You know, I think everybody in this room, without regard to party, can be proud of the fact that our country was rated as having the world’s most productive economy for the first time in nearly a decade, but we can’t be proud of the fact that we’re the only wealthy country in the world that has a smaller percentage of the work force and their children with health insurance today than we did 10 years ago—­the last time we were the most productive economy in the world.

So let’s work together on this.  It is too important for politics as usual.

Much of what the American people are thinking about tonight is what we’ve already talked about.  A lot of people think that the security concerns of America today are entirely internal to our borders, they relate to the security of our jobs and our homes and our incomes and our children, our streets, our health and protecting those borders.

Foreign Policy

Now that the Cold War has passed, it’s tempting to believe that all the security issues, with the possible exception of trade, reside here at home.  But it’s not so.  Our security still depends on our continued world leadership for peace and freedom and democracy.  We still can’t be strong at home unless we’re strong abroad.

Mexico

The financial crisis in Mexico is a case in point.  I know it’s not popular to say it tonight but we have to act, not for the Mexican people but for the sake of the millions of Americans whose livelihoods are tied to Mexico’s well-being.  If we want to secure American jobs, preserve American exports, safeguard America’s borders then we must pass the stabilization program and help to put Mexico back on track.

Now let me repeat:  it’s not a loan, it’s not foreign aid, it’s not a bail-out.  We’ll be given a guarantee like co-signing a note with good collateral that will cover our risk.

This legislation is the right thing for America.  That’s why the bipartisan leadership has supported it.  And I hope you in Congress will pass it quickly.  It is in our interest and we can explain it to the American people, because we’re going to do it in the right way.

Russia

You know, tonight this is the first State of the Union address ever delivered since the beginning of the cold war when not a single Russian missile is pointed at the children of America.

And along with the Russians, we’re on our way to destroying the missiles and the bombers that carry 9,000 nuclear warheads.  We’ve come so far so fast in this post-cold-war world that it’s easy to take the decline of the nuclear threat for granted.  But it’s still there, and we aren’t finished yet.

This year, I’ll ask the Senate to approve start II to eliminate weapons that carry 5,000 more warheads.  The United States will lead the charge to extend indefinitely the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, to enact a comprehensive nuclear test ban, and to eliminate chemical weapons.