We must fight to win back place as world's leader, Barack Obama tells US

Mobbed: Obama shakes hands with Congressional pages after his speech
David Gardner12 April 2012

Barack Obama urged America to come together with a new spirit of unity and creativity to maintain its dominance as the world's greatest superpower.

In his State of the Union address to a newly divided Congress, the President highlighted the 21st century challenges from fast-growing economies such as China and India.

He spelled out his blueprint to recharge the country's fortunes, with spending boosts in education, clean energy technology and high-speed rail.

Many politicians wore black and white ribbons to mark the victims and survivors of the Tucson shootings two weeks ago. An empty chair was left for Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in the head.

At times jingoistic then nostalgic, Mr Obama insisted that the past taught him that better times were around the corner. He said it was time for Americans to rediscover their competitive edge.

"Yes, the world has changed," he said. "The competition for jobs is real. But this shouldn't discourage us. It should challenge us. Remember, for all the hits we've taken these last few years, for all the naysayers predicting our decline, America still has the largest, most prosperous economy in the world.

"No workers are more productive than ours. No country has more successful companies, or grants more patents to inventors and entrepreneurs. The future is ours to win. But to get there we can't stand still. As Robert Kennedy told us, the future is not a gift. It is an achievement."

He admitted that America's education and infrastructure projects were losing pace with other countries, particularly in the East. The US had no choice but to "out-innovate, out-educate and out-build the rest of the world," he said.

"Two years after the worst recession most of us have ever known, the stock market has come roaring back. Corporate profits are up. The economy is growing again."

He made new moves towards the political middle road that has helped raise his approval in recent polls. With half an eye on his 2012 re-election campaign, he promised a leaner government and a five-year spending freeze on some programmes to appease critics who have complained he has tried to spend himself out of the financial meltdown.

"We can't win the future with a government of the past," he said.

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