Rachel Kilburg Ceremonial Speech: Manuscript Nothing in life thats worth anything is easy.

These were the words spoken by President Barack Obama just a few weeks ago in his annual State of the Union address. These words serve not just as a beacon of hope for the American people, but also as true testament to the entire Obama presidency thus far. Facing opposition since the day he entered office, Obama has relentlessly fought for the values he believes in and principles to benefit our nations people. After an unforgettable campaign and election that made Barack Obama president, we knew history was unfolding before our eyes. However, the decisions President Obama made, and continues to make, after being sworn in is what truly makes him one of the greatest presidents our generation will see in our lifetime. At no point in Obamas presidency has he experienced simple bliss or bipartisan cooperation. In an era where presidential honeymoons no longer exist, President Obama stepped into the Oval Office in the midst of a major financial crisis and, despite intense opposition, has led our nation back to the road of economic recovery. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, signed into law by Obama in 2009, provided local financial relief, increased domestic investment, and is one of the primary reasons we reached a light at the end of the tunnel after a long and dark Great Recession. Another feat by President Obama, bailing out the auto industry, forced him to defy resistance. Without this course of action, allowing the major auto companies in Detroit to fail would have resulted in an extensive collapse of the Midwestern economy. However, President Obama believed in the power of the American people, and through his hope and faith in our nation, the U.S. auto industry is thriving once again and his originally unpopular proposal proved to be a success. Additionally, perhaps one of the most courageous decisions any president in recent history has made, resulted in the defeat of the United States greatest enemy, Osama Bin Laden. Alone in the decision, with the possibility of failure and the consequence of dead Americans, President Obama exhibited great bravery and served as an audacious leader as he ordered the attack on Bin Laden and significantly strengthened our national security. Despite all these accomplishments, as President Obama carried into his second term, the opposition only intensified. Perhaps one of the most well-known recent endeavors by Obama is the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. While GOP leaders continue to pathetically criticize its rocky rollout and spend millions in creating confusion and spreading falsities, Americans across the nation now have improved and affordable health care and cannot be turned away for pre-existing conditions or for being a woman, and dont have to worry about yearly caps. Like all of Obamas previous unpopular-turned-successful decisions, we can expect this to be an unprecedented accomplishment in the scheme of history. In the end, as we consider this president, all of his past accomplishments and current aspirations, the same truth reverberates: nothing worthwhile ever comes easy. Not one venture during Obamas current presidency has been easy, but they all have been worth it. He has done so much and come so far, but he is not done. So, when we reflect on the values of persistence and virtue Obama leads by, we are left with an irrefutable truth: President Barack Obama remains the most remarkable president our generation will ever be graced with.