The last six months of the Bush administration lost four million jobs and the first six months of the Obama administration lost another four million before any initiatives of the president could take action.

The long term sustainable growth in job creation comes from the private sector. It is important that the Obama administration partner with the private sector and come up with the best possible ideas for creating jobs.

The Recovery plan will put money in the pockets of the American worker, create and save millions of new jobs and invest in crucial areas such as health care, education, energy independence and a new infrastructure.

The United States is a strong and ardent ally of Israel. The fact of the matter is that friends can disagree. I think what's important is that world leaders are able to sit down with one another, have frank conversations and move forward.

We have held forums here at the White House on workplace flexibility, and the first major bill signed into law by President Obama was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. Lilly was here a few weeks ago because we were trying very hard to push paycheck fairness through the Congress. Unfortunately, we fell two votes short.

We know the threats - from global terrorist networks to the spread of deadly weapons. Yet we also know that embedded in this time of danger is the promise of a new day, if we have the courage and commitment to work together.

Given the daunting challenges that we face, it's important that president elect Obama is prepared to really take power and begin to rule day one.

Our whole philosophy is one of transparency.

A new era of responsibility is here.

If left unchecked, global change will create violent conflict, torrential storms, shrinking coastlines, and irreversible catastrophe.

There are certain things that Americans expect their government to do. Our infrastructure is vitally important. Putting people back to work with construction is important. Our roads, our bridges, our sewers, our waterways, our dams - this is what makes our country so special.

Financial regulatory reform is one of the top legislative priorities of the Obama Administration.

One of the major goals of health insurance reform is to bring down the cost.

President Obama celebrates diversity, yet instinctively seeks common ground and builds on that common ground to make progress.

Instead of sitting on the sidelines, President Obama has made it clear that the US is ready to lead a global effort to combat climate change.

No one will be forced to take the public option. The word option means choice.

The President has been a big proponent of the public option since the campaign.

The whole issue of healthcare is very complicated. There have been seven Presidents who've tried to get healthcare reform passed.

We want to make sure that we incentivize the health care system to be designed to provide you the best quality health care possible.

As we try to compete in this global marketplace, we need to rebuild our infrastructure. We need to rebuild our schools. We need to make sure that teachers and first responders and veterans who are coming home from serving our country so proudly have jobs waiting for them.