Obama: Some jobs gone for good, but take heart

WASHINGTON - President Obama said Saturday that the painful restructuring of America's manufacturing base means a lot of jobs are gone forever, but not that Americans must "settle for a lesser future."

In his weekly radio and Internet address, Obama said U.S. manufacturers are reinventing themselves with new technology and efficiencies that have helped lead to what the administration says are 3.7 million jobs created over the last two years.

"Factories where people thought they'd retire have left town. Jobs that provided a decent living have been shipped overseas," he said. "That doesn't mean we have to settle for a lesser future."

He recorded the address Friday at a massive Boeing Co. manufacturing plant near Seattle. He toured a modern factory floor and the inside of one of the aircraft-maker's new flagship Dreamliner passenger jets.

"Companies like Boeing are realizing that even when we can't make things cheaper than China, we can make things better," Obama said in the address. "That's how we're going to compete globally."

Giving the GOP address, Washington Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers accused Obama of overspending that will set the country up for a financial implosion. "Instead of leading the effort to bring down our debt and make tough choices, the president is proposing that we spend more and more," she said.

While at Boeing, Obama announced steps to offer financing to U.S. companies to match the help that their foreign competitors get.

He called on Congress to extend the Export-Import Bank's authorization. White House officials said the bank would reach its lending limit soon, and Obama pointed to it as key to promoting U.S. exports. At the same time, the White House announced that Boeing would participate in an Export-Import program that helps firms advance money to suppliers on export-related contracts.