I have no doubt that everyone will find something in this compromise that they don’t like.  In fact, there are things in here that I don’t like -- namely the extension of the tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and the wealthiest estates.  But these tax cuts will expire in two years.  And I’m confident that as we make tough choices about bringing our deficit¹ down, as I engage in a conversation with the American people about the hard choices we’re going to have to make to secure our future and our children’s future and our grandchildren’s future, it will become apparent that we cannot afford to extend those tax cuts any longer.

As for now, I believe this bipartisan plan is the right thing to do.  It’s the right thing to do for jobs.  It’s the right thing to do for the middle class.  It is the right thing to do for business.  And it’s the right thing to do for our economy. It offers us an opportunity that we need to seize.

It’s not perfect, but this compromise is an essential step on the road to recovery.  It will stop middle-class taxes from going up.  It will spur our private sector² to create millions of new jobs, and add momentum³ that our economy badly needs.

Building on that momentum is what I’m focused on.  It’s what members of Congress should be focused on.  And I'm looking forward to working with members of both parties in the coming days to see to it that we get this done before everyone leaves town for the holiday season.  We cannot allow this moment to pass.

And let me just end with this.  There’s been a lot of debate in Washington about how this would ultimately get resolved.  I just want everybody to remember over the course of the coming days, both Democrats⁴ and Republicans, that these are not abstract fights for the families that are impacted.  Two million people will lose their unemployment insurance at the end of this month if we don't get this resolved.  Millions more of Americans will see their taxes go up at a time when they can least afford it.  And my singular（单数的，单一的） focus over the next year is going to be on how do we continue the momentum of the recovery, how do we make sure that we grow this economy and we create more jobs. 

We cannot play politics at a time when the American people are looking for us to solve problems.  And so I look forward to engaging the House and the Senate, members of both parties, as well as the media, in this debate.  But I am confident that this needs to get done, and I'm confident ultimately Congress is going to do the right thing.

Thank you very much, everybody.

END