In his speech in Kotzebue, President Obama thanked Alaska Gov. Bill Walker and Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott for their recent leadership in helping pave the way for thousands more Alaskans to gain health care under Medicaid next year.

He also thrilled the town by saying he’d heard how well the members of his advance team had been treated in Kotzebue and said he had enjoyed the hospitality he’d gotten in Alaska. He said he was envious that President Warren Harding spent two weeks here – during a trip in 1923 --- but said he couldn't make such a lengthy trip because “can’t leave Congress alone that long.”President Obama