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The
White House
President
Obama's Vision for America
By Dan Pfeiffer
Hey
everyone,
I
don't usually write emails like this, and we
don't usually send messages like this to this list. But I just finished
reading
the draft of a speech the President plans to deliver on Wednesday, and
I want
to explain why it's one worth checking out.
Eight
years ago, not long after he was elected
to the United States Senate, President Obama went to Knox College in
his home
state of Illinois where he laid out his economic vision for the
country. It's a
vision that says America is strongest when everybody's got a shot at
opportunity -- not when our economy is winner-take-all, but when we're
all in
this together.
Revisiting
that speech, it's clear that it
sowed the seeds of a consistent vision for the middle class he's
followed ever
since. It's a vision he carried through his first campaign in 2008,
it's a
vision he carried through speeches like the one he gave at Georgetown
University
shortly after taking office that imagined a new foundation for our
economy, and
one in Osawatomie, Kansas on economic inequality in 2011 -- and it's a
vision
he carried through his last campaign in 2012.
Watch
that history below and see why this
moment is so important.
All
of these speeches -- Knox College,
Georgetown, Osawatomie -- make clear that since day one, the President
has had
one clear economic philosophy: The American economy works best when it
grows
from the middle-out, not the top-down.
This
Wednesday, almost five years after the
financial crisis fueled a devastating recession, and two years after a
debate
over whether or not America would pay its bills that harmed our
recovery, the
President will return to Knox College to kick off a series of speeches
that
will lay out his vision for rebuilding an economy that puts the middle
class
and those fighting to join it front and center. He'll talk about the
progress
we've made together, the challenges that remain, and the path forward.
And
over the next several weeks, the President
will deliver speeches that touch on the cornerstones of what it means
to be
middle class in America: job security, a good education, a home to call
your
own, affordable health care when you get sick, and the chance to save
for a
secure, dignified retirement. They will include new ideas and new
pushes for
ideas he has discussed before. They'll outline steps Congress can take,
steps
he'll take on his own, and steps the private sector can take that
benefit us
all.
The
point is to chart a course for where
America needs to go -- not just in the next three months or even the
next three
years, but a steady, persistent effort over the long term to restore
this
country's basic bargain for the middle class.
Why
now? Well, we've made important progress
with the Senate passing comprehensive immigration reform and will
continue to
work with the House to push to get that enacted into law. But the
President
thinks Washington has largely taken its eye off the ball on the most
important
issue facing the country. Instead of talking about how to help the
middle
class, too many in Congress are trying to score political points,
refight old
battles, and trump up phony scandals. And in a couple of months, we
will face
some more critical budget deadlines that require Congressional action,
not
showdowns that only serve to harm families and businesses -- and the
President
wants to talk about the issues that should be at the core of that
debate.
As
I was reading through his draft, I was
reminded what drives this President to work so hard. I hope you'll
watch this
video showing the context of the last eight years and then tune in on
Wednesday
to find out. I don't think you'll be disappointed.
Thank
you,
Dan
Pfeiffer
Senior
Advisor to the President
The
White House
To
go to the White House Blog for the speech,
click here
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