We spend so much time talking about democracy — and obviously we should be promoting democracy everywhere we can. But democracy, a well-functioning society that promotes liberty and equality and fraternity, a well-functioning society does not just depend on going to the ballot box. It also means that you’re not going to be shaken down by police because the police aren’t getting properly paid. It also means that if you want to start a business, you don’t have to pay a bribe. I mean, there are a whole host of other factors that people need to — need to recognize in building a civil society that allows a country to be successful. And hopefully that will — that approach will be reflected not just in my administration’s policies but in the policies that are pursued by international agencies around the world. Okay, good. (Applause.)
All right, right up — I’ve got two of you, so you have to choose one. Which one should I call on? (Laughter.) I don’t want to — you’re standing right next to each other. Oops. Well, I’m sorry, you know what, he actually called on the — no, no, no, I was actually pointing down here. I didn’t see those two ladies back there. Here you go, this one right here. Go ahead.
Q Well, hello, Mr. President. I’m sorry, I’m from Chicago, excuse me. (Applause.)
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Are you?
Q I’m also a student in the high school — the international high school —
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, no, I’m sorry, if you’re American I can’t — (laughter.)
Q I’m also French. (Applause.)
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Wait, wait, wait, wait, hold on. She said she’s also French. What does that mean?
Q Double nationality.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Dual nationality. What do you think, should we let her ask the question? (Applause.) Okay, go ahead.
Q Thank you. Do you think that the economic crisis is an opportunity to restructure our industries in an ecological and sustainable way? And I also was wondering whether the dog was already in the White House or not. (Laughter.)
PRESIDENT OBAMA: The — we are getting a dog. This is a very important question in the United States — (laughter) — what kind of dog we’re getting and when we’re getting it. It should be there soon.
I do think that in crisis there’s always opportunity if it’s used properly. So, for example, in the United States we decided to pass a large stimulus package to help growth at a time when the private sector was having a very difficult time.
Now, we could have just spent the money on the same old ways of doing things, but part of what we’ve decided was, if we’re going to be spending a lot of government money anyway, why not spend it to double the amount of renewable energy? Why not spend it on retrofitting existing government buildings so that we drastically reduce their energy consumption? Why not start building high-speed rail?