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♪♪(Drum and Bugle Corps)♪♪
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Narrator:
Welcome to the West Wing Week;
your guide to everything that's
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happening at 1600
Pennsylvania Avenue.
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This week: The President
responded to the terror attack
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in Boston; met with
AmeriCorps Volunteers;
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invited the Wounded Warrior
Riders to the White House;
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and for the first time, asked
a citizen to deliver the
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Weekly Address.
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That's April 12th
to April 18th or --
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The President:
"Selflessly,
compassionately, unafraid."
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Narrator:
On Friday, the midshipmen at the
U.S. Naval Academy lined up in
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the Cross Hall of the
White House to receive the
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Commander-in-Chief Trophy, their
eighth in ten years from the
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Commander-in-Chief himself.
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The President:
You'll be leading your peers
in some of the most complex,
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dangerous missions
on the planet.
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And together your victories will
not simply be about football
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trophies, as impressive
as that trophy is,
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but it'll be about our
security and our values in
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protecting our freedom.
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Narrator:
Later, he held a Roundtable
Discussion with AmeriCorps
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volunteers, where they discussed
the importance of Americans
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engaging in community service.
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The President:
One of the most important things
I would encourage you to do is
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not get too frustrated if
you don't feel like you're
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completely changing
the world overnight,
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because it takes time.
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I mean, when I was your age
and I was out there organizing,
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we got some good stuff done.
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But I also got my butt kicked
a lot in terms of, you know,
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things not working out the way
I wanted and projects that I was
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hoping to turn around a
neighborhood and didn't quite
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turn around.
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You know, those are not
things that are going to
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change overnight.
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Narrator:
Then he brought them to the Oval
Office where he offered them one
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last word of advice.
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The President:
At this age what you need to
do is identify, all right,
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where am I weak.
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Where are things that, you
know, I know what I'm good at,
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but where am I weak and how do
I make up for that and how do I
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prove what it is that may
be holding me back from
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achieving my goals.
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Narrator:
On Saturday, the President asked
a citizen, Francine Wheeler,
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who lost her son, Ben,
in the Newtown shootings,
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to take his place and
deliver the Weekly Address.
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Francine Wheeler:
I've heard people say that
the tidal wave of anguish our
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country felt on
12/14 has receded.
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But not for us.
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To us, it feels as if it
happened just yesterday.
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And in the four months since
we lost our loved ones,
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thousands of other Americans
have died at the end of a gun.
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Thousands of other families
across the United States are
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also drowning in our grief.
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Please help us do something
before our tragedy becomes
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your tragedy.
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Narrator:
On Monday, the President made a
statement in the briefing room
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about the explosions
at the Boston Marathon,
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barely three hours
after they occurred.
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The President:
We still do not know who did
this or why and people shouldn't
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jump to conclusions before
we have all the facts.
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But make no mistake -- we
will get to the bottom of this.
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Any responsible individuals, any
responsible groups will feel the
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full weight of justice.
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Narrator:
On Tuesday, the President
returned to the Press Briefing
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Room to give an update on
the bombings in Boston.
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The President:
The American people refuse to
be terrorized because what the
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world saw yesterday in the
aftermath of the explosions were
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stories of heroism,
and kindness,
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and generosity and love.
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And as we protect our people
and aggressively pursue this
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investigation, the people of
Boston will continue to respond
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in the same proud and heroic
way that they have thus far.
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And their fellow Americans
will be right there with them.
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Narrator:
On Wednesday, the First
Lady traveled to Annapolis,
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Maryland and the United
States Naval Academy.
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There she spoke to the 4,500
midshipmen of the academy
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before lunch.
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And then met with sailors in
healthcare professions who would
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benefit from Maryland's new
Service Member Licensing
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Legislation which she then went
up the road to see signed by
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Governor Martin O'Malley.
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The First Lady:
If we all keep coming
together on this issue,
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we will be sending a powerful
message of love and support that
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makes a real concrete difference
for our military families.
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We'll be helping them
build their careers,
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support their families, and find
new ways to serve this country.
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And that's what Joining
Forces is about.
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Narrator:
Back at the White House, the
Vice President was participating
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in a live Google+ Hangout with
mayors from across the country
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to discuss efforts to
reduce gun violence.
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On the South Lawn, the President
welcomed the Wounded Warrior
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Project Soldier Ride in
celebration of the Seventh
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Annual Soldier Ride.
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It's a cycling event to help
wounded warriors restore their
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physical and
emotional well-being.
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The Soldier Ride also raises
awareness of our nation's
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wounded warriors who battle
the physical and psychological
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burdens of war.
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The President:
We saw that on Monday.
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When that first explosion
went off, National Guardsmen,
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service members,
veterans in the area,
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all did what warriors do -- they
ran into harm's way to protect
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their fellow Americans;
they applied tourniquets;
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they went to hospitals;
they donated blood.
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That's the strong stuff that
our warriors are made out of and
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that's why we're so proud and
so grateful to the men and women
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and veterans of
our Armed Forces.
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Narrator:
At the end of the day, the
President was joined in the Rose
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Garden by Former Congresswoman
Gabby Giffords and a group of
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families from
Newtown, Connecticut.
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He vowed to keep fighting for
common sense measures to reduce
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gun violence, even though the
Senate narrowly defeated a
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bipartisan compromised
proposal earlier that day.
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The President:
But to change Washington,
you, the American people,
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are going to have to sustain
some passion about this.
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And when necessary, you've
got to send the right people
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to Washington.
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And that requires strength,
and it requires persistence,
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and that's the one thing that
these families should have
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inspired in all of us.
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Narrator:
On Thursday, the President
traveled to Boston where he
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spoke at an interfaith service
honoring the victims of
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Monday's bombings.
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The President:
And so we come together to pray
and mourn and measure our loss.
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But we also come together today
to reclaim that state of grace.
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To reaffirm that the spirit
of this city is undaunted.
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And the spirit of this
country shall remain undimmed.
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Narrator:
To find out more information on
any of these topics or to see
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complete videos of these
events, go to WhiteHouse.gov.
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And thanks again for checking
out your West Wing Week.
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The President:
You've got a lot of gear, man.
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Are you all right there?
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(laughter)
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Soundman:
We're working on it, sir.
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(laughter)