May 21 / Administration of Barack Obama, 2009 I can stand here today, as President of the Right now, in distant training camps and in United States, and say without exception or crowded cities, there are people plotting to equivocation that we do not torture, and that take American lives. That will be the case a we will vigorously protect our people while year from now, 5 years from now, and in all forging a strong and durable framework that probability, 10 years from now. Neither I nor allows us to fight terrorism while abiding by anyone can stand here today and say that there the rule of law. Make no mistake: If we fail to will not be another terrorist attack that takes turn the page on the approach that was taken American lives. But I can say with certainty over the past several years, then I will not be that my administration, along with our extraor- able to say that as President. And if we cannot dinary troops and the patriotic men and wom- stand for our core values, then we are not en who defend our national security, will do keeping faith with the documents that are en- everything in our power to keep the American shrined in this hall. people safe. And I do know with certainty that The Framers who drafted the Constitution we can and will defeat Al Qaida. Because the could not have foreseen the challenges that terrorists can only succeed if they swell their have unfolded over the last 222 years. But our ranks and alienate America from our allies, Constitution has endured through secession and they will never be able to do that if we stay and civil rights, through world war and cold true to who we are, if we forge tough and du- war, because it provides a foundation of prin- rable approaches to fighting terrorism that are ciples that can be applied pragmatically; it pro- anchored in our timeless ideals. This must be vides a compass that can help us find our way. our common purpose. It hasn’t always been easy. We are an imper- I ran for President because I believe that we fect people. Every now and then, there are cannot solve the challenges of our time unless those who think that America’s safety and suc- we solve them together. We will not be safe if cess requires us to walk away from the sacred we see national security as a wedge that di- principles enshrined in this building. And we vides America. It can and must be a cause that hear such voices today. But over the long haul, unites us as one people and as one nation. the American people have resisted that temp- We’ve done so before in times that were more tation. And though we’ve made our share of perilous than ours; we will do so once again. mistakes, required some course corrections, Thank you. God bless you, and God bless ultimately, we have held fast to the principles the United States of America. that have been the source of our strength and a beacon to the world. NOTE: The President spoke at 10:28 a.m. in Now this generation faces a great test in the the Rotunda. In his remarks, he referred to specter of terrorism. And unlike the Civil War former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell; and or World War II, we can’t count on a surren- Usama bin Laden, leader of the Al Qaida ter- der ceremony to bring this journey to an end. rorist organization. Remarks Honoring the 2009 Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers May 21, 2009 Hello, everybody. I first of all want to just ing an outstanding job on behalf of our veter- acknowledge a few people that are here. First ans; we have the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, of all, some of my Cabinet members: Secretary Admiral Mullen—Mike Mullen, as well as his of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, who grew up as a lovely wife are here. Please give them a big maniacal Pittsburgh Steeler fan, he is here; round of applause. We’ve got some Pennsylva- Secretary of the Veterans Administration, Eric nia folks around here: Senator Bob Casey; Shinseki, a war hero and somebody that is do- Senator Arlen Specter; Teresa Heinz Kerry; 698 Administration of Barack Obama, 2009 / May 21 Representatives Tim Murphy, Mike Doyle, And last March, I actually got to hang out Glenn Thompson, Tom Rooney, and Charlie with Franco and “The Bus,” Jerome Bettis, at Wilson. Give them all a big round of applause. an event in Pittsburgh. And Jerome even joined Welcome to the White House, everybody. me when we went to meet some steelworkers Before we begin, I want to offer a special wel- on a shift change. And I got my own Terrible come to the wounded warriors who have joined Towel. us today from Walter Reed and from the Na- But this is a new team for a new era. And tional Naval Medical Center in Bethesda. that’s embodied by Coach Tomlin, who’s here Thank you for your service. with his lovely wife. And I want everybody to And welcome back Dan Rooney and the en- give Coach Tomlin a huge round of applause. tire Rooney family. For nearly five decades, He didn’t just win the Super Bowl; he also hap- Dan has been a tremendous ambassador for pro pened to be NFL Coach of the Year, the young- football and for the city of Pittsburgh. And in est coach ever to win a Super Bowl. the years to come, all Americans will be fortu- And then there’s the new Steel Curtain, the nate to have his service as our United States NFL’s best defense last year, thanks to Dick Ambassador to Ireland. LeBeau, who I think everybody acknowledges Just a personal note: I had occasion of meet- is one of the greatest defensive coordinators of ing a lot of people during the course of my cam- all time—so where’s Dick? There he is over paign for the Presidency. I can tell you that I there. don’t know anybody who is more of a gentle- We’ve got the team captains up here: Big man, who is more loyal, who is more committed Ben Roethlisberger—give him—come on, give to excellence than Mr. Rooney. And he and his Big Ben a round of applause here; James Far- family have just been such an extraordinary pil- rior, a Pro Bowler who made 133 tackles this lar for the city of Pittsburgh. I’d like everybody season; Jeff Reed, who was clutch in the Super to give them a big round of applause one more Bowl; Hines Ward, who was the Super Bowl time. And he’s humble. [Laughter] This kind of MVP 4 years ago, who’s always the happiest attention embarrasses him, but he has no man in football. Hines is always happy. choice. And we’ve got this year’s Super Bowl MVP, Congratulations to the Super Bowl champion Santonio Holmes, who made one of the greatest Pittsburgh Steelers for the NFL-record, sixth touchdown catches I’ve ever seen. That means Lombardi Trophy. Some are calling it “Six- two of the last four Super Bowl MVPs hail from burgh” these days. [Laughter] Congratulations the Pittsburgh wide-receiving corps. to all the fans of the Steeler Nation, who wave Now, I pointed out that that was a heck of a that Terrible Towel every Sunday. pass that Ben threw. But then one of the line- Now, I already told these guys, no matter men pointed out that was some blocking on that how big they are, I am a Bears fan. [Laughter] play. [Laughter] So that just reminds you, that’s But it’s no secret that I was pulling for the what Steeler football is all about, it’s a team ef- Steelers during the Super Bowl last year, and fort. And this is a team that entered the season that’s part of the reason why this is so much fun facing the most difficult schedule in the league. for me. This isn’t me trying to have it both ways. But guys like these thrive on that. They plowed Everybody knows I’m pretty serious about my through the regular season; they won every sports teams, but growing up in Hawaii when I game in the AFC North; they took down the was a kid, we didn’t have a local football team. Chargers and the Ravens in the playoffs. And when I started playing, and I started paying And I can’t remember a more exciting Super attention to football, it was guys like Terry Bowl. Arizona took the lead with 3 minutes left; Bradshaw and Franco Harris and the Steel Cur- Pittsburgh comes back with just 2 with that win- tain and Mean Joe Greene, who is here. ning touchdown. Santonio had 73 of those yards Where’s Mean Joe? There he is, right there. on that drive, including the incredible game- Those were the guys that were playing, and so I winning, touchdown catch. And now they’re became a Steelers fan. champs. So obviously, these are guys who take 699 May 21 / Administration of Barack Obama, 2009 their responsibilities on the football field seri- thank you again for your willingness to go ously. But they take them just as seriously off above and beyond and not just come here for a the field.