Speaking to an audience of small business owners and employees in Raleigh, North Carolina, President Obama said today “we may be seeing the beginning of the end of the recession.”
The comment came after he discussed the current cover of Newsweek, which declares “The Recession Is Over.”
“I imagine that you might have found the news a little startling. I know I did,” said Obama.
“Here’s what’s true: we have stopped the freefall. The market is up and the financial system is no longer on the verge of collapse. That’s true,” he said to applause. “We’re losing jobs at half the rate we were when I took office six months ago…so there’s no doubt that things have gotten better. We may be seeing the beginning of the end of the recession. But that’s little comfort if you’re one of those folks who have lost their job, and haven’t found another.”
Here’s the video:
The town hall in Raleigh is the first of two Obama is holding today on health care; the second will take place later in the afternoon with Kroger Supermarket employees in Bristol, Tennessee. This public push from the White House on health care reform has gone into overdrive over the last week, with Obama hosting a town hall almost every day, including one in coordination with the AARP yesterday.
For full coverage of the battle to reform health care, see TPMDC.
