We have inherited an economic crisis as deep and as dire as any since the Great Depression.

If stuff hasn't worked, and people don't feel like I have led the country in the right direction, then you will have a new president.

If we don't act immediately, then millions more jobs will disappear.

Even with this plan, our economy will likely be measured in years and not weeks or months.

What I have said is what other economists have said across the political spectrum, which is that, if you delay acting on an economy of this severity, then you potentially create a negative spiral that becomes much more difficult for us to…

the single most important part of this economic recovery and reinvestment plan is the fact that it will save or create up to 4 million jobs because that's what America needs most right now.

But as we've learned very clearly and conclusively over the last eight years, tax cuts alone can't solve all of our economic problems, especially tax cuts that are targeted to the wealthiest few Americans.

I can't tell you with 100 percent certainty that every single item in this plan will work exactly as we hoped.

This notion that somehow I came in here just ginned up to spend $800 billion, that wasn't -- that wasn't how I envisioned my presidency beginning.

Folks here in Elkhart and all across America need help right now. They can't afford to keep waiting for folks in Washington to get this done.

My view is also that nobody is above the law, and if there are clear instances of wrongdoing that people should be prosecuted just like any ordinary citizen.