleges.  I mean, this is about hundreds of thousands of hard-working folks who are determined to get the skills they need to better their job and better their wages.  I mean, these are the folks who are doing it all.  They’re working full-time, raising kids, but they still make it to class every evening, study late into the night because they desperately want something better for their families.

        And make no mistake about it, this kind of investment in our students and our workers will determine nothing less than the future of this economy.  It will determine whether we’re prepared to make the discoveries and to build the industries that will let us compete with any country, anywhere in the world.  That’s what’s at stake.

        And let us not forget what it meant when my husband appointed those two brilliant Supreme Court Justices — (applause) — and for the first time in history, our daughters and our sons watched three women take their seat on our nation’s highest court.  (Applause.)  And let's not forget the impact their decisions will have on our lives for decades to come — on our privacy and our security; on whether we can speak freely, worship openly and, yes, love whomever we choose.  That’s what’s at stake here.  (Applause.)  That’s the choice we're facing in this election.  That's why you're here.  (Applause.)

        And finally, let’s not forget about all this administration has done to keep our country safe and restore our standing in the world.  (Applause.)  And thanks to our brave men and women in uniform, we finally brought to justice the man behind the 9/11 attacks and so many other horrific acts of terror.  (Applause.)

        My husband ended the war in Iraq, brought our troops home for the holidays.  (Applause.)  And, yes, we are working, now that these wars are coming to a close, to make sure that our veterans and their families get the education, the employment, the benefits that they have earned.  (Applause.)  

        And because my husband ended "don’t ask, don’t tell," never again will our troops have to lie about who they are to serve the country they love.  (Applause.)  Believe me, that is what’s at stake.  That's the choice.  That's what's going on this year.  (Applause.)

        So make no mistake about it, whether it’s health care, whether it's the economy, education, foreign policy, you name it — I could go on, but we don't have all day.  (Laughter.)  The choice we make will determine nothing less than who we are as a country, but more importantly, who do we want to be.  Who are we?

        Will we be a country where opportunity is limited to a few at the top?  Is that who we are? 

        AUDIENCE:  No!

        MRS. OBAMA:  Or will we be a place where if you work hard, you can get ahead no matter who you are or how you started?  Who are we?  That's what we have to ask ourselves.  (Applause.)  Will we tell folks who’ve done everything right, but are struggling just a little bit — are we going to tell those folks, tough luck, you’re on your own?  I mean, who are we?

        Or will we honor that fundamental American belief that this country is strongest when we’re all better off?  Who do we want to be?  Will we continue all the change we’ve begun, all the progress that we’ve made, or will we allow everything to just slip away?  What are we going to do?  But that is the choice we face.  See, those are the stakes.

        And, believe me, your President, my husband, he knows this far too well.  He understands these issues, because he’s lived them.  He was raised by a single mother he watched struggle to put herself through school, pay the bills.  And when she needed help, who stepped in?  His grandmother, waking up every morning before dawn to take that bus to the job at a bank.  And even though she was passed over — clearly faced disappointment — she didn’t complain.  How many people do we know like that in our lives?  She didn't complain.  She just kept showing up, just kept doing her best.  (Applause.)

        So, believe me, Barack knows what it means when a family struggles.  This isn't a joke to him.  He knows what it means when someone doesn’t have a chance to fulfill their potential, what that does to the spirit.  Those are the experiences that have made him the man, and yes, the President he is today.  And we are blessed to have him.  (Applause.) 

        And I share this with everyone:  It is that — is what I hear in his voice when he returns home from a long day traveling around the country, and he tells me about the people he’s met.  See, that's what I see in those quiet moments late at night, after the girls have gone to bed, and he is up poring over those letters — the thousands of letters people send him.  The letter from the woman dying of cancer whose insurance company won’t cover her care; the letter from the father still struggling to pay his family’s bills; the letter from too many young people with so much promise, and so few opportunities.

        And I hear the passion and the determination in his voice.  He says, "You won’t believe what folks are going through."  He says, "Michelle, this is not right.  We have to fix this.  We have so much more to do."

        See, when it comes to the people Barack meets, he has a memory like a steel trap.  (Laughter.)  He might not remember your name, but if he's had a few minutes and a decent conversation, he will never forget your story.  It becomes imprinted on his heart.  And that's what he carries with him every single day — it is our collections of struggles and hopes and our dreams.

        And that is where he gets his passion.  That is where he gets his toughness and his fight.  And that’s why, when he faces those hard moments, when it seems like all is lost and we're all sweating it, wringing our hands and sweating him — "Oh, lord, Barack" — (laughter) — "What you going to do now?"  "Oh, no!" — because I've done it, too.  (Laughter.)  Barack Obama never loses sight of the end goal.  He sees it.  (Applause.)  He never lets himself get distracted by all that chatter and noise.  He just keeps moving forward.  (Applause.)

        Because, as I said earlier, he has a vision for this country.  And it is a vision that we all share.  But I have said this before and I will say it again and again — he cannot do this alone.  He cannot do this alone.  That was never the promise — never the promise.  I know I didn’t make that promise.  (Laughter.)

        He needs your help.  He needed it then, he needs you now.  He needs you to be fired up.  He needs you to understand like nothing else what is at stake.  So you make those calls.  Look what you've done just in this room.  This has to be multiplied 100-fold.  We need you to register those voters.  He needs you to take your “I’m In” cards, sign them up.  Sign up your friends, your neighbors, and your colleagues.  Do not underestimate the power of that one-on-one connection.  People have to know what this President has done, what's at stake, and what more we have to let — have left to do.  You have to convince them to join in giving just a little part of their lives each week to this campaign.

        Because we all know that this is not just about one extraordinary man.  Although, I think my husband is very cute, very wonderful.  (Laughter and applause.)  And as it turns out, he can sing.  (Laughter and applause.)  But it was never about Barack Obama.  This election, this presidency was not about Barack Obama.  It's always been — it always has been about us.  All of us.  All of us coming together for the values we believe in, and the country that we want to be.

        And I’m not going to kid you, this journey is going to be long.  It already has been.  (Laughter.)  There are going to be many twists and turns along the way.  See, but the truth is that’s how change always happens in this country — always.  The reality is — and we have to own this — real change is slow.  Real change does take time.  Real change never happens all at once.  But if we keep showing up, if we keep fighting the good fight, then eventually we will get there.  Because we always do.  We have never moved backwards — never.  There has never been a point in time when we moved backwards.  Maybe it won't happen in our lifetimes, but maybe it will happen in our children’s lifetime, maybe it will happen in our grandchildren’s lifetimes.

        Because in the end, that’s what this is about.  In the end, we are not fighting these battles for ourselves.  It's not about us.  We are fighting them for our sons and our daughters.  We're fighting them for our grandsons and our granddaughters.  (Applause.)  We’re fighting for the world we want to leave for them.  This is about them, it's not about us.  (Applause.)

        And I am in this not just as a mother who wants to leave a legacy for my girls.  I’m in this as a citizen who knows what we can do together to change this country for the better.  Because the truth is that no matter what happens, my girls will be fine.  See, they're blessed.  My girls will have plenty of advantages and opportunities in their lives, and that's probably true for so many of your kids as well.

        But I think the last few years have shown us the truth of what Barack has always said:  that if any child in this country is left behind, then that matters to all of us, even if she is not our daughter, even if he is not our son.  (Applause.)  If any family in this country struggles, then we cannot be fully content with our own family’s good fortune, because that is not who we are.  (Applause.)

        In the end, we cannot separate our individual story from the broader American story.  That is not who we are.  Because we know that in this country, we rise and we fall together.  And we know that if we make the right choices, if we have the right priorities, we can ensure that everyone gets a fair shake, that everyone has a chance to get ahead.  That is what's at stake.

        So it's time for us to get moving.  It is time for us to get to work.  We don't have time to be tired, or disappointed, or complacent.  We don't have time.  So I have one last question:  Are you in?

        AUDIENCE:  Yes!  (Applause.)

        MRS. OBAMA:  No, no, are you in?

        AUDIENCE:  Yes!  (Applause.) 

        MRS. OBAMA:  Are you ready for this?  Because I am in, and I am so fired up.  (Applause.)  I hope you all are ready to go.  We've got work to do.  We've got a vision to create.  We've got more people who need help.  We've got more kids who need work done.  And I am looking forward to getting out there, and I need every single one of you just as passionate today as you will be in 10 months.

        You all — thank you all so much.  Thank you for having our backs.  God bless you all.  (Applause.)
 
END 1:45 P.M. PST

White House.gov Press Office Feed

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Mandarin Oriental Hotel
Washington, D.C.

4:44 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  Thank you.  (Applause.)  Thank you, everybody.  Thank you.  Please, please have a seat.  It is wonderful to see all of you here this afternoon.  Some old friends and some new friends.

As you know, I’m not here tonight just as President, but also as an adopted member of the Crow Nation.  (Applause.)  If my adoptive parents were here, I know what they’d say:  Kids just grow up so fast.  (Laughter.)

When I made that visit to Montana, I said that my job wasn’t just to win an election.  It was to make sure that Washington started to focus on you.  And I took that commitment seriously.

My commitment is deeper than our unique nation-to-nation relationship.  It’s a commitment to making sure that we get that relationship right.  Native Americans have to be full partners in our economy.  Your children and your grandchildren have to have an equal shot at the American Dream.

And that’s why for three years in a row now, we’ve brought tribal leaders to Washington to develop an agenda that reflects your hopes and your aspirations and the needs of your tribes.  I’ve appointed Native Americans to senior positions in my administration and in my White House.  And many of you have had a chance to work with Kim Teehee, who does an extraordinary job coordinating our Native American affairs in the White House.  (Applause.)  And we’ve worked together to tackle some of the most difficult challenges facing Native American families.

And we should be proud of what we’ve done so far.  But it should also sharpen our resolve to do even more.

As long as Native Americans face unemployment rates that are far higher than the national average, we’ve got more work to do.  And I wake up every day focused on how do we restore America’s promise for all our people, including our first Americans.

So in my State of the Union address this week, I laid out my blueprint for an economy that’s built to last, an economy built on American manufacturing and American energy, skills for American workers and a return to American values of fair play and responsibility.  And that’s what we’re fighting for.

And I want you guys to be full partners in that fight because I believe that one day we’re going to be able to look back on these years and say this was a turning point in nation-to-nation relations; that this was turning point when the nations all across the country recognized that they were full partners, treated with dignity and respect and consultation; that this wasn’t just a side note on a White House agenda, but this was part and parcel of our broader agenda to make sure that everybody has opportunity.

And it’s also a moment when we build a strong middle class in Indian country.  It’s not simply a ward but is able to marshal the resources to create its own agenda and its own destiny and its own economic development and its own businesses.  That’s what we’re looking for.

We want new businesses and new opportunities to take root on the reservation.  We want to stop repeating the mistakes of the past and begin building a better future — one that honors old traditions and also welcomes every single Native American into the American Dream.

We’ve done some great work together — whether it’s making sure that Indian Health was permanently extended and that we were putting additional resources to make sure that we’re picking up the health of Native Americans all across the country.  Whether it’s an executive order that specifies our focus on education with all of your tribes, whether it’s making sure that we are working hard to allow the expansion of land in trust on behalf of nations to go further, we’ve made some significant progress.  But we’ve got a lot more to do.

And I’m going to need all of you to continue to consult with us, to continue to work with us, continue to partner with us.  I guarantee you that the work we’ve done over these first three years is not the end, it’s just the beginning.

And if you stick with me, I promise you guys I’m going to be sticking with you.  All right, God bless you.  Thank you.  Thank you.  (Applause.)

END
4:52 P.M. EST

White House.gov Press Office Feed

Private Residence
Sarasota, Florida

1:50 P.M. EST

MRS. OBAMA:  Oh, my goodness!  (Applause.)  Thank you so much.  (Applause.)  This is beautiful.  I am never leaving.  (Laughter.)  It is such a pleasure and an honor to be back here.  I remember this event so well, because the Lobos are amazing — terrific, warm family.  This is a beautiful house, beautiful venue.  I think I wanted to stay last time.  (Laughter.)  So we have to arrange this differently from now on.

But I want to start by thanking Caren for not just that kind introduction — (applause) — absolutely.  But I want to thank Caren and Dick and their wonderful family for hosting us in their home again, and for all that they’ve done on behalf of this administration, our family.  It's this kind of consistent support — so many of you were here that time ago — it matters.  It really does make a difference to us as we're working so hard.  So we are so grateful.  So a round of applause to all of you.  (Applause.)

And we have to thank Alyssa White for her wonderful performance.  She is a tremendous talent, a beautiful young woman.  (Applause.)  Sign of the future — that's who we're working for. 

And of course, I want to thank our host committee for their outstanding work — this is an amazing turnout.  And I heard you guys were flawless to work with, so thank you all.  I want to make sure that we thank the caterers, the wait staff, everyone who's worked so hard to make this event such a success.  Thank you all.  (Applause.)

And finally, thank you for joining us this afternoon.  And I know that there's a reason why you all are here today, and it has a little more to do with spending a wonderful, sunny afternoon with a wonderful view and good food and good friends.  You're here because you know that we stand at a fundamental crossroads for our country.  You’re here because you know that in less than a year from now, we're going to make a choice that will impact our lives for decades to come.

And you’re here because you know that that choice won’t just affect all of us, it will also affect our children and our grandchildren and the world we leave for them long after we’re gone.  (Applause.)  Absolutely. 

And that is also why I’m here today.  You see, as First Lady, I have had the privilege of traveling all across this great country, meeting folks from different backgrounds and hearing what’s going on in their lives.  And every day, I hear about their struggles -– the bills they’re trying to pay, the businesses they’re trying to keep afloat.  I hear about how people are taking that extra shift, working that extra job; how people are saving and sacrificing, never spending a dime on themselves, because they desperately want something better for their kids.

And make no mistake about it, these struggles are not new.  For decades now, middle-class folks have been squeezed from all sides.  The costs for things like gas and groceries and tuition have been rising, but people’s paychecks just haven’t kept up.

So when the economic crisis hit, for far too many families, the bottom just completely fell out.  And now, over the past three years, we have worked very hard to dig ourselves out of this mess.  And we have made some wonderful progress — wonderful progress.  (Applause.)  We have had 22 straight months of private sector job growth, and the unemployment rate is now the lowest it’s been in nearly three years.  That's the truth.  (Applause.)

But we know that we have a long way to go.  And we’ve been working hard to rebuild our economy.  Your President has been working hard to build that economy based on a vision, a vision that we all share -– the belief, as my husband says, that hard work should pay off, that responsibility should be rewarded, and that everyone should get a fair shot, everyone should do their fair share and play by the same rules.  (Applause.)

And these are basic American values.  They’re the values that so many of us were raised with, including myself.  You know my story.  My father was a blue-collar worker, worked at a water plant.  My family lived in the South Side of Chicago, a little-bitty apartment.  My mother still lives there.  My room looks exactly the same.  (Laughter.)  She won't change the bedspread  — nothing.  (Laughter.)  Neither of my parents attended college, but they worked and they saved and they sacrificed everything, because they wanted something more for me and my brother.

And more than anything else, that is what’s at stake, that fundamental promise that no matter who you are, or how you started out, if you work hard, you can build a decent life for yourself and an even better life for your kids.

And on just about every issue -– from health care to education to the economy -– that is the choice we face.  For example, when we talk about tax cuts for middle-class families, or unemployment insurance for folks out of work, that’s about whether people can heat their homes; it's about whether or not people will be able to put a hot meal on their table, or put gas in their car so that they can get to work, look for work.  It’s about whether folks can afford to own a home; send their kids to college; retire with dignity and security.  It’s about whether people will have more money in their pockets, which means more money in our economy, which means more jobs.

And that’s what’s at stake here.  That is the choice that we face.

And if we think for just a minute about what this administration has done to stand up for American consumers — I’m talking about families getting hit with those hidden credit card fees.  I’m talking about students, our kids, drowning in debt; our seniors losing their homes and savings because they were tricked into loans they couldn’t afford, couldn't understand.

And that’s why my husband created a new consumer watchdog with just one simple mission –- (applause) — and that is to protect folks from exactly these kind of abuses.  Because when you’ve worked hard and you’ve saved and you’ve followed the rules, your President believes that you shouldn’t lose it all to someone looking to make some easy money.  That’s not fair.  It’s not right.  And we are working hard, your President is working hard, to do something about it. 

And what about all we’ve done together for our small businesses, the companies that create two-thirds of all new jobs each year — two-thirds.  I’m talking about the mother who opens up a dry-cleaning store in the neighborhood to provide for her kids.  Or the family that’s been running that neighborhood diner for generations.  Or the veteran who launches a startup and pursues that American Dream he fought so hard for. 

See, those are the folks who work themselves to the bone during the day, and then they head home and they pore over their books late into the night, determined to make those numbers add up.  That's who we're talking about.  For these folks, the small business tax cuts this administration has passed mean the difference between hiring new employees or handing out pink slips.  It's the difference between keeping their doors open, or closing up shop for good.   

And that is the choice that we face.  That is the difference.

And how about the very first bill my husband signed into law — the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act to help women get equal pay for equal work?  (Applause.)  The first thing he did.  And he did this because he knows what it means when women aren’t treated fairly in the workplace.

Barack watched his own grandmother –- a woman with a high school education, who worked her way up to become a vice president at a little community bank.  And she worked hard, and she was very good at what she did.  But like so many others, she hit a glass ceiling.  She watched men no more qualified than she was –- men she had actually trained -– be promoted up the ladder ahead of her. 

So, believe me, Barack knows that, for him, this issue is not abstract — this isn't hypothetical.  He signed this bill because he knows that closing that pay gap can mean the difference between women losing , 0, 0 from each paycheck, or having that money for gas and groceries, school clothes for their kids.  

He did it because when nearly two-thirds of women are breadwinners or co-breadwinners, he knows that women’s success in this economy is the key to families’ success in this economy.  (Applause.)  And he did it because, as he put it, we believe that here in America, there are no second-class citizens in our workplace. 

That is what's at stake here.  That's what we're fighting for.  (Applause.)

And let’s talk for just a minute about health care.  Last year, we made history together by finally — finally passing health reform.  But now, there are folks out there actually talking about repealing that reform.  And today, we have to ask ourselves, are we going to stand by and let that happen?

AUDIENCE:  No!

MRS. OBAMA:  Are we going to let insurance companies refuse to cover things like cancer screenings, prenatal care that don’t just save money, but save lives?  Or will we stand up for our lives — and for the lives of the people that we love?  (Applause.)   

Are we going back to the days when insurance companies could deny our children coverage because they have a preexisting condition like cancer or diabetes or even asthma?  Or will we stand up and say that in this country, no one should ever have to choose between going bankrupt or watching their child suffer because they can’t afford a doctor. 

And when our kids get older and graduate from school, we know how hard it is for them to find jobs — or jobs with insurance, which are even harder.  And that's why, as part of health reform, kids can now stay on their parent's insurance until they’re 26 years old.  And today, that’s how 2.5 million of our young people are getting their coverage.  (Applause.)  

So will we take that insurance away from our kids?  Or will we say that we don’t want our sons and daughters going without health care when they’re just starting out, trying to build families and careers of their own?   But that is the choice we face.

And think for a moment about what’s been done on education. 

Think about all those investments to raise standards and reform our public schools.  This work is about improving the circumstances for millions of children in this country.  These are all our children.  Kids we know are sitting right now in crumbling classrooms — kids who have so promise, kids who could be anything they wanted if we just gave them a chance.

Think about how we have tripled investments for job training at community colleges.  This is about hundreds of thousands of hardworking people who are determined to get the skills they need to better themselves — get better jobs, get better wages.  These are the folks that are trying to do it all.  They’re working fulltime.  They’re raising their kids.  But they still make it to class every evening, study late into the night, because they desperately want something better for their families.

And make no mistake about it, this investment in our students and our workers will determine nothing less than the future of our economy.  It will determine whether we’re prepared to make the discoveries and to build the industries that will let us compete with any country anywhere in the world.  That is what’s at stake.  That's what's at stake.  (Applause.)
 
And let’s not forget what it meant when my husband appointed those two brilliant Supreme Court justices, and for the first time in history — (applause) — our daughters and our sons watched three women take their seat on our nation’s highest court.  (Applause.)  And let’s not forget the impact their decisions will have on our lives for decades to come — on our privacy and security, on whether we can speak freely, worship openly, and love whomever we choose.  That is what’s at stake here.  That is the choice we’re facing.  (Applause.)

And finally, let’s not forget all this administration has done to keep our country safe and restore our standing in the world.  (Applause.)  And thanks to our brave men and women in uniform, we finally brought to justice the man behind the 9/11 attacks and so many other horrific acts.  (Applause.)  

My husband ended the war in Iraq, brought home our troops for the holidays.  (Applause.)  And we’re working to give our veterans and their family the education, the employment and the benefits they’ve earned.  (Applause.)

And because your President ended "don't ask, don't tell," our troops will never have to lie about who they are to serve the country they love.  (Applause.)

That is what’s at stake.  That is the choice we make.  (Applause.)

So make no mistake about it, whether it’s health care, the economy, whether it’s education or foreign policy, the choice we make will determine nothing less than who we are as a country — but more importantly, who we want to be.  Who are we?  Will we be a country where opportunity is limited to just the few at the top?  Or will we be a place where if you work hard, you can get ahead, no matter who you are or how you started out?

Who are we?  Will we tell folks who’ve done everything right, but are still struggling to get by — are we going to tell them, tough luck, you’re on your own?  Who are we?  Or will we honor that fundamental American belief that this country is strongest when we’re all better off?  (Applause.)  

Who are we?  Who do we want to be?  Will we continue all the change we’ve begun and the progress we’ve made?  Or will we allow everything we’ve fought for to just slip away?  That is the choice we face.  Those are the stakes.

And believe me, Barack knows this better than anyone.  He understands these issues because he’s lived them.  He was raised by a single mother who struggled to put herself through school, pay the bills, and when she needed help, his grandmother stepped up, working every day, going to take the bus before dawn to that job at the bank.  And even though she was passed over for all those promotions, she never complained.  She never complained.  She just kept showing up, just kept doing her best.  

So Barack knows what it means when a family struggles.  He knows what it means when someone doesn’t have a chance to fulfill their potential.  Those are the experiences that have made him the man — and more importantly — the President he is today.  And we are blessed to have him.  (Applause.)

And that is what I hear in his voice every day, when he returns home after a long day traveling around the country, and he tells me about the people he’s met.  That’s what I see in those quiet moments late at night, after the girls have gone to bed, and he’s poring over the letters people have sent him.  The letter from the woman dying of cancer whose insurance company won’t cover her care.  The letter from the father struggling to pay his family’s bills.  The letter from too many young people with so much promise, but so few opportunities. 

And I hear the passion and the determination in his voice.  He says, you will not believe what folks are going through.  That’s what he tells me.  He says, “Michelle, this isn't right.  We’ve got to fix this.  We have so much more work to do.”

See, when it comes to the people that your President meets, he has a memory like a steel trap.  (Laughter.)  He might not remember your name, but if he’s had a few minutes and a decent conversation with you, he will never forget your story.  It becomes imprinted on his heart.  And that is what he carries with him every single day.  It is our collection of struggles and hopes and dreams.  And that is where Barack gets his passion.  That’s where Barack gets that toughness and that fight. 

And that’s why, even in the hardest moments, when it seems like all is lost and we're all sweating — and we're sweating him — (laughter) — Barack Obama never loses sight of the end goal.  He never lets himself get distracted by the chatter and the noise.  He just keeps moving forward.  (Applause.)  

And he does it because he has a vision for this country.  He has a vision.  A President has to have a vision.  It's a vision that we all share.  Deep down, we all share this vision. 

But I’ve said this before, I said it to you a few years ago and I will say it again:  He cannot do this alone.  That was never the promise.  He needs your help.  He needs you to make those calls, needs you to register those voters.  He needs you to take those “I’m in” cards and get them signed, and get your friends and your neighbors and colleagues to sign up.  Convince them to join you in giving just a little part of their life each week for the next few months to this campaign. 

Because we all know that this isn’t just about one extraordinary man — although I admit I’m a little biased.  I think he's kind of cute.  (Laughter.)  But it is really, and has always been, about us — all of us — all of us coming together for the values we believe in and the country we want to be.

And I have never been one to kid you — right?  I am not going to kid you today.  This journey is going to be long.  It is going to be hard — it already has been — with many twists and turns along the way.  But what an exciting story it is.  (Laughter.)  But the truth is that’s exactly how change always happens in this country.  The reality is that real change is slow, and it never happens all at once.

But if we keep showing up, if we keep focused and fighting the good fight, then we always get there.  We always do.  We always get there.  Maybe not in our lifetimes, but maybe in our children’s lifetimes; maybe in our grandchildren’s lifetimes.  Because in the end, that’s what this is all about.  In the end, we are not fighting these battles for ourselves.  We’re fighting them for our sons and our daughters, for our grandsons, for our granddaughters.  We’re fighting for the world we want to leave for them.  (Applause.)  For them.  

And I’m in this not just as a mother who wants to leave a legacy for my children.  I’m in this as a citizen who knows what we can do together to change this country for the better.  Because the truth is, no matter what happens, my girls will be okay.  They are blessed.  My girls will have plenty of advantages and opportunities in their lives.  And that’s probably true for so many of the kids in your lives as well.  But I think that the last few years have shown us the truth of what Barack has always said — that if any child in this country is left behind, then that matters to all of us, even if she’s not our daughter, even if he’s not our son.  If any family in this country struggles, then we cannot be fully content with our own family’s good fortune. 

In the end, we cannot separate our own individual story from the broader American story.  Because we know that in this country, we rise and we fall together.  (Applause.)  And we know that if we make the right choices, if we have the right priorities, we can ensure that everyone — everyone — gets a fair shake and everyone has a chance to get ahead.  That is what’s at stake.

So it is time for us to get moving.  It is time for us to get it together, to get to work.  Stop complaining and worrying.  We need to stand up and work.  (Applause.)

So let me ask you one final question:  Are you in?

AUDIENCE:  Yes!

MRS. OBAMA:  Wait.  Are you in?

AUDIENCE:  Yes!

MRS. OBAMA:  Because I am so in.  (Laughter.)  I am so very in. 

So I hope that you all are fired up.  I hope that you all are ready to go.  And I look forward — I am going to be out there so tough, as much as I can be, getting it done.  You all have to have our backs once again.  You have been amazing.  But this is going to be hard.  We can't take anything for granted and we need everyone — every single one of you — to be laser-focused, creating those smart women — right?  (Applause.)  Building up that base.  Telling people the truth of who this President is and what he's done for so many across the country and around the world.  So we have to get it done. 

So thank you all.  Thank you for everything you've done for us.  Thank you for what you're going to do in the future.  We are going to work hard. 

God bless you all.  Thanks.

END
2:14 P.M. EST

White House.gov Press Office Feed

Private Residence
Palm Beach, Florida

4:28 P.M. EST
 
MRS. OBAMA:  Oh, my goodness.  Thank you so much.  (Applause.)  Wow.  Thank you all.  Thank you so much.  (Applause.)  Please, rest yourselves.  We want you ready to work.  (Laughter.)  So don't waste any energy on clapping.  Oh, never mind, you can clap.  (Laughter.)  But it is a pleasure and an honor to be here with all of you. 
 
And I want to start by thanking Michele for that — my staff is back there and they were saying, we need to get Michele on the road.  I mean, she covered every point.  I'm done.  (Laughter.)  I am done.  You're amazing, Howard.  Thank you both for hosting us in your beautiful home.  You have an amazing family.  We had a great time.  I was drilled about iCarly, Air Force One — I think they covered it all.  You two need to go into media interviewing.  (Laughter.)  You could give Oprah a run for her money.  (Laughter.)  But we have to give them a round of applause for opening up this beautiful home.  (Applause.)
 
And I also want to recognize Congressman Deutch and his family, who are here.  (Applause.)  And there's a birthday girl here as well. 
 
AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Yes, she's a Deutch.
 
MRS. OBAMA:  Yeah, happy birthday.  And Mayor Muoio, for her leadership.  Thank you both.  Thank you all for joining us today.  (Applause.)
 
And of course, I want to thank the co-hosts who made this event such a wonderful success — Ewa, Danny, Elaine, Jerry, Mark, Andrew — awesome.  Way to go.  Let's give them a round of applause.  (Applause.)  They do it so seamlessly.
 
And finally, I have to thank all of you for taking the time to join us here this afternoon.  And I've seen a few of you around the country, and I'm always amazed that you come back to hear me again and again.  (Laughter.)  Funny, you're not sick of me yet.  (Laughter.)  But it is always a joy, and it feels like a privilege and an honor when I come out here and I see so many people who are just positive and enthusiastic.  I tell people, as I see them in rope lines and photo lines, it's important for you to know that this keeps us going.  I mean, for me and for Barack, it's your love, it's your support, it's your energy that inspires us.  So we are so grateful.
 
And I know there’s a reason that you all are here today.
 
You’re here because you know that we stand at a fundamental crossroads for our country.  You’re here because you know that in less than a year — and it is — the months are closing in — we are going to make a choice that will impact our lives for decades to come.
 
And you’re here because you know that the choice that we make won’t just affect all of us, but it's going to affect our children and our grandchildren, and the world we leave for them long after we’re gone.
 
And that’s truly why I’m here.  That's why I do this.  That's where I get my energy.

You see, as First Lady, I have the privilege of traveling all across this country, meeting folks from all different backgrounds, and hearing what’s going on in their daily lives. 
 
And believe me, people are struggling.  I hear about their struggles –- the bills they’re trying to pay, the businesses they’re trying to keep afloat.  I hear about how people are doing everything in their power to keep it together, taking the extra shift, working the extra job; how they’re saving and sacrificing, many people never spending a dime on themselves because they desperately want something better for their kids.
 
And make no mistake about it, these struggles are not new.  For decades now, middle-class folks have been squeezed from all sides, with the cost of things like gas and groceries and tuition continuing to rise — and people’s paychecks just haven’t kept up.
 
So when the economic crisis hit, for far too many families, the bottom completely fell out.  Now, over the past three years, this administration, your President, has worked very hard to dig us out of this mess.  And there has been a lot of amazing progress made.  We have had 22 straight months of private sector job growth, and the unemployment rate is the lowest it’s been in nearly three years.  (Applause.)
 
But we know that we still have a long way to go.  And this President of yours has been working hard to rebuild our economy based on, as Michele said, a vision that we all share -– the belief that, as Barack says, that hard work should pay off; that responsibility should be rewarded; and that everyone should get a fair shot, and do their fair share, and play by the same rules.  Michele, you said this as well — these are basic American values.  These are the values that so many of us were raised with, including myself.
 
By now, you know my story:  My father was a blue-collar worker, working at the city water plant, and we lived in a small apartment on the South Side of Chicago.  Neither of my parents attended college, but they worked, and they saved, and they sacrificed, because they wanted something better for me and my brother.
 
And more than anything else, that’s what’s at stake — the fundamental promise that no matter who you are, or how you started off, if you work hard, you can build a decent life for yourself, and an even better life for your kids.
 
And on just about every issue -– from health care to education to the economy -– that is the choice we face.
 
For example, when we talk about tax cuts for the middle class, or unemployment insurance for folks out of work, that’s about whether people will be able to heat their homes, put a hot meal on their table, put gas in their car so that they can even look for work.  It’s about whether folks can afford to own a home, send their kids to college, retire with dignity, with security.  It’s about whether people will have more money in their pockets, which means more money in our economy, which means more jobs.
 
That’s what’s at stake.  That is the choice that we face.
 
And if we think for a moment about what this administration has done to stand up for American consumers — I’m talking about families who are getting hit with those hidden credit card fees; I’m talking about students drowning in debt; seniors losing their homes, their savings because they were tricked into loans that they couldn’t afford, couldn't understand. 
 
That’s why my husband created a new consumer watchdog with just one simple mission –- and that is to protect folks from exactly these kind of abuses.  Because he believes that when you’ve worked hard, and when you’ve saved — when you've followed the rules, you shouldn’t lose it all to someone looking to make some easy money.  That’s not fair.  That's not right.  And your President is working hard to do something about it.
 
And then you have to think about all that we've done together for small businesses, and the companies that create two-thirds of all new jobs each year — two-thirds.  And I’m talking about the mother who opens a drycleaner on the corner to provide for her kids.  That's who we're talking about.  Or the family that's been running that neighborhood diner for generations.  Or the veteran who launches a startup and pursues that American Dream that he fought so hard for.
 
Those are the folks that we're talking about.  The folks who work themselves to the bone during the day, and then they go home at night, poring over the books, trying to make it all add up — determined.
 
For these folks, these tax increases [sic] mean so much.  The small business tax cuts this administration has passed mean the difference between these people hiring new employees or handing out pink slips; between keeping their doors open, or closing shop for good.
 
That is the choice that we face.
 
And how about the very first bill my husband signed into law — the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act to help women get equal pay for equal work.  (Applause.) 
 
And he did this because he knows what it means when women aren’t treated fairly in the workplace.  He watched his own grandmother -– a woman with a high school education –- worked her way up to become the vice president at a little community bank.  And she worked hard.  She was good at her job.  But, like so many, she hit a glass ceiling, and she watched men no more qualified than she was -– men she actually trained -– be promoted up the ladder ahead of her.
 
So believe me, Barack, for him, this issue is not abstract, it's not hypothetical.  And he signed this bill because he knows that closing that pay gap can mean the difference between women losing , 0, 0 from each check, or having that money for gas and groceries and school clothes for their kids.

He did it because when nearly two-thirds of women are breadwinners or co-breadwinners, he knows that women’s success in this economy is the key to families’ success in this economy.  (Applause.)  Yes.  And he did it because, as he put it, we believe that here in America, there are no second-class citizens in our workplace.
 
And that’s what’s at stake in this election.  (Applause.)
 
And let’s just talk for a minute about health care.  Last year, we made history together by finally passing health reform.  (Applause.)  But now, there are folks actually talking about repealing this reform.  And today, we have to ask ourselves, are we going to stand by and let this happen?
 
AUDIENCE:  No!
 
MRS. OBAMA:  Are we going to let insurance companies refuse to cover things like cancer screenings, prenatal care that save money, but more importantly, save lives?  Or will we stand up for our lives, and the lives of the people we love?  (Applause.)
 
Are we going to go back to the day when insurance companies could deny our children coverage because they have pre-existing conditions like cancer or diabetes or even asthma?  Or will we stand up and say that in this country, no one should ever have to choose between going bankrupt or watching their child suffer because they can’t afford a doctor?
 
And then, when our kids get older and they graduate from school, we know how hard it is for them to find jobs, especially jobs that have insurance.  And that’s why, as part of health reform, kids can now stay on their parents’ insurance until they’re 26 years old.  And today, that’s how 2.5 million of our young people are getting their coverage.  (Applause.)
 
So are we going to take insurance away from those kids?  Or will we say that we won't let out sons and daughters go without health care, when they’re just starting out and building their families and careers?  Are we going to fight for this?
 
That is the choice that we face.  (Applause.)
 
And think, for a moment, about what’s been done on education.  I mean, think about all those investments that your President has made to raise standards and reform public schools.  I mean, this is about improving the circumstances for millions of children in this country.  I mean, these are our children, sitting in crumbling classrooms today; kids with so much promise; kids who could be anything they wanted if we just gave them a chance.
 
And think about how we've tripled investments for job training at community colleges.  I mean, this is about hundreds of thousands of hard-working folks who are determined to do whatever it takes to get the skills they need for a better job and better wages.  I mean, these are the folks that are doing it all.  They’re working full-time.  They’re raising their kids.  But they still make it to class every evening, they study late into the night, because they desperately want something better for their families.
 
And make no mistake about it, this investment in our students and in our workers will determine nothing less than the future of our economy.  It will determine whether we’re prepared to make the discoveries and to build the industries that will let us compete with any country, anywhere in the world.
 
That is what’s at stake.  (Applause.)
 
And let’s not forget what it meant when my husband appointed those two brilliant Supreme Court justices — (applause) — and for the first time in history, our sons and our daughters watched three women take their seat on our nation’s highest court.  And consider the impact their decisions will have on our lives for decades to come -– on our privacy and security; on whether we speak freely, worship openly, and love whomever we choose.
 
That’s what’s at stake.  That is the choice that we’re facing.  (Applause.)
 
And finally, let’s not forget all that this administration has done to keep our country safe and restore our standing in the world.  (Applause.)  Thanks to our brave men and women in uniform, we finally brought to justice the man behind the 9/11 attacks and so many other horrific acts of terror.  (Applause.) 
 
Your President ended the war in Iraq, brought our troops home for the holidays.  (Applause.)  And we are working so very hard to give our veterans and their families the support, the education, the employment benefits that they have earned.  (Applause.)
 
And because Barack ended "don’t ask, don’t tell," our troops will never have to lie again about who they are to serve the country they love.  (Applause.)
 
That is what’s at stake.
 
So make no mistake about it, whether it’s health care or the economy; whether it’s education or foreign policy — (phone rings) — or someone calling on the phone — (laughter) — the choice we make will determine nothing less than who we are as a country, but more important, who do we want to be.  That's the question:  Who are we?
 
Will we be a country where opportunity is limited to a few at the top?  Or will we be a place where if you work hard, you can get ahead, no matter who you are or how you started out?  Who are we?  That's the question.  Will we tell folks who’ve done everything right, but are still struggling — just a little bit — are we going to look those Americans in the eye and say, tough luck, you’re on your own?  I mean, who are we?
 
Or will we honor that fundamental American belief that this country is strongest when we’re all better off?  Will we continue all the change that we’ve begun, all the progress we’ve made?  Or will we allow everything we’ve fought for to just slip away?
 
Because that is the choice we face.  Those are truly the stakes.
 
And it is important for you to know that your President, my husband, Barack, he knows this deep in his core.  He understands these issues, because he’s lived them.
 
He was raised by a single mother who struggled to put herself through school and pay the bills.  He saw that.  And when she needed help, his grandmother stepped up, waking up every morning before dawn, getting on a bus to go to a job at the bank.  And even though she was passed over again and again, she never complained.  How many people do we know like that in our lives?  You never complain.  She just kept showing up, kept doing her best.  
 
So believe me, Barack knows what it means when a family struggles.  He knows what it means when someone you love doesn’t have a chance to fulfill their potential.  Those are the experiences that have made him the man –- and more importantly, the President -– that he is today.  And we should be so proud to have him standing for us.  (Applause.)
 
And that is what I hear in his voice when he returns from traveling around the country, and he tells me about the people he’s met.  That’s what I see in those quiet moments late at night, after the girls have gone to bed, and he’s poring over the letters he's getting from people all over the country.  The letter from the woman dying of cancer whose insurance company won’t cover her care.  Or the letter from the father struggling to keep up, to pay his bills and keep his family under one roof.  The letter from too many young people with so much promise, but too few opportunities.
 
You hear the passion and the determination in his voice.  He's like, "Folks are struggling.  You will not believe what they're going through."  He says, "Michelle, this isn't right.  We've got to fix this.  We've got so much more work to do." 
 
You see, when it comes to the people he meets — I tell people this everywhere — Barack has a memory like a steel trap.  (Laughter.)  If he's had a few minutes with you and a decent conversation, he might not remember your name but he will never forget your story.  And it is those stories that stay imprinted on his heart.  And that's what he carries with him every day — it is our collection of struggles, and our hopes and our dreams. 
 
That is where Barack gets his passion.  That is where he gets his toughness and his fight.  And that is why, even in the hardest moments, when it seems like all is lost, and we're wondering, what's going on?  What's he doing?  Why doesn't he do this?  Why doesn't he do that?  We're sweating him, but he's not sweating.  Because he never loses sight of the end goal.  That is the beauty of your President.  (Applause.)  He keeps his eye on the big prize; never lets himself get distracted by all the chatter and the noise.  He just keeps moving forward, one step at a time.
 
Because your President has a vision for this country -– a vision that we all share.  I don't care who you are.  This is the vision that made our country great.  But I have said this before, and I will say it again:  He cannot do this alone.  That was never the promise.  That was never a possibility.
 
He needs your help.  Even when you don't agree with him, he needs your help.  He needs you to make those calls and register those voters; get down on the ground and do that work to knock on those doors; take those "I’m In" cards, sign yourself up and your friends up, and your neighbors and your colleagues.  There's too much at stake.  Convince them to join in giving just a little part of their lives, a little time each week to this campaign. 
 
Because we all know that this is not just about one extraordinary man.  (Applause.)  This is not about Barack Obama — though I have to admit, I think he's really cute and pretty fabulous.  (Laughter.)  This is really about us -– it always has been about us — all of us coming together, believing in the country that we live in, working together to make it great.  It's about us.
 
But I am not going to kid you, this journey, as always, will be long.  It will be hard.  It will be full of twists and turns.  You see it now:  One minute — you never know what's going to happen.  (Laughter.)
 
But the truth is, that’s how change always happens in this — that's how change happens.  The reality is, change is slow; it never happens all at once — never.  Not real change.  But if we keep showing up, if we keep fighting the good fight, then eventually we get there.  We always do.  We always have.  We never go backwards.  Maybe not in our lifetime, but maybe in our children’s lifetime, or our grandchildren’s lifetime.
 
Because in the end, this is not about us.  In the end, we are not fighting these battles for ourselves.  We are fighting them for our sons and our daughters, and for our grandsons and our granddaughters.  We’re fighting for the world that we want to leave for them.  (Applause.)
 
And I’m in this fight not just as a mother who wants to leave a legacy for my daughters.  I’m in this as a citizen who knows what we can do together to make this country better.  Because the truth is, no matter what happens, my girls will be okay.  They are blessed.  My girls will have plenty of opportunities and advantages, and I'm sure that's true for many of the kids in your lives as well.
 
But I think the last few years have shown us the truth of what Barack has always said:  that if any child in this country is left behind, then that should matter to us — even if he is not our son, even if she is not our daughter.  It should matter to us.  (Applause.)
 
If any family in this country struggles, then we cannot be fully content with our own family’s good fortune.  That's not who we are.  In the end, we cannot separate our individual stories from the broader American story.  Because what we know is that in this country, we rise and we fall together.  And we know that if we make the right choices, and if we have the right priorities, we can ensure that everyone gets a fair shake, that everyone has a chance to get ahead. 
 
That is what’s at stake.
 
So it’s time for us to get moving.  (Laughter.)  It is time for us to get to work.  We don't have time to worry, to groan, to — we don't have time. 
 
So I have one question:  Are you ready for this?
 
AUDIENCE:  Yes!
 
MRS. OBAMA:  Are you in?
 
AUDIENCE:  Yes!
 
MRS. OBAMA:  No, we need you to be really in.  Are you in?
 
AUDIENCE:  Yes!
 
MRS. OBAMA:  There is a lot at stake.  We don't have time.  We need you fired up and ready to go and ready to make it happen.  Because this is too important for our future.
 
So I am counting on seeing all of you out there, doing whatever it is you do best — taking your neighbors and shaking them a little bit.  (Laughter.)  Going to church and making sure people are registered to vote.  Yelling from the rooftops.  Pulling women aside — just shaking them.  (Laughter.)  We need you.  And I know that if we come together, and we do this work, we will elect the President that this country deserves:  Barack Obama.
 
Thank you all.  God bless you.  (Applause.)
 
END
4:52 P.M. EST

White House.gov Press Office Feed

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Main Reception Area
Daniel Restaurant
New York, New York

5:18 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you!  Thank you so much.  Thank you, everybody.  (Applause.)  Thank you, everybody.  Please have a seat.

It is wonderful to be back in New York, and it is wonderful to be among so many wonderful friends.  As I look around the room, I’ve got people who’ve supported me when nobody could pronounce my name — (laughter) — and I was running for the United States Senate.  In fact, I’ve got a couple people here who supported me when I was running for the State Senate.  (Applause.)  My Chicago contingent here.  (Laughter.)   

I want to thank all the organizers who helped pull this together.  I also want to give a special shout-out to one of the finest mayors that this city has ever had, Ed Koch, who's here.  (Applause.)  We are grateful to him. 

We’re going to spend most of our time in a conversation.  I don't want to give a long speech — partly because I have three more events tonight.  (Laughter.)  But the main reason is I want to save most of the time for a conversation and a dialogue between us.

But let me just, first of all, say that we’re obviously living in historic times.  When I first came into office, we were going through the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, and so, understandably, a lot of my time and most of the country’s attention was consumed by, how do we get America back on its feet. 

But we were also in the midst of two wars.  We were also coming out of a period in which America’s leadership around the world had declined.  And what we’ve been able to do I think over the last three years is to not only avert a Great Depression, not only save an auto industry, not only get the economy moving in the right direction — although we’ve still got a long way to go — but we were also able to end a war that had distracted us from our most ardent enemies; we were able to decimate al Qaeda; we were able to beef up what we were doing in Afghanistan in a way that now allows us to take a transition and start bringing our troops home there, and turn over the security needs of the Afghan people to Afghan security forces.

But what we were also able to do I think is to restore a sense of America as the sole, indispensable power — a country that, whether it’s responding to an earthquake or a tsunami, or it’s dealing with a dictator that is about to ruthlessly butcher his people, we aren’t out there alone.  We’re able to mobilize around a set of values and a set of principles, and ensure that the international rules of the road are followed.

And it’s because of that extraordinary work that my Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, has been able to do, that our entire national security team has been able to execute, that America is stronger now than it was three years ago.  But what’s also true is the world is going through the kinds of changes that we haven’t seen in a generation.  And obviously nowhere is that more true than in the Middle East. 

Now, I’m sure we’re going to have a chance to take some questions on these issues, but I want to just make a couple of key points.

Since I’ve been in office, we have unequivocally said that Israel’s security is non-negotiable, and that we will do everything that’s necessary to make sure that Israel is able to thrive and prosper as a secure Jewish state.  Part of that has been to make sure that we’ve got the strongest military cooperation that we’ve ever had between our two nations.  That’s not my opinion, by the way, that’s the Israeli government’s opinion. 

Part of it is by making sure that as the Arab Spring swept through the region, that we are pushing hard on countries like Egypt to make sure that they continue to abide by the peace treaties that have served both countries well.

Part of it is mobilizing an unprecedented campaign of sanctions and pressure on Iran, and stating unequivocally that we’re not going to tolerate a nuclear weapon in the hands of this Iranian regime.  And we’ve been able to organize folks like China and Russia that previously would have never gone along with something like this.  And it’s been so effective that even the Iranians have had to acknowledge that their economy is in a shambles. 

When I came into office, Iran was united and the world was divided.  And now what we have is a united international community that is saying to Iran, you’ve got to change your ways. 

Now, this doesn't mean that we’re where we need to be.  The Arab Spring can still go in a whole multitude of directions, and this is going to be a very delicate time for us to make sure that the legitimate aspirations of ordinary people for democracy and economic opportunity doesn’t get channeled by demagogues in ways that are dangerous for America’s security interests or Israel’s security interests. 

We still have situations like Syria where people are being slaughtered.  And, obviously, that has huge ramifications for the region.  Iran still has not made the right choice in terms of taking a path that would allow it to rejoin the community of nations and set aside its nuclear ambitions.  And, obviously, we still have not made the kind of progress that I would have liked to have seen when it comes to peace between Israel and the Palestinians — a peace, by the way, that I believe is not just good for the Palestinians, but is profoundly in the strategic interest of Israel.  (Applause.)

So we’ve still got a lot of work to do.  And my main message tonight is going to be I’m going to need you in order for us to finish that work.  We’re not going to be able to succeed in fully transitioning from a time in which the United States was isolated and at war and disregarded around the world to one in which we have restored a sense of balance and vision and purpose to world affairs unless we can continue on the effective path that we’re on. 

And, obviously, the American people are still keenly interested in making sure that the economy is working.  And that’s going to dominate the debate.  And although I believe that we’ve got a great story to tell on that front, although I can tick off statistics about how we’ve had 22 straight months of private sector job growth and that we’re starting to see companies actually bringing jobs back to the United States because of our renewed competitive posture, and I can talk about the investments that we’re making in basic research and science to make sure that we maintain our innovative edge, and I can talk about all the things we’ve done in government to make it more efficient and leaner so that it can more effectively serve the American people — despite all those stories that we’ve got to tell, unemployment is still too high and a lot of people are still hurting, and the housing market is still weak, and state and local governments are still trying to figure out how to balance their books.

So in that environment, this is still going to be a tough race, regardless of who they nominate.  And the most important thing that we can do on the foreign policy front is make sure that we’ve got an America in which everybody has got a fair shot, everybody is doing their fair share, everybody is playing by the same rules, and we once again create a sense of opportunity and optimism here in the United States.  Because when that happens, then America looks outward and it realizes the critical role that it plays in world affairs.  And when folks are struggling, we turn inward, and sometimes we don’t realize how important it is for us to be involved in some of these critical issues. 

This is a group, obviously, that spends a lot of time thinking both about domestic issues and international issues.  And my main message to you is I intend to win, but I’m going to need your help doing it.  (Applause.)

And over the next 10 months, when we are having as clear a contrast between the parties and as profound a debate as we’ve seen in a very long time about the direction that America needs to take, I hope you know that the values you cherish, what you stand for, what you believe in, are the things I cherish and I believe in and I’m willing to fight for. 

And if you have that confidence in me — because I certainly have that confidence in you — then I’m absolutely positive that not only will we win the election but, more importantly, we’re going to be able to continue this path that we started in 2008. 

Thank you very much, everybody.  Thank you.  (Applause.)

END
5:29 P.M. EST

White House.gov Press Office Feed

Private Residence
Chicago, Illinois

7:30 P.M. CST

THE PRESIDENT:  It is wonderful to be back home!  (Applause.)  It is great to see so many friends that I haven't seen in too long — and some folks who visited me in my new residence.  But let me begin by just thanking Fred for opening up this extraordinary home to us.  (Applause.)  And thank everybody else who helped put this together.  I particularly want to thank Sonia and Eric for all that they did — (Applause.)

I want to acknowledge some outstanding public servants who are here — my former seat mate in Springfield, the Attorney General of Illinois — (applause.)  My former teacher of the ways of the Senate and one of the finest public servants that we know — Dick Durbin.  (Applause.)  The outstanding governor of Illinois, Pat Quinn, is in the house.  (Applause.)  And finally, we have sort of a carpetbagger here — (laughter) — I just love her so whenever I have an excuse to see her I'm happy, and she is a fellow Midwesterner, the Senator from Missouri — Claire McCaskill.  (Applause.) 

So I'm going to make my opening remarks very, very brief because, Fred and I were talking, particularly a crowd like this that knows me, I want to spend as much time as possible answering questions. 

I was talking about a meeting I had this morning with companies from all across the country, some of them very large corporations — Intel and Siemens; some medium-sized companies and some very small companies.  The common theme was that they were all insourcing.  They were bringing jobs back to America.  Many of them had located plants in China, located plants in Mexico, and because of the extraordinary growth in productivity in the United States over the last several years, because wages are going up pretty rapidly in places like China, because of energy costs and transportation costs and a whole range of other factors, we're getting to this point where when you account for everything, that America is fully competitive in manufacturing and more than competitive in services with any other country in the world.  Those are a good news story. 

But I asked them, what is it that's going to make the biggest difference in accelerating this trend so you start seeing more and more companies decide let's move back into the United States — let's move our plants back?  And some of them mentioned education.  They said the single most important reason for us to move back here is because they're more highly skilled workers here, and as long as we're investing in K through 12 and our community colleges, and have enough engineers and scientists, then that's going to be a reason for us to locate here.

And a number of them said the fact that we've got the most innovative research taking place in the United States, that's what's going to make a difference.  And another one said, well, logistically — I think this was maybe Otis Elevators — he said it's kind of hard to move elevators around — (laughter) — and so making sure we've got the best infrastructure in the world is going to be what is the determining factor in whether or not we locate a plant here in the United States.

And as I listened to each one of these companies I was reminded that everything we've done over the last three years — but more importantly, everything we have to do over the next five years — has to be designed to making sure that this economy is once again one that is built on a solid foundation, one that is not done with bubbles, one that is not based on simply shuffling paper, but one that's based on making things and selling things and one in which everybody — business, workers, communities — all feel invested in each other. 

And that's what we've been trying to do over the last three years as we've dug ourselves out of the worst recession since the Great Depression.  That's why it's been so important for us to invest in education like never before, and that's why it's been so important for us to make sure — with the help of folks like Claire and Dick — that we continue to invest in research.  That's why we pushed so hard to make sure that we're rebuilding not just our roads and our bridges but also high-speed rail lines and a faster Internet all across the country.

And I make this point because as important as 2008 was, I actually think 2012 is more important, because what we're seeing developing, what we're seeing over the last two years but I think what we're going to see this year in a pretty decisive way is a decision about contrasting visions about where the country should go. 

You've got one theory that says if we slash our education, our research and our infrastructure budgets, and weaken our social safety net, and make sure that unions aren’t out there operating, and we essentially eliminate EPA — and I'm not exaggerating — there are candidates and members of Congress who've called for that — that somehow we're going to be able to win this competition in the 21st century.  And that's one vision, and it is being starkly stated.

And I have a different vision.  Most of the people in this room have a fundamentally different vision about how this country was formed.  Our vision is based on the notion that everybody deserves a fair shot, everybody has to do their fair share, and everybody has got to play by the same set of rules and America succeeds best when we're all in it together, we're all rising together.  And that big, inclusive, generous, bold, ambitious vision of America is what's at stake, is what we're fighting for.

But I guess in these initial remarks what I just want to say is that many of you got involved in my campaign back in 2008, many of you got involved in my Senate campaign back in 2004, some of you got involved in my state Senate campaign back in — (laughter) — I don't remember when that was.  (Laughter.)  I think that the reason we were successful was not because I was a flawless candidate or I ran a flawless campaign, but it was because together we were able to give voice to this shared vision of what America should be.  And I want you to know that I have kept faith with that vision all these years and that's not wavered. 

And whether it's making a decision about getting all of our troops out of Iraq, or it was making a decision about ending "don't ask, don't tell," or it was making a decision about expanding Pell grants so more people have access to college, or it's trying to present a balanced approach to deficit reduction, what animates me continues to be the same vision that you guys helped me realize way back when.

This will be my last campaign.  A friend of many of us, Ab Mikva, used to say that being friends with a politician is like permanently having a child in college.  (Laughter.)  Every year there's another tuition check.  (Laughter.)  But I'm finally graduating.  (Laughter.)  And I'm confident that as difficult as these last three years have been, as challenging as they've been — not so much for me but for Americans all across the country who lost their jobs or have seen their home values decline or been worrying about their retirement and their 401Ks — I absolutely believe that the American people still have confidence and faith in this country and there's a core decency and strength and resilience to be tapped, and that most of the time the better angels of our nature win out.  I think that's what's going to happen this time as well.  But we're going to have to work hard to get it done.  (Applause.)

END                   
7:44 P.M. CST

White House.gov Press Office Feed

DES MOINES, Iowa — Some 20 protesters interrupted the start of a Ron Paul event at the Iowa State Fairgrounds just as the GOP candidate and Texas Representative began to speak, at about 7:30 p.m. local time.

Three protesters, a man in his 20s and a pair of women — Heather Ryan, 39, and her 16-year-old daughter, Heaven — shouted from a prepared script. Their words were drowned out by the crowd of about 750, some of whom menacingly surrounded the protesters and then hustled them out.

As the younger woman was being rushed out of the auditorium, this reporter asked her for her script. She handed it over with a wan smile.

Here is what she had shouted:

“Ron Paul

You say you want to repeal Roe v Wade.

What makes you think the state has the right to control a woman’s reproductive decisions?

You say you want every child to have a chance to live. How will those children eat when you eliminate essential programs like WIC and food assistance?

Where will those children live when you eliminate subsidized housing?

How will those children receive healthcare when you eliminate Medicaid?

How will those children get an education when you eliminate student aid?

Mr. Paul, you do not care about the children of the 99 percent. You do not care about the rights of women. You are a servant of the Patriarchy. You are a servant of the 1 percent.”

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