Barack Obamas full remarks at the dinner.docx

1、Barack Obamas full remarks at the dinnerBarack Obamas full remarks at the dinnerTHE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Thank you, everybody. Good evening. You know, I had an entire speech prepared for this wonderful occasion, but now that Im here I think Im going to try something a little different. Tonight I wa

2、nt to speak from the heart. Im going to speak off the cuff. (Teleprompters rise.) (Laughter and applause.) Good evening. (Laughter.) Pause for laughter. (Laughter.) Wait a minute, this may not be working as well as I (laughter.) Let me try that again. Good evening, everybody. (Applause.) I would lik

3、e to welcome you all to the 10-day anniversary of my first 100 days. (Laughter.) I am Barack Obama. Most of you covered me. All of you voted for me. (Laughter and applause.) Apologies to the Fox table. (Laughter.) Theyre where are they? I have to confess I really did not want to be here tonight, but

4、 I knew I had to come just one more problem that Ive inherited from George W. Bush. (Laughter.) But now that Im here, its great to be here. Its great to see all of you. Michelle Obama is here, the First Lady of the United States. (Applause.) Hasnt she been an outstanding First Lady? (Applause.) Shes

5、 even begun to bridge the differences that have divided us for so long, because no matter which party you belong to we can all agree that Michelle has the right to bare arms. (Laughter and applause.)Now Sasha and Malia arent here tonight because theyre grounded. You cant just take Air Force One on a

6、 joy ride to Manhattan. (Laughter.) I dont care whose kids you are. (Laughter.) Weve been setting some ground rules here. Theyre starting to get a little carried away. Now, speaking when I think about children obviously I think about Michelle and it reminds me that tomorrow is Mothers Day. Happy Mot

7、hers Day to all the mothers in the audience. (Applause.) I do have to say, though, that this is a tough holiday for Rahm Emanuel because hes not used to saying the word day after mother. (Laughter.) Thats true. (Laughter.) David Axelrod is here. You know, David and I have been together for a long ti

8、me. I can still remember I got to sort of I tear up a little bit when I think back to that day that I called Ax so many years ago and said, you and I can do wonderful things together. And he said to me the same thing that partners all across America are saying to one another right now: Lets go to Io

9、wa and make it official. (Laughter and applause.)Michael Steele is in the house tonight. (Applause.) Or as he would say, in the heezy. (Laughter.) Whats up? (Laughter.) Where is Michael? Michael, for the last time, the Republican Party does not qualify for a bailout. (Laughter.) Rush Limbaugh does n

10、ot count as a troubled asset, Im sorry. (Laughter.) Dick Cheney was supposed to be here but he is very busy working on his memoirs, tentatively titled, How to Shoot Friends and Interrogate People. (Laughter.)You know, its been a whirlwind of activity these first hundred days. Weve enacted a major ec

11、onomic recovery package, we passed a budget, we forged a new path in Iraq, and no President in history has ever named three Commerce Secretaries this quickly. (Laughter.) Which reminds me, if Judd Gregg is here, your business cards are ready now. (Laughter.)On top of that, Ive also reversed the ban

12、on stem cell research, signed an expansion - (applause) - signed an expansion of the childrens health insurance. Just last week, Car and Driver named me auto executive of the year. (Laughter.) Something Im very proud of.Weve also begun to change the culture in Washington. Weve even made the White Ho

13、use a place where people can learn and can grow. Just recently, Larry Summers asked if he could chair the White House Council on Women and Girls. (Laughter.) And I do appreciate that Larry is here tonight because it is seven hours past his bedtime. (Laughter.) Gibbs liked that one. (Laughter.)In the

14、 last hundred days, weve also grown the Democratic Party by infusing it with new energy and bringing in fresh, young faces like Arlen Specter. (Laughter.) Now, Joe Biden rightly deserves a lot of credit for convincing Arlen to make the switch, but Secretary Clinton actually had a lot to do with it t

15、oo. One day she just pulled him aside and she said, Arlen, you know what I always say - if you cant beat them, join them. (Laughter.)Which brings me to another thing thats changed in this new, warmer, fuzzier White House, and thats my relationship with Hillary. You know, we had been rivals during th

16、e campaign, but these days we could not be closer. In fact, the second she got back from Mexico she pulled into a hug and gave me a big kiss. (Laughter.) Told me Id better get down there myself. (Laughter.) Which I really appreciated. I mean, it was - it was nice. (Laughter.)And of course weve also

17、begun to change Americas image in the world. We talked about this during this campaign and were starting to execute. Weve renewed alliances with important partners and friends. If you look on the screen there, there I am with Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso. There I am with Gordon Brown.But as I sa

18、id during the campaign, we cant just talk to our friends. As hard as it is, we also have to talk to our enemies, and Ive begun to do exactly that. Take a look at the monitor there. (Laughter.) Now, let me be clear, just because he handed me a copy of Peter Pan does not mean that Im going to read it

19、- (laughter) - but its good diplomatic practice to just accept these gifts.All this change hasnt been easy. Change never is. So Ive cut the tension by bringing a new friend to the White House. Hes warm, hes cuddly, loyal, enthusiastic. You just have to keep him on a tight leash. Every once in a whil

20、e he goes charging off in the wrong direction and gets himself into trouble. But enough about Joe Biden. (Laughter.)All in all, were proud of the change weve brought to Washington in these first hundred days but weve got a lot of work left to do, as all of you know. So Id like to talk a little bit a

21、bout what my administration plans to achieve in the next hundred days.During the second hundred days, we will design, build and open a library dedicated to my first hundred days. (Laughter.) Its going to be big, folks. (Laughter.) In the next hundred days, I will learn to go off the prompter and Joe

22、 Biden will learn to stay on the prompter. (Laughter.)In the next hundred days, our bipartisan outreach will be so successful that even John Boehner will consider becoming a Democrat. After all, we have a lot in common. He is a person of color. (Laughter.) Although not a color that appears in the na

23、tural world. (Laughter.) Whats up, John? (Laughter.)In the next hundred days, I will meet with a leader who rules over millions with an iron fist, who owns the airwaves and uses his power to crush all who would challenge his authority at the ballot box. Its good to see you, Mayor Bloomberg. (Laughte

24、r.)In the next hundred days, we will housetrain our dog, Bo, because the last thing Tim Geithner needs is someone else treating him like a fire hydrant. (Laughter.) In the next hundred days, I will strongly consider losing my cool. (Laughter.)Finally, I believe that my next hundred days will be so s

25、uccessful I will be able to complete them in 72 days. (Laughter.) And on the 73rd day, I will rest. (Laughter.)I just - I want to end by saying a few words about the men and women in this room whose job it is to inform the public and pursue the truth. You know, we meet tonight at a moment of extraor

26、dinary challenge for this nation and for the world, but its also a time of real hardship for the field of journalism. And like so many other businesses in this global age, youve seen sweeping changes and technology and communications that lead to a sense of uncertainty and anxiety about what the fut

27、ure will hold.Across the country, there are extraordinary, hardworking journalists who have lost their jobs in recent days, recent weeks, recent months. And I know that each newspaper and media outlet is wrestling with how to respond to these changes, and some are struggling simply to stay open. And

28、 it wont be easy. Not every ending will be a happy one.But its also true that your ultimate success as an industry is essential to the success of our democracy. Its what makes this thing work. You know, Thomas Jefferson once said that if he had the choice between a government without newspapers, or

29、newspapers without a government, he would not hesitate to choose the latter.Clearly, Thomas Jefferson never had cable news to contend with - (laughter) - but his central point remains: A government without newspapers, a government without a tough and vibrant media of all sorts, is not an option for

30、the United States of America. (Applause.)So I may not - I may not agree with everything you write or report. I may even complain, or more likely Gibbs will complain, from time to time about how you do your jobs, but I do so with the knowledge that when you are at your best, then you help me be at my

31、 best. You help all of us who serve at the pleasure of the American people do our jobs better by holding us accountable, by demanding honesty, by preventing us from taking shortcuts and falling into easy political games that people are so desperately weary of.And that kind of reporting is worth pres

32、erving - not just for your sake, but for the publics. We count on you to help us make sense of a complex world and tell the stories of our lives the way they happen, and we look for you for truth, even if its always an approximation, even if - (laughter.)This is a season of renewal and reinvention. That is what government must learn to do, thats what businesses must learn to do, and thats what journalism is in the process of doing. And when I look out at this room and think about t