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President's Speech to Students Released; Sharks Spotted off Massachusetts Coast

Aired September 07, 2009 - 13:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KYRA PHILLIPS, HOST: It's Labor Day, and President Obama is rolling up his sleeves. The speech this hour kicks off a week of hard labor, aimed mostly at passing health-care reform. You'll hear it live right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Plus, a long and painful secret is out in the open in Illinois, and so is the little boy who's mother allegedly hid him away in a crawl space for two years.

And three would-be terrorists who changed the way the world flies are convicted in London. Five other suspects are not.

Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

It's Labor Day 2009, folks. No picnic for a president dealing with 9.7 percent unemployment and a health insurance overhaul he's trying to push through Congress. President Obama is set to tackle both those topics in a speech just minutes from now at an AFL-CIO picnic in Cincinnati. And he's just warming up. Tomorrow it's back to school, a speech in Virginia that the White House hopes will be seen in classrooms nationwide.

But the big event is on Wednesday. A primetime address to a joint session of Congress after a month of town halls and short tempers. The president will try to refocus lawmakers on his version and vision of health-care reform. You're going to see it all, start to finish, right here on CNN.

Now a pop quiz, which of those speeches if the most controversial: health reform, the state of the U.S. labor force? No. We reported last week on the uproar over the schools speech. Conservatives claim that the White House was trying to indoctrinate the nation's youth.

Well, now we have the text, and Jill Dougherty joins me live from Cincinnati to get us through it.

You know, Jill, if you don't mind, I just got done reading it. I know you did, as well. One line that jumps out at me as very presidential sounding is "What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country."

But then it gets more personal, and he goes on to say, "At the end of the day, the circumstances of your life -- what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you've got going on at home -- that's no excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude. That's no excuse for talking back to your teacher or cutting class or dropping out of school. That's no excuse for not trying."

It's pretty powerful stuff, but what do you think? Is it still partisan?

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, when I read it, it did not seem very partisan to me. In fact, you have to say that it's really an inspirational speech given by the president to students.

(CHEERING)

DOUGHERTY: I think the president is arriving, by the way, Kyra.

Inspirational, telling them, "Stay in school. Look, I worked hard. I worked hard. You can do it, too. And it's very important for to you do this."

PHILLIPS: And we should point out that the crowd has not been going crazy over what we're talking about. We're waiting for another event, a health-care event. So hang in there with me, Jill.

I just want to, if you don't mind, while we are waiting for the president. If I see him come up behind you there, we'll definitely take it live. But let me bring one other quote from the speech up if you don't mind, as the crowd there is getting ready to host the president.

He went on to say that "Students who sat where you sit 20 years ago, who founded Google, twitter and Facebook and changed the way that we communicate with each other, so today I want to ask you, what's your contribution going to be?"

I mean, Jill, think about it. Every parent wants their child to contribute somehow to this world. And so right there you would think that any parent would be thrilled to hear that piece of advice.

DOUGHERTY: Yes. Well, he's trying to, No. 1, say you as an individual, and your education is very important to the country. And that's the overall message that, at least, I take from this, that there is this personal story.

He returns to his youth, for instance, in Indonesia. How he had to get up early in the morning, and how that wasn't very early -- very easy. And his mother would say, "Look, it's hard for you; it's hard for me, too. But you've got to do it." So there's that kind of, you know, pull yourself up by your bootstraps.

But there's also the larger message that education is very important to the United States.

Now, the controversy, let's get back to that, was because of another part of this address that was suggested to the teachers. The kids could write letters saying how they could help the president.

The White House had to backtrack on that. They said it was inartfully written, and they changed it. But if you look at this speech, and now the parents can, they can decide themselves whether they think it's good for the kids or not.

PHILLIPS: And you bring up a good point. You can actually go to the Web site, the WhiteHouse.gov Web site. And you can read the speech for yourself. So parents might have a better idea if they want their student to be in school for this tomorrow or not.

All right. Let's talk about where you are now, Jill. Labor, as we know, helped elect President Obama, and the president of the AFL-CIO supports a public option for health care. With all the recent downplaying of the public option, what can we expect President Obama to say today, right there in Cincinnati as everybody's gathered for this political picnic?

DOUGHERTY: Well, this is a crowd that likes the public option. It's the AFL-CIO and unions, for the most part, do support the public option. So you're not going to get the president opposing that or throwing it over the side of the ship.

I mean, what they were saying in the briefing this morning, with this spokesman, Robert Gibbs, is essentially the president thinks that the public option is a very good thing to have to increase competition. So you won't have any walking away from that.

And don't forget that, you know, the speech is coming on Wednesday, the big one on health care. So you're not going to get, let's say, a bargaining from the president. This will be really to speak to people who support him, speak to him, talking about the things that they are interested in, and health care is one of them.

PHILLIPS: Sounds good. And Jill, the president should probably step up to the mike in about eight minutes or so. We'll take it live when that happens. We will talk again, Jill Dougherty. Thanks for fighting that crowd.

And just to keep pushing it forward, as you heard Jill mention, the president's health care speech to Congress, Wednesday night. Live coverage from the best political team on television starts at 8 p.m. Eastern, 5 Pacific, only on CNN.

Well, it's a busy Labor Day here in the CNN NEWSROOM. Some incredible stories in the next couple of hours.

A soldier who died for country and family. He lost his job in the civilian world and returned to the military, so his son would have health insurance. Now, the son doesn't have a father.

Plus, why is it such a hassle taking liquids and lotions on an airplane? It's because of these guys. The -- today justice does arrive for them.

And a man who's looking forward to his new life as an ordained minister. But his old life is pushing forgiveness to the limit. And did I mention he's a sex offender? Now, here's proof that South Lake Tahoe never forgot Jaycee Dugard. This holiday weekend, the California town celebrated the remarkable good news that the little girl, snatched from a school bus stop 18 years ago, is alive and a free woman. The town is also raising money to help care for Jaycee and her two daughters, allegedly fathered by her captor.

And for about two years, an Illinois man wondered where his son was. Well, now we know. It was about three miles away at Grandma's house in a secret place, a tiny, hidden place where prying eyes, even sunshine, could not peak in.

Christen Craig, from our affiliate WSIL in Southern Illinois, reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTEN CRAIG, WSIL CORRESPONDENT: For Mike Chekevdia this is a day he has dreamed of. The day his son would be found.

MIKE CHEKEVDIA, FATHER OF RICKY: I had faith.

CRAIG: For nearly two years, police say Ricky was held captive inside this Franklin County home, never leaving and not even allowed outdoors.

MASTER SGT. STAN DIGGS, ILLINOIS STATE POLICE: We let him out of the car, and he ran around like he'd never seen the outdoors. It was actually very sad.

CRAIG: Ricky is now nearly 7. Authorities say he was being hid at his grandmother's house, alongside his mom, Shannon Wilfong. Investigators say they were found inside a secret room the family had built to hide the two. The room was just 5 by 12 feet, its ceilings only 4 feet high.

DIGGS: Basically, it was a hidden compartment, and you move a panel and inside of a wall.

CRAIG: Homemade signs cover the yard of the house in rural Royalton, seeming to taunt police that the boy was there. But searches never located the secret room.

DIGGS: Surprisingly, Ricky is in very good spirits. For someone who's been isolated in that house with no other outside beings, he's very -- very social. Very polite, very talkative little boy.

CRAIG: Ricky's father says his priorities are to get the boy back in school and to the dentist. But he knows a normal life is a ways off.

CHEKEVDIA: It's one day at a time, and it's probably going to take a lot of time.

CRAIG: The boy is in DCFS custody. No one is sure what Ricky has been told about his father, and authorities want the transition to be smooth. And Mike Chekevdia says he's willing to wait a little while longer. CHEKEVDIA: My life is basically on hold for the last two years. But I'll be there for him.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And the boy's mother now faces child abduction charges. Grandma is charged with aiding and abetting.

A scary night off Massachusetts coast. Three toothy monsters keeping swimmers out of the water. And they're making a little history, too.

Plus, live from Cincinnati, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis is getting ready to introduce the president of the United States as he's pushing his health insurance overhaul, hoping it's going to get pushed through Congress. We'll take it live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Small moves to the left, and I'm not talking politics. The government calls it a stimulus program for used car imports. I can't repeat what some drivers are calling it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Morning fog mixed with plenty of smoke here. Fire crews still battling that massive blaze near L.A. And they're making progress, evidently. The Station fire is now more than half contained. It's already destroyed dozens of homes. It's claimed the lives of two firefighters and charred more than 157,000 acres. Now, crews hope to have the entire fire contained sometime next Tuesday.

Already, Mother Nature's raining on some folks' Labor Day parades...

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes.

PHILLIPS: ... in the northwest and the southeast. Right, Chad?

MYERS: You know, you've got to -- you never know what beach to pick, you know? You go to Rehobeth, you can go to the Outer Banks. And then you pick this one, and that's what you get. Rain everywhere, from Virginia Beach all the way down, almost, to Myrtle but not quite. Farther back out to the west, there are some showers into Ohio. Kentucky, as well. That may just rain on a picnic or two. But those are moving showers. At least they are passing.

And wouldn't you know it, Kyra? On a day where very few people are flying, there are no delays. Wouldn't that be great, some other day?

PHILLIPS: On a holiday? That's amazing.

MYERS: That would be great some other day, though, when people actually are flying. Wouldn't it? We are going to watch this. Maybe the next storm system that possibly gets named here in the Atlantic Ocean. There's Africa, the U.S. way over here, off the map. But it does have a pretty good signature on it right now. We will get some showers up and down the East Coast. But other than that, actually, a pretty good Labor Day, all in all, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. So did you see this great white shark video?

MYERS: Yes. You know what, too? I've got a graphic that's going to show you why, as soon as we get done with this story.

PHILLIPS: Ooh. Well, you know, it's prompted this sort of "Jaws"- style fear off the Cape Cod coast. And several Massachusetts beaches apparently are closed now to swimmers on Labor Day.

So I'll tell you what. I'll come back to you with that graphic. And you know, Jason Carroll actually spoke with the man who tagged two of these big guys. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Some species of sharks are common in the Cape waters off the coast of Massachusetts, but despite what you may have seen in the movies, Great White sharks are relatively rare in New England.

So imagine the surprise of researchers who spotted not one, but two, and were able to tag the giant predators near Chatham Beach. They estimate each one weighed 1,000 pounds.

This is the first time two Great Whites have been tagged in the Atlantic. It all happened on Saturday, where researchers and local fishermen made a little history at sea.

BILL CHAPRALES, TAGGED GREAT WHITE SHARK: Well, as soon as a shark does come to the surface, and I raise the harpoon and get ready to take aim. And as soon as he gets within range, I just throw the pole into the fish that puts the tag into the fish. And he takes -- as soon as he hits him, he takes right off. The tag is in place.

GREG SKOMAL, MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF MARINE FISHERIES: I've tried to go out and find great white sharks over the last 27 years. I can't find them. So that's a lot of time and a lot of commitment. In one day, boom, two animals. That kind of puts it in perspective.

CARROLL: The great whites were tagged with high-tech devices programmed to stay on the sharks until January 15. Then the devices should pop off, float to the surface and transmit data via satellite back to the researchers.

Scientists hope the information will help them learn more about the sharks' migratory patterns and lead to better conservation efforts.

Also an important note: several beaches in the area have been closed, and state officials are warning swimmers to be on the look out for sharks.

Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Chad, why did it happen?

MYERS: Completely speculation on our part. But when we look at this graphic, this is the temperature of the Atlantic Ocean, and there was a tropical system called Danny that went right through that blue. See how it's blue? See how it's cold?

The storm spun the water around, pushed the warm water this way, pushed the warm water up against the shore. We believe that the water that is up against the shore right through here probably pushed some shrimp and krill and all those things up there, and then the seals went to go get it. And then, well, you know, it's why did she swallow the fly? I won't sing it, but you get the idea. Bigger fish go for the littler fish and so on and so on.

PHILLIPS: It's chaotic.

MYERS: Could have been a hurricane, a tropical system caused that.

PHILLIPS: Oh, wow. All right. You need to pay attention in school. You paid attention in class, Chad. See you in a minute.

MYERS: All right.

PHILLIPS: Southwest, the quirky airline, prides itself on not nickel- and-diming you. So what's up with the nickel-and-diming?

Also, live pictures from Cincinnati, Ohio. Still waiting for the president to step up to the podium there, talk about his health- insurance the overhaul. He's trying to push it through Congress and needs the support. He's going to be speaking to the AFL-CIO picnic right there in Cincinnati. We'll take it live as soon as it begins.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Labor, education, economy all on President Obama's plate for the next three days. This hour he's actually speaking to the AFL- CIO Labor Day picnic in Cincinnati. Live pictures right now. As soon as he steps up to the podium, we'll take it live.

Meanwhile, tomorrow, he gives that back-to-school address that some conservatives have lashed out at, and then on Wednesday, he addresses a joint session of Congress with health-care reform. The big focus, as like we've timed it, here we go. The president of the United States being introduced to the podium. Actually, it might be -- OK, that's right. He's actually going to be introduced by this gentleman here, a resident of Cincinnati, Ohio. Do we want to listen to this, folks?

OK. And as you can see, proudly displaying his union T-shirt. We will take the president live as soon as he comes up, right after this.

Now, calling this rescue effort massive would be an understatement. Nearly 960 people have been rescued after a ferry capsized yesterday in the Philippines. Take a look at this. They include a woman who had been in the water for more than 24 hours. Nine people were killed. One person still remains unaccounted for. A kidnapped victim surfaces; a town celebrates. Some 2,000 people paraded this weekend in South Lake Tahoe, California, to mark the return of Jaycee Dugard, who spent 18 years in captivity. Jaycee herself was not at the parade.

And a verdict today for three British Muslims, accused of plotting terror attacks on airliners. It's a case that changed the way you and I fly.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, it's a Labor Day picnic the people of Cincinnati, Ohio, will never forget. The president of the United States, about to address them, pushing for his health-care reform.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you. Thank you, Ohio. Thank you, labor. All right. It is good to be back in Cincinnati. It's good to be back in Ohio. It's good to be back among great friends, great leaders. And I want everybody to give a big round of applause to Charlie Dilbert for that great introduction.

I want to thank Cathy Mattea (ph) and the band for the entertainment. Give Cathy (ph) a big round of applause.

How are you all feeling today? Are you fired up? Are you ready to go?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes!

OBAMA: I can't think of a better place to be on Labor Day than in America's biggest Labor Day picnic. And with the workers and families of the Cincinnati AFL-CIO.

I'm so proud to be on the stage with Charlie, because Charlie reminds us that, in these tough times, America's working men and women are ready to roll up their sleeves and get back to work.

I want to salute your local AFL-CIO local leaders. Executive secretary treasurer Chuck (ph) Sizemore. President Joe Zimmer (ph). State president Joe Rugula (ph). And your outstanding national leaders, a man who we thank for devoting his life to working Americans, President John Sweeney, a great leader. The man who will pick up the mantle, who will take the baton of leadership, who we need to succeed, because a strong labor movement is part of a strong economy, secretary-treasurer Rick Strunkle (ph).

Although Ohio's wonderful governor, a great friend of mine, Ted Strickland, couldn't be here. We've got Lieutenant Governor Lee Fisher in the house, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, Attorney General Richard Codray, Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory, Hamilton County Commissioner, commission president David Pepper (ph). We're joined by members of Ohio's outstanding congressional delegation: Congressman Steve Driehaus, and a great friend who's at the forefront of every fight for Ohio's working men and women, including the battle for health insurance reform, Senator Sarah Brown (ph).

I'm also proud to be here with a leader who's reenergizing the Department of Labor, who realize that it's not the Department of Management, the Department of Labor. A daughter of union members, a daughter of a Teamster, Secretary Hilda Solis. My director of recovery for auto communities and workers, Ed Montgomery's in the house. He's doing outstanding work.

Now, like a lot of Americans you're having some fun today, taking the day off, spending time with the kids. Some of you may be proud of your grilling skills. Every man thinks he can grill, whether he can or not. That's what Michelle says. Michelle says she's a better griller than me. I don't know. We'll have to have a grill-off some day.

But you're enjoying some good music and some good food, some famous Cincinnati chili.

But today we also pause. We pause to remember and to reflect and to reaffirm. We remember that the rights and benefits we enjoy today weren't simply handed to America's working men and women. They had to be won. They had to be fought for, by men and women of courage and conviction, from the factory floors of the industrial revolution to the shopping aisles of today's super stores. They stood up, and they spoke out to demand a fair shake and an honest day's pay for an honest day's work.

Many risked their lives. Some gave their lives. Some made it a cause of their lives, like Senator Ted Kennedy, who we remember today.

So let us never forget, much of what we take for granted: 40-hour workweek, the minimum wage, health insurance, paid leave, pensions, Social Security, Medicare, they all bear the union label.

It was the American worker, men and women just like you, who returned from World War II to make our economy the envy of the world. It was labor that helped build the largest middle class in history. Even if you are not a union member, every American owes something to America's labor movement.

So if we remember this history, let's reflect on its meaning in our time. Like so many Americans, you work hard, you meet your responsibilities, you play by the rules, you pay your bills. But in recent years, the American dream seems like it's been slipping away, because from Washington to Wall Street, too often a different attitude prevailed. Wealth was valued over work, selfishness over sacrifice, greed over responsibility. The right to organize was undermined rather than strengthened.

That's what we saw, and it may have worked out well for those folks at the top, but it didn't work out for you and it didn't work out well for our country. That culture - that culture and the policies that flowed from it undermined the middle class, and helped create the greatest economic crisis of our time.

So today, on this Labor Day, we reaffirm our commitment to rebuild, to live up to the legacy of those who came before us, to combine the enduring values that have served us so well for so long: hard work and responsibility, with new ideas for a new century, to ensure that our great middle class remains the backbone of our economy, not just a vanishing idea we celebrate at picnics once a year. As summer turns to fall, we wanted a reality for the families of Ohio and the families of America.

That's what we've been working to do ever since I took office. Now, I know that some people have already forgotten how bad it was just seven months ago. Do you notice that? They've got sort of a selective amnesia. So let's just remind them for a second: a financial system on the verge of collapse; about 700,000 workers losing their jobs each month. The worst recession of our lifetimes, threatening to become another Great Depression. That's what was happening just seven months ago. That's why we took bold, swift action. That's why we passed an unprecedented Recovery Act, and we did it without the usual Washington earmarks and pork barrel spending, and, Ohio, it is working.

Times are still tough. Times are still tough. I know that, but we have given 95 percent of America's working families a tax cut. Four point five million families in Ohio, including here in Cincinnati, a promise we made during the campaign, a promise I kept as President of the United States.

We cut taxes for small businesses, made new loans to more than 1,000 small businesses in Ohio so they could grow and hire more workers. We extended unemployment benefits for 12 million Americans, including Charlie and nearly 570,000 Ohio citizens. Across America, we've saved the jobs of tens of thousands of state and local workers, including teachers and first responders right here in Ohio. Don't take my word for it, ask folks here in Ohio what they would have done if we hadn't passed the Recovery Act, the cuts they would have had made, the taxes they would have had to raise.

We're rebuilding America's infrastructures, including improvements to I-75 in Hamilton County, led by a local Cincinnati contractor. We've got more than 200 other highway projects across Ohio, and we're making historic commitments innovation. Much of it is still to come in the months and years ahead, doubling our capacity to generate renewable energy, building a new smart grid to carry electricity from coast to coast, laying down broadband lines and high speed rail lines and providing the largest boost in basic research in our history - all of which will put people back to work. Steel workers, plumbers, pipe fitters, engineers - you name it. So our - our recovery plan is working. Bricklayers too.

The financial system has been saved from collapse. Home sales are up. We're seeing signs of life in the auto industry. Business investment is starting to stabilize. For the first time in 18 months, we're seeing growth in manufacturing. When was the last time you heard that here in the United States of America? Now, on Friday we learned that the economy lost another 216,000 jobs in August, and whenever Americans are losing jobs, that's simply unacceptable. But for the second straight month, we lost fewer jobs than the months before, and it was fewest jobs that we have lost in a year. So, make no mistake, we're moving in the right direction. We're on the road to recovery, Ohio. Don't let anybody tell you otherwise.

Yes, we will. Yes, we are. But, my friends, we still got a long way to go. We're not going to rest. We're not going to let up. Not until workers looking for jobs can find them, good jobs that sustain families and sustain dreams, not until responsible mortgage owners can stay in their homes, not until we've got a full economic recovery and all Americans have their shot at the American dream.

Now, we can't do that if we go back to that old economy: over leveraged banks, inflated profits, maxed out credit cards, CEOs and bankers getting multimillion dollar bonuses, an economy of bubbles and bursts, your wages and income stagnant while corporate profits soar. So even as we recover from the recession and work to cut the deficit, we have to build a new foundation for prosperity. We need an America with a reformed financial system. We've got to have regulations in place that protect consumers so that we never have a crisis like this again. I don't want to have to bail out any more banks, and we've got to make sure that we've got regulations in place to prevent it.

An America where energy reform creates green jobs that can never be outsourced and that finally frees America from the grip of foreign order (ph). An America that commits to education, because the countries that out educate us today will out compete us tomorrow, and the best jobs will go to the best educator. So we've got to do a better job of educating or sons and our daughters and, yes, I'm going to have something to say tomorrow to our children, telling them to stay in school and work hard because that's the right message to send.

We need an America that once again invests in the middle class, which is why I've created our task force for middle class working families, led by my outstanding Vice President, Joe Biden, to make sure that our policies always benefit you, the American worker.

Today we're taking another step. I'm naming Ron Bloom, who is right here - raise your right hand, Ron. He's right down here in the front here. I'm naming Ron Bloom to lead our efforts to revitalize the sector that helped build the middle class: American manufacturing. Ron has worked with steel workers, service employees and management to create jobs. He helped guide our auto task force, and as my new point person on manufacturing, he's going to help us craft the policies that will create the next generation of great manufacturing jobs and insure American competitiveness in the 21st century.

Oh, and by the way, just in case you were wondering, we're also going to build an America where health reform delivers more stability and security to every American. We are going to reform the system for those who have insurance and those who don't. Now, I'll have a lot more to say about this on Wednesday night. I might have to save my voice a little bit, not get too excited. I don't want to give anything away. I want you all to tune in.

But let me just say a few things about this health care issue. We've been fighting for quality, affordable health care for every American for nearly a century, since Teddy Roosevelt. Think about that. A long time. The Congress and the country had now been vigorously debating the issue for many months. The debate's been good and that's important because we've got to get this right. But every debate, at some point, comes to an end. At some point it's time to decide. At some point it's time to act. Ohio, it's time to act and get this thing done.

We have never been this close. We have never had such broad agreement on what needs to be done. And because we're so close to real reform, some made the special interests of doing what they always do, which is just to try to scare the heck out of people. But I've got - I've got a question for all of these folks who say, you know, we're going to pull the plug on grandma and this is all about illegal immigrants, and you've heard all the lies. I've got a question for all of those folks. What are you going to do? What's your answer? What's your solution?

And, you know what? They don't have one. Their answer is to do nothing. Their answer is to do nothing, and we know what that future looks like: insurance companies raking in the profits while discriminating against people because of pre-existing conditions, denying or dropping coverage when you get sick. It means that you're never negotiating about higher wages because all you're spending your time doing is just trying to protect the benefits that you already fought for. It means premiums continuing to skyrocket three times faster than your wages. It means more families pushed into bankruptcy, more businesses cutting more jobs, more Americans losing health insurance, 14,000 every day. It means more Americans dying every day just because they don't have health insurance.

That's not the future I see for America. I see reform where we bring stability and security to folks who have insurance today, where you never again have to worry about going without coverage. If you lose a job or you change your job or you get sick, you've got coverage there for you. Where there's a cap on your out of pocket expenses, so you don't have to worry that a serious illness will break you and your family even if you have health insurance. Where you never again have to worry - where you never again have to worry that you or someone you love would be denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition.

I see reform where Americans in small businesses that shut up of health insurance today will be able to purchase coverage at a price they can afford. Where they will be able to shop and compare in a new health insurance exchange, a marketplace where competition and choice will continue to hold down costs and help deliver them a better deal. And I continue to believe that a public option within that basket of insurance choices will help improve quality and win down cost.

I see reform where we protect our senior citizens by closing the gaps in their prescription drug coverage under Medicare that costs older Americans thousands of dollars every year out of their pockets, reforms that will preserve Medicare and put it on a sounder financial footing and cut waste and fraud and more than $100 billion in unwarranted public subsidies to already profitable insurance companies.

I want a health insurance system that works as well for the American people as it does for the insurance industry. They should be free to make a profit, but they also have to be fair. They also have to be accountable. That's what we're talking about: security and stability for folks who have health insurance, help for those who don't. The coverage they need at a price they can afford, finally bringing cost under control.

That's the reform that's needed. That's the reform we're fighting for. And that's why it's time to do what is right for America's working families and put aside partisanship, stop saying things that aren't true, come together as a nation, pass health insurance reform now, this year.

Few have fought harder and longer for health care in America's workers than you, our brothers and sisters of organized labor. And just as we know that we have to adapt to all the changes and challenges of a global economy, we also know this: in good economic times and in bad, labor is not the problem. Labor's part of the solution. That's why Secretary Solis made it her priority at the Labor Department to protect workers - your safety, your benefits, your right to organize, your right to bargain collectively.

That's why some of the first executive orders I issued overturn the previous administration's attempt to stifle organized labor. That's why I support (UNINTELLIGIBLE), to level the playing field so it's easier for employees who want a union to form a union. Nothing wrong with that. Because when labor is strong, America is strong. When we all stand together, we all rise together.

That's why the first piece of legislation I signed into law was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, guaranteeing equal pay for equal work. Now, Lilly works at a factory in Alabama. She did her job and she did it well. And then, after nearly two decades, she discovered that for years, she was paid less than her male colleagues for doing the very same work. Over the years, she had lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in wages and in pension and in social security benefits. Now, Lilly could have just moved on. Instead, this Alabama grandmother made a decision. She said her principle was at stake. She stood up and she spoke out for what was right, all the way to the Supreme Court, and then Congress, and finally the White House where she stood next to me as I signed the law that bore her name.

Ohio, that's the lesson this day that some things are worth fighting for: equal pay, fair wages, dignity in the workplace, justice on the job, an economy that works for everybody, because in America, there are no second class citizens. An economy where you can make a living and care for your families, where you're leaving your kids something better, where we live up to our fundamental ideals. Those words put on paper some 200 years ago, that we're all created equal, that we all deserve a chance to pursue our happiness. That's the calling to which we are summoned this Labor Day. That's the cause of my presidency, and that is the commitment we must fulfill to preserve the American dream for all of America's working families. But I'm going to need you to do it.

You know, at the beginning of this speech, I talked about whether you were fired up. I know that over the last couple of months, the economy's been bad, the recession's been wearing on folks, people losing their jobs, people losing their health care, people losing their homes in some cases. It's been the usual bickering in Washington. It doesn't seem like that ever stops. Pundits on TV, they're saying how all this isn't working and that's not working. You know, you start getting into a funk, and whenever I see folks in that negative place, I always think back to a story I told during the campaign. Some of you have heard it, but I just thought I'd say it again.

It's about where the phrase "fired up" comes from. So this is when we were - right at the beginning of the campaign for the presidency, nobody gave us a chance. None of you all could pronounce my name. And I went down to South Carolina. I went down - I think it was - where was I? I was in Greenville. Am I right? Greenville. And the legislators were having a little banquet, and they have invited me to come down and speak. And I sat next to a state representative. I had nobody supporting me back then, so I had to ask everybody. I said, "Will you support my campaign for the presidency of the United States?" And this state rep looked me up and down and she said, "You know, I will give you my endorsement if you come to my hometown at Greenwood, South Carolina."

I had had a glass of wine, so I said right away, I said, "OK. Let's shake on it." Come to find out that Greenwood is about an hour and a half from every place else. So about a month later, I fly in. I've been campaigning for two weeks straight, haven't seen my family, I'm exhausted, I'm tired. Get to the hotel room, I'm dragging my bag into my room, about to go to bed. I get a tap on my shoulder. It's my staff member. He says, "Excuse me, sir?" I said, "What?" He said, "You have to be in the car tomorrow at 6:30 in the morning." I said, "What?" He said, "Because we got to go to Greenwood like you promised."

So the next day, I wake up and I feel worse than when I went to bed. I stagger over to the window, open up the blinds. It's pouring down rain outside - ugly day. I go out, get my newspaper, open it up, there's a bad story about me in The New York Times. I pack up my stuff, I go downstairs, my umbrella breaks and I get soaked. So by the time I'm in the car I'm sleepy, I'm wet, and I'm mad.

And we started driving, and we just keep on driving. We're driving, we're driving, we're driving - it goes on forever. An hour and a half we're driving. Finally we get to Greenwood, although you don't know that you're in Greenwood right away. It's got a lot of fields, and we pull up next to a little field house in a park, and I get back out and I get a little more wet and I go inside. And after this hour and a half drive, lo and behold, there are only 20 people inside, and most of them are wet and don't look like they really want to be there either.

So, you know, I'm a professional. I go and shake everybody's hands. I've got kind of a tight smile on my face. How do you do? What do you do? Nice to meet you. Suddenly, I hear this voice behind me shouting out, "Fired up!" and I'm surprised. I'm scared, almost. But everybody else acts like that's normal and they all said, "Fired up!" Then I heard, "Ready to go!" People around me, they're all saying, "Ready to go!" I don't know what's going on. I look behind me. There is a little woman. She couldn't be more than 5'2". Watch out, somebody said. You're little too.

A little lady. She was about 50, 60 years old. She's dressed like she just came from church, got a big church hat. And she's smiling at me. She looks at me and she says, "Fired up!" Turns out this woman is a city council member from Greenwood who is famous for her chant. Every event she goes to, she likes chanting. She goes, "Fired up! Fired up! Ready to go! Ready to go!" and she does a little dance while she's doing it.

So for the next five minutes, it seems like, she just keeps on saying this little chant, "Fired up! Fired up! Ready to go! Ready to go!" and I'm standing there and I'm thinking, this woman is upstaging me. I don't know what to do. I'm looking at my staff, I'm thinking when is this thing going to be over?

But here's the thing, Ohio. After about a minute or two, I'm starting to feel kind of fired up. I'm starting to feel like I'm ready to go. So I start joining in the chant, and it's making me feel good. And for the rest of the day, whenever - we campaigned the whole day. Whenever I saw my staff, I said, "Are you fired up?" They say, "I'm fired up, boss! Are you ready to go?" I say, "I'm ready to go!"

It just goes to show you how one voice can change a room. And if it can change a room, it can change a city. And if it can change a city, it can change a state. And if it can change a state, it can change a nation. And if it can change a nation, it can change the world. Your voice can change the world. Your voice will get health care passed. Your voice will make sure that the American worker is protected. You can build America. I need your help.

Thank you, Cincinnati! Are you fired up? Ready to go? Fired up? Ready to go? Fired up? Ready to go? I love you! Bye-bye.

(APPLAUSE)

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: If you didn't hear the president, it was a 5'2" city councilwoman who inspired him during the campaign to be fired up, and I don't really think you have to define "fire up" if you watched that speech.

The President of the United States, a combination of his presidential push for health insurance overhaul in addition to creating jobs, particularly there in Cincinnati, Ohio and across the US, and then thrown into the mix, a lot of motivational speaking. He kind of - he definitely had a lot of energy today, that's for sure. And the crowd - not only the president, but the crowd had been pretty fired up as well. We've had a hard time making contact with Jill Dougherty when she was previewing the speech.