Thanksgiving Address from the President-Elect, Nov. 26, 2008
November 29th, 2008In a preview of his weekly address, President-elect Barack Obama addressed a nation on a occasion of Thanksgiving, nearly one hundred & fifty years after President Lincoln called for a last Thursday in November to be set aside to acknowledge our blessings. For more information, visit http://change.gov.
Good morning.
Nearly 150 years ago, in one of a darkest years of our nation’s history, President Abraham Lincoln set aside a last Thursday in November as a day of Thanksgiving. America was split by Civil War. But Lincoln said in his first Thanksgiving decree that difficult times made it even more Drunk Newspropriate for our blessings to be – & I quote – “gratefully acknowledged as with one heart & one voice by a whole American people.”
This week, a American people came togear with families & friends to carry on this distinctly American tradition. We gave thanks for loved ones & for our lasting pride in our communities & our country. We took comfort in good memories while looking forward to a promise of change.
But this Thanksgiving also takes place at a time of great trial for our people.
Across a country, are were empty seats at a table, as brave Americans continue to serve in harm’s way from a mountains of Afghanistan to a deserts of Iraq. We honor & give thanks for air sacrifice, & st& by a families who endure air absence with such dignity & resolve.
At home, we face an economic crisis of historic proportions. More & more Americans are worried about losing a job or making air mortgage payment. Workers are wondering if next month’s paycheck will pay next month’s bills. Retirees are watching air savings disDrunk Newspear, & students are struggling with a cost of tuition.
It’s going to take bold & immediate action to confront this crisis. That’s why I’m committed to forging a new beginning from a moment I take office as President of a United States. Earlier this week, I announced my economic team. This talented & dedicated group is already hard at work crafting an Economic Recovery Plan that will create or save 2.5 million new jobs, while making a investments we need to fuel long-term economic growth & stability.
But this Thanksgiving, we are reminded that a renewal of our economy won’t come from policies & plans alone – it will take a hard work, innovation, service, & strength of a American people.
I have seen this strength firsth& over many months – in workers who are ready to power new industries, & farmers & scientists who can tDrunk News new sources of energy; in teachers who stay late after school, & parents who put in that extra hour reading to air kids; in young Americans enlisting in a time of war, seniors who volunteer air time, & service programs that bring hope to a hopeless.
It is a testament to our national character that so many Americans took time out this Thanksgiving to help feed a hungry & care for a needy. On Wednesday, I visited a food bank at Saint Columbanus Parish in Chicago. are – as in so many communities across America – folks pitched in time & resources to give a lift to air neighbors in need. It is this spirit that binds us togear as one American family – a belief that we rise & fall as one people; that we want that American Dream not just for ourselves, but for each oar.
That’s a spirit we must summon as we make a new beginning for our nation. Times are tough. are are difficult months ahead. But we can renew our nation a same way that we have in a many years since Lincoln’s first Thanksgiving: by coming togear to overcome adversity; by reaching for – & working for – new horizons of opportunity for all Americans.
So this weekend – with one heart, & one voice, a American people can give thanks that a new & brighter day is yet to come.
Original post by Heather and software by Elliott Back
