Just three weeks into my presidency, I made a promise to the people of Elkhart, Indiana.
It was the first city I visited as President. Folks there had been hit harder by the recession than almost anywhere else in America. The unemployment rate was on its way to nearly twenty percent. Companies that had sustained that community for years were shedding jobs at an alarming speed -- and hardworking families were losing their homes and health care along with those jobs.
When I spoke to the people of Elkhart in February of 2009, I promised them that if we worked together, we could pull that community and this country out of the depths of recession -- that we could not only recover, but put ourselves on a better, stronger course.
Today, thanks to the hard work of people in Elkhart and in communities across the country, America has recovered from crisis and we’re on the cusp of resurgence.
That's why I'm going back to Elkhart next Wednesday -- to highlight the economic progress we’ve made and discuss the challenges that remain.