Remarks Upon Arrival in Block Island, Rhode Island

Thank you. Well, first of all, let me say that Hillary and Chelsea and I are delighted to be here. We want to thank the Senator for coming over with us and thank the first warden for coming out to meet us. It took me a little— a moment to realize that the first warden was the highest elected official on the island. I thought maybe I was about to be arrested for something. [Laughter]

And let me say I was stunned to see this crowd when we were coming down in the helicopter. But this is the first opportunity I have had to thank the people of Rhode Island for giving the Vice President and me the enormous vote of confidence we got here last November. And I'm very grateful to you. Thank you so much.

Let me also say I'm just anxious to be here and have some fun. And I want to go through the crowd and shake hands. I want to have a picture taken with the students there from the Block Island School.

And I hope that all of you will always be committed to preserving this beautiful island. I was so impressed when I came down, and Senator Reed was telling me a little about the conservation efforts. We have, all of us, a great responsibility to future generations to figure out how to keep growing this economy. I'm very grateful for the economic success that our Nation has had, for the millions of new jobs we have, for the lowest unemployment and inflation rates in decades. But we have to do it in a way that preserves the natural heritage that God has given us. I can see you're committed to that here, and I hope you will help to spread that to people all across New England and, indeed, all across the United States.

Again, thanks for having us here. We're delighted. And I want to get out and say hello to a few people.

Thank you, and God bless you.