Trying to Get That Feeling Again

Obama rallies bipartisan congressional leaders at White House dinner with references to post-9/11 unity.

But last night, as Americans learned that the United States had carried out an operation that resulted in the capture and death of Osama bin Laden, we -- (applause) -- you know, I think we experienced the same sense of unity that prevailed on 9/11.

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary

May 2, 2011

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT AT CONGRESSIONAL BIPARTISAN DINNER

East Room

8:03 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Thank you, everyone. Please -- thank you. Everybody, please have a seat. Good evening, all of you. On behalf of Michelle and myself, I just want to welcome everybody to the White House. We scheduled this dinner a few weeks ago because I thought it would be a good opportunity for leaders of both parties and their spouses to spend some time together outside of politics. And tonight seems like an especially fitting occasion to do this.

Obviously we’ve all had disagreements and differences in the past. I suspect we’ll have them again in the future. But last night, as Americans learned that the United States had carried out an operation that resulted in the capture and death of Osama bin Laden, we -- (applause) -- you know, I think we experienced the same sense of unity that prevailed on 9/11. We were reminded again that there is a pride in what this nation stands for, and what we can achieve, that runs far deeper than party, far deeper than politics.

I want to again recognize the heroes who carried out this incredibly dangerous mission, as well as all the military and counter-terrorism professionals who made the mission possible. I also want to thank the members of Congress from both parties who have given extraordinary support to our military and our intelligence officials. Without your support, they could not do what they do.

I know that that unity that we felt on 9/11 has frayed a little bit over the years, and I have no illusions about the difficulties of the debates that we’ll have to be engaged in, in the weeks and months to come. But I also know there have been several moments like this during the course of this year that have brought us together as an American family, whether it was the tragedy in Tucson or, most recently, our unified response to the terrible storms that have taken place in the South.

Last night was one of those moments. And so tonight, it is my fervent hope that we can harness some of that unity and some of that pride to confront the many challenges that we still face. But to all of you here tonight, we are joyful that you could join us. And please have a little bit of fun. All right? Thank you very much, everybody. (Applause.)

END 8:06 P.M. EDT

From a White House official:

Below is a list of the attendees for the dinner this evening with the President, First Lady, Vice President and Dr. Biden. The dinner attendees include bipartisan House and Senate Leadership, Committee Chairs, Committee Ranking Members and their guests. Senior Administration Officials and members of the President's Cabinet will also attend.

* Senator Harry Reid, D-NV, Majority Leader

* Senator Mitch McConnell, R-KY, Republican Leader

* Senator Dick Durbin, D-IL, Majority Whip

* Senator Jon Kyl, R-AZ, Republican Whip

* Senator Lamar Alexander, R-TN, Rules and Administration
Committee Ranking Member

* Senator Max Baucus, D-MT, Finance Committee Chair

* Senator John Barrasso, R-WY, Committee on Indian Affairs
Ranking Member

* Senator Jeff Bingaman, D-NM, Energy and Natural Resources
Committee Chair

* Senator Barbara Boxer, D-CA, Environment and Public Works
Committee Chair; Select Committee on Ethics Chair

* Senator Richard Burr, R-NC, Veterans' Affairs Committee Ranking

* Senator Robert Casey, D-PA, Joint Economic Committee Chair

* Senator Thad Cochran, R-MS, Appropriations Committee Ranking Member

* Senator Susan Collins, R-ME, Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs

* Senator Kent Conrad, D-ND, Budget Committee Chair

* Senator Bob Corker, R-TN, Special Committee on Aging Ranking Member

* Senator Mike Enzi, R-WY, Health, Education, Labor, and
Pensions Committee

* Senator Dianne Feinstein, D-CA, Select Committee on Intelligence Chair

* Senator Chuck Grassley, R-IA, Judiciary Committee Ranking Member

* Senator Tom Harkin, D-IA, Health, Education, Labor, and
Pensions Committee Chair

* Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-TX, Commerce, Science, and
Transportation Committee Ranking Member

* Senator Dan Inouye, D-HI, Appropriations Committee Chair

* Senator Johnny Isakson, R-GA, Select Committee on Ethics
Ranking Member

* Senator Tim Johnson, D-SD, Banking, Housing, and Urban
Affairs Committee Chair

* Senator John Kerry, D-MA, Foreign Relations Committee Chair

* Senator Mary Landrieu, D-LA, Small Business Committee Chair

* Senator Patrick Leahy, D-VT, Judiciary Committee Chair

* Senator Carl Levin, D-MI, Armed Services Committee Chair

* Senator Joe Lieberman, D-CT, Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs Committee Chair

* Senator John McCain, R-AZ, Armed Services Committee Ranking Member

* Senator Lisa Murkowski, R-AK, Energy and Natural Resources
Committee Ranking Member

* Senator Patty Murray, D-WA, Veterans' Affairs Committee Chair

* Senator Pat Roberts, R-KS, Agriculture Committee Ranking Member

* Senator Jay Rockefeller, D-WV, Commerce, Science, and
Transportation Committee Chair

* Senator Chuck Schumer, D-NY, Rules and Administration Committee Chair

* Senator Jeff Sessions, R-AL, Budget Committee Ranking Member

* Senator Richard Shelby, R-AL, Banking, Housing, and Urban
Affairs Committee Ranking Member

* Senator Olympia Snowe, R-ME, Small Business Committee Ranking Member

* Senator Debbie Stabenow, D-MI, Agriculture Committee Chair

* Speaker John Boehner, R-OH, Speaker of the House

* Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-CA, Democratic Leader

* Representative Eric Cantor, R-VA, Majority Leader

* Representative Steny Hoyer, D-MD, Democratic Whip

* Representative Jim Clyburn, D-SC, Assistant Democratic Leader

* Representative Spencer Bachus, R-AL, Financial Services
Committee Chair

* Representative Howard Berman, D-CA, Foreign Affairs
Committee Ranking Member

* Representative Jo Bonner, R-AL, Standards of Official
Conduct Committee Chair

* Representative Bob Brady, D-PA, House Administration
Committee Ranking Member

* Representative Dave Camp, R-MI, Ways & Means Committee
Chair, and Joint Committee on Taxation Chair

* Representative John Conyers, D-MI, Judiciary Committee Ranking Member

* Representative Elijah Cummings, D-MD, Oversight and
Government Reform Committee Ranking Member

* Representative Norm Dicks, D-WA, Appropriations Committee
Ranking Member

* Representative David Dreier, R-CA, Rules Committee Chair

* Representative Bob Filner, D-CA, Veterans' Affairs Committee
Ranking Member

* Representative Barney Frank, D-MA, Financial Services
Committee Ranking Member

* Representative Sam Graves, R-MO, Small Business Committee Chair

* Representative Ralph Hall, R-TX, Science and Technology
Committee Chair

* Representative Doc Hastings, R-WA, Natural Resources
Committee Chair Representative

* Representative Darrell Issa, R-CA, Oversight and Government
Reform Committee Chair

* Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-TX, Science and
Technology Committee Ranking Member

* Representative Peter King, R-NY, Homeland Security Committee Chair

* Representative John Kline, R-MN, Education & Labor Committee Chair

* Representative Sandy Levin, Ways & Means Committee Ranking Member

* Representative Frank Lucas, R-OK, Agriculture Committee Chair

* Representative Dan Lungren, R-CA, House Administration Committee Chair

* Representative Ed Markey, D-MA, Natural Resources Committee
Ranking Member

* Representative Kevin McCarthy, R-CA, Majority Whip

* Representative Buck McKeon, R-CA, House Armed Services Committee Chair

* Representative John Mica, R-FL, Transportation and
Infrastructure Committee Chair

* Representative George Miller, D-CA, Education & Labor
Committee Ranking Member

* Representative Jeff Miller, R-FL, Veterans' Affairs Committee Chair

* Representative Collin Peterson, D-MN, Agriculture Committee
Ranking Member

* Representative Nick Rahall, D-WV, Transportation and
Infrastructure Committee Ranking Member

* Representative Mike Rogers, R-MI, Permanent Select Committee
on Intelligence Chair

* Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-FL, Foreign Affairs
Committee Chair

* Representative Dutch Ruppersberger, D-MD, Permanent Select
Committee on Intelligence Ranking Member

* Representative Paul Ryan, R-WI, Budget Committee Chair

* Representative Hal Rogers, R-KY, Appropriations Committee Chair

* Representative Linda Sanchez, D-CA, Standards of Official
Conduct Committee Ranking Member

* Representative Louise Slaughter, D-NY, Rules Committee Ranking Member

* Representative Adam Smith, D-WA, Armed Services Committee
Ranking Member

* Representative Lamar Smith, R-TX, Judiciary Committee Chair

* Representative Fred Upton, R-MI, Energy & Commerce Committee Chair

* Representative Chris Van Hollen, D-MD, Budget Committee Ranking Member

* Representative Nydia Velazquez, D-NY, Small Business
Committee Ranking Member

* Representative Henry Waxman, D-CA, Energy & Commerce
Committee Ranking Member

Cabinet and Administration Officials

* Secretary Steven Chu

* Secretary Hillary Clinton

* Chief of Staff Bill Daley

* Secretary Shaun Donovan

* Secretary Arne Duncan

* Secretary Bob Gates

* Secretary Tim Geithner

* Chair Austan Goolsbee

* Attorney General Eric Holder

* Ambassador Ron Kirk

* Secretary Ray LaHood

* Director Jacob Lew

* Secretary Gary Locke

* Secretary Janet Napolitano

* Director Leon Panetta

* Secretary Ken Salazar

* Secretary Kathleen Sebelius

* Secretary Eric Shinseki

* Secretary Hilda Solis

* Secretary Tom Vilsack