It’s astonishing to me that anybody would make these kinds of assertions about this guy considering his background and devotion to education. His mother started a children’s center in 1961 in Kenwood, a rough part of Chicago at the time. She took her 3 privileged children with her to the center every day to help out as they were able, from sharpening pencils as children to tutoring as teen-agers. Arne also learned to play basketball in those neighborhoods as well as personal lessons of inequality that most folks never understand. Kids, his friends, that dropped out of school were the ones who died from street crime. He also learned that there was no reason for it.

“I grew up with folks in mom’s school who were smarter than me, more talented, harder working, and just didn’t have the opportunities [I had],” Arne Duncan says.

Duncan’s first job after receiving his sociology degree from Harvard was with the Ariel Education Initiative, funded by Investment Banker John W. Rogers, Jr, a childhood friend from the children’s center. This program provided mentoring and the promise of an affordable college if they graduated from high school. From there Duncan moved into the Chicago Public Schools where he eventually implemented Renaissance 2010. The initiative included a tough program to turnaround underperforming schools through charter and contract schools, which accounted for 7% of all Chicago schools in the 2008-2009.

http://ren2010.cps.k12.il.us/docs/ONS_PerfReport.pdf

http://www.gse.harvard.edu/blog/news_features_releases/2009/09/will-obamas-choice-change-education-in-america.html

He is now bringing reforms to the nation’s schools, many of which have students that experience worse poverty and despair than some in Chicago. During a visit to Lame Deer High School at the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in Montana, Duncan heard total hopelessness and was “incredulous” that “in the past six years, only eight students have gone on to four-year colleges”.

When Duncan says he only wants success, “especially for historically underserved low-income and minority students”, he is thinking of all of the nation’s young people, from the reservation to the forgotten minority neighborhoods.

So what are these reforms that have raised the hackles of half the teachers of America? While Race To The Top garners 90% of the headlines, it is actually only one of a number of programs being implemented. The 2009 Recovery Act provided over $100 billion in education funding, only $4 billion of which is RTTT. $53 billion was set aside to cover shortfalls in state and county 2009 budgets, $25 billion for school repair and modernization, $4 billion for head start and child development, $13 billion for Title I, and $13 billion for IDEA.

Recovery Act reform starts with the ARRA Smart Reform Options, a collective of ideas released after the best educators from the country convened in Washington, DC, in early April 2009. They should look familiar as they have become the foundation of Duncan’s education reforms.

Priority 1: Develop Common American Standards

27 states have adopted the new Common Core Standards, an initiative led by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State Schools Officers. Teachers, Administrators, Researchers, and Curriculum and content specialists were brought together to address K-12 and college and career readiness expectations.

“The common core standards, two years in the making and first released in draft form in March, are an effort to replace the current hodgepodge of state policies.

They lay out detailed expectations of skills that students should have at each grade level. Second graders, for example, should be able to read two-syllable words with long vowels, while fifth graders should be able to add and subtract fractions with different denominators.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/21/education/21standards.html

Priority 2: Provide Data and Information that Educators, Policymakers, and Parents Can Use

“Over the next four years, two groups of states, 44 in all, will get $330 million to work with hundreds of university professors and testing experts to design a series of new assessments that officials say will look very different from those in use today.”

The new tests, which Secretary of Education Arne Duncan described in a speech in Virginia on Thursday, are to be ready for the 2014-15 school year.

“They will be computer-based, Mr. Duncan said, and will measure higher-order skills ignored by the multiple-choice exams used in nearly every state, including students’ ability to read complex texts, synthesize information and do research projects.”

“If these plans work out, it’ll turn the current testing system upside down,” said Bruce Fuller, an education professor at Berkeley

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/03/education/03testing.html?_r=1&ref=arne_duncan

AFT President Randi Weingarten:

The U.S, Department of Education today announced it has awarded grants to two consortia of states to develop a new generation of student assessments. The Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers will receive $170 million, and the SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium will receive $160 million. Together the two groups include 44 states and the District of Columbia.

WASHINGTON- “We applaud today’s announcement. These grants take a solid step toward developing better assessments of student achievement. This is a welcome move away from single high-stakes tests—a move that will better inform teaching and learning.”

http://www.aft.org/newspubs/press/2010/090210.cfm

Priority 3: Conduct Meaningful Teacher Evaluations

“Districts must create fairer, more accurate, and more useful teacher evaluation systems, developed with teachers and their unions. The evaluations should comprise four elements: a description of what good teaching looks like (codified in an evaluation “instrument”), a measure of how much the teacher has contributed to student learning over time, a regular evaluation process during which teachers are observed and receive specific advice about what to improve and how, and meaningful follow-up in the form of targeted professional development and support.”

For instance, a recent NEA evaluation of the Teacher Advancement Program that operates in 14 states found that “TAP teachers consistently outperformed teachers in similar non-TAP schools in both student achievement gains and proficiency, teacher and principal surveys have found high levels of sup­port for the system, and teachers felt the program promoted collaboration and profes­sional growth.”

Priority 4: Turn Around Low-Performing Schools

Partnership Zones in Delaware
http://www.doe.k12.de.us/news/2010/0202.shtml

Delaware, along with five other states (Colorado, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts and New York) will participate in a three-year public-private partnership to create scalable and sustainable strategies for turning around clusters of their lowest-performing schools. A two-year extension is slated to follow the initial three-year effort. The announcement was made today by the School Turnaround Group at Mass Insight Education & Research Institute, a non-profit organization that published the ground-breaking 2007 report, The Turnaround Challenge.

http://www.dsea.org/Accountability/RTTT.html

Green Dot of California is a very successful and popular turnaround model in Los Angeles.  Green Dot was granted control of Locke High School in 2008-2009 school year, when over 50% of Locke’s tenured teachers signed a petition to turn over governance of Locke High School to Green Dot Public Schools. This historic decision marked the first time that teachers, supported by an external school operator, forced the restructuring of a traditional public school. 

“Green Dot attributes its successful turnaround at Locke to several key factors, including breaking the school into a family of seven small schools, bringing in new teachers and principals to ensure alignment with the educational philosophy, creating a clean, inviting and safe campus, increasing interventions, and creating an integrated alternative education program. Each of the schools in the Locke cluster are autonomous, supported by Green Dot’s efficient back office, and all of the teachers are members of the Asociación de Maestros Unidos, a CTA/NEA affiliate and the exclusive collective bargaining unit of Green Dot teachers in Los Angeles.”

Priority 5: Help Struggling Students

“Good teaching can overcome these challenges.”

“In Dallas, for instance, students who had three consecutive years of effective teachers improved their mathematics test scores by 21 points.”

“Tennessee is reviewing the distribution of teachers in six urban districts by qualification and experience level, as well as the distribution of effective teachers, using data generated from the state’s “value added” longitudinal data system.”

Put the best teachers in front of the neediest students. Guilford County in NC is offering $10,000 recruitment incentives, for instance. Increase stability with teacher retention, extend school hours, increase learning days, and build on success.

Amidst all of this CHANGE is Race To The Top and School Improvement Grants. RTTT has awarded 12 states with several million dollars, from $75 million for Hawaii to $700 million for Florida. Tennessee and Delaware were the first two winners, chosen in larger part due to consensus from all interested parties, including the local teachers’ unions.

Delaware obtained signatures of participation from 100% of Local Education Agency (LEA) superintendents, 100% from the presidents of local school boards, and 93% from the local teachers’ union leaders. Tennessee at it obtained 100% of the signatures in each category except teachers’ union leaders, gaining 93% approval from them.

Delaware stood out for its overhaul plan that included a promise to identify the state’s worst-performing schools and then turn them around within two years. It also achieved high marks for giving extra bonuses to teachers and principals willing to work in the toughest, academically-challenged schools.

Union support remained important in the selection of the second round of RTTT States.

“In Massachusetts, only school districts where the superintendent, School Committee and teachers’ union committed to follow certain regulations are eligible to receive the money.”

In Hawaii, the Hawaii State Teachers Association is cooperating with a plan to base 60 percent of a teacher’s evaluation on student achievement. They must provide assistance to struggling teachers and will work out new procedures  “if the situation doesn’t improve”.

School Improvement Grants, according to Arne Duncan:

“Right now, our administration is distributing $4 billion dollars to states all across America to turn around our lowest performing schools. Many of those schools are in inner-city communities.

We’re offering up to $6 million dollars per school over three years - which is a lot of money - over and above what they normally receive. Our resources will help, but what is most lacking now is the courage to change and the clear vision of what’s possible.

The local leadership can choose from several different approaches to transition student achievement. Some require staffing changes and some don’t.

Most require more training, a better curriculum, and more learning time.

You can also turn over the school to a private operator like a charter school and I want to take a minute to talk about charters because a lot of people are confused.

As many of you know - since some of you have your own schools - charter schools are public schools.

They serve our children with our money. They are accountable to us - just like regular public schools.

One big difference is that they have more autonomy. In many cases they hire non-union teachers - but not always. One of the best charter operators in the country is Green Dot in Los Angeles and they use union teachers. People forget that the charter school movement began with Albert Schanker, the legendary leader of the American Federation of Teachers.

The best of them - like the schools in the Harlem Children’s Zone led by Geoffrey Canada - also provide social services and include parenting classes for young moms. They give parents books to read to their children. And they stay with them every step of the way, from Baby College to real college.

I’m not advocating for charter schools. I only want good schools. I don’t care if they are charter schools or traditional public schools. We need both. We desperately need high-performing schools, the vast majority of our children will always be education in traditional public schools.

I only want success - especially for historically underserved low-income and minority students - and that’s what the president wants.”

http://www.ed.gov/news/speeches/education-and-destiny-secretary-arne-duncans-remarks

I want to acknowledge your outstanding national president, a man who knows that a strong economy needs a strong labor movement: Rich Trumka. (Applause.) Thank you to the president of Wisconsin AFL-CIO Dave Newby. (Applause.) Our host, your area Labor Council Secretary-Treasurer Sheila Cochran. I hear it’s Sheila’s birthday tomorrow. Where is she? (Applause.) Happy birthday, Sheila. (Applause.) I’m proud to be here with our Secretary of Labor, a daughter of union members, Hilda Solis. (Applause.) And our Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood is in the house. (Applause.) And I want everybody to give it up for people who are at the forefront of every fight for Wisconsin’s working men and women - Senator Herb Kohl; Congresswoman Gwen Moore. (Applause.) Your outstanding mayor and I believe soon to be outstanding governor Tom Barrett is in the house. (Applause.) And I know - I know your other great senator, Russ Feingold, was here earlier standing with you and your families just like he always has. Now he’s in his hometown of Janesville to participate in their Labor Day parade.

So it is good to be back. Now, of course, this isn’t my first time at Laborfest. Some of you remember I stood right here with you two years ago when I was still a candidate for this office. (Applause.) And during that campaign, we talked about how, for years, the values of hard work and responsibility that had built this country had been given short shrift, and how it was slowly hollowing out our middle class. Listen, everybody who has a chair, go ahead and sit down, because everybody’s all hollering. (Applause.) Just relax, I’m going to be talking for a while now. (Applause.) Everybody take - (applause) - got a lot of hardworking people here, you deserve to sit down for a day. (Applause.) You’ve been on your feet all year working hard.

But two years ago, we talked about some on Wall Street who were taking reckless risks and cutting corners to turn huge profits while working Americans were fighting harder and harder just to stay afloat. We talked about how the decks all too often were stacked in favor of special interests and against the interests of working Americans.

And what we knew, even then, was that these years would be some of the most difficult in our history. And then, two weeks later - two weeks after I spoke here - the bottom fell out of the economy. And middle-class families suddenly found themselves swept up in the worst recession of our lifetimes.

So the problems facing working families, they’re nothing new. But they are more serious than ever. And that makes our cause more urgent than ever. For generations, it was the great American working class, the great American middle class that made our economy the envy of the world. It’s got to be that way again. (Applause.)

Milwaukee, it was folks like you that built this city. It was folks like you that built this state. It was folks like you who forged that middle class all across the nation.

It was working men and women who made the 20th century the American century. It was the labor movement that helped secure so much of what we take for granted today. (Applause.) The 40-hour work week, the minimum wage, family leave, health insurance, Social Security, Medicare, retirement plans. The cornerstones of the middle-class security all bear the union label. (Applause.)

And it was that greatest generation that built America into the greatest force of prosperity and opportunity and freedom that the world has ever known - Americans like my grandfather, who went off to war just boys, then returned home as men, and then they traded in one uniform and set of responsibilities for another. And Americans like my grandmother, who rolled up her sleeves and worked in a factory on the home front. And when the war was over, they studied under the GI Bill, and they bought a home under the FHA, and they raised families supported by good jobs that paid good wages with good benefits.

It was through my grandparents’ experience that I was brought up to believe that anything is possible in America. (Applause.) But, Milwaukee, they also knew the feeling when opportunity is pulled out from under you. They grew up during the Depression, so they’d tell me about seeing their fathers or their uncles losing jobs; how it wasn’t just the loss of a paycheck that hurt so bad. It was the blow to their dignity, their sense of self-worth. I’ll bet a lot of us have seen people who’ve been changed after a long bout of unemployment. It can wear you down, even if you’ve got a strong spirit. If you’re out of work for a long time, it can wear you down.

So my grandparents taught me early on that a job is about more than just a paycheck. A paycheck is important. But a job is about waking up every day with a sense of purpose, and going to bed each night feeling you’ve handled your responsibilities. (Applause.) It’s about meeting your responsibilities to yourself and to your family and to your community. And I carried that lesson with me all those years ago when I got my start fighting for men and women on the South Side of Chicago after their local steel plant shut down. And I carried that lesson with me through my time as a state senator and a U.S. senator, and I carry that lesson with me today. (Applause.)

And I know - I know that there are folks right here in this audience, folks right here in Milwaukee and all across America, who are going through these kinds of struggles. Eight million Americans lost their jobs in this recession. And even though we’ve had eight straight months of private sector job growth, the new jobs haven’t been coming fast enough. Now, here’s the honest truth, the plain truth. There’s no silver bullet. There’s no quick fix to these problems. I knew when I was running for office, and I certainly knew by the time I was sworn in, I knew it would take time to reverse the damage of a decade worth of policies that saw too few people being able to climb into the middle class, too many people falling behind. (Applause.)

We all knew this. We all knew that it would take more time than any of us want to dig ourselves out of this hole created by this economic crisis. But on this Labor Day, there are two things I want you to know. Number one: I am going to keep fighting every single day, every single hour, every single minute, to turn this economy around and put people back to work and renew the American Dream, not just for your family, not just for all our families, but for future generations. That I can guarantee you. (Applause.)

Number two - I believe this with every fiber of my being: America cannot have a strong, growing economy without a strong, growing middle class, and the chance for everybody, no matter how humble their beginnings, to join that middle class - (applause) - a middle class built on the idea that if you work hard, if you live up to your responsibilities, then you can get ahead; that you can enjoy some basic guarantees in life. A good job that pays a good wage. Health care that will be there when you get sick. (Applause.) A secure retirement even if you’re not rich. (Applause.) An education that will give your children a better life than we had. (Applause.) These are simple ideas. These are American ideas. These are union ideas. That’s what we’re fighting for. (Applause.)

I was thinking about this last week. I was thinking about this last week on the day I announced the end of our combat mission in Iraq. (Applause.) And I spent some time, as I often do, with our soldiers and our veterans. And this new generation of troops coming home from Iraq, they’ve earned their place alongside the greatest generation. (Applause.) Just like that greatest generation, they’ve got the skills, they’ve got the training, they’ve got the drive to move America’s economy forward once more. We’ve been investing in new care and new opportunities and a new commitment to our veterans, because we’ve got to serve them just the way they served us. (Applause.)

But, Milwaukee, they’re coming home to an economy hit by a recession deeper than anything we’ve seen since the 1930s. So the question is, how do we create the same kinds of middle-class opportunities for this generation as my grandparents’ generation came home to? How do we build our economy on that same strong, stable foundation for growth?

Now, anybody who thinks that we can move this economy forward with just a few folks at the top doing well, hoping that it’s going to trickle down to working people who are running faster and faster just to keep up, you’ll never see it. (Applause.) If that’s what you’re waiting for, you should stop waiting, because it’s never happened in our history. That’s not how America was built. It wasn’t built with a bunch of folks at the top doing well and everybody else scrambling. We didn’t become the most prosperous country in the world just by rewarding greed and recklessness. We didn’t come this far by letting the special interests run wild. We didn’t do it just by gambling and chasing paper profits on Wall Street. We built this country by making things, by producing goods we could sell. We did it with sweat and effort and innovation. (Applause.) We did it on the assembly line and at the construction site. (Applause.)

We did it by investing in the people who built this country from the ground up — the workers, middle-class families, small business owners. We out-worked folks and we out-educated folks and we out-competed everybody else. That’s how we built America. (Applause.)

And, Milwaukee, that’s what we’re going to do again. That’s been at the heart what we’ve been doing over these last 20 months: building our economy on a new foundation so that our middle class doesn’t just survive this crisis — I want it to thrive. I want it to be stronger than it was before.

And over the last two years, that’s meant taking on some powerful interests - some powerful interests who had been dominating the agenda in Washington for a very long time. And they’re not always happy with me. They talk about me like a dog. (Applause.) That’s not in my prepared remarks, it’s just - but it’s true.

You know, that’s why we passed financial reform to provide new accountability and tough oversight of Wall Street; stopping credit card companies from gouging you with hidden fees and unfair rate hikes. (Applause.) Ending taxpayer bailouts of Wall Street once and for all. They’re not happy with it, but it was the right thing to do. (Applause.)

That’s why we eliminated tens of billions of dollars in wasteful taxpayer subsidies, handouts to the big banks that were providing student loans. We took that money, tens of billions of dollars, and we’re going to go to make sure that your kids and your grandkids can get student loans and grants at a cheap rate and afford a college education. (Applause.) They’re not happy with it, but it was the right thing to do. (Applause.)

Yes, we’re using those savings to put a college education within reach for working families.

That’s why we passed health insurance reform to make coverage affordable. (Applause.) Reform that ends the indignity of insurance companies jacking up your premiums at will, denying you coverage just because you get sick; reform that gives you control, gives you the ability if your child is sick to be able to get an affordable insurance plan, making sure they can’t drop it.

That’s why we’re making it easier for workers to save for retirement, with new ways of saving your tax refunds, a simpler system for enrolling in plans like 401(k)s, and fighting to strengthen Social Security for the future. (Applause.) And if everybody is still talking about privatizing Social Security, they need to be clear: It will not happen on my watch. Not when I’m President of the United States of America. (Applause.)

That’s why - we’ve given tax cuts - except we give them to folks who need them. (Applause.) We’ve given them to small business owners. We’ve given them to clean energy companies. We’ve cut taxes for 95 percent of working Americans, just like I promised you during the campaign. You all got a tax cut. (Applause.)

And instead of giving tax breaks to companies that are shipping jobs overseas, we’re cutting taxes to companies that are putting our people to work right here in the United States of America. (Applause.)

See, we want to invest in growth industries like clean energy and manufacturing. You’ve got leaders here in Wisconsin - Tom Barrett, Jim Doyle - they’ve been fighting to bring those jobs to Milwaukee, fighting to bring those jobs here to Wisconsin. I don’t want to see solar panels and wind turbines and electric cars made in China. I want them made right here in the United States of America. (Applause.)

I don’t want to buy stuff from someplace else. I want to grow our exports so that we’re selling to someplace else - products that say “Made in the U.S.A.” (Applause.)

AUDIENCE: U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.!

THE PRESIDENT: That’s right. There are no better workers than American workers. (Applause.) I’ll put my money on you any day of the week. And when the naysayers said, well, you can’t save the auto industry, just go ahead and let hundreds of thousands of jobs vanish, we said we’re going to stand by those workers. If the management is willing to make tough choices, if everybody is willing to come together, I’m confident that the American auto industry can compete once again — and today, that industry is on the way back. They said no, we said yes to the American worker. They’re coming back. (Applause.)

Now, let me tell you, another thing we’ve done is to make long-overdue investments in upgrading our outdated, our inefficient national infrastructure. We’re talking roads. We’re talking bridges. We’re talking dams, levees. But we’re also talking a smart electric grid that can bring clean energy to new areas. We’re talking about broadband Internet so that everybody is plugged in. We’re talking about high-speed rail lines required to compete in a 21st century economy. (Applause.) I want to get down from Milwaukee down to Chicago quick. (Applause.) Avoid a traffic jam.

We’re talking investments in tomorrow that are creating hundreds of thousands of private sector jobs right now.

Because of these investments, and the tens of thousands of projects they spurred all across the country, the battered construction sector actually grew last month for the first time in a very long time. (Applause.)

But, you know, the folks here in the trades know what I’m talking about - nearly one in five construction workers are unemployed. One in five. Nobody has been hit harder than construction workers. And a lot of those folks, they had lost their jobs in manufacturing and went into construction; now they’ve lost their jobs again.

It doesn’t do anybody any good when so many hardworking Americans have been idled for months, even years, at a time when there is so much of America that needs rebuilding.

So, that’s why, Milwaukee, today, I am announcing a new plan for rebuilding and modernizing America’s roads and rails and runways for the long term. (Applause.) I want America to have the best infrastructure in the world. We used to have the best infrastructure in the world. We can have it again. We are going to make it happen. (Applause.)

Over the next six years, over the next six years, we are going to rebuild 150,000 miles of our roads — that’s enough to circle the world six times. That’s a lot of road. We’re going to lay and maintain 4,000 miles of our railways — enough to stretch coast to coast. We’re going to restore 150 miles of runways. And we’re going to advance a next-generation air-traffic control system to reduce travel time and delays for American travelers. (Applause.) I think everybody can agree on that. Anybody want more delays in airports?

AUDIENCE: No!

THE PRESIDENT: No, I didn’t think so. That’s not a Republican or a Democratic idea. We all want to get to where we need to go. I mean, I’ve got Air Force One now, it’s nice. (Laughter.) But I still remember what it was like.

This is a plan that will be fully paid for. It will not add to the deficit over time — we’re going to work with Congress to see to that. We want to set up an infrastructure bank to leverage federal dollars and focus on the smartest investments. We’re going to continue our strategy to build a national high-speed rail network that reduces congestion and travel times and reduces harmful emissions. We want to cut waste and bureaucracy and consolidate and collapse more than 100 different programs that too often duplicate each other. So we want to change the way Washington spends your tax dollars. We want to reform a haphazard, patchwork way of doing business. We want to focus on less wasteful approaches than we’ve got right now. We want competition and innovation that gives us the best bang for the buck.

But the bottom line is this, Milwaukee - this will not only create jobs immediately, it’s also going to make our economy hum over the long haul. It’s a plan that history tells us can and should attract bipartisan support. It’s a plan that says even in the aftermath of the worst recession in our lifetimes, America can still shape our own destiny. We can still move this country forward. We can still leave our children something better. We can still leave them something that lasts. (Applause.)

So these are the things we’ve been working for. These are some of the victories you guys have helped us achieve. And we’re not finished. We’ve got a lot more progress to make. And I’m confident we will.

But there are some folks in Washington who see things differently. (Boos.) You know what I’m talking about. (Applause.) When it comes to just about everything we’ve done to strengthen our middle class, to rebuild our economy, almost every Republican in Congress says no. (Boos.) Even on things we usually agree on, they say no. If I said the sky was blue, they say no. (Laughter and applause.) If I said fish live in the sea, they’d say no. (Laughter.) They just think it’s better to score political points before an election than to solve problems. So they said no to help for small businesses, even when the small businesses said we desperately need this. This used to be their key constituency, they said. They said no. No to middle-class tax cuts. They say they’re for tax cuts; I say, okay, let’s give tax cuts to the middle class. No. (Laughter.) No to clean energy jobs. No to making college more affordable. No to reforming Wall Street. They’re saying right now, no to cutting more taxes for small business owners and helping them get financing.

You know, I heard - somebody out here was yelling “Yes we can.” Remember that was our slogan? Their slogan is “No we can’t.” (Applause.) No, no, no, no.

AUDIENCE: Yes we can! Yes we can! Yes we can!

THE PRESIDENT: I mean, I personally think “Yes we can” is more inspiring than “No we can’t.” (Applause.) To steal a line from our old friend Ted Kennedy: What is it about working men and women that they find so offensive? (Laughter.)

When we passed a bill earlier this summer to help states save jobs - the jobs of hundreds of thousands of teachers and nurses and police officers and firefighters that were about to be laid off, they said no. (Applause.) And the Republican who thinks he’s going to take over as Speaker - (boos) - I’m just saying that’s his opinion - (laughter) - he’s entitled to his opinion. But when he was asked about this, he dismissed those jobs as “government jobs” that weren’t worth saving. (Boos.) That’s what he said, I’m quoting - “government jobs.”

Now, think about this. These are the people who teach our children. These are the people who keep our streets safe. These are the people who put their lives on the line, who rush into a burning building. Government jobs? I don’t know about you, but I think those jobs are worth saving. (Applause.) I think those jobs are worth saving. (Applause.)

By the way, this bill that we passed to save all those jobs, we made sure that bill wouldn’t add to the deficit. You know how we paid for it? By closing one of these ridiculous tax loopholes that actually rewarded corporations for shipping jobs and profits overseas. (Applause.)

I mean, this - this was one of those loopholes that allowed companies to write off taxes they pay to foreign governments — even though they weren’t paying taxes here in the United States. So middle-class families were footing tax breaks for companies creating jobs somewhere else. I mean, even a lot of America’s biggest corporations agreed that this loophole didn’t make sense, agreed that it needed to be closed, agreed that it wasn’t fair — but the man who thinks he’s going to be Speaker, he wants to reopen this loophole. (Boos.)

Look, the bottom line is this: These guys, they just don’t want to give up on that economic philosophy that they have been peddling for most of the last decade. You know that philosophy - you cut taxes for millionaires and billionaires; you cut all the rules and regulations for special interests; and then you just cut working folks loose - you cut them loose to fend for themselves.

You remember they called it the ownership society, but what it really boiled down to was, if you couldn’t find a job, you couldn’t afford college, you were born poor, your insurance company dropped you even though your kid was sick, that you were on your own.

Well, you know what, that philosophy didn’t work out so well for middle-class families all across America. It didn’t work out so well for our country. All it did was rack up record deficits and result in the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. I mean, think about it, we have tried what they’re peddling. We did it for 10 years. We ended up with the worst economy since the 1930s and record deficits to boot. (Applause.) It’s not like we haven’t tried what they’re trying to sell us.

Now, I’m bringing this up not because I’m trying to re-litigate the past; I’m bringing it up because I don’t want to re-live the past. (Applause.)

It’d be one thing, Milwaukee, if Republicans in Washington had some new ideas, if they had said, you know what, we really screwed up, and we’ve learned from our mistakes; we’re going to do things differently this time. That’s not what they’re doing.

When the leader of their campaign committee was asked on national television what Republicans would do if they took over Congress, you know what he said? He said, we’ll do exactly the same thing we did the last time. (Applause.) That’s what he said. It’s on tape.

So basically, here’s what this election comes down to. They’re betting that between now and November, you’re going to come down with amnesia. (Laughter.) They figure you’re going to forget what their agenda did to this country. They think you’ll just believe that they’ve changed.

These are the folks whose policies helped devastate our middle class. They drove our economy into a ditch. And we got in there and put on our boots and we pushed and we shoved. And we were sweating and these guys were standing, watching us and sipping on a Slurpee. (Laughter.) And they were pointing at us saying, how come you’re not pushing harder, how come you’re not pushing faster? And then when we finally got the car up - and it’s got a few dings and a few dents, it’s got some mud on it, we’re going to have to do some work on it - they point to everybody and say, look what these guys did to your car. (Laughter.) After we got it out of the ditch! And then they got the nerve to ask for the keys back! (Laughter and applause.) I don’t want to give them the keys back. They don’t know how to drive. (Applause.)

I mean, I want everything to think about it here. When you want to go forward in your car, what do you do?

AUDIENCE: D!

THE PRESIDENT: You put it in D. They’re going to pop it in reverse. They’d have those special interests riding shotgun, then they’d hit the gas and we’d be right back in the ditch. (Laughter.)

Milwaukee, we are not going backwards. That’s the choice we face this fall. Do we want to go back? Or do we want to go forward? I say we want to move forward. America always moves forward. We keep moving forward every day. (Applause.)

Let me say this, Milwaukee. I know these are difficult times. I know folks are worried. I know there’s still a lot of hurt out here. I hear it when I travel around the country. I see it in the letters that I read every night from folks who are looking for a job or lost their home. It breaks my heart, because those are the folks that I got into politics for. You’re the reason I’m here. (Applause.)

And when times are tough - when times are tough, I know it can be easy to give in to cynicism. I know it can be easy to give in to fear and doubt. And you know, it’s easy sometimes for folks to stir up stuff and turn people on each other, and it’s easy to settle for something less, to set our sights a little bit lower.

But I just want everybody here to remember, that’s not who we are. That’s not the country I know. We do not give up. We do not quit. We face down war. We face down depression. We face down great challenges and great threats. We have lit the way for the rest of the world.

Whenever times have seemed at their worst, Americans have been at their best. That’s when we roll up our sleeves. That’s when we remember we rise or fall together — as one nation and as one people. (Applause.) That’s the spirit that started the labor movement, the idea that alone, we may be weak. Divided, we may fall. But we are united, we are strong. That’s why they call them unions. That’s why we call this the United States of America. (Applause.)

I’m going to make this case across the country between now and November. And I am asking for your help. And if you are willing to join me and Tom Barrett and Gwen Moore and Russ Feingold and Herb Kohl, we can strengthen our middle class and make this economy work for all Americans again and restore the American Dream and give it to our children and our grandchildren. (Applause.)

God bless you, and God bless the United States of America. (Applause.)

ENVIRO-TIP OF THE MONTH

Prepare for emergencies. Find out what you can do to reduce risks from environmental hazards before, during, and after if a natural disaster strikes. September is National Preparedness Month and also the peak of hurricane activity.
http://www.epa.gov/naturalevents

WHAT YOU CAN DO, WHAT YOU CAN USE

Share your thoughts online! There are several new opportunities how you can let us know what you think and discuss with others online:

-Comment on a draft strategy to protect our nation’s lakes, streams and coastal waters.
http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/names/hq_2010-8-20_Draft_Water_Strategy

Vote in the Carson Contest. Pick your favorite submissions in the fourth annual Rachel Carson Sense of Wonder Contest, among finalists in five categories: photography, essay, poetry, dance and mixed media. The deadline for voting is November 1.
http://www.epa.gov/aging/resources/thesenseofwonder/2010/vote.htm

Coal ash public hearings. EPA is hosting six public hearings in September about a proposal to regulate disposal and management of coal ash from coal-fired power plants. The need for national management was emphasized by the December 2008 Kingston, TN, spill of coal ash.
http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/names/hq_2010-8-19_coal_ash

Share your thoughts online or attend an upcoming public listening session under President Obama’s national dialogue about conservation in America.
Share ideas online: http://ideas.usda.gov/ago/ideas.nsf/
Listening sessions: http://www.doi.gov/americasgreatoutdoors/

UPCOMING EVENTS AND OPPORTUNITIES

September

11 Carl Garner Federal Lands Cleanup Day
18 World Water Monitoring Day
http://www.worldwatermonitoringday.org
25 National Public Lands Day
http://www.publiclandsday.org/
25 International Coastal Cleanup Day
http://www.oceanconservancy.org/site/PageServer?pagename=icc_about
25 National Estuaries Day
http://www.estuaries.gov/GetInvolved/Default.aspx?id=526

But this milestone should serve as a reminder to all Americans that the future is ours to shape if we move forward with confidence and commitment. It should also serve as a message to the world that the United States of America intends to sustain and strengthen our leadership in this young century.

From this desk, seven and a half years ago, President Bush announced the beginning of military operations in Iraq. Much has changed since that night. A war to disarm a state became a fight against an insurgency. Terrorism and sectarian warfare threatened to tear Iraq apart. Thousands of Americans gave their lives; tens of thousands have been wounded. Our relations abroad were strained. Our unity at home was tested.

These are the rough waters encountered during the course of one of America’s longest wars. Yet there has been one constant amidst those shifting tides. At every turn, America’s men and women in uniform have served with courage and resolve. As Commander-in-Chief, I am proud of their service. Like all Americans, I am awed by their sacrifice, and by the sacrifices of their families.

The Americans who have served in Iraq completed every mission they were given. They defeated a regime that had terrorized its people. Together with Iraqis and coalition partners who made huge sacrifices of their own, our troops fought block by block to help Iraq seize the chance for a better future. They shifted tactics to protect the Iraqi people; trained Iraqi Security Forces; and took out terrorist leaders. Because of our troops and civilians -and because of the resilience of the Iraqi people - Iraq has the opportunity to embrace a new destiny, even though many challenges remain.

So tonight, I am announcing that the American combat mission in Iraq has ended. Operation Iraqi Freedom is over, and the Iraqi people now have lead responsibility for the security of their country.

This was my pledge to the American people as a candidate for this office. Last February, I announced a plan that would bring our combat brigades out of Iraq, while redoubling our efforts to strengthen Iraq’s Security Forces and support its government and people. That is what we have done. We have removed nearly 100,000 U.S. troops from Iraq. We have closed or transferred hundreds of bases to the Iraqis. And we have moved millions of pieces of equipment out of Iraq.

This completes a transition to Iraqi responsibility for their own security. U.S. troops pulled out of Iraq’s cities last summer, and Iraqi forces have moved into the lead with considerable skill and commitment to their fellow citizens. Even as Iraq continues to suffer terrorist attacks, security incidents have been near the lowest on record since the war began. And Iraqi forces have taken the fight to al Qaeda, removing much of its leadership in Iraqi-led operations.

This year also saw Iraq hold credible elections that drew a strong turnout. A caretaker administration is in place as Iraqis form a government based on the results of that election. Tonight, I encourage Iraq’s leaders to move forward with a sense of urgency to form an inclusive government that is just, representative, and accountable to the Iraqi people. And when that government is in place, there should be no doubt: the Iraqi people will have a strong partner in the United States. Our combat mission is ending, but our commitment to Iraq’s future is not.

Going forward, a transitional force of U.S. troops will remain in Iraq with a different mission: advising and assisting Iraq’s Security Forces; supporting Iraqi troops in targeted counter-terrorism missions; and protecting our civilians. Consistent with our agreement with the Iraqi government, all U.S. troops will leave by the end of next year. As our military draws down, our dedicated civilians -diplomats, aid workers, and advisors -are moving into the lead to support Iraq as it strengthens its government, resolves political disputes, resettles those displaced by war, and builds ties with the region and the world. And that is a message that Vice President Biden is delivering to the Iraqi people through his visit there today.

This new approach reflects our long-term partnership with Iraq-one based upon mutual interests, and mutual respect. Of course, violence will not end with our combat mission. Extremists will continue to set off bombs, attack Iraqi civilians and try to spark sectarian strife. But ultimately, these terrorists will fail to achieve their goals. Iraqis are a proud people. They have rejected sectarian war, and they have no interest in endless destruction. They understand that, in the end, only Iraqis can resolve their differences and police their streets. Only Iraqis can build a democracy within their borders. What America can do, and will do, is provide support for the Iraqi people as both a friend and a partner.

Ending this war is not only in Iraq’s interest- it is in our own. The United States has paid a huge price to put the future of Iraq in the hands of its people. We have sent our young men and women to make enormous sacrifices in Iraq, and spent vast resources abroad at a time of tight budgets at home. We have persevered because of a belief we share with the Iraqi people -a belief that out of the ashes of war, a new beginning could be born in this cradle of civilization. Through this remarkable chapter in the history of the United States and Iraq, we have met our responsibility. Now, it is time to turn the page.

As we do, I am mindful that the Iraq War has been a contentious issue at home. Here, too, it is time to turn the page. This afternoon, I spoke to former President George W. Bush. It’s well known that he and I disagreed about the war from its outset. Yet no one could doubt President Bush’s support for our troops, or his love of country and commitment to our security. As I have said, there were patriots who supported this war, and patriots who opposed it. And all of us are united in appreciation for our servicemen and women, and our hope for Iraq’s future.

The greatness of our democracy is grounded in our ability to move beyond our differences, and to learn from our experience as we confront the many challenges ahead. And no challenge is more essential to our security than our fight against al Qaeda.

Americans across the political spectrum supported the use of force against those who attacked us on 9/11. Now, as we approach our 10th year of combat in Afghanistan, there are those who are understandably asking tough questions about our mission there. But we must never lose sight of what’s at stake. As we speak, al Qaeda continues to plot against us, and its leadership remains anchored in the border region of Afghanistan and Pakistan. We will disrupt, dismantle, and defeat al Qaeda, while preventing Afghanistan from again serving as a base for terrorists. And because of our drawdown in Iraq, we are now able to apply the resources necessary to go on offense. In fact, over the last 19 months, nearly a dozen al Qaeda leaders -and hundreds of Al Qaeda’s extremist allies-have been killed or captured around the world.

Within Afghanistan, I have ordered the deployment of additional troops who-under the command of General David Petraeus -are fighting to break the Taliban’s momentum. As with the surge in Iraq, these forces will be in place for a limited time to provide space for the Afghans to build their capacity and secure their own future. But, as was the case in Iraq, we cannot do for Afghans what they must ultimately do for themselves. That’s why we are training Afghan Security Forces and supporting a political resolution to Afghanistan’s problems. And, next July, we will begin a transition to Afghan responsibility. The pace of our troop reductions will be determined by conditions on the ground, and our support for Afghanistan will endure. But make no mistake: this transition will begin - because open-ended war serves neither our interests nor the Afghan people’s.

Indeed, one of the lessons of our effort in Iraq is that American influence around the world is not a function of military force alone. We must use all elements of our power -including our diplomacy, our economic strength, and the power of America’s example -to secure our interests and stand by our allies. And we must project a vision of the future that is based not just on our fears, but also on our hopes -a vision that recognizes the real dangers that exist around the world, but also the limitless possibility of our time.

Today, old adversaries are at peace, and emerging democracies are potential partners. New markets for our goods stretch from Asia to the Americas. A new push for peace in the Middle East will begin here tomorrow. Billions of young people want to move beyond the shackles of poverty and conflict. As the leader of the free world, America will do more than just defeat on the battlefield those who offer hatred and destruction -we will also lead among those who are willing to work together to expand freedom and opportunity for all people.

That effort must begin within our own borders. Throughout our history, America has been willing to bear the burden of promoting liberty and human dignity overseas, understanding its link to our own liberty and security. But we have also understood that our nation’s strength and influence abroad must be firmly anchored in our prosperity at home. And the bedrock of that prosperity must be a growing middle class.

Unfortunately, over the last decade, we have not done what is necessary to shore up the foundation of our own prosperity. We have spent over a trillion dollars at war, often financed by borrowing from overseas. This, in turn, has short-changed investments in our own people, and contributed to record deficits. For too long, we have put off tough decisions on everything from our manufacturing base to our energy policy to education reform. As a result, too many middle class families find themselves working harder for less, while our nation’s long-term competitiveness is put at risk.

And so at this moment, as we wind down the war in Iraq, we must tackle those challenges at home with as much energy, and grit, and sense of common purpose as our men and women in uniform who have served abroad. They have met every test that they faced. Now, it is our turn. Now, it is our responsibility to honor them by coming together, all of us, and working to secure the dream that so many generations have fought for -the dream that a better life awaits anyone who is willing to work for it and reach for it.

Our most urgent task is to restore our economy, and put the millions of Americans who have lost their jobs back to work. To strengthen our middle class, we must give all our children the education they deserve, and all our workers the skills that they need to compete in a global economy. We must jumpstart industries that create jobs, and end our dependence on foreign oil. We must unleash the innovation that allows new products to roll off our assembly lines, and nurture the ideas that spring from our entrepreneurs. This will be difficult. But in the days to come, it must be our central mission as a people, and my central responsibility as President.

Part of that responsibility is making sure that we honor our commitments to those who have served our country with such valor. As long as I am President, we will maintain the finest fighting force that the world has ever known, and do whatever it takes to serve our veterans as well as they have served us. This is a sacred trust. That is why we have already made one of the largest increases in funding for veterans in decades. We are treating the signature wounds of today’s wars post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury, while providing the health care and benefits that all of our veterans have earned. And we are funding a post-9/11 GI Bill that helps our veterans and their families pursue the dream of a college education. Just as the GI Bill helped those who fought World War II- including my grandfather- become the backbone of our middle class, so today’s servicemen and women must have the chance to apply their gifts to expand the American economy. Because part of ending a war responsibly is standing by those who have fought it.

Two weeks ago, America’s final combat brigade in Iraq -the Army’s Fourth Stryker Brigade -journeyed home in the pre-dawn darkness. Thousands of soldiers and hundreds of vehicles made the trip from Baghdad, the last of them passing into Kuwait in the early morning hours. Over seven years before, American troops and coalition partners had fought their way across similar highways, but this time no shots were fired. It was just a convoy of brave Americans, making their way home.

Of course, the soldiers left much behind. Some were teenagers when the war began. Many have served multiple tours of duty, far from their families who bore a heroic burden of their own, enduring the absence of a husband’s embrace or a mother’s kiss. Most painfully, since the war began fifty-five members of the Fourth Stryker Brigade made the ultimate sacrifice -part of over 4,400 Americans who have given their lives in Iraq. As one staff sergeant said, “I know that to my brothers in arms who fought and died, this day would probably mean a lot.”

Those Americans gave their lives for the values that have lived in the hearts of our people for over two centuries. Along with nearly 1.5 million Americans who have served in Iraq, they fought in a faraway place for people they never knew. They stared into the darkest of human creations -war -and helped the Iraqi people seek the light of peace.

In an age without surrender ceremonies, we must earn victory through the success of our partners and the strength of our own nation. Every American who serves joins an unbroken line of heroes that stretches from Lexington to Gettysburg; from Iwo Jima to Inchon; from Khe Sanh to Kandahar - Americans who have fought to see that the lives of our children are better than our own. Our troops are the steel in our ship of state. And though our nation may be travelling through rough waters, they give us confidence that our course is true, and that beyond the pre-dawn darkness, better days lie ahead.

Thank you. May God bless you. And may God bless the United States of America, and all who serve her.

“But this milestone should serve as a reminder to all Americans that our future is ours to shape if we move forward with confidence and commitment. It should also serve as a message to the world that the United States of America intends to sustain and strengthen our leadership in this young century.”

***

“At every turn, America’s men and women in uniform have served with courage and resolve. As Commander-in-Chief, I am proud of their service. Like all Americans, I am awed by their sacrifice, and by the sacrifices of their families.”

***

“Tonight, I am announcing that the American combat mission in Iraq has ended. Operation Iraqi Freedom is over, and the Iraqi people now have lead responsibility for the security of their country. This was my pledge to the American people as a candidate for this office.  Last February, I announced a plan that would bring our combat brigades out of Iraq, while redoubling our efforts to strengthen Iraq’s Security Forces and support its government and people. That is what we have done. We have removed nearly 100,000 U.S. troops from Iraq. We have closed or transferred hundreds of bases to the Iraqis. And we have moved millions of pieces of equipment out of Iraq.”

***

“Ending this war is not only in Iraq’s interest - it is in our own. The United States has paid a huge price to put the future of Iraq in the hands of its people. We have sent our young men and women to make enormous sacrifices in Iraq, and spent vast resources abroad at a time of tight budgets at home. We have persevered because of a belief we share with the Iraqi people - a belief that out of the ashes of war, a new beginning could be born in this cradle of civilization. Through this remarkable chapter in the history of the United States and Iraq, we have met our responsibility. Now, it is time to turn the page.”

***

“Today, our most urgent task is to restore our economy, and put the millions of Americans who have lost their jobs back to work. To strengthen our middle class, we must give all our children the education they deserve, and all our workers the skills that they need to compete in a global economy.  We must jumpstart industries that create jobs, and end our dependence on foreign oil. We must unleash the innovation that allows new products to roll off our assembly lines, and nurture the ideas that spring from our entrepreneurs.  This will be difficult. But in the days to come, it must be our central mission as a people, and my central responsibility as President.”

Newsweek Cover

I’m going to make a speech to the nation tonight. It’s not going to be a victory lap. It’s not going to be self-congratulatory. There’s still a lot of work that we’ve got to do to make sure that Iraq is an effective partner with us. But the fact of the matter is that because of the extraordinary service that all of you have done, and so many people here at Fort Bliss have done, Iraq has an opportunity to create a better future for itself, and America is more secure.

Now, I just met with some Gold Star families, and yesterday I was at Walter Reed. And there are no moments when I feel more keenly and more deeply my responsibilities as Commander-in-Chief than during those moments. I know we lost 51 fellow soldiers from here in Fort Bliss. A lot more than that were injured, some of them very severely. A million men and women in uniform have now served in Iraq. And this has been one of our longest wars.

But the fact of the matter is that there has not been a single mission that has been assigned to all of you in which you have not performed with gallantry, with courage, with excellence. And that is something that the entire country understands.

There are times where, in our country, we’ve got political disagreements. And appropriately we have big debates about war and peace. But the one thing we don’t argue about is the fact that we’ve got the finest fighting force in the history of the world. (Applause.)

And the reason we have it is because of the men and women in uniform, in every branch of service, who make so many sacrifices, and their families make those sacrifices alongside them.

And so the main message I have tonight and the main message I have to you is congratulations on a job well done. The country appreciates you. I appreciate you. And the most pride I take in my job is being your Commander-in-Chief.

It also means that as we transition in Iraq, that the one thing I will insist upon for however long I remain President of the United States is that we serve you and your families as well as you served us.

So we spent a lot of time over the last couple of years making sure that we’re increasing our support of veterans: that we are making sure that our wounded warriors are cared for; that some of the signature injuries of our war, like post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, that we are devoting special services there; that we’ve got a post-9/11 GI bill that ensures that you and your family members are able to come back and fully contribute and participate in our economy; that our veterans are constantly getting the care and honor that they have earned.

So that’s part of my message to the country. And one of the great things about the last several years has been to see how unified the country is around support of our veterans and of our men and women who are currently serving.

Now, I know that, as I said at the beginning, our task in Iraq is not yet completed. Our combat phase is over, but we’ve worked too hard to neglect the continuing work that has to be done by our civilians and by those transitional forces, including some folks who are going to be deploying I understand today. And I’m going to be talking to them later.

The work that continues is absolutely critical: providing training and assistance to Iraqi security forces because there’s still violence in Iraq, and they’re still learning how to secure their country the way they need to. And they’ve made enormous strides thanks to the training that they’ve already received. But there’s still more work to do there.

We’re going to have to protect our civilians, our aid workers and our diplomats who are over there, who are still trying to expand and help what’s going to be a long road ahead for the Iraqi people in terms of rebuilding their country.

We’re still going to be going after terrorists in those areas. And so our counterterrorism operations are still going to be conducted jointly. But the bottom line is, is that our combat phase is now over. We are in transition. And that could not have been accomplished had it not been for the men and women here at Fort Bliss and across the country.

The other thing that I’m going to talk about this evening is the fact that we obviously still have a very tough fight in Afghanistan. And a lot of families have been touched by the way in Iraq. A lot of families are now being touched in Afghanistan. We’ve seen casualties go up because we’re taking the fight to al Qaeda and the Taliban and their allies.

It is going to be a tough slog, but what I know is that after 9/11, this country was unified in saying we are not going to let something like that happen again. And we are going to go after those who perpetrated that crime, and we are going to make sure that they do not have safe haven.

And now under the command of General Petraeus, we have the troops who are there in a position to start taking the fight to the terrorists. And that’s going to mean some casualties and it’s going to mean some heartbreak. But the one thing that I know from all of you is that when we put our minds to it, we get things done. And we’re willing to make some sacrifices on behalf of our security here at home.

So to all of you, and to your families, I want to express my deepest gratitude, the gratitude of Michelle, the First Lady, and our entire family. But also I just want to say thank you on behalf of the country, because without you we couldn’t enjoy the freedoms and the security that are so precious. And all of you represent that long line of heroes that have served us so well generation after generation.

You know, when I was talking to the Gold Star families there, there were some widows dating back to World War II, and then there was a young woman who had just had a baby and had just lost her husband. And that describes the arc of heroism and sacrifice that’s been made by the men and women in uniform for so many generations. You’re part of that line, part of that tradition, part of that heroism.

So what I’d like to do is just to come around and shake all of your hands personally, to say thank you to all of you, to say thank you for a job well done, and to know that you are welcome home with open arms from every corner of this country. People could not be prouder of you, and we are grateful.

Thank you very much, everybody.

Reuters Photo

More Photos

Following are highlights of the redo, as enumerated in a White House statement:

_ New and reupholstered furniture, new paint and wallpaper.
_ New rug produced and donated by a Michigan-based business and paid for by the non-profit White House Historical Association through a contribution from the Presidential Inaugural Committee. (This fund is being used to pay for the design costs of numerous rooms at the White House including the Oval Office, Yellow Oval Room, Center Hall and West Sitting Hall.)
_ The existing furniture in the Oval Office will remain the property of the White House and will be placed in a storage facility.

_ Oval Office walls were covered with handmade striped wallpaper produced in Amagansett, N.Y. The trim around the Office was re-painted with American-made Benjamin Moore paint custom-mixed by Donald Kaufman Color.
_ The new wheat, cream and blue colored oval-shaped rug is made of 25 percent recycled wool. The rug has the Presidential seal in the center and historical quotes of meaning to President Obama around the border. The rug was made and donated by the Scott Group, an American carpet manufacturer headquartered in Grand Rapids, Mich. The Scott Group previously made the Oval Office rug designed for former President Bill Clinton as well as rugs for the White House State Dining Room.
_ President Obama selected the following five historical quotes for the rug:
§ “The Only Thing We Have to Fear is Fear Itself” - President Franklin D. Roosevelt
§ “The Arc of the Moral Universe is Long, But it Bends Towards Justice” - Martin Luther King, Jr.
§ “Government of the People, By the People, For the People” - President Abraham Lincoln
§ “No Problem of Human Destiny is Beyond Human Beings” - President John F. Kennedy
§ “The Welfare of Each of Us is Dependent Fundamentally Upon the Welfare of All of Us” - President Theodore Roosevelt
_Armchairs: The two mahogany arm-chairs in front of the fireplace, previously used by President George W. Bush, were reupholstered with a caramel-colored leather.
_ Desk Chair: The President’s brown leather desk chair was produced in New York.
_ Coffee Table: The coffee table is made out of American walnut and mica by a New York company.
_ Couches: The couches in the Oval Office were custom-made in New York. The fabric, a custom-made light brown cotton with red, white and blue threads running through it, was woven in Pennsylvania.
_ Lamps: The two new table lamps have blue ceramic bases and were produced in New York.

The White House statement noted that both President Clinton and President George W. Bush engaged in “a comparable level of redesign” with funds from their Presidential Inaugural Committees to the White House Historical Association.

Asked how much the redo cost, the White House press office said it was “in line with the amount spent by Presidents Clinton and George W. Gush on the redesigns of their Oval Office.’

Introducer

Jade Young is a 1st year pharmacy student at Xavier. A New Orleans native, Jade is the reigning “Miss Xavier” for the 2010-2011 academic year. She was attending Benjamin Franklin High School when Hurricane Katrina hit. She left New Orleans two days before the storm hit and temporarily evacuated with her family to Mississippi, returning 5 months later.

Anthem

Joshua Cooper is currently a junior at Xavier. He is majoring in Music.

Invocation

Father Giles Conwill is the Director of Campus Ministry at Xavier University.

Pledge of Allegiance

Chavis Goode is a current junior majoring in Business and Finance. He is from Newark, NJ and is a member of the ARMY ROTC

President’s Remarks:

It’s great to be back in New Orleans, and an honor to be back at Xavier University. I’m inspired to spend time with folks who have demonstrated what it means to persevere in the face of tragedy - and rebuild in the face of ruin. Thank you, Jade, for your introduction - and congratulations on being crowned Miss Xavier.

As Jade said, she was a junior at Ben Franklin High School five years ago when the storm came. After Katrina, Ben Franklin High was terribly damaged by wind and water. Millions of dollars were needed to rebuild the school. Many feared it would take years to reopen - if it could reopen at all. But then something remarkable happened. Parents and teachers, students and volunteers got to work making repairs. Donations came in from across New Orleans and around the world. And soon, silent, darkened corridors were bright and filled with the sounds of young men and women, including Jade, heading to class again. Jade then committed to Xavier, a University that likewise refused to succumb to despair. So Jade, like so many students here, embodies hope - and that sense of hope in difficult times is what I came to talk about today.

It has been five years since Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast. There is no need to dwell on what you experienced and what the world witnessed: water pouring through broken levees; mothers holding their children above the waterline; people stranded on rooftops begging for help; bodies lying in the streets of a great American city. It was a natural disaster but also a manmade catastrophe; a shameful breakdown in government that left countless men, women, and children abandoned and alone. Shortly after the storm, I came down to Houston to spend time with some of the folks who took shelter there. I’ll never forget what one woman told me. “We had nothing before the hurricane,” she said. “Now we got less than nothing.”

In the years that followed, New Orleans could have remained a symbol of destruction and decay; of a storm that came and the inadequate response that followed. It was not hard to imagine a day when we’d tell our children of a once vibrant and wonderful city laid low by indifference and neglect. But that is not what happened. It’s not what happened at Ben Franklin. It’s not what happened at Xavier. And that’s not what happened across New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. It is true that this city has become a symbol. But it’s a symbol of resilience, of community, of the fundamental responsibility we have for one another.

We see that at Xavier. Less than a month after the storm struck, amidst debris and flood-damaged buildings, President Francis promised that this university would reopen in a matter of months. Some said he was crazy. But they didn’t count on what would happen when one force of nature met another. By January - four months later - class was in session. Less than a year after the storm, I had the privilege of delivering a commencement address to the largest graduating class in Xavier’s history.

We see that in the efforts of Joycelyn Heintz, who is here today. Katrina left her house under 14 feet of water. But after volunteers helped her rebuild, she joined AmeriCorps to serve the community herself - part of a wave of AmeriCorps members who have been critical to the rebirth of this city and the rebuilding of this region. Today, she manages a local center for mental health and wellness.

We see the symbol that this city has become in the St. Bernard Project, whose co-founder Liz McCartney is with us. This endeavor has drawn volunteers from across the country to rebuild hundreds of homes throughout St. Bernard Parish and the Lower Ninth Ward.

I saw the sense of purpose people felt after the storm when I visited Musicians’ Village in the Ninth Ward back in 2006. Volunteers were not only constructing houses; they were coming to together to preserve the culture of music and art that is part of the soul of this city - and the soul of this country. Today, more than 70 homes are complete, and construction is underway on the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music.

We see the dedication to the community in the efforts of Xavier graduate Dr. Regina Benjamin, who mortgaged her home and maxed out her credit cards so she could reopen her Bayou la Batre clinic to care for victims of the storm - and who is now our nation’s Surgeon General.

And we see that resilience - that hope - exemplified by students at Carver High School. They’ve helped raise more than a million dollars to build a new community track and football field - their “Field of Dreams” - for the Ninth Ward.

Because of you - all the advocates and organizers here today, folks who are leading the way toward a better future for this city with innovative approaches to fight poverty, improve health care, reduce crime, and create opportunities for young people - because of you, New Orleans is coming back.

Five years ago, many questioned whether people could ever return to this city. Today, New Orleans is one of the fastest growing cities in America, with a big surge in new small businesses. Five years ago, the Saints had to play every game on the road because of the damage to the Superdome. Well, two weeks ago, we welcomed the Saints to the White House as Super Bowl champions. We marked the occasion with a 30-foot po’boy made with shrimp and oysters from the Gulf. There were no leftovers.

Of course, I don’t have to tell you that there are still too many vacant and overgrown lots. There are still too many students attending classes in trailers. There are still too many people unable to find work. And there are still too many New Orleanians who have not been able to come home. So while an incredible amount of progress has been made, on this fifth anniversary, I wanted to come here and tell the people of this city directly: my administration is going to stand with you - and fight alongside you - until the job is done.

When I took office, I directed my cabinet to redouble our efforts, to put an end to the turf wars between agencies, to cut the red tape and the bureaucracy. I wanted to make sure that the federal government was a partner - instead of an obstacle - to the recovery of the Gulf Coast. And members of my cabinet - including my EPA administrator, Lisa Jackson, who grew up in Pontchartrain Park - have come down here dozens of times. This wasn’t just to make appearances - to just be in a few photos putting up dry wall. This was so that they could listen, learn, and make real changes so that government was actually working for you.

For example, efforts to rebuild schools and hospitals, to repair damaged roads and bridges, and to get people back into their homes, were tied up for years in a tangle of disagreements and byzantine rules. So when I took office, working with Senator Mary Landrieu, we put in place a new way of resolving disputes, so that funds set aside for rebuilding efforts actually went toward rebuilding efforts. As a result, more than 170 projects are getting underway, including work on firehouses, police stations, roads, sewer systems, health clinics, libraries, and universities.

We’re tackling the corruption and inefficiency that has long plagued the New Orleans Housing Authority. We’re helping homeowners rebuild and making it easier for renters to find affordable options. And we’re helping people to move out of temporary homes. When I took office, more than three years after the storm, tens of thousands of families were still stuck in disaster housing - with many living in small trailers provided by FEMA. We were spending huge sums of money on temporary shelter when we knew it would be better for families, and less costly for taxpayers, to help people get into affordable, stable, and more permanent housing. So we’ve helped make it possible for people to find those homes, dramatically reducing the number of families in emergency housing.

On the health care front, as a candidate for President, I pledged to make sure we were helping New Orleans recruit doctors and nurses, and rebuild medical facilities - including a new veterans hospital. Well, we’ve resolved a long-standing dispute - one that tied up hundreds of millions of dollars - to fund the replacement for Charity Hospital. And in June, Veterans Secretary Ric Shinseki came to New Orleans for the groundbreaking of that new VA hospital.
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In education, we’ve made strides as well. As you know, schools in New Orleans were falling behind long before Katrina. But in the years since the storm, a lot of public schools opened themselves up to innovation and reform. As a result, we’re actually seeing rising achievement and New Orleans is fast becoming a model for the nation. This is yet another sign that you’re not only rebuilding; you’re rebuilding stronger than before. Just this Friday, my administration announced a final agreement on $1. 8 billion dollars for Orleans Parish schools - money that had been locked up for years - so folks here could determine how best to restore the school system.

And in a city that has known too much violence and too much despair - that has seen too many young people lost to drugs and criminal activity - we’ve got a Department of Justice committed to working with New Orleans to fight the scourge of violent crime, to weed out corruption in the police force, and to ensure the criminal justice system works for everyone here. And I want to thank Mitch Landrieu, your new mayor, for his commitment to that partnership.

Even as we continue our recovery efforts, we’re also focusing on preparing for future threats - so that there is never another disaster like Katrina ever again. The largest civil works project in American history is underway to build a fortified levee system. And as I pledged as a candidate, we’re going to finish this system by next year, so that this city is protected against a 100-year storm. Because we should not be playing Russian roulette every Hurricane season. We’re also working to restore protective wetlands and natural barriers that were not only damaged by Katrina but had been rapidly disappearing for decades.

In Washington, we are restoring competence and accountability. I’m proud that my FEMA Director, Craig Fugate, has 25 years of experience in disaster management in Florida, a state that has known its share of hurricanes. We’ve put together a group led by Secretary Donovan and Secretary Napolitano to look at disaster recovery across the country. We’re improving coordination on the ground, modernizing emergency communications, and helping families plan for a crisis. And we’re putting in place reforms so that never again in America is someone left behind in a disaster because they’re living with a disability or they’re elderly or infirmed.

Finally, even as you’ve been buffeted by Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita, as well as the broader recession that has devastated communities across the country, in recent months the Gulf Coast has seen new hardship as a result of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill. And just as we have sought to ensure that we are doing what it takes to recover from Katrina, my administration has worked hard to match our efforts on the spill to what you need on the ground.

From the start, I promised you two things. One is that we would see to it that the leak was stopped. And it has been. But the second promise I made was that we would stick with our efforts, and stay on BP, until the damage to the Gulf and to the lives of the people in this region was reversed. And this, too, is a promise we will keep.

That is why we rapidly launched the largest response to an environmental disaster in American history. This has included 47,000 people on the ground and 5,700 vessels on the water to contain and clean up the oil. When I heard that BP was not moving fast enough on claims, we told BP to set aside $20 billion in a fund - managed by an independent third party - to help all those whose lives have been turned upside down by the spill. And we will continue to rely on sound science - carefully monitoring waters and coastlines as well as the health of people along the Gulf - to deal with any long-term effects of the oil spill. We are going to stand with you until the oil is cleaned up, the environment is restored, polluters are held accountable, communities are made whole, and this region is back on its feet.

So that is how we are helping this city, this state, and this region to recover from the worst natural disaster in our nation’s history. We are cutting through the tangle of red tape that has impeded rebuilding efforts for years. We are making government work better and smarter - in coordination with one of the most expansive non-profit efforts in American history. And we are helping state and local leaders to address serious problems that had been neglected for decades - problems that existed long before storm came, and have continued after the waters receded - from the levee system to the justice system, from the health care system to the education system.

Together, we are helping to make New Orleans a place that stands for what we can do in America - not just for what we can’t do. And ultimately, that must be the legacy of Katrina: not one of neglect, but of action; not one of indifference, but of empathy; not of abandonment, but of a community working together to meet shared challenges.

The truth is, there are some wounds that do not heal. There are some losses that cannot be repaid. And for many who lived through those harrowing days five years ago, there is a searing memory that time will not erase. But even amid so much tragedy, we saw the stirrings of a brighter day. We saw men and women risking their own safety to save strangers. We saw nurses staying behind to care for the sick and injured. We saw families coming home to clean up and rebuild - not just their own homes, but their neighbors’ as well. We saw music and Mardi Gras and the vibrancy of this town undiminished. And we have seen many return to their beloved city with a newfound sense of obligation to this community.

When I came here four years ago, one thing that I found striking was all the greenery that had begun to come back. I was reminded of a passage from the book of Job. “There is hope for a tree if it be cut down that it will sprout again, and that its tender branch will not cease.” The work ahead will not be easy. There will be setbacks. There will be challenges along the way. But today, thanks to you and the people of this great city, New Orleans is blossoming once more.

Thank you.

In a letter to John Adams, who was then serving as a delegate to the First Continental Congress, Abigail Adams once implored her husband to “remember the ladies” in the “new code of laws” of our fledgling country. It has taken the collective efforts of daring and tenacious women over many generations to realize the principles and freedoms enshrined in our Constitution. Standing on the shoulders of these trailblazers, we pay tribute to the brave women who dot the pages of our history books, and to those who have quietly broken barriers in our workplaces, communities, and society.

We can see the remarkable fruits of past struggles and victories today. For nearly two centuries, America could only imagine a female justice sitting on the Supreme Court of the United States. Today, for the first time in our Nation’s history, three women sit on the bench of the highest court of the land, and I am proud to be the first President to nominate two women to the Court. Women lead in boardrooms and in our Armed Forces, in classrooms and conference rooms, and in every sector of society. Their boundless determination has enabled today’s young women to dream bigger as they see themselves reflected at the highest levels of business, communications, and public service — including in my Administration and Cabinet. If we continue to fight for our hopes and aspirations, there will be no limit to the possibilities for our daughters and granddaughters.

As we celebrate 90 years of progress on Women’s Equality Day, we also recognize the realities of the present. Women comprise less than one-fifth of our Congress and account for a mere fraction of the chief executives at the helm of our biggest companies. Women hold only 27 percent of jobs in science and engineering, which are critical to our economic growth in a 21st-century economy. And, almost 50 years after the Equal Pay Act was enacted, American women still only earn 77 cents for every dollar men earn. This gap increases among minority women and those living with disabilities.

These disparities remind us that our work remains unfinished. My Administration remains committed to advancing women’s equality in all areas of our society and around the world. I was proud to create the White House Council on Women and Girls to help ensure that American women and girls are treated fairly in all matters of public policy. I also appointed the first White House Advisor on Violence Against Women, whose leadership will guide my Administration in confronting violence and sexual assault against women. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the first bill I signed as President, restored basic protections against pay discrimination for women, and to build upon that law, I support passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act. I have also established the National Equal Pay Enforcement Task Force to ensure equal pay laws are vigorously enforced throughout the country. Workplace flexibility is also important to women and families, and we will continue coordinating with Federal agencies to make quality child care more affordable, promote work policies that improve work-family balance, and advance the economic development and security of all women.

Fifteen years after the world gathered in Beijing for the Fourth World Conference on Women, far too many women around the world still lack access to basic education and economic opportunity, face gender-based violence, and cannot participate fully and equally in their societies. To help address this, I appointed the first-ever Ambassador at Large for Global Women’s Issues to elevate the importance of women’s empowerment in all aspects of our foreign policy. From Afghanistan to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the United States will continue its commitment to the rights of women around the world.

Women’s rights are ultimately human rights, and the march for equality will not end until full parity and equal opportunity are attained in every State and workplace across our Nation. It remains our responsibility to ensure that the principles of justice and equality apply to all Americans, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, or socioeconomic status. If we stay true to our founding ideals and the example of those who insisted upon nothing less than full equality, we can and will perpetuate the line of progress that runs throughout our Nation’s history for generations to come.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim August 26, 2010, as Women’s Equality Day. I call upon the people of the United States to celebrate the achievements of women and recommit themselves to the goal of true gender equality in this country.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-sixth day of August, in the year of our Lord two thousand ten, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fifth.

BARACK OBAMA