President Obama continued his trip to hard hit areas of the country with his first trip to Western New York state and the city of Buffalo, to hold a town hall meeting about jobs and the economy.

Buffalo and the surrounding area have been especially hard hit during the economic crash and areas outside of New York city are trending toward Republicans as of late, so this trip has more than one reason for occurring.  As such, the President defended the passage of the stimulus package and focused on the recent rise in jobs over the last few months, all while tempering his optimism with the cold hard reality that the recovery is a slow ongoing process. 

He took some time to make his opening comments personal for those in the audience by highlighting a couple of local businessmen and the growth they have enjoyed in part due to his administration's tax cuts for small businesses and loan guarantees. 

In any event, watch his comments below: