Obama’s Iraq Speech Urges Americans To Embrace “Limitless Possibility Of Our Time”

VIDEO

by Glenn Davis | 8:53 pm, August 31st, 2010

» 22 comments

President Barack Obama delivered his speech tonight on the end of combat operations in Iraq and the work ahead to re-invigorate America’s economy. Among the major talking points are already proving to be “a transition to Afghan responsibility” in the war there that the president said will begin next July, and Obama’s affirmation that “our most urgent task is to restore our economy.”

The president did not mention any specific economic initiatives, but said that “we must unleash the innovation that allows new products to roll off our assembly lines.” Additionally, he touted “one of the largest increases in funding for veterans in decades,” as well as a “post-9/11 GI Bill.” Indeed, a major theme of the speech was thanking veterans for their sacrifices, and he closed with this line:

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.

The speech certainly attempted to paint a positive picture of the country’s future, an increasingly difficult task with a still-stagnant economy detractors will undoubtedly use to criticize the president’s call to “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.” Full video of the speech below.

NORBIT

I know, if I’m a Democrat, I feel really Motivated and Inspired over the President’s appearance!!
LOL!

Did you catch his demeanor?
He acts like it’s already November 3!

WOW!
Compare tonight with his campaigning!

Just because he CAN’T LEAD is no reason to be so hard on yourself!

This bodes well for the country, and not-so-well for the Democrats!
Azarkhan

“our most urgent task is to restore our economy.” Pres Obama

Where have you been for the last 20 months? We already knew that.

BTW Mr. President, if you want to pull the country out of a major recession, it’s probably not a good idea to start by saddling businesses and citizens with the enormous taxation, regulations, uncertainty, and deficits that will result from nationalizing the health care system.
TfT

McCain making some good comments on Hannity’s show.

And he agrees with the rest of the country – Obama should have credited Bush for the surge, but he just couldn’t man up and do it. Telling us Bush is a patriot and loves the troops is nothing new; anyone who knows BUsh or saw Bush (including our troops), knows that Bush is numero uno patriot who loves and respects our troops.

Obama voted to DEFUND the troops when they were at war; the troops will never forget that.
libra blue

I didn’t watch the big speech, but it doesn’t sound like I missed much. Did he bother giving any specifics on how he is going to “restore our economy”? Probably not, he is all talk and no plan.
Ninja

The one big thing the President forgot to mention tonight….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_igpyewuzQ
chucken

Hey wingnuts Obama is ending combat for a 7 year war.How much longer and how many more tours of duty do you want an all volunteer army to keep going back and risked getting killed or injured?You gotta end it sometime and Obama kept a campaign promise.And BTW we did not go into Iraq to have a surge 4 years after the neo-cons fucked everything up.Do you think we would should have had a better plan in March 2003?
the real john t

TfT said:
Obama should have credited Bush for the surge,

Why should anyone give credit to a man that started a war of choice.
TfT

Turn the channel johnt; move away from NBC/MSNBC.
the real john t

TfT said:
TfT says:

Maybe you should stop watching Fox 24/7.
Azarkhan

A new poll shows that public support for health care reform dropped sharply in August — a dagger in Democrats’ hopes that their landmark legislation will help them in November’s midterm.

The Kaiser Health Tracking Poll has support for the bill dropping 7 percentage points in August — down to 43 percent — while opposition rose 10 points to 45 percent. That’s the weakest showing since May — and a far cry from the bump proponents had hoped to see as some of the law’s more consumer-friendly provisions kick in…
The so-called “individual mandate” was opposed by 70 percent of the Kaiser poll’s respondents.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0810/41611.html#ixzz0yEu9Uhms
TfT

My knowledge of Iraq is not based on FNC — even though it is my network of choice, for obvious reasons.
the real john t

TfT said:
even though it is my network of choice, for obvious reasons.

Well it must be because you like a lot of lies and propaganda. You probably like Big Time Wrestling too don’t you.
Ninja

chucken said:
Hey wingnuts Obama is ending combat for a 7 year war.How much longer and how many more tours of duty do you want an all volunteer army to keep going back and risked getting killed or injured?You gotta end it sometime and Obama kept a campaign promise.And BTW we did not go into Iraq to have a surge 4 years after the neo-cons fucked everything up.Do you think we would should have had a better plan in March 2003?

You do realize that President Bush signed the Status Of Forces Agreement around November of 2007 don’t you? The drawdown of combat troops had nothing to do with any Obama campaign promise. Look Bush did plenty of things wrong but we should at least give him credit for one of the few things he did right.
notsofast

Yeeeeeeeehaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

SP wins another!

Joe Miller is now the winner in Republican primary in Alaska!
chucken

Ninja,does Obama get credit for anything?The 2007 agreement does not mean shit unless the President on Jan 21 2009 implemented it.Bush will never get any credit because we should never had gone to was in the first place.
chucken

Oh NO !! Got NPR on notso fast and another teabagger wins.He is at least smarter than Sharon Angle.
Arkansas Steve

Step #1 of “Embracing the Limitless Possibility Of Our Time”
is to get a leader who won’t drive us over a cliff!!
NORBIT

Breaking News:
Democrat Lisa Murkowski concedes to Republican Joe Miller in GOP primary!

KINGMAKER Sarah Palin b-tch-slaps the Professional-Left Ruling Class once again!
Ninja

chucken said:
Ninja,does Obama get credit for anything?The 2007 agreement does not mean shit unless the President on Jan 21 2009 implemented it.Bush will never get any credit because we should never had gone to was in the first place.

He gets credit for agreeing to the plans that Gen Petraeus put forward for Iraq and somewhat implementing the surge part 2 in Afghanistan.
CAconservative

Substance, or semantics? Or semantic used to build substance? This guy never fully says what he means or means what he says. He is diametrically opposed to the majority view of the people of this county, and people are now recognizing his inherent subversion.
felixw

it’s nice to have the President encourage us to embrace the limitless possibilities of our time. But I think most Americans would settle for a job in the current environment. But hey, Pres, congrats again on the Nobel Prize…
Morgan

As I recall, when the surge started going real good, al-qaeda started getting out of Iraq and moved into Afghanistan. Now that we are moving the surge to Afghanistan, won’t that just move the bad guys back into Iraq? So much for the “by calendar” exit strategy.

And with things starting to boil in Iran, I would have thought we would be better off with a good amount of troops (even present but not fighting) already stationed on both sides of Iran, to keep them honest and at home. If we ever have to go back there again, I hope it won’t have to be by invasion to get a foothold.