WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama is calling on Americans to rekindle the spirit of unity that characterized the response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
"It can be a lasting virtue," he said Saturday in his weekly radio and Internet address. "Not just on one day, but every day."
The president's appeal comes two weeks before the 10th anniversary of the al-Qaida plot that turned commercial jetliners into deadly weapons in New York, Pennsylvania and northern Virginia.
Obama plans to observe the anniversary on Sept. 11 with stops at Ground Zero in lower Manhattan, where the World Trade Center towers fell; at Shanksville, Pa., where a commandeered plane crashed, and at the Pentagon, which was hit by a hijacked jetliner.
But he cast his plea for goodwill against the backdrop of economic challenges. Coming in the aftermath of bitter partisan fights over government spending and tough criticism, his remarks were an overt call for cooperation.
"Even the smallest act of service, the simplest act of kindness, is a way to honor those we lost, a way to reclaim that spirit of unity that followed 9/11," he said.
He recalled the work of volunteers following the attacks, the blood donations and the food and clothing drives.
"We were united, and the outpouring of generosity and compassion reminded us that in times of challenge, we Americans move forward together, as one people," he said.
These days, he said, the country is still fighting al-Qaida while ending the war in Iraq, pulling back troops from Afghanistan and "emerging from the worst economic crisis in our lifetimes."
"None of this will be easy," he said. "And it can't be the work of government alone."
In the Republican address, Sen. Dean Heller of Nevada stuck to economic themes, criticizing the Obama administration for creating "more government that continues to impede economic growth."
Heller called for a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution and repeal of the "job-killing" health care law that Obama signed last year, both demands that Republicans have failed to achieve.
"It can be a lasting virtue," he said Saturday in his weekly radio and Internet address. "Not just on one day, but every day."
The president's appeal comes two weeks before the 10th anniversary of the al-Qaida plot that turned commercial jetliners into deadly weapons in New York, Pennsylvania and northern Virginia.
Obama plans to observe the anniversary on Sept. 11 with stops at Ground Zero in lower Manhattan, where the World Trade Center towers fell; at Shanksville, Pa., where a commandeered plane crashed, and at the Pentagon, which was hit by a hijacked jetliner.
But he cast his plea for goodwill against the backdrop of economic challenges. Coming in the aftermath of bitter partisan fights over government spending and tough criticism, his remarks were an overt call for cooperation.
"Even the smallest act of service, the simplest act of kindness, is a way to honor those we lost, a way to reclaim that spirit of unity that followed 9/11," he said.
He recalled the work of volunteers following the attacks, the blood donations and the food and clothing drives.
"We were united, and the outpouring of generosity and compassion reminded us that in times of challenge, we Americans move forward together, as one people," he said.
These days, he said, the country is still fighting al-Qaida while ending the war in Iraq, pulling back troops from Afghanistan and "emerging from the worst economic crisis in our lifetimes."
"None of this will be easy," he said. "And it can't be the work of government alone."
In the Republican address, Sen. Dean Heller of Nevada stuck to economic themes, criticizing the Obama administration for creating "more government that continues to impede economic growth."
Heller called for a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution and repeal of the "job-killing" health care law that Obama signed last year, both demands that Republicans have failed to achieve.
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