July 27 / Administration of Barack Obama, 2009 out of opportunity. This future is not fixed, but fort forward through my first visit to China, it is a destination that can be reached if we where I hope to come to know better your pursue a sustained dialogue like the one that leaders, your people, and your majestic coun- you will commence today and act on what we try. Together, I’m confident that we can move hear and what we learn. steadily in the direction of progress and meet Thousands of years ago, the great philoso- our responsibility to our people and to the fu- pher Mencius said: “A trail through the moun- ture that we will all share. tains, if used, becomes a path in a short time, Thank you very much. but, if unused, becomes blocked by grass in an equally short time.” Our task is to forge a path NOTE: The President spoke at 9:35 a.m. at the to the future that we seek for our children, to Ronald Reagan Building and International prevent mistrust or the inevitable differences Trade . In his remarks, he referred to of the moment from allowing that trail to be Yao Ming, center, National Associa- blocked by grass, to always be mindful of the tion’s Houston Rockets; Secretary of State journey that we are undertaking together. Hillary Rodham Clinton; Secretary of the This dialogue will help determine the ulti- Treasury Timothy F. Geithner; Gov. Jon M. mate destination of that journey. It represents Huntsman, Jr., of Utah; Sen. John McCain, a commitment to shape our young century 2008 Republican Presidential candidate; Sec- through sustained cooperation and not con- retary of Energy Steven Chu; and Secretary of frontation. I look forward to carrying this ef- Commerce Gary F. Locke.

Remarks Honoring the 2008 Women’s National Basketball Association Champion July 27, 2009

The President. Hey, guys. Hello, hello, hel- NBA and the WNBA, but also on countless in- lo. Please, everybody, be seated. Be seated. dividuals who benefit from his giving spirit. Well, welcome to the White House, every- Now, I have to say, everybody knows I’m a body. And we are so pleased to have the De- Chicago Bulls fan. And a few years ago, when troit Shock here. We want to congratulate the Bulls and the Pistons were thick in the them and all your fans for your third WNBA middle of their rivalry, I never imagined that championship in 6 years. Give them a big I’d be saying, “Congratulations, Bill Laim- round of applause. beer,” or, “Congratulations, .” We’ve got some special fans from Capitol [Laughter] And if I knew I was President then, Hill here who take great pride in Detroit: Sen- to think that I’d be inviting them to the White ator Carl Levin is in the house; Representative House is hard to take. [Laughter] But let’s face Sandy Levin is in the house; and Representa- it: These guys are winners. They always have tive Carolyn Kilpatrick is in the house. been. They know how to win. And I want to I want to thank Donna Orender, the presi- congratulate the finals MVP , team dent of the WNBA, who’s here today. captain , and all the other women Where’s—Donna is right back—there she is that make this such an outstanding team. right there. Congratulations on the success of I also want to salute this organization—this this league and the inspiration it provides to team for donating so much time and energy to young women everywhere. lifting up the Detroit community. They’ve giv- I also want to thank the owner of the De- en free tickets to underprivileged youth, men- troit Shock and the , Karen Da- tored abused women and children, donated vidson, for coming. Your husband—go ahead, backpacks filled with school supplies to foster give him a round of applause. [Applause] Your kids, restored a rundown library into a safe, husband Bill had a great impact not just in the clean place for kids to play and to grow.

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And I want to thank them for participating in women are going to thrive and excel as athletes. our United We Serve summer of service. Earli- And it makes my daughters look at themselves er today these players took time to host a WN- differently; to see that they can be champions BA Fit Clinic for young boys and girls at a lo- too. So as a father, I want to say thank you and cal’s Boys and Girls Club to teach fitness and thank you to all the WNBA athletes who work nutrition and self-confidence, and I understand hard each day to set a positive example to which they brought some of the young participants all our daughters can aspire. along with them to the White House. I suspect Congratulations again on your championship it must be these young people here today. season. Good luck this year. And, Coach, con- Let me also say something as a father—I was gratulations. mentioning it to the team before we came Former Detroit Shock Head Coach William out—it’s hard to believe the WNBA has already Laimbeer. Thank you. been around for 12 years, and that means that The President. Congratulations. All right, my daughters have never known a time when thank you. women couldn’t play professional sports. They look at the TV, and they see me watch- NOTE: The President spoke at 2:50 p.m. on the ing “SportsCenter,” and they see young women South Portico at the White House. In his re- who look like them on the screen. And that lets marks, he referred to Derrick A. “Rick” Ma- them and all our young women, as well as young horn, head coach, Katie Smith, guard, and men, know that we should take for granted that Cheryl Ford, forward, Detroit Shock.

Remarks at a Reception Honoring World Ambassadors July 27, 2009

Hello. Thank you very much. Well, I want to nerships for progress. And it is in that spirit that welcome all of you to the White House. Mi- I welcome all of you here tonight. chelle and I are honored to host you here to- I’m also pleased that we’ve put together an night to get to know you and to underscore the extraordinary team to lead America’s diploma- importance of cooperation between our na- cy. I have an extraordinary Secretary of State in tions. Hillary Clinton. I’m so pleased to have Susan Now, diplomacy has always been critically Rice, our talented Ambassador to the United important to all nations. But in many ways, it Nations, here with us tonight, as well as our out- grows more important with each passing year, standing Trade Representative, Ron Kirk. And I because the interconnectedness of our world couldn’t be more proud of the job that Ameri- means that in the 21st century, we cannot solve can diplomats are doing around the world as well. our problems until we solve them together. For In the months and years ahead, I know that centuries, diplomats have come together to dis- we are going to do important work with each of cuss war and peace, commerce and exchange. you. We will depend on you to connect us to But now it is hard to think of an issue that mat- your Government, to help make progress on ters to our people that does not depend in some our common challenges, and to build bridges way upon cooperation among nations: health among our people. and education, energy, the environment, the Of course, one of the wonderful things about arts, and even athletics. America is that so much of the world is repre- And that’s one reason why I came into office sented in our own cities and towns. I think we with a strong commitment to renew American likely have immigrants who have come to our diplomacy and to start a new era of engagement shores from every country that is represented with the world. This must be a moment when here tonight. In fact, my own hometown of Chi- we engage on the basis of mutual interest and cago is probably pretty close to being able to mutual respect, so that we can build new part- make that claim all by itself. [Laughter]

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