Obama Visits Bay Area Solar CompanyQuestPoint

Text: PRESIDENT: Thank you. Everybody please have a seat. (Applause.) It is wonderful to be here and to see all of you here today. And I would be remiss if I did not note the presence of your governor, give him a big round of applause, Arnold Schwarzenegger. (Applause.) I’m just going to go ahead and mention our district attorney, Kamala Harris, who’s here. (Applause.)

It is great to be in Fremont, good to be back in Northern California. I was reminiscing a little bit — Michelle and I took our honeymoon in Napa Valley. That was almost 17 years ago when we drove down the Pacific Coast Highway, and so I was — I was fantasizing about going and renting a car. (Laughter.) But I was told that would cause a stir, so next time.

But it’s wonderful to be here in Northern California. It is always nice to get out of Washington a little bit. Now, don’t get me wrong, the capital is a beautiful place, nice monuments. I have no commute — (laughter) — which very few people in California can say is true for them.

But the truth of the matter is, is that when you’re in Washington a lot of times all you’re thinking about or all that’s being talked about is politics — who’s up, who’s down, the contest between the parties, instead of people remembering why it is that they aspired to go into politics in the first place. We end up getting caught up in the moment instead of what is important for the future.

So I try to visit places like this about once a week, hear from folks as often as possible who are actually doing the extraordinary work of building up America. And I appreciated the chance to tour your plant and to see the incredible, cutting-edge solar panels that you’re manufacturing, but also the process that goes into the manufacturing of these solar panels. And it is just a testament to American ingenuity and dynamism and the fact that we continue to have the best universities in the world, the best technology in the world, and most importantly the best workers in the world. And you guys all represent that. So thank you very much for that. (Applause.)

And while I’m at it, I also want to give some credit to those guys in the back who have been building this facility so that we can put more people back to work and build more solar panels to send all across the country. Thank you for the great work that you guys are doing. (Applause.)

Now, it’s fitting that this technology is being pioneered here in California. Where else, right? For generations, this part of the country has embodied the entrepreneurial spirit that has always defined America’s success. People heading West.

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