Time for a little nation-building at home, Obama declares in weekly address

No one who fights for this country should have to fight for a job or a roof over their head when they come home.

President Obama, riffing off his remarks at Fort Bliss, Texas, yesterday, discussed in this morning's weekly address the importance of treating our veterans right as they return home'and he also used the topic to call for an investment reminiscent of New Deal and post-World War II fiscal strategies:

My grandfather's generation came back from World War II and helped form the backbone of the greatest middle-class in history. They helped this country come back stronger than before. Today's veterans have the skills, the discipline, and the leadership skills to do the exact same thing'and it's our job to give them that chance.

What does that mean, exactly? Well .. roads and bridges and education and jobs and a thriving economy.

It's time to build a nation that lives up to the ideals that so many Americans have fought for'a nation where they can realize the dream they sacrificed to protect. We need to rebuild our roads and runways and ports. We need to lay broadband lines across this country and put our veterans back to work as cops and firefighters in communities that need them. And we need to come together to make America a place where hard work is rewarded and anyone willing to put in the effort can make it if they try.

That's how we can honor our troops. That's the welcome home they've earned.

It's a nicely packaged message both for veterans and peopel still struggling in the current economy, and not a bad way to head into next week's Democratic National Convention.

To read the transcript in full, check below the fold or visit the White House website.