By Joseph Spector
USA Today
President Obama visited an Albany-area community college this morning to discuss the economy and promote hi-tech investments as a way to boost business growth in the country.
The president, in his first trip to upstate New York since he was elected, outlined his innovation strategy, which uses more than $100 million in federal stimulus funds to support education and new infrastructure. The stage at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, Rensselaer County, where the president spoke has a backdrop of computer chips and other high-tech equipment behind the podium.
Obama talked about how in Troy and upstate New York, the area has long suffered from a decline in manufacturing jobs and loss of young people because of a lack of jobs. He offered hope that the region can turn around, citing the Erie Canal and Thomas Edison, who started General Electric in nearby Schenectady.
“We know that upstate New York can succeed,” he said. “We know that in a global economy where there is no room for error and there is certainly no room for wasted potential America needs you to succeed.”
He continued, “As we emerge from this current economic crisis, our great challenge will be to ensure that we do not simply drift into the future, accepting less for our children and less for America. We have to choose to do what past generations have done: shape a brighter future through hard work and innovation.”
The Democratic president toured a college classroom and was joined by Dr. Jill Biden, a community college professor in the Washington D.C., area and wife of Vice President Biden.
The president arrived at Albany International Airport at about 11 a.m. and started his speech shortly before noon. He is headed to New York City to tape an interview on David Letterman’s Late Show. He will begin three days of meetings at the United Nations on Tuesday.
Obama’s visit to upstate comes amid involvement by the White House in recent days to advise Gov. David Paterson to not run for election next year. While no one-on-one meeting is planned between the two, Paterson met Obama at the airport and traveled in the president’s motorcade to the event.
Obama offered praise to Paterson in his remarks, calling him a “wonderful man.” He also praised Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who may run for governor next year, as well as other elected officials in the audience.
The president vowed that by 2020, the country will have the highest percentage of college graduates in the world.
Obama proposed using $80 billion the banks currently get and use it to make grants larger for college students. He also said that FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski will announce efforts to create an “open Internet in which all Americans can participate and benefit.” His said his budget makes tax credits for research and experimentation permanent.
He also spoke briefly about health care, saying that the country needs to bring down health-insurance costs so businesses can thrive.
“This generation has an unparalleled opportunity that we are called upon to seize,” Obama said. “That is what you are doing at Hudson Valley Community College. And that is what we will do as a nation.”
SOURCE: http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2009-09-21-obama-newyork-speech_N.htm