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Hours before addressing the nation in perhaps the most important speech of his administration so far, President Obama traveled to New York Wednesday to speak at a memorial service for veteran CBS anchor Walter Cronkite. “We also remember and celebrate the journalism that Walter practiced — a standard of honesty and integrity and responsibility to which so many of you have committed your careers,” Obama said at the jam-packed service at Lincoln Center. “It’s a standard that’s a little bit harder to find today. We know that this is a difficult time for journalism. Even as appetites for news and information grow, newsrooms are closing. Despite the big stories of our era, serious journalists find themselves all too often without a beat. Just as the news cycle has shrunk, so has the bottom line.” Other dignitaries included former President Bill Clinton, news celebrities Andy Rooney, Katie Couric, Cronkite’s current successor, Bob Schieffer, and Tom Brokaw.