By Adam Allington, KWMU
St. Louis –
President Obama marked his 100th day in office by visiting the St. Louis suburb of Arnold. The president took questions at a town-hall meeting and laid out his vision for economic recovery.
Obama tempered his remarks by reiterating that the challenges confronting his administration have been unprecedented and there is still a long way to go. But, given the stakes that the country is facing the president said there is reason to be optimistic.
"Today on my 100th day in office I've come back to report to you, the American people, that we have begun to pick our selves up and dust ourselves off and we've begun the work of remaking America," said Obama.
The president took questions from the audience and also laid out a plan for economic recovery based around retooling the nation's healthcare system, investing in education and renewable energy while also cutting the federal budget.
The president highlighted healthcare reform in particular as the next major challenge for his administration. The president also called out critics of his stimulus plan as distorting the truth of how much money is being spent, and how the country slipped into recession in the first place.
Read the full text of Obama's speech (Adobe PDF document).
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President Obama will visit the St. Louis suburb of Arnold to mark his 100th day in office.
He's scheduled to hold a town hall-style media event at Fox Senior High School at 10:20 a.m.
University of Missouri-St. Louis political science professor Terry Jones said Arnold includes the kind of voters whom Mr. Obama will need to convince of his policies.
"The political balance of power in the United States is now controlled by suburban voters, particularly middle-income suburban voters, and the northern part of Jefferson County is quintessential suburban middle class territory," Jones said.
The president also will hold a news conference in the East Room of the White House. KWMU will carry NPR's coverage of it beginning at 7 p.m.