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That’s why we’re trying to make it easier for workers to save for retirement and fighting the efforts of some in the other party to privatize Social Security — because as long as I’m President, no one is going to take the retirement savings of a generation of Americans and hand it over to Wall Street. Not on my watch. (Applause.)

That’s why we’re fighting to extend the child tax credit and make permanent our new college tax credit, because if we do, it will mean $10,000 in tuition relief for each child going to four years of college. (Applause.) And I don’t want any parent not to be sending their kids, in good time or bad, to college because they can’t afford it.

And finally, we see an America where we refuse to pass on the debt we inherited to the next generation.

Now, let me spend just a minute on this issue, because we’ve heard a lot of moralizing on the other side about this — government spending and debt. Along with the tax cuts for the wealthy, the other party’s main economic proposal is that they’ll stop government spending.

Now, it’s right to be concerned about the long-term deficit. If we don’t get a handle on it soon, it can endanger our future. And at a time when folks are tightening their belts at home, I understand why a lot of Americans feel it’s time for government to show some discipline（纪律，训练） , too. But let’s look at the facts. When these same Republicans — including Mr. Boehner — were in charge, the number of earmarks and pet projects went up, not down.

These same Republicans turned a record surplus into a record deficit. When I walked in, wrapped in a nice bow was a $1.3 trillion deficit sitting right there on my doorstep. (Laughter.) A welcoming present.

Just this year, these same Republicans voted against a bipartisan fiscal（会计的，财政的） commission that they themselves had proposed. Once I decided I was for it, they were against it. (Laughter.) And when you ask them what programs they’d actually cut they don’t have an answer.

That’s not fiscal responsibility. That’s not a serious plan to govern.

Now, I’ll be honest -– I refuse to cut back on those investments that will grow our economy in the future -– investments in areas like education and clean energy and technology. (Applause.) I don’t want to cut those things. And that’s because economic growth is the single best way to bring down the deficit –- and we need these investments to grow.

But I am absolutely committed to fiscal responsibility, which is why I’ve already proposed freezing all discretionary spending（可自由支配的个人开支） unrelated to national security for the next three years. (Applause.)

And once the bipartisan fiscal commission finishes its work, I’ll spend the next year making the tough choices necessary to further reduce our deficit and lower our debt — whether I get help from the other side or not. (Applause.)

Of course, reducing the deficit won’t be easy. Making up for the 8 million lost jobs caused by this recession won’t happen overnight. Not everything we’ve done over the last two years has worked as quickly as we had hoped, and I am keenly（敏锐地，强烈地） aware that not all of our policies have been popular.

So, no, our job is not easy. But you didn’t elect me to do what was easy. (Applause.) You didn’t elect me to just read the polls and figure how to keep myself in office. You didn’t elect me to avoid big problems. You elected me to do what was right. And as long as I’m President, that’s exactly what I intend to do. (Applause.)

This country is emerging from an incredibly difficult period in its history -– an era of irresponsibility that stretched from Wall Street to Washington, and had a devastating effect on a lot of people. We have started turning the corner on that era. But part of moving forward is returning to the time-honored values that built this country: hard work and self-reliance; responsibility for ourselves, but also responsibility for one another. It’s about moving from an attitude that said “What’s in it for me?” to one that asks, “What’s best for America? What’s best for all our workers? What’s best for all of our businesses? What’s best for all of our children?” (Applause.)

These values are not Democratic or Republican. They are not conservative or liberal values. They are American values. As Democrats, we take pride in what our party has accomplished over the last century: Social Security and the minimum wage; the GI Bill and Medicare; civil rights and worker’s rights and women’s rights. (Applause.) But we also recognize that throughout our history, there has been a noble Republican vision as well, of what this country can be. It was the vision of Abraham Lincoln, who set up the first land grant colleges and launched the transcontinental（横贯大陆的） railroad; the vision of Teddy Roosevelt, who used the power of government to break up monopolies（垄断） ; the vision of Dwight Eisenhower, who helped build the Interstate Highway System. And, yes, the vision of Ronald Reagan, who despite his aversion to government, was willing to help save Social Security for future generations — working with Democrats. (Applause.)

These were serious leaders for serious times. They were great politicians, but they didn’t spend all their time playing games or scoring points. They didn’t always prey on people’s fears and anxieties. They made mistakes, but they did what they thought was in the best interests of their country and its people. And that’s what the American people expect of us today -– Democrats, independents, and Republicans. (Applause.) That’s the debate they deserve. That’s the leadership we owe them.

I know that folks are worried about the future. I know there’s still a lot of hurt out here. And when times are tough, I know it can be tempting to give in to cynicism and fear and doubt and pision -– and just settle our sights a little bit lower, settle for something a little bit less. But that’s not who we are, Ohio. Those are not the values that built this country.

We are here today because in the worst of times, the people who came before us brought out the best in America. Because our parents and our grandparents and our great-grandparents were willing to work and sacrifice for us. They were willing to take great risks, and face great hardship, and reach for a future that would give us the chance at a better life. They knew that this country is greater than the sum of its parts -– that America is not about the ambitions of any one inpidual, but the aspirations（愿望） of an entire people, an entire nation. (Applause.)

That’s who we are. That is our legacy. And I’m convinced that if we’re willing to summon those values today, and if we’re willing to choose hope over fear, and choose the future over the past, and come together once more around the great project of national renewal, then we will restore our economy and rebuild our middle class and reclaim the American Dream for the next generation. (Applause.)

Thank you. God bless you. And may God bless the United States of America. (Applause.)