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Narrator: What do we remember in November of 2008? Was it this moment?
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Or this?
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Newscaster: This is an economy right now that cant find the bottom of bad news.
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Newscaster:
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Ten years of saving completely gone. Vanished. Poof.
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Newscaster:
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Watching the Dow Industrial Average has been like watching the heart monitor on a critically
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ill patient.
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Narrator: How do we understand this President and his
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time in office? Do we look at the days headlines or do
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we remember what we, as a country, have been through?
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Austan Goolsbee:
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The President elect is here in Chicago and hes named the members of the economic
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team and they all fly in for the first big briefing on the economy. Many of the leading
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financial figures of the world are taking the subway in from the airport and traipsing
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through the snow to get to the transition office.
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David Axelrod:
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There was a screen set up for slides, but we might as well have been showing a horror
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movie because what was described in that meeting was an economic crisis beyond anything anybody
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had imagined.
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Rahm Emanuel: You had people telling you that the auto industry
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was literally days from collapse. The financial sectors kind of the heart that pumps blood
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into the economy's was frozen up and in cardiac arrest.
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Goolsbee:
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The six months surrounding January 2009 is the worst six months ever that we ever
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had in the data. It was the biggest crash of household wealth that weve ever had
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in the United States. page Axelrod:
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Christi Romer, the incoming head of the Council of Economic Advisors, Mr. President, thisll
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be as deep as anything weve experienced since The Great Depression, and millions of
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people are going to lose their jobs.Tim Geithner, the incoming Treasury Secretary
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said the Financial systems locked up and Mr. President, it could collapse.
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And then Peter Orszag, the Budget Director, was the cleanup hitter, and said this is gonna
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add trillions of dollars to our debt. All I was thinking at that moment was, Could
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we get a recount?
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Narrator: Not since the days of Franklin Roosevelt,
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had so much fallen on the shoulders of one President.
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And when he faced his country, who looked
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to him for answers, he would not dwell in blame or dreamy idealism.
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POTUS:
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Our time of standing pat protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant
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decisions that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must begin again the work
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of remaking America.
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Narrator: As President, the tough decisions that he
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would make would not only determine the course of the nation, theyd reveal the character
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of the man.
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The first decision where to begin?
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Emanuel: Which is one, which is two, which is three,
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which is four, which is five? Where do you start?
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What I love about the guy he says, Were
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gonna do em all. Because we gotta do em all, we dont have a choice to pick.
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Narrator:
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He acted quickly with the Recovery Act, giving help where it was most urgently needed. The
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country had been hemorrhaging jobs more than 3.5 million lost in the six months before
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he took office. Middle class jobs and economy security were vanishing.
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The funding would keep teachers in the classroom,
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cops on the street, and first responders ready. And for those who were hurting, small business
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incentives, tax cuts for the middle class, and job training building bridges, highways,
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and infrastructure laying the groundwork for a new economy, and restoring the possibility
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of growth. But another immediate crisis confronted the President.
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Narrator: Auto executives had asked for another bailout.
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And there was pressure to act.
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Newscaster: Tonight, a top GM executive warned,
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Without help, the company will default. There is no Plan B.
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Elizabeth Warren:
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If the auto industry goes down, what happens to Americas manufacturing base? What happens
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to jobs in America? What happens to the whole Midwest?
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President Bill Clinton:
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If you closed all these car dealerships, and you killed all these auto parts suppliers,
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people have no earthly idea what wouldve happened not only to the economy, but to our
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self image.
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Emanuel: You know, a lot of conventional wisdom wanted
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to do what Mitt Romney did let it go. Cant be saved. Why put good money after bad?
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VPOTUS:
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Everybody. Democrats, Republicans, I mean, it was overwhelming look at the polling
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number do not rescue the automobile industry.
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Warren: The President faced a real risk either way
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he went. He fails to invest in the auto industry, it implodes, the economy goes further down,
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and blood is on his hands. The President invests, and the auto industry just cant pull it
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out. Thats on the Presidents hands as well.
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Narrator:
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But he knew who it would hurt the most and how devastating the loss of a job can be to
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an entire family.
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POTUS: My grandparents taught me that a job is about
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more than just a paycheck. They grew up during the Depression, so, they tell me about seeing
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their fathers or their uncles losing jobs. Even if youve got a strong spirit, if
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youre out of work for a long time, it can wear you down.
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Narrator:
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He decided to intervene. But in exchange for help, the President would demand action.
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The Bush Administration had given the car
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companies thirteen billion dollars, and the money was now gone.
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Clinton:
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He didnt just give the car companies the money. And he didnt give the UAW the money.
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He said, You guys gotta work together and come up and everybodys gotta have
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some skin in the game here. You gotta modernize the automobile industry.
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POTUS:
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So dont bet against the American worker, dont bet against the American people.
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We are comin back!
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Narrator: Because of the tough choices the President
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made, the stage was set for a resurgent U.S. auto industry.
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And it wouldnt be the last time this President
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would face a crisis that others would rather avoid.
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Newscaster, John Chancellor:
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One of the most worrisome problems facing Americans these days is the cost of healthcare
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and the rate at which it has increased.
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Narrator: It had been an issue that both parties had
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struggled with for more than three generations.
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Clinton:
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This is a huge economic issue because we spend seventeen and a half percent of our income
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on healthcare. No other big, wealthy country spends more than 11.8%. And almost all of
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them have better results than we do.
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Narrator: Healthcare costs had been rising three times
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the rate of inflation, crushing family budgets and choking business. And he knew that he
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couldnt fix the economy if he didnt fix healthcare. And he wanted to bring Washington
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together to share the tough decisions.
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Protestors: Kill the Bill! Kill the Bill! Kill the bill!
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Narrator:
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But he faced a fierce opposition, hostile to compromise.
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Man at Town Hall:
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Itll be a cold day in hell before he socializes my country.
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Narrator:
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After months of negotiation, it was unclear whether he could get the necessary votes.
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Narrator:
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Some advised him to settle. He could still claim victory if he accepted less.
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Emanuel:
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I regularly told him, Look, you dont have to spill this much political blood. You
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wont get the healthcare accomplishment youre seeking, but you will have something.
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Narrator:
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But he knew from experience the cost of waiting.
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POTUS: When my mom got cancer, she wasnt a wealthy
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woman. And it pretty much drained all her resources.
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FLOTUS:
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She developed ovarian cancer never really had good, consistent insurance. That
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tough thing to deal with, watching your mother die of something that couldve been prevented.
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I dont think he wants to see anyone go through that
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Narrator:
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And he remembered the millions of families like his who feel the pressure of rising costs
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and the fear of being denied or dropped from coverage
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POTUS:
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When you hear people saying that this isnt the right time, when you hear people more
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worried about the politics of it than whats right and whats wrong, I want you to think
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about the millions of people all across this country who are looking for some help.
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Narrator:
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And when the votes were counted, that help would come.
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Nancy Pelosi:
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The bill is passed!
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Narrator: Beyond the crises at home, among the toughest
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calls that he would make, he would make as Commander in Chief.
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He had promised to bring a responsible end
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to the war in Iraq, and bring the troops home. It was a promise kept.
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Newscaster:
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After nine years in Iraq, all the troops are returning.
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POTUS:
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Welcome home! Welcome home! Welcome home!
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Narrator:
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And it was part of his broader plan to refocus our efforts on those that had attacked us.
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Intelligence reports locating Osama Bin Laden
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were promising, but inconclusive, and there was internal debate as to what the President
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should do.
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VPOTUS: We sat down in the Situation Room\'97the entire
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national security apparatus was in that room\'97and the President turns to every principal in
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the room every secretary, What do you recommend I do? And they say, Well,
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forty-nine percent chance hes there, fifty-one... its a close call Mr. President. As
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he walked out the room, it dawned on me, hes all alone. This is his decision. If he was
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wrong, his Presidency was done. Over.
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POTUS: Today, at my direction, the United States
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launched a targeted operation that killed Osama Bin Laden, the leader of Al Qaida. A
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small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability.
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No Americans were harmed.
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Newscaster: Theyve been planning this operation for
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more than eight months, but in the end it came down to a period of just forty minutes
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when it could either be a major success or a disastrous failure.
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POTUS:
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A lot of people have asked, How did you feel when you first heard that it was Bin
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Laden and he had been killed? And the truth is, I didnt have time for a lot
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of feelings at that point because our guys were still in that compound, and it wasnt
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until I knew that they were across the border, they were safe, everybody was accounted for including
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the dog uh, that I allowed, some satisfaction.
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Clinton:
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He took the harder, and the more honorable path. When I saw what had happened, I thought
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to myself, I hope thats the call I woulde made.
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Narrator:
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It was the ultimate test of leadership, a victory for our nation.
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And there would be many others.
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His satisfaction, not in Washington, but with the millions of families who would feel
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for the first time, the security of coverage.
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2.5 million young adults now have coverage. 17 million kids could no longer be
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denied for preexisting conditions.
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He expanded drug discounts for seniors.
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And with a Patient's Bill of Rights, Americans no longer will see their coverage dropped
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or capped when illness strikes.
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Title: Restores Stem Cell Research Funding
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He restored science to its rightful place.
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Title: Doubles Fuel Efficiency Standards
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He announced historic new mileage standards that will reduce oil imports, and the countrys
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now on track to double production from renewables.
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Title: Race to the Top Raising expectations in our schools with higher
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standards in forty-six states.
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Title: Making College More Affordable
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He reformed the student loan system, shifting billions in subsidies from banks and middlemen,
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to millions of young Americans.
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Title: Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act
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Cracking down on credit card companies and
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mortgage lenders so the American people would never have to bail out Wall Street again.
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And when Washington stalled, he would take
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action, protecting everyday Americans from predatory lenders.
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Title: Appoints Richard Cordray to Head of
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Financial Consumer Protection Bureau
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POTUS: Im not gonna stand by while a minority
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in the Senate puts party ideology ahead of the people that we were elected to serve.
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Not at this make or break moment for middle class Americans.
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Narrator:
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They changed the way the world sees us.
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And brought fairness to soldiers who want to serve their country, regardless of who
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they love.
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Title: Dont Ask Dont Tell repealed
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POTUS: Thank you. Yes we did.
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Narrator: And a landmark law so that a woman who does
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the same job as a man can get the same pay.
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Title: Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act passes
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POTUS:
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And we will make sure that our daughters have the same rights, the same chances, the same
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freedoms to pursue their dreams as our sons.
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Judge: Judge Sotomayor, are you prepared to take
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the oath?
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Sotomayor: I am.
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Narrator:
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He placed two experienced jurists on the Supreme Court.
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Narrator:
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And while the economic crisis proved to be more severe than experts had predicted, month
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by month there was progress over 3.5 million private sector jobs in two years and
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welcome news from Detroit.
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Diane Sawyer: It is a banner day for the resurgent US auto
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industry, less than two years after coming out of bankruptcy, General Motors announced
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today it is investing two billion dollars in seventeen plants.
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Narrator:
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And with business booming, they repaid their loans.
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Lawrence ODonnell:
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Tonight. General Motors is once again number one in sales worldwide.
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Narrator: