Obama asks Americans to be ready for tough decisions

Washington, Apr 14 Giving an update of the steps taken by him to revive the American economy in the first three months as the country's US President, Barack Obama today asked his countrymen to be ready for tough decisions.Listing out the steps being taken by his Administration to ensure that the American economy is back on track again, Obama asked his countrymen to be ready for tough times and took the help of a parable at the end of the Sermon on the Mount that tells the story of two men."The first built his house on a pile of sand, and it was destroyed as soon as the storm hit. But the second is known as the wise man, for when "the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock," Obama said while delivering a major economic policy address at Georgetown University in Washington.Lashing out hard at his predecessors and the politics at the Capitol for avoiding taking tough decisions for long and indulging in short-term gains and publicity, Obama said he would not shy away from taking those decisions which would benefit the nation 20 years from now."We cannot rebuild this economy on the same pile of sand. We must build our house upon a rock. We must lay a new foundation for growth and prosperity - a foundation that will move us from an era of borrow and spend to one where we save and invest; where we consume less at home and send more exports abroad," Obama asserted. (weather he is going to follow his predecessor?-Editor)