President Obama spoke before the AFL-CIO Executive Council this morning. There, he pledged that he and his adminstration is going to continue fighting for working people against Republican obstruction:
"We are not giving up, and we are not giving in."
Obama pledges relentless fight on economy
"We're on the right track ... we're moving forward."
snip
"Our nation is headed in the right direction. Our economy is growing again."
"The Page
Obama made a two-pronged political argument he is likely to echo between now and Election Day:
- The economy is not great, but it is getting better.
- We're trying to dig out from a mess that Republicans created.
snip
"We've still got a lot of tough times ahead," Obama said. "But here's what we're not going to do -- we're not going back to digging the hole."
Obama to union members: 'This election is a choice'
This is the theme for the fall election and I agree with it. We're not out of the woods yet. The Republicans did so much damage to our economy and many people are still hurting. But the direction is good, a growing economy, even if the growth is still too slow. We are not in freefall, as the nation was when President Obama was inaugurated.
"This election is a choice," Obama told members of the AFL-CIO, namely one between Republicans "who drove this American economy into a ditch" and Democrats who are trying to forge recovery in the face of GOP obstructionism.
Obama to union members: 'This election is a choice'
It is a choice, and I know which side I am on. And President Obama is leading the fight now. We need to come together for the election in November to defeat Republicans and retain control of the House and Senate.
There's not a whole lot yet on his speech. I'll update with more, including the reaction of Mr. Trumka and union leaders and members.
Update I: More from cnn.com
He ripped former President George W. Bush's administration for fostering "a profound animosity toward the notion of unions" and creating an unstable economy that only advanced the interests of "a privileged few."
snip
"We're on the right track," Obama declared at the Washington Convention Center. But it "took us nearly a decade to dig ourselves into the hole that we're in," and a full recovery will take time.
Obama told the union leaders that they have to remind their members over for the next three months that the Republicans "drove America's economy into a ditch. And for the last 20 months ... we've been shoving that car out of the ditch, and they've been standing" aside without "lifting a finger to help."
cnn.com
Update II: The President addresses progressive dissatisfaction over the speed of change (not fast enough):
"I know you are talking to a lot of your locals, I'm sure they are feeling like, 'Boy, change is not happening fast enough'," Obama said, speaking at a gathering at the Washington Convention Center. "They are frustrated. They have every right to be frustrated."
"But you have to remind them for the next three months: this election is a choice," he added.
And he addressed substantive matters, including pledging to work to pass the EFCA:
Obama spoke admirably about the role that unions play in the lives of workers, quoting FDR saying that if he were a laborer and not president, he'd have joined a union himself. The president talked about structuring and passing fair trade agreements, the need for more aid and stimulus to states and his desire to stop sending government money to union-busting companies.
snip
"We are going to keep on fighting to pass the Employee Free Choice Act," he said at one point. "Getting EFCA through the Senate is going to be tough. It has always been tough... But we are going to keep on pushing," he added.
HuffPo: Obama To AFL-CIO: I Know You're Frustrated But Hang With Me
Update III: From blackwaterdog in the comments,
a link to the video of the speech.