The presidential teleprompter went missing for a few hours last week, but reports that it was returned intact with no missing items or security breaches may have been premature. It now turns out that a jump drive containing several rough draft speeches and policy documents were lost, stolen or strayed with some items surfacing on random web sites.
Most of the documents are dry policy statements, except for a speech announcing a job switch between Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that by all indications is scheduled to be delivered by the end of the year.
The authenticity of this transcript is uncertain, it could be the work of some satirist. But if we don’t leak it someone else will.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Good evening. When I assumed the presidency nearly three years ago I was convinced that we could solve our problems if everyone, from the richest to the poorest Americans, would work together. This hasn’t happened as I expected. We have not been able to recover from the stale economy and an unwillingness to compromise on key issues. It’s easy to blame the Republicans, or the Tea Party, but the truth is that Democrats have been as much to blame for the toxic political situation that is eating us alive today.
So as we enter the New Year, I am taking the occasion to reorganize my presidency with an eye toward facing our economic and social problems head on.
On January 1, Joe Biden will resign the office of the Vice President and I will appoint Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to serve out the remainder of his term.
At the same time, I will appoint Joe to the Secretary of State position, at which time he will channel his considerable experience both in the Senate and as Vice President to carry on the extraordinary work that Hillary has provided for the last three years.
I believe that with Hillary as Vice President we can better develop and articulate what is necessary to put the country back on its feet. She knows firsthand what it takes to run our great country, since leaving the White House she has served with distinction both in the Senate and as Secretary of State. She will be a key part of the team in the development of these new policies and then will take these messages to the people in a series of town hall meetings and listening sessions that will provide us a path toward understanding what we want and how we are going to get there. I expect she will become a powerful, influential Vice President, sort of a less malevolent, less controlling Dick Chaney. And her level headed approach will provide me with the adult supervision I often need when things get really intense.
It took many weeks of meetings between Joe, Hillary and myself to develop this plan. Hillary has no interest in becoming president and will retire from politics when I end my second term. She will always have my thanks for her support, and I am grateful that she doesn’t hold my snubbing her as a running mate in 2008 and not saying something like “you had your chance, Barry.”
Running for president has become a monumental task, especially when you are serving in the office. It is a full time job, evidenced by the fact that most of the Republican candidates can devote all their time to running a campaign. Joe Biden has indicated that he wants to be president, and has said he will resign as Secretary of State sometime in 2014 to begin his own full-time quest for the White House. He will spend those two years articulating his vision for America and acquainting himself with the American people.
He will have my support in his quest for the White House because Joe Biden will be a fine president unless he says or does something that makes me change my mind, or someone better comes along.
I expect that both these appointments will be approved immediately by the House and the Senate. There are several members of Congress who have outwardly pledged to oppose any of my policies on principle, with the sole purpose of removing me from office. You may not like my programs, policies or principles, if that’s the case you will have the opportunity to make those preferences known in November. In the meantime, give me my team.
I admit that I initially found the task of the presidency daunting and was unable to keep some of my promises. I had to set my sights a little lower which has disappointed some of my followers. I still aim to accomplish many of these things but now know my own limits. I know it would have been more helpful if I had known my own limits in 2006, when I had only spent two years in the Senate and people urged me to consider a run for the presidency. I could have waited another eight years and would have been fifteen years younger than Joe Biden is today.
So you have to admire Chris Christie. People were trying to push him into running for president and he said he wasn’t ready. Period, end of sentence.
My opponents will perceive this reorganization solely as a political move that is directly related to next year’s election, and that I will do anything to win.
I seek election to a second term, but not for myself. I believe in America, I believe we have the right stuff to recover our greatness and I want to be part of that effort. I believe in the same things as you—a fair day’s pay for an honest work, and pulling your fair share of the collective load. We have gotten off-track and the country is out of balance. I want to help regain our equilibrium, and I am streamlining my team to make the fourth quarter of my presidency a time when the country’s potential will re-emerge.
Everyone in America has a dog in this hunt, so I hope I can count on you to work together with us through the next year, past the election and into the future. And remember that I can’t do anything if you block me out of spite.
Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America.
