Admittedly it's not easy to pull simple soundbites from a man who speaks not just in complex sentences, but beautifully constructed paragraphs. I pulled a few anyway.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/02/09/obama.conference.transcript/index.html?section=cnn_latestI can't afford to see Congress play the usual political games. What we have to do right now is deliver for the American people.***
Send me a bill that creates or saves 4 million jobs.***
But
my bottom line is, are we creating 4 million jobs? And are we laying the foundation for long-term economic growth?
***
I think the American people are asking is,
do you just want government to do nothing, or do you want it to do something? If you want it to do something, then we can have a conversation. But doing nothing, that's not an option from my perspective.
***
You know, if -- if all we're doing is spending and we're not making things, then over time other countries are going to get tired of lending us money and eventually the party's going to be over. Well, in fact,
the party now is over.***
I think
my initial measure of success is creating or saving 4 million jobs. ***
My bottom line is that we cannot allow al Qaeda to operate. We cannot have those safe havens in that region.
***
And
if you're a fan of Major League Baseball, I think... it tarnishes an entire era, to some degree.
***
There are no shortcuts, that
when you try to take shortcuts, you may end up tarnishing your entire career, and that your integrity's not worth it."
***
My view is also that
nobody's above the law and,
if there are clear instances of wrongdoing... people should be prosecuted just like any ordinary citizen.***
And what I've tried to suggest is that this is one of those times where
we've got to put that kind of behavior aside, because the American people can't afford it.***
When it comes to how we approach the issue of fiscal responsibility, again,
it's a little hard for me to take criticism from folks about this recovery package after they've presided over a doubling of the national debt. I'm not sure they have a lot of credibility when it comes to fiscal responsibility.
***
Both Democrats and Republicans are going to have to think differently in order to come together and solve that problem. ***
And I think that there was an opportunity to do this with this recovery package, because, as I said,
although there are some politicians who are arguing that we don't need a stimulus, there are very few economists who are making that argument.***
But
I am the eternal optimist. I think that, over time, people respond to civility and -- and rational argument. I think that's what the people of Elkhart and the people around America are looking for. And that's what I'm -- that's the kind of leadership I'm going to try to provide.
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