rayer. all of us can remember that night in grant park, the excitement in the streets, the sense of hope, the sense of possibility and yet, even as we celebrate, you remember what i said back then. i said our work was not ending. our work was just beginning. while it was clear that i would have a full plate going into election day, i would be lying if i said i knew how full the plate would be. it has been more fuller than we imagined. we took office in the middle of the worst recession in our lifetimes. it is one that left millions of americans without jobs, had folks losing their homes, a recession so bad that many families are still grappling with the after shocks even though the economy is growing again. the economy is growing again. we are creating jobs again. [applause] over the last four months, we have seen the largest drop in unemployment since 1984. [applause] over the last 30 months, we have added nearly 2 million private sector jobs. that did not happen by accident. it happened be