In his first speech to the United Nations, President Barack Obama issues a blunt message on Wednesday: America alone cannot fix the world’s problems. The president calls for a new era of cooperation to solve the globe’s most pressing issues.
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
September 23, 2009
Remarks of President Barack Obama – As Prepared for Delivery
“Responsibility for our Common Future”
Address to the United Nations General Assembly
Mr. President, Mr. Secretary-General, fellow delegates, ladies and gentleman: it is my
honor to address you for the first time as the forty-fourth President of the United
States. I come before you humbled by the responsibility that the American people
have placed upon me; mindful of the enormous challenges of our moment in history;
and determined to act boldly and collectively on behalf of justice and prosperity at
home and abroad.
I have been in office for just nine months, though some days it seems a lot longer. I
am well aware of the expectations that accompany my presidency around the world.
These expectations are not about me. Rather, they are rooted – I believe – in a
discontent with a status quo that has allowed us to be increasingly defined by our
differences, and outpaced by our problems. But they are also rooted in hope – the
hope that real change is possible, and the hope that America will be a leader in
bringing about such change.
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