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  • The President: Thank you.

  • Thank you so much.

  • Everybody have a seat.

  • Merry Christmas everybody.

  • The President: Give it up for Santa's biggest,

  • baddest elf -- our host, The Rock.

  • (applause)

  • Dwayne is tough as nails on the outside,

  • but as you heard earlier, he is a big softie on the inside.

  • Even played me once on "Saturday Night Live."

  • (laughter)

  • You can see the resemblance.

  • (laughter)

  • I have a little more hair.

  • I want to thank all the incredible performers

  • for dazzling us with their talents tonight.

  • Give them a big round of applause.

  • (applause)

  • And we want to thank all the people behind

  • the scenes who help make this wonderful event possible

  • every single year.

  • For 33 years, "Christmas in Washington"

  • has benefited a remarkable institution --

  • Children's National Medical Center.

  • That's where dedicated medical professionals provide

  • world-class care to our most precious resource --

  • our children -- every single day of the year.

  • Of course, this holiday is all about the birth

  • of a child more than 2,000 years ago.

  • A young soon-to-be mother and her husband of modest means

  • traveled to Bethlehem and sought shelter for the night.

  • They found it in a manger.

  • And in the lowliest of surroundings

  • a Savior was born who would change the world.

  • Jesus Christ lived a life of peace,

  • of love, and kindness and forgiveness.

  • He administered to the poor and to the sick,

  • to the stranger and the outcast on society's margins.

  • His life of service teaches us that our individual

  • salvation is wrapped up in the salvation of others.

  • And two millennia later, it lifts the hearts of billions

  • around the world, Christians and non-Christians alike.

  • In the hustle and bustle of Christmas season,

  • may we all do our best to follow his example,

  • to reach out to someone whose Christmas isn't so jolly;

  • to turn our blessings into kindness and compassion;

  • to treat one another the way we would like

  • to be treated.

  • That's the real Christmas spirit.

  • To all our men and women in uniform serving far

  • from home, and to the families who miss them,

  • we thank you for your service and sacrifice,

  • and we're thinking of you this holiday season.

  • And to every American, from the Obama family

  • to yours, Merry Christmas.

  • God bless you, and God bless America.

  • Thank you very much.

  • (applause)

The President: Thank you.

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