Barack Obama, in his first press conference as president, February 9, 2009:
My hope is that after a difficult year — and this year is going to be a difficult year — that businesses start investing again, they start making decisions that, you know, in fact there’s money to be made out there, customers or consumers start feeling that their jobs are stable and safe, and they start making purchases again. And if we get things right, then starting next year we can start seeing some significant improvement.
Barack Obama, on the trail* today:
We’re going to have an America where everybody has opportunity. And that’s going to take some time, because our economic problems weren’t caused overnight and they won’t be solved overnight.
It’s going to take time to rebuild an economy where hard work is valued and responsibility is rewarded. It’s going to take time to rebuild an economy that restores security for the middle class and renews opportunity for folks trying to reach the middle class. It’s going to take time to rebuild an economy that’s not based on outsourcing or tax loopholes or risky financial deals, but one that is built to last, where we invest in education and small business and manufacturing and making things that the rest of the world is willing to buy. (Applause.)
And we’re going to get it done. We’re going to get there.
Nearly three years later, he’s talking about how it’s going to take time, even though he said we would see “significant improvement” in 2010 . . . if they got things right.
Guess they got things wrong, huh?
*It was not technically a campaign for Obama event, it was a campaign for his already-rejected jobs bill event.