Obama: ‘We’re Making Consistent Strides, But GOP Needs to Embrace ‘Economic Patriotism’

And so there are just a series of specific things we can do right now -- many of them I’m doing on my own because we have the administrative authority to do it, but some of them we can’t do without Congress.  We can’t fix a broken immigration system that would allow incredibly talented folks who want to start businesses here and create jobs here in the United States, would allow them to stay and make those investments.  That’s something that we need Congress to help us on.  (Applause.)  We’re not going to be able to fund the Highway Trust Fund and to ramp up our investment in infrastructure without acts of Congress.

So my hope is, is the American people look at today’s news and understand that, in fact, we are making strides.  We have not seen more consistent job growth since the ‘90s.  But we can make even more progress if Congress is willing to work with my administration and to set politics aside, at least occasionally -- (laughter) -- which I know is what the American people are urgently looking for.

It’s a sort of economic patriotism where you say to yourself, how is it that we can start rebuilding this country to make sure that all of the young people who are here but their kids and their grandkids are going to be able to enjoy the same incredible opportunities that this country offers as we have.  That’s our job.  That’s what we should be focused on.  And it’s worth remembering as we go into Independence Day.