THE PRESIDENT: Please be seated -- except for those of you behind me. (Laughter.) Welcome to the White House. And thanks for joining us as we launch a new national initiative designed to help the American people live longer, live healthier, live better lives.  

Better health is an individual responsibility, and it is an important national goal. We're making great progress in preventing and detecting and treating many chronic diseases, and that's good for America. Doing a better job with heart disease and cancer and diabetes. We're living longer than any generation in history. Yet we can still improve. And we can do more. And it's not all that difficult to do. When it comes to your health, even little steps can make a big difference.

I really appreciate the First Lady for joining us. She is -(applause.) She's a regular exerciser. I appreciate Tommy Thompson, the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, for being here. Tommy told me the other day even at his advanced age he's thinking about running a marathon. (Laughter.)

I appreciate very much Gale Norton, who's the Secretary of Interior, for being here, as well, Gale. Thank you both for coming. I want to thank all the athletes who are here, and physical fitness experts, Olympians and Paralympians and President's Council on Physical Fitness are joining us today. I'm honored you're here.