March 12, 2008 THE PRESIDENT: Gracias. Thank you. Siéntese. Gracias mi amigo, David. Thank you for having me back yet again to speak. This is an opportunity de practicar mi Español -- (laughter) -- of course, a lot of people say I ought to be spending more time practicing my English. (Laughter.) But I'm thrilled to be with you. (Applause.)I really love the entrepreneurial spirit in all munities. And it's evident in the Latino munity. As you know, I'm blessed to be a Texan and I got to see firsthand, as governor, the unbelievable initiative and drive of Hispanics who lived in my state. And it's the same thing all across the country. And so part of the purpose for me to e is to thank you for your helping others realize the blessings of owning a small business; thanks for creating jobs; thanks for setting good examples; and thanks for being my friend.David, as you know, I've been to the Hispanic Chamber, I think this is my third time -- but I know a lot of you personally. And this may be my farewell address to the Hispanic Chamber as President, but it's certainly not going to be my farewell to you as a friend. (Applause.)I thank not only David, but Augie Martinez. I thank the directors of the Hispanic Chamber. I thank my old buddy, Hector Barreto, who is here with us. (Applause.) Michael Barrera, thank you both -- appreciate you, Miguel. (Applause.)And then there are members of my Cabinet have e because today I'm going to discuss with you a very serious issue, an issue that matters a lot to your future and the future of this country. And so I wele Secretary of Defense Bob Gates. (Applause.) Secretary of the Treasury Hank Paulson. (Applause.) Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer. (Applause.) Secretary of merce Carlos Gutierrez. (Applause.) Elaine Chao, Secretary of Labor, is with us. (Applause.) Susan Schwab, of the USTR, Trade Representative is with us. (Applause.) This is not a Cabinet meeting. (Laughter.)These are people who are here to put an exclamation point on the subject I'm going to discuss with you today. So I thank you all for ing. I appreciate your time.I also want to wele Carolina Barco, who is the Ambassador from Colombia. (Applause.) And other members of the Diplomatic Corps that have joined us.A lot has changed since I first spoke to this group. I had to face some very difficult spending decisions and I've had to conduct sensitive diplomacy. That's called planning for a wedding. (Laughter.) La boda -- (laughter) -- de mi niñita. (Laughter.)I really appreciate the fact that we work together. I just want to review a couple of issues that have made a difference. First of all, we worked together to launch a period of sustained economic growth. I remember meeting with some right after the attacks and we were wondering whether or not our economy could withstand a terrorist attack -- after all, a recession was in place just as I came into office, then the terrorists attacked, then we had corporate scandals.