**** State Of The Union ****

[BUGS BUNNY]

[color=#000000]WHO BENEFITTED FROM THAT FIASCO? I'VE TALKED TONIGHT ABOUT THE DEFICIT OF TRUST BETWEEN MAIN STREET AND WALL STREET. BUT THE DIVIDE BETWEEN THIS CITY AND THE REST OF THE COUNTRY IS AT LEAST AS BAD. AND IT SEEMS TO GET WORSE EVERY YEAR. SOME OF THIS HAS TO DO WITH THE CORROSIVE INFLUENCE OF MONEY IN POLITICS. SO TOGETHER, LET'S TAKE SOME STEPS TO FIX THAT. SEND ME A BILL THAT BANS INSIDER TRADING BY MEMBERS OF CONGRESS. I WILL SIGN IT TOMORROW. ( APPLAUSE ) LET'S LIMIT ANY ELECTED OFFICIAL FROM OWNING STOCKS IN INDUSTRY IES THEY IMPACT. LET'S MAKE SURE PEOPLE WHO BUNDLE CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS FOR CONGRESS CAN'T LOBBY CONGRESS AND VIRUS VERSA. AN IDEA THAT HAS BIPARTISAN SUPPORT, AT LEAST OUTSIDE OF WASHINGTON. SOME OF WHAT'S BROKEN HAD TO DO WITH THE WAY CONGRESS DOES ITS BUSINESS THESE DAYS. A SIMPLE MAJORITY IS NO LONGER ENOUGH TO GET ANYTHING, EVEN ROUTINE BUSINESS, PASSED THROUGH THE SENATE. ( APPLAUSE ) NEITHER PARTY HAS BEEN BLAMELESS IN THESE TACTICS. NOW BOTH PARTIES SHOULD PUT AN END TO IT. ( APPLAUSE ) FOR STARTERS, I ASK THE SENATE TO PASS A SIMPLE RULE THAT ALL JUDICIAL AND PUBLIC SERVICE NOMINATIONS RECEIVE A SIMPLE UP-OR-DOWN VOTE WITHIN 90 DAYS. ( APPLAUSE ) THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH ALSO NEEDS TO CHANGE. TOO OFTEN, IT'S INEFFICIENT, OUTDATED, AND REMOTE. ( APPLAUSE )[/color]

[BUGS BUNNY]

[color=#000000][indent=1]THAT'S WHY I'VE ASKED THIS CONGRESS TO GRANT ME THE AUTHORITY TO CONSOLIDATE THE FEDERAL BUREAUCRACY SO THAT OUR GOVERNMENT IS LEANER, QUICKER AND MORE RESPONSIVE TO THE NEEDS OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. FINALLY, NONE OF THIS CAN HAPPEN UNLESS WE ALSO LOWER THE TEMPERATURE IN THIS TOWN. WE NEED TOEEND THE NOTION THAT THE TWO PARTIES MUST BE LOCKED IN A PERPETUAL CAMPAIGN OF MUTUAL DESTRUCTION, THAT POLITICS IS ABOUT CLING TO RIGID IDEOLOGIES INSTEAD OF BUILDING CONSENSUS AROUND COMMONSENSE IDEAS. I'M A DEMOCRAT. BUT I BELIEVE WHAT REPUBLICAN ABRAHAM LINCOLN BELIEVED IT'S GOVERNMENT SHOULD DO FOR PEOPLE ONLY WHAT THEY CANNOT DO BETTER BY THEMSELVESES AND NO MORE. ( APPLAUSE )[/color][/indent]

[BUGS BUNNY]

[color=#000000] THAT'S WHY MY EDUCATION REFORM OFFERS MORE COMPETITION AND MORE CONTROL FOR SCHOOLS AND STATES. THAT'S WHY WE'RE GETTING RID OF REGULATIONS THAT DON'T WORK. THAT'S WHY OUR HEALTH CARE LAW RELIES ON A REFORMED PRIVATE MARKET, NOT A GOVERNMENT PROGRAM. ON THE OTHER HAND, EVEN MY REPUBLICAN FRIENDS WHO COMPLAIN THE MOST ABOUT GOVERNMENT SPENDING HAVE SUPPORTED FEDERALLY FINANCED ROADS AND CLEAN ENERGY PROJECTS, AND FEDERAL OFFICES FOR THE FOLKS BACK HOME. THE POINT IS WE SHOULD ALL WANT A SMARTER, MORE EFFECTIVE GOVERNMENT. AND WHILE WE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO BRIDGE OUR BIGGEST PHILOSOPHICAL DIFFERENCES THIS YEAR, WE CAN MAKE REAL PROGRESS. WITH OR WITHOUT THIS CONGRESS, I WILL KEEP TAKING ACTIONS THAT HELP THE ECONOMY GROW. BUT I CAN DO A WHOLE LOT MORE WITH YOUR HELP. BECAUSE WHEN WE ACT TOGETHER, THERE'S NOTHING THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA CAN'T ACHIEVE. ( APPLAUSE )[/color]

[BUGS BUNNY]

[color=#000000]HAT'S THE LESSON WE'VE LEARNED FROM OUR ACTIONS ABROAD OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS. ENDING THE IRAQ WAR HAS ALLOWED US TO STRIKE DECISIVE BLOWS AGAINST OUR ENEMIES, FROM PAKISTAN TO YEMEN, THE AL QAEDA OPERATIVES WHO REMAIN ARE SCRAMBLING, KNOWING THAT THEY CAN'T ESCAPE THE REACH OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. ( APPLAUSE )[/color]

[BUGS BUNNY]

[color=#000000]FROM THIS POSITION OF STRENGTH, WE'VE BEGUN TO WIND DOWN THE WAR IN AFGHANISTAN. 10,000 OF OUR TROOPS HAVE COME HOME. 23,000 MORE WILL LEAVE BY THE END OF THIS SUMMER. THIS TRANSITION TO AFGHAN LEAVE WILL CONTINUE, AND WE WILL BUILD AN ENDURING PARTNERSHIP WITH AFGHANISTAN SO THAT IT IS NEVER AGAIN A SOURCE OF ATTACKS AGAINST AMERICA. ( APPLAUSE ) AS THE TIDE OF WAR RECEDES, THE WAVE OF CHANGE HAS WASHED ACROSS THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA FROM TUNIS TO CAIRO, FROM SUNAI TO TRIPOLI. A YEAR AGO, QADDAFI WAS ONE OF THE WORLD'S LONGEST SERVING DICTATORS, A MURDERER WITH AMERICAN BLOOD ON HIS HANDS. TODAY, HE IS GONE. AND IN SYRIA, I HAVE NO DOUBT THAT THE ASSAD REGIME WILL SOON DISCOVER THAT THE FORCES OF CHANGE CANNOT BE REVERSED AND THAT HUMAN DIGNITY CANNOT BE DENIED. ( APPLAUSE )[/color]

[BUGS BUNNY]

[color=#000000]E OF THE REGION TO DECIDE THEIR FATE, WE WILL ADVOCATE FOR THOSE VALUES THAT HAVE SERVED OUR OWN COUNTRY SO WELL. WE WILL STAND AGAINST VIOLENCE AND INTIMIDATION. WE WILL STAND FOR THE RIGHT AND DIGNITY OF ALL HUMAN BEINGS, MEN AND WOMEN, CHRISTIANS, MUSLIMS, AND JEWS. WE WILL SUPPORT POLICIES THAT LEAD TO STRONG AND STABLE DEMOCRACIES AND OPEN MARKETS BECAUSE TYRANNY IS NO MATCH FOR LIBERTY. AND WE WILL SAFEGUARD AMERICA'S OWN SECURITY AGAINST THOSE WHO THREATEN OUR CITIZENS, OUR FRIENDS, AND OUR INTERESTS. LOOK AT IRAN. THROUGH THE POWER OF OUR DIPLOMACY, A WORLD THAT WAS ONCE DIVIDED ABOUT HOW TO DEAL WITH IRAN'S NUCLEAR PROGRAM NOW STANDS AS ONE. THE REGIME IS MORE ISOLATED THAN EVER BEFORE. ITS LEADERS ARE FACED WITH CRIPPLING SANCTIONS, AND AS LONG AS THEY SHIRK THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES, THIS PRESSURE WILL NOT RELENT. LET THERE BE NO DOUBT-- AMERICA IS DETERMINED TO PRESERVE IRAN FROM GETTING A NUCLEAR WEAPON AND I WILL TAKE NO OPTIONS OFF THE TABLE TO ACHIEVE THAT GOAL.[/color]

[BUGS BUNNY]

[color=#000000]BUT A PEACEFUL RESOLUTION OF THIS ISSUE IS STILL POSSIBLE AND FAR BETTER. AND IF IRAN CHANGES COURSE AND MEETS ITS OBLIGATIONS, IT CAN REJOIN THE COMMUNITY OF NATIONS. THE RENEWAL OF AMERICAN LEADERSHIP CAN BE FELT ACROSS THE GLOBE. OUR OLDEST ALLIANCES IN EUROPE AND ASIA ARE STRONGER THAN EVER. OUR TIES TO THE AMERICAS ARE DEEPER. OUR IRONCLAD COMMITMENT-- AND I MEAN IRONCLAD TO ISRAEL'S SECURITY HAS MEANT THE CLOSEST MILITARY COOPERATION BETWEEN OUR TWO COUNTRIES IN HISTORY. ( APPLAUSE )[/color]

[BUGS BUNNY]

[color=#000000] WE'VE MADE IT CLEAR THAT AMERICA IS A PACIFIC POWER AND A NEW BEGINNING IN BURMA HAS LIT A NEW HOPE. FROM THE COALITIONS WE'VE BUILT TO SECURE NUCLEAR MATERIALS TO THE MISSIONS WE'VE LED AGAINST HUNGER AND DISEASE, FROM THE BLOWS WE'VE DEALT OUR ENEMIES, TO THE ENDURING POWER OF OUR MORAL EXAMPLES, AMERICA IS BACK. ANYONE WHO TELLS YOU OTHERWISE, ANYONE WHO TELLS YOU THAT AMERICA IS IN DECLINE OR THAT OUR INFLUENCE HAS WANED DOESN'T KNOW WHAT THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT. ( APPLAUSE )[/color]

[BUGS BUNNY]

[color=#000000]THAT'S NOT THE MESSAGE WE GET FROM LEADERS AROUND THE WORLD WHO ARE EAGER TO WORK WITH US. THAT'S NOT HOW PEOPLE FEEL FROM TOKYO TO BERLIN, FROM CAPE TOWN TO RIO, WHERE OPINIONS OF AMERICA ARE HIGHER THAN THEY'VE BEEN IN YEARS. YES, THE WORLD IS CHANGING. NO, WE CAN'T CONTROL EVERY EVENT BUT AMERICA REMAINS THE ONE INDISPENSABLE NATION IN WORLD AFFAIRS, AND AS LONG AS I'M PRESIDENT, I INTEND TO KEEP IT THAT WAY. ( APPLAUSE )[/color]

[BUGS BUNNY]

[color=#000000]THAT'S WHY WORKING WITH OUR MILITARY LEADERS I PROPOSED A NEW DEFENSE STRATEGY THAT ENSURES WE MAINTAIN THE FINEST MILITARY IN THE WORLD WHILE SAVING NEARLY HALF A TRILLION DOLLARS IN OUR BUDGET. TO STAY ONE STEP AHEAD OF OUR ADVERSARIES, I'VE ALREADY SENT THIS CONGRESS LEGISLATION THAT WILL SECURE OUR COUNTRY FROM THE GROWING DANGERS OF CYBER THREATS. ( APPLAUSE ) [/color]

[BUGS BUNNY]

[color=#000000]ABOVE ALL, OUR FREEDOM ENDURES BECAUSE THE MEN AND WOMEN IN UNIFORM WHO DEFEND IT. ( APPLAUSE )[/color]

[BUGS BUNNY]

[color=#000000] AS THEY COME HOME, WE MUST SERVE THEM AS WELL AS THEY'VE SERVED US. THAT INCLUDES GIVING THEM THE CARE AND THE BENEFITS THEY HAVE EARNED, WHICH IS WHY WE'VE INCREASED ANNUAL V.A. SPENDING EVERY YEAR I'VE BEEN PRESIDENT. ( APPLAUSE ) AND IT MEANS ENLISTING OUR VETERANS IN THE WORK OF REBUILDING OUR NATION. WITH THE BIPARTISAN SUPPORT OF THIS CONGRESS, WE'RE PROVIDING NEW TAX CREDITS TO COMPANIES THAT HIRE VETS. MICHELLE AND JILL BIDEN HAVE WORKED WITH AMERICAN BUSINESSES TO SECURE A PLEDGE OF 135,000 JOBS FOR VETERANS AND THEIR FAMILIES. AND TONIGHT, I'M PROPOSING A VETERANS JOBS CORPS THAT WILL HELP OUR COMMUNITY HIRE VETERANS AS COPS AND FIREFIGHTERS SO THAT AMERICA IS AS STRONG AS THOSE WHO DEFEND HER. ( APPLAUSE )[/color]

[BUGS BUNNY]

[color=#000000]WHICH BRINGS ME BACK TO WHERE I BEGAN. THOSE OF US WHO HAVE BEEN SENT HERE TO SERVE CAN LEARN A THING OR TWO FROM THE SERVICE OF OUR TROOPS. WHEN YOU PUT ON THAT UNIFORM, IT DISAPPOINT MATTER IF YOU'RE BLACK OR WHITE, ASIAN, LATINO, NATIVE AMERICAN, CONSERVATIVE, LIBERAL, RICH, POORUX, GAY, STRAIGHT. WHEN YOU'RE MARCHING INTO BATTLE, YOU LOOK OUT FOR THE PERSON NEXT TO YOU, OR THE MISSION FAILS. WHEN YOU'RE IN THE THICK OF THE FIGHT, YOU RISE OR FALL AS ONE UNIT, SERVING ONE NATION, LEAVING NO ONE BEHIND. ONE OF MY PROUDEST POSSESSIONS IS THE FLAG THAT THE SEAL TEAM TOOK WITH THEM ON THE MISSION TO GET BIN LADEN. ON IT ARE EACH OF THEIR NAMES. SOME MAY BE DEMOCRATS. SOME MAY BE REPUBLICANS. BUT THAT DOESN'T MATTER. JUST LIKE IT DIDN'T MATTER THAT DAY IN THE SITUATION ROOM WHEN I SAT NEXT TO BOB GATES, A MAN WHO WAS GEORGE BUSH'S DEFENSE SECRETARY; AND HILLARY CLINTON, A WOMAN WHO RAN AGAINST ME FOR PRESIDENT. ALL THAT MATTERED THAT DAY WAS THE MISSION. NO ONE THOUGHT ABOUT POLITICS. NO ONE THOUGHT ABOUT THEMSELVES. ONE OF THE YOUNG MEN INVOLVED IN THE RAID LATER TOLD ME THAT HE DIDN'T DESERVE CREDIT FOR THE MISSION. IT ONLY SUCCEEDED, HE SAID, BECAUSE EVERY SINGLE MEMBER OF THAT UNIT DID THEIR JOB-- THE PILOT WHO LANDED THE HELICOPTER THAT SPUN OUT OF CONTROL. THE TRANSLATOR WHO KEPT OTHERS FROM ENTERING THE COMPOUND. THE TROOPS WHO SEPARATED THE WOMEN AND CHILDREN FROM THE FIGHT.[/color]

[BUGS BUNNY]

[color=#000000] THE SEALs WHO CHARGED UP THE STAIRS. MORE THAN THAT, THE MISSION ONLY SUCCEEDED BECAUSE EVERY MEMBER OF THAT UNIT TRUSTED EACH OTHER BECAUSE YOU CAN'T CHARGE UP THOSE STAIRS INTO DARKNESS AND DANGER UNLESS YOU KNOW THAT THERE'S SOMEBODY BEHIND YOU WATCHING YOUR BACK. SO IT IS WITH AMERICA. EACH TIME I LOOK AT THAT FLAG, I'M REMINDED THAT OUR DESTINY IS STITCHED TOGETHER LIKE THOSE 50 STARSES AND THOSE 13 STRIPES. NO ONE BUILT THIS COUNTRY ON THEIR OWN. THIS NATION IS GREAT BECAUSE WE BUILT IT TOGETHER. THIS NATION IS GREAT BECAUSE WE WORKED AS A TEAM. THIS NATION IS GREAT BECAUSE WE GET EACH OTHER'S BACKS. AND IF WE HOLD FAST TO THAT TRUTH IN THIS MOMENT OF TRIAL, THERE IS NO CHALLENGE TOO GREAT, NO MISSION TOO HARD. AS LONG AS WE ARE JOINED IN COMMON PURPOSE, AS LONG AS WE MAINTAIN OUR COMMON RESOLVE, OUR JOURNEY MOVES FORWARD AND OUR FUTURE IS HOPEFUL. AND THE STATE OF OUR UNION WILL ALWAYS BE STRONG. THANK YOU, GOD BLESS YOU, AND GOD BLESS THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. ( APPLAUSE )[/color]

[BUGS BUNNY]

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