Describing 2014 as a breakthrough year for America, President Barack Obama today said that the country would enter 2015 with new confidence.
“In last year’s final press conference, I said that 2014 would be a year of action and would be a breakthrough year for America. And it has been,” Obama told reporters at his year-ender news conference.
“Yes, there were crises that we had to tackle around the world, many that were unanticipated. We have more work to do to make sure our economy, our justice system, and our government work not just for the few, but for the many.
“But there is no doubt that we can enter into the new year with renewed confidence that America’s making significant strides where it counts. The steps that we took early on to rescue our economy and rebuild it on a new foundation helped make 2014 the strongest year for job growth since the 1990s. All told, over a 57-month streak, our businesses have created nearly 11 million new jobs,” said the US president.
“America is now the number one producer of oil, the number one producer of natural gas. We’re saving drivers about 70 cents a gallon at the pump over last Christmas. Effectively, today, our rescue of the auto industry is officially over,” he said.
On foreign policy, Obama asserted that the US is leading around the world.
“We’re leading the coalition to degrade and ultimately destroy ISIL, a coalition that includes Arab partners. We’re leading the international community to check Russian aggression in Ukraine. We are leading the global fight to combat Ebola in west Africa, and we are preventing an outbreak from taking place here at home,” he said.
“We’re leading efforts to address climate change, including last month’s joint announcement with China that’s already jump-starting new progress in other countries. We’re writing a new chapter in our leadership here in the Americas by turning a new page in our relationship with the Cuban people,” he said.
In less than two weeks, after more than 13 years, US combat mission in Afghanistan will be over.
“The six years since the crisis have demanded hard work and sacrifice on everybody’s part. But as a country, we have every right to be proud of what we’ve accomplished: more jobs, more people insured, a growing economy, shrinking deficits, bustling industry, booming energy. Take any metric that you want, America’s resurgence is real. We are better off,” he said.
–PTI