"We Will Rebuild . . . We Will Recover"

OBAMA'S BIG SPEECH

Read my TWITTER Updates HERE

Blunt Challenges Obama on Health Care

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KEY PASSAGE FROM PRESIDENT OBAMA:

"But while our economy may be weakened and our confidence shaken; though we are living through difficult and uncertain times, tonight I want every American to know this: We will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before. The weight of this crisis will not determine the destiny of this nation. The answers to our problems don’t lie beyond our reach. They exist in our laboratories and universities; in our fields and our factories; in the imaginations of our entrepreneurs and the pride of the hardest-working people on Earth. Those qualities that have made America the greatest force of progress and prosperity in human history we still possess in ample measure. What is required now is for this country to pull together, confront boldly the challenges we face, and take responsibility for our future once more," President Obama said.

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ALSO: Obama said his administration has already identified $2 Trillion Dollars in savings over the next decade.

"In this budget, we will end education programs that don’t work and end direct payments to large agribusinesses that don’t need them. We’ll eliminate the no-bid contracts that have wasted billions in Iraq, and reform our defense budget so that we’re not paying for Cold War-era weapons systems we don’t use. We will root out the waste, fraud, and abuse in our Medicare program that doesn’t make our seniors any healthier, and we will restore a sense of fairness and balance to our tax code by finally ending the tax breaks for corporations that ship our jobs overseas," Obama said.

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CONGRESSMAN ROY BLUNT'S YOUTUBE RESPONSE IS HERE

Blunt said he shares the President's goal of "universal access to the health care system" -- but not via the government.

"This won't be a problem we solve this year if the administration insists on running toward a totally government run health care system," Blunt said.

AND: Hits Obama on spending, saying his deficit reduction comments are at odds with his own stimulus package. Calls omnibus spending bill "ominous."

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SEN. KIT BOND REACTS:

Wants to Partner With Obama on Credit Crisis, but Disagrees on Taxes, Cap & Trade

"While I heard the President talk about many areas we can work together, there were also troubling proposals that would put our economy at even greater risk. We can’t tax our way out this crisis – especially on the backs of the small businesses that create jobs. It is also critical that President Obama rethink cap and trade. Carbon regulations would threaten every family, worker, farmer, and driver in America with higher energy prices and lost jobs and would cripple coal dependent states like Missouri," Sen. Bond said.

Earlier, Sen. Kit Bond previewed the President's speech in a YouTube video.

He says there's still a great amount of uncertainty and fear in the markets and warns that the country can't "spend and tax" its way out of a crisis.

"I'm also concerned with the suggestion that events in Iraq are budget driven," Bond said.

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SEN. CLAIRE MCCASKILL CALLED IT "A GREAT SPEECH"

"Right message of bold action and budget restraint," she Twittered.

Her favorite line: "We are not quitters."

Also Claire rejoices over the Clinton kiss!

"The warm greeting between Pres Obama & Sec Clinton makes me proud of our democracy. What a difference a year makes," McCaskill wrote to her many followers on Twitter.
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By the way: Most memorable viewer comment was aimed at Bobby Jindal's GOP response: "Jindal sounds like a total cheese. Like he should be narrating a ride at Epcot Center."

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