Good Evening, my fellow Americans. I am speaking to you tonight because we face a crisis of confidence that calls for bold action. As president of the United States, it is my job to help create a better world for all Americans. I am declaring tonight that I will no longer tolerate those who stand in the way of progress.
Americans need jobs, health care, housing, food and the assurance that their government is here to help them.
We do not need war. We are engaged in two wars that are costing us the lives of young Americans and billions of dollars. Those wars must be brought to a close beginning tonight. I am announcing that we will begin troop withdrawals from Afghanistan immediately and accelerate drawdown in Iraq.
We are struggling through a recession that has devastated the lives of millions more Americans, and continues to take its toll. That recession must be met head on. Tonight I am announcing support for a massive jobs program modeled after President Franklin D Roosevelt's WPA designed to put millions of Americans to work in many vital sectors of our economy.
I will not tolerate a Supreme Court decision that puts soulless corporations in charge of our elections with massive infusions of cash. I have asked key members of Congress to work on a bill that will severely restrict corporate meddling in the politics of our nation.
There will be those who will complain that we are acting too fast and reaching too far. They will vow, as they have in the past, that they will block progress as too radical and too expensive.
However, I believe the vast majority of Americans will support changes that will save lives and money and put millions of people to work. And as I said at the outset of this address, I will no longer tolerate reactionaries who would block progress.
Our democracy is at stake. In addition to ending both wars and taking bold steps to end the recession, I am proposing a 50 percent cut in our annual military budget. I am taking seriously President Eisenhower's warning about the military industrial complex, which is as big a danger to our democracy as any foreign terrorists. The money we save should be used to give every young American who wants to go to college a chance to further his or her education. That policy alone will guarantee us a brighter future than a bloated military could ever give.
Furthermore, I propose that we expand Medicare to cover all Americans from birth to the end of life. We have spent far too much time and effort building a health care system that gives outsized benefits to insurance companies and not enough benefits to the people. I am prepared to fight hard for this relatively simple change in taking care of the health of our people.
I am also proposing that this country take the lead in reducing global warming and the assault on the natural environment. Part of my WPA program will be dedicated to this proposal.
So here is a warning to those who would counsel business as usual. No more Mr. Nice Guy. No more tax breaks for the rich at the expense of the poor and the middle class. No more capitulating to those who would continue policies that only harm most Americans for the benefit of the few.
I am putting Congress on notice. I expect the members of my party to pull together to accomplish the goals that I will set out in more detail in the days and and weeks ahead. Those who oppose progressive change will find themselves facing well-funded progressive opposition in primary elections two years from now. If members of the opposition party wish to help in our efforts to improve the lives of All Americans, I welcome their help. If not, they can expect I will do all I can to make sure they end their careers in the dustbin of history.
Because the changes I propose are sensible, I expect the American people will support me in my renewed dedication to fight with all my strength and skill to help make their lives more secure and more productive with a policy of peace, job creation, a sustainable economy and decent health care for all.
Thank you and good night.
