It's been the creation of a massive middle class, through decent wages, and benefits and public schools, that allowed us all to prosper. It depended on a belief in the free market, but it also depended on our sense of mutual regard for each other, the idea that everybody has a stake in the country, that we're all in it together, that everybody's got a shot at opportunity.

In our time of standing pat, protecting narrow interests and putting off on unpleasant decisions, that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

You know, it's been 12 weeks now since my administration began. In just under three months, we've responded to an extraordinary set of economic challenges with extraordinary action. We have to realize that we cannot go back to the bubble-and-bust economy that lead us to this point. We must lay a new foundation for growth and prosperity.

What's at stake is whether this will be a country where working people can earn enough to raise a family, build a modest savings, own a home, secure their retirement.

We've come a long way over the last four and a half years, our economy's growing, our businesses have created 7.2 million new jobs over the past 40 months. Of course, we've still got a long way to go to restore that basic bargain, to restore that sense of security that too many middle class families still are fighting to rebuild.

The true test of the American ideal is whether we're able to recognize our failings and then rise together to meet the challenges of our time. Whether we allow ourselves to be shaped by events in history, or whether we act to shape them. How does America find its way in this new global economy? What will our place in history be?