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TRANSCRIPT: State of the Union Address 2013

By the Web Editors
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union speech. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Feb 12, 2013
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Editor's Note: Below is the full text of the 2013 State of the Union on Feb. 12. For a response to the evening's remarks, see Jim Wallis' column HERE. 

 

Fifty-one years ago, John F. Kennedy declared to this chamber that “the Constitution makes us not rivals for power but partners for progress.”  (Applause.) “It is my task,” he said, “to report the State of the Union -- to improve it is the task of us all.” 

Tonight, thanks to the grit and determination of the American people, there is much progress to report.  After a decade of grinding war, our brave men and women in uniform are coming home.  (Applause.)  After years of grueling recession, our businesses have created over six million new jobs.  We buy more American cars than we have in five years, and less foreign oil than we have in 20.  (Applause.)  Our housing market is healing, our stock market is rebounding, and consumers, patients, and homeowners enjoy stronger protections than ever before.  (Applause.) 

So, together, we have cleared away the rubble of crisis, and we can say with renewed confidence that the State of our Union is stronger. 

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President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union speech. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
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