Obama Speaks at Mason on Economic Crisis

Friday, January 9, 2009 - 4:17pm

President-elect Barack Obama gave a brief speech at George Mason University yesterday, urging Congress to act quickly in order to save the economy from a deeper plunge.

Obama said that both parties need to work together on an American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan that will “jump-start” jobs and create “long-term growth” by making energy, education, and healthcare the government’s top priorities.

Watch clips of the speech below:

For part two click here.

Key Quotes:

  • ”This must be a time where leaders in both parties put the urgent needs of our nation above our own narrow interests.”
  • ”"No longer can we allow Wall Street wrongdoers to slip through regulatory cracks."
  • "I know the scale of this plan is unprecedented, but so is the severity of our situation. We have already tried the wait-and-see approach to our problems, and it is the same approach that helped lead us to this day of reckoning.”

    • The event was held privately at the Center for the Arts Building. Many democratic mayors and governors were present, including Tim Kaine, Governor of Virginia, as well as Mason's top administrators.

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