THE PRESIDENT: Thank you so much. Well, it is wonderful to be in Wakarusa. Thank you so much for the wonderful welcome. Herman, thanks for the great introduction. It is great to be back in Indiana. (Applause.) This is as close as I’ve gotten to home in a while. (Laughter.) And I flew out here with somebody who I think the people of Indiana have known for a long time, have trusted for a long time because he's fighting for working families in Indiana each and every day — and that is our great Senator, Evan Bayh. Please give Evan a big round of applause. (Applause.) And it's nice to get out of Washington and spend some time with people who actually sent me to Washington. (Applause.) Too often, there are those in Washington who focus on the ups and downs of politics. But my concern is the ups and downs in the lives of the American people: the families feeling the pain of this recession; the folks I've met across this country who've lost jobs and savings and health insurance, but haven't lost hope; the men and women who still believe in the capacity, the ability of this nation to meet the challenges of our times. Now, these are challenges you know all too well here in Wakarusa and in Elkhart County. This area has been hit with a perfect storm of economic troubles. Over the last few decades, you've borne the brunt of a steadily weakening of American manufacturing in the face of global competition. You've felt the impact of the struggles of American auto industry and the repercussions that have hit the Midwest especially hard. And you're living every day with the consequences of this recession and the financial meltdown, and you've felt it in the form of lost jobs and lost savings. So as a result, the Elkhart area has experienced the second greatest increase in the rate of unemployment in the country -– up 10 points in a year. It's an astonishing statistic. And there have been times where nearly one in five people in this area have been looking for work. You...
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you so much. Well, it is wonderful to be in Wakarusa. Thank you so much for th...
