In 2009, I wrote a story for MSNBC.com about how youth sports were being affected in Elkhart, Ind.

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So what I'm trying to underscore is what the people in Elkhart already understand: that this is not your ordinary run-of-the-mill recession.

WHITEHOUSE: Presidential Press Conference

Part of the problem in Elkhart, that I heard about today, was the fact that -- this is the RV capital of America.

WHITEHOUSE: Presidential Press Conference

Now, what I said in Elkhart today is what I repeat this evening, which is, I'm absolutely confident that we can solve this problem, but it's going to require us to take some significant, important steps.

WHITEHOUSE: Presidential Press Conference

The people in Elkhart can't afford it.

WHITEHOUSE: Presidential Press Conference

In the Elkhart, Indiana metro area, for instance, per capita income fell 6.5%, the eighth biggest drop in the nation.

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In July, for example, while the Elkhart yard was rebuilding 26 miles of track, the system diverted 500 cars a day to other yards.

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Elkhart is a place that has lost jobs faster than anywhere else in America.

WHITEHOUSE: Presidential Press Conference

When Hurricane Katrina hit, the system rerouted trains scheduled to be switched in New Orleans, and later shuffled new trains into the schedule to haul thousands of mobile homes from Elkhart to Louisiana.

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