The Obama Library.com
Barack Hussein Obama
The 44th President of the United States of America
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The Birth of Barack Hussein Obama
His Parents
His Grandparents and ancestry
Early Life
Education
Employment History
Meeting his wife
Building a Family
Entry in to Politics
The decision to run for Presidency
The 2008 campaign
The Democratic debates
Selection of Vice President
Presidential debates
The election
The international tour
Presidential Inauguration
First 100 days
First year
Second year
Third year
""
Places he has been in his life
Timeline for everything
Accomplishments
Failures
Speeches
The significance of this President
The Forum for your opinions
May 1, 2011
A Speech to the country!
Osama Bin Laden announcement:
"Today at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abadabad, Pakistan, a small team of Americans carried out that operation with extraordinary courage and capability. No Americans were harmed. They took care to avoid civilian casualties. After a fire fight, they killed Osama Bin Laden and took custody of his body." - President Barack Obama
It was nearly 10 years ago that a bright September day was darkened by the worst attack on the American people in our history.The images of 9/11 are seared into our national memory. Hijacked planes cutting through a cloudless September sky, the Twin Towers collapsing to the ground, black smoke billowing up from the Pentagon, the wreckage of Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where the actions of heroic citizens saved even more heartbreak and destruction.
And yet, we know that the worst images are those that were unseen to the world, the empty seat at the dinner table, children who were forced to grow up without their mother or their father, parents who would never know the feeling of their child's embrace. Nearly 3,000 citizens taken from us, leaving a gaping hole in our hearts.
On September 11th, 2001 in our time of grief, the American people came together. We offered our neighbors a hand, and we offered the wounded our blood. We reaffirmed our ties to each other, and our love of community and country.
On that day, no matter where we came from, what god we prayed to, or what race or ethnicity we were, we were united as one American family.
We were also united in our resolve to protect our nation and to bring those who committed this vicious attack to justice. We quickly learned that the 9/11 attacks were carried out by al Qaeda, an organization headed by Osama bin Laden, which had openly declared war on the United States and was committed to killing innocence in our country and around the globe.
And so we went to war against al Qaeda, to protect our citizens, our friends and our allies.
Over the last 10 years, thanks to the tireless and heroic work of our military and our counter terrorism professionals, we've made great strides in that effort. We've disrupted terrorist attacks and strengthened our homeland defense.
In Afghanistan, we removed the Taliban government which had given bin Laden and al Qaeda safe haven and support.
And around the globe, we've worked with our friends and allies to capture or kill scores of al Qaeda terrorists, including several who were a part of the 9/11 plot.
Yet, Osama bin Laden avoided capture and escaped across the Afghan border into Pakistan. Meanwhile, al Qaeda continued to operate from along that border and operate through its affiliates across the world. And so shortly after taking office, I directed Leon Panetta, the director of the CIA, to make the killing or capture of bin Laden the top priority of our war against al Qaeda, even as we continued our broader efforts to disrupt, dismantle and defeat his network.
Then last August, after years of painstaking work by our intelligence community, I was briefed on a possible lead to bin Laden.
It was far from certain, and it took many months to run this thread to ground.
I met repeatedly with my national security team as we developed more information about the possibility that we had located bin Laden hiding within a compound deep inside Pakistan.
And finally last week, I determined that we had enough intelligence to take action, and authorized an operation to get Osama bin Laden and bring him to justice.
Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability. No Americans were harmed. They took care to avoid civilian casualties.
After a firefight, they killed Osama bin Laden and took custody of his body.
For over two decades, bin Laden has been al Qaeda's leader and symbol and has continued to plot attacks against our country and our friends and allies. The death of bin Laden marks the most significant achievement to date in our nation's effort to defeat al Qaeda.
Yet his death does not mark the end of our effort. There's no doubt that al Qaeda will continue to pursue attacks against us. We must and we will remain vigilant at home and abroad. As we do, we must also reaffirm that the United States is not and never will be at war with Islam.
I've made clear, just as President Bush did shortly after 9/11, that our war is not against Islam, because bin Laden was not a Muslim leader. He was a mass murderer of Muslims. Indeed, al Qaeda has slaughtered scores of Muslims in many countries, including our own.
So his demise should be welcomed by all who believe in peace and human dignity.
Over the years, I have repeatedly made clear that we would take action within Pakistan if we knew where bin Laden was. That is what we've done. But it's important to note that our counterterrorism cooperation with Pakistan helped lead us to bin Laden and the compound where he was hiding. Indeed, bin Laden had declared war against Pakistan as well and ordered attacks against the Pakistani people.
Tonight, I called President Zardari, and my team has also spoken with their Pakistani counterparts. They agree that this is a good and historic day for both of our nations. And going forward, it is essential that Pakistan continue to join us in the fight against al Qaeda and its affiliates.
The American people did not choose this fight. It came to our shores and started with the senseless slaughter of our citizens.
After nearly 10 years of service, struggle and sacrifice, we know well the costs of war. These efforts weigh on me every time I, as commander-in-chief, have to sign a letter to a family that has lost a loved one, or look into the eyes of a service member who's been gravely wounded.
So Americans understand the costs of war. Yet, as a country, we will never tolerate our security being threatened, nor stand idly by when our people have been killed. We will be relentless in defense of our citizens and our friends and allies. We will be true to the values that make us who we are.
And on nights like this one, we can say to those families who have lost loved ones to al Qaeda's terror: Justice has been done.
Tonight we give thanks to the countless intelligence and counterterrorism professionals who have worked tirelessly to achieve this outcome. The American people do not see their work or know their names, but tonight they feel the satisfaction of their work and the result of their pursuit of justice.
We give thanks for the men who carried out this operation, for they exemplify the professionalism, patriotism and unparalleled courage of those who serve our country. And they're a part of the generation that has borne the heaviest share of the burden since that September day.
Finally, let me say to the families who lost loved ones on 9/11 that we have never forgotten your loss, nor wavered in our commitment to see that we do whatever it takes to prevent another attack on our shores.
And tonight, let us think back to the sense of unity that prevailed on 9/11. I know that it has, at times, frayed. Yet today's achievement is a testament to the greatness of our country and the determination of the American people. The cause of securing our country is not complete, but tonight we are once again reminded that America can do whatever we set our mind to. That is the story of our history, whether it's the pursuit of prosperity for our people, or the struggle for equality for all our citizens, our commitment to stand up for our values abroad, and our sacrifices to make the world a safer place.
Let us remember that we can do these things, not just because of wealth or power, but because of who we are: One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
Thank you. May God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America.
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The Obama Library.com
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A change is coming.
This library is already open for business. We will shortly be adding video, audio, and images of the Obama road to the Presidency. We will highlight the speeches, quotes, and platform of Barack Obama. We will also let you contribute to the library with your opinions, arguments, praise and questions. This site is not affiliated with the Obama campaign. It is an informational site and audio visual library that will document an important time in the history of America. Please submit your text, images, or video to sensibleventures@aol.com . We can not be responsible for the content you send us so please be responsible and reasonable in your submittals. By submitting your information you give us the right to post that information into our internet Library and future physical libraries if we choose to share that material with others. If you see anything on this site that you do not think should be displayed or that has been submitted improperly email us at info@TheObamaLibrary.com . Join us and be a part of the future of the change in how information gets stored and shared. The 2008 election and the proceeding years are likely to go down in history for the importance of the rise of Barack Obama to the presidency of the United States and the crucial work that he will be facing. Many have said that simply being named the Democratic candidate in the National election was a big story of the short history of the United States of America. Join us as we document the life, the tribulations, and the accomplishments of this American.
November 4th, 2008
Barack Obama's speech after winning the election for
President of The United States of America.
Hello, Chicago.
If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where
all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive
in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your
answer.
It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in
numbers this nation has never seen, by people who waited three hours and four
hours, many for the first time in their lives, because they believed that this
time must be different, that their voices could be that difference.
It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican,
black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and
not disabled. Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been
just a collection of individuals or a collection of red states and blue states.
We are, and always will be, the United States of America.
It's the answer that led those who've been told for so long by so many to be
cynical and fearful and doubtful about what we can achieve to put their hands
on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.
It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this date
in this election at this defining moment change has come to America.
A little bit earlier this evening, I received an extraordinarily gracious call
from Senator McCain.
Senator McCain fought long and hard in this campaign. And he's fought even longer
and harder for the country that he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America
that most of us cannot begin to imagine. We are better off for the service rendered
by this brave and selfless leader.
I congratulate him; I congratulate Governor Palin for all that they've achieved.
And I look forward to working with them to renew this nation's promise in the
months ahead.
I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart,
and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton ...
and rode with on the train home to Delaware, the vice president-elect of the
United States, Joe Biden.
And I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my
best friend for the last 16 years ... the rock of our family, the love of my
life, the nation's next first lady ... Michelle Obama.
Sasha and Malia ... I love you both more than you can imagine. And you have
earned the new puppy that's coming with us ...to the new White House.
And while she's no longer with us, I know my grandmother's watching, along with
the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight. I know that my debt to
them is beyond measure.
To my sister Maya, my sister Alma, all my other brothers and sisters, thank
you so much for all the support that you've given me. I am grateful to them.
And to my campaign manager, David Plouffe ... the unsung hero of this campaign,
who built the best — the best political campaign, I think, in the history
of the United States of America.
To my chief strategist David Axelrod ... who's been a partner with me every
step of the way.
To the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics ... you
made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you've sacrificed to get
it done.
But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to. It belongs
to you. It belongs to you.
I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn't start with much
money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington.
It began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and
the front porches of Charleston. It was built by working men and women who dug
into what little savings they had to give $5 and $10 and $20 to the cause.
It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation's
apathy ... who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little
pay and less sleep.
It drew strength from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and
scorching heat to knock on doors of perfect strangers, and from the millions
of Americans who volunteered and organized and proved that more than two centuries
later a government of the people, by the people, and for the people has not
perished from the Earth.
This is your victory.
And I know you didn't do this just to win an election. And I know you didn't
do it for me.
You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead.
For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will
bring are the greatest of our lifetime — two wars, a planet in peril,
the worst financial crisis in a century.
Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in
the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for
us.
There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after the children fall asleep
and wonder how they'll make the mortgage or pay their doctors' bills or save
enough for their child's college education.
There's new energy to harness, new jobs to be created, new schools to build,
and threats to meet, alliances to repair.
The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in
one year or even in one term. But, America, I have never been more hopeful than
I am tonight that we will get there.
I promise you, we as a people will get there.
There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with
every decision or policy I make as president. And we know the government can't
solve every problem.
But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen
to you, especially when we disagree. And, above all, I will ask you to join
in the work of remaking this nation, the only way it's been done in America
for 221 years — block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused
hand.
What began 21 months ago in the depths of winter cannot end on this autumn night.
This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance for us to
make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were.
It can't happen without you, without a new spirit of service, a new spirit of
sacrifice.
So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, where each of
us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves but
each other.
Let us remember that, if this financial crisis taught us anything, it's that
we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers.
In this country, we rise or fall as one nation, as one people. Let's resist
the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity
that has poisoned our politics for so long.
Let's remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner
of the Republican Party to the White House, a party founded on the values of
self-reliance and individual liberty and national unity.
Those are values that we all share. And while the Democratic Party has won a
great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination
to heal the divides that have held back our progress.
As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, we are not enemies but
friends. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.
And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won
your vote tonight, but I hear your voices. I need your help. And I will be your
president, too.
And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and
palaces, to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of
the world, our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn
of American leadership is at hand.
To those — to those who would tear the world down: We will defeat you.
To those who seek peace and security: We support you. And to all those who have
wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright: Tonight we proved once more
that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or
the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy,
liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope.
That's the true genius of America: that America can change. Our union can be
perfected. What we've already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must
achieve tomorrow.
This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations.
But one that's on my mind tonight's about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta.
She's a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice
heard in this election except for one thing: Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.
She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars
on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two
reasons — because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.
And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America
— the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times
we were told that we can't, and the people who pressed on with that American
creed: Yes we can.
At a time when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived
to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.
When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she
saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs, a new sense of common
purpose. Yes we can.
When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was
there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes
we can.
She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge
in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that We Shall Overcome.
Yes we can.
A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected
by our own science and imagination.
And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast
her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and
the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change.
Yes we can.
America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more
to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves — if our children should live
to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long
as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?
This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment.
This is our time, to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity
for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim
the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth, that, out of many, we
are one; that while we breathe, we hope. And where we are met with cynicism
and doubts and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless
creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can.
Thank you. God bless you. And may God bless the United States of America.
Obama's Speech
March 18, 2008
in Philadelphia Pennsylvania
Was it the turning point in the 2008 Presidential election?
Was it a turning point in American History?
What next? Are we to have a role?
Here is the text from the speech. It will likely be studied for decades to come. If you would like to add comments or your analysis of the speech send your remarks to info@obamasracespeech.com . We may post those comments below the text from the speech. Is it possible Obama's Speech was bigger than the election itself? We have separated the speech into numbered paragraphs to help you comment on the speech.
1."We the people, in order to form a more perfect union." Two hundred and twenty one years ago, in a hall that still stands across the street, a group of men gathered and, with these simple words, launched America's improbable experiment in democracy. Farmers and scholars; statesmen and patriots who had traveled across an ocean to escape tyranny and persecution finally made real their declaration of independence at a Philadelphia convention that lasted through the spring of 1787.
2. The document they produced was eventually signed but ultimately
unfinished. It was stained by this nation's original sin of slavery, a question
that divided the colonies and brought the convention to a stalemate until the
founders chose to allow the slave trade to continue for at least twenty more
years, and to leave any final resolution to future generations. Of course, the
answer to the slavery question was already embedded within our Constitution
- a Constitution that had at is very core the ideal of equal citizenship under
the law; a Constitution that promised its people liberty, and justice, and a
union that could be and should be perfected over time.
3. And yet words on a parchment would not be enough to deliver
slaves from bondage, or provide men and women of every color and creed their
full rights and obligations as citizens of the United States. What would be
needed were Americans in successive generations who were willing to do their
part - through protests and struggle, on the streets and in the courts, through
a civil war and civil disobedience and always at great risk - to narrow that
gap between the promise of our ideals and the reality of their time. This was
one of the tasks we set forth at the beginning of this campaign - to continue
the long march of those who came before us, a march for a more just, more equal,
more free, more caring and more prosperous America. I chose to run for the presidency
at this moment in history because I believe deeply that we cannot solve the
challenges of our time unless we solve them together - unless we perfect our
union by understanding that we may have different stories, but we hold common
hopes; that we may not look the same and we may not have come from the same
place, but we all want to move in the same direction - towards a better future
for of children and our grandchildren. This belief comes from my unyielding
faith in the decency and generosity of the American people. But it also comes
from my own American story.
4. I am the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman
from Kansas. I was raised with the help of a white grandfather who survived
a Depression to serve in Patton's Army during World War II and a white grandmother
who worked on a bomber assembly line at Fort Leavenworth while he was overseas.
I've gone to some of the best schools in America and lived in one of the world's
poorest nations. I am married to a black American who carries within her the
blood of slaves and slave owners - an inheritance we pass on to our two precious
daughters. I have brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, uncles and cousins, of
every race and every hue, scattered across three continents, and for as long
as I live, I will never forget that in no other country on Earth is my story
even possible. It's a story that hasn't made me the most conventional candidate.
But it is a story that has seared into my genetic makeup the idea that this
nation is more than the sum of its parts - that out of many, we are truly one.
5. Throughout the first year of this campaign, against all
predictions to the contrary, we saw how hungry the American people were for
this message of unity. Despite the temptation to view my candidacy through a
purely racial lens, we won commanding victories in states with some of the whitest
populations in the country. In South Carolina, where the Confederate Flag still
flies, we built a powerful coalition of African Americans and white Americans.
This is not to say that race has not been an issue in the campaign. At various
stages in the campaign, some commentators have deemed me either "too black"
or "not black enough." We saw racial tensions bubble to the surface
during the week before the South Carolina primary. The press has scoured every
exit poll for the latest evidence of racial polarization, not just in terms
of white and black, but black and brown as well. And yet, it has only been in
the last couple of weeks that the discussion of race in this campaign has taken
a particularly divisive turn.
6. On one end of the spectrum, we've heard the implication
that my candidacy is somehow an exercise in affirmative action; that it's based
solely on the desire of wide-eyed liberals to purchase racial reconciliation
on the cheap. On the other end, we've heard my former pastor, Reverend Jeremiah
Wright, use incendiary language to express views that have the potential not
only to widen the racial divide, but views that denigrate both the greatness
and the goodness of our nation; that rightly offend white and black alike. I
have already condemned, in unequivocal terms, the statements of Reverend Wright
that have caused such controversy. For some, nagging questions remain. Did I
know him to be an occasionally fierce critic of American domestic and foreign
policy? Of course. Did I ever hear him make remarks that could be considered
controversial while I sat in church? Yes. Did I strongly disagree with many
of his political views? Absolutely - just as I'm sure many of you have heard
remarks from your pastors, priests, or rabbis with which you strongly disagreed.
7. But the remarks that have caused this recent firestorm weren't
simply controversial. They weren't simply a religious leader's effort to speak
out against perceived injustice. Instead, they expressed a profoundly distorted
view of this country - a view that sees white racism as endemic, and that elevates
what is wrong with America above all that we know is right with America; a view
that sees the conflicts in the Middle East as rooted primarily in the actions
of stalwart allies like Israel, instead of emanating from the perverse and hateful
ideologies of radical Islam. As such, Reverend Wright's comments were not only
wrong but divisive, divisive at a time when we need unity; racially charged
at a time when we need to come together to solve a set of monumental problems
- two wars, a terrorist threat, a falling economy, a chronic health care crisis
and potentially devastating climate change; problems that are neither black
or white or Latino or Asian, but rather problems that confront us all.
8. Given my background, my politics, and my professed values
and ideals, there will no doubt be those for whom my statements of condemnation
are not enough. Why associate myself with Reverend Wright in the first place,
they may ask? Why not join another church? And I confess that if all that I
knew of Reverend Wright were the snippets of those sermons that have run in
an endless loop on the television and You Tube, or if Trinity United Church
of Christ conformed to the caricatures being peddled by some commentators, there
is no doubt that I would react in much the same way but the truth is, that isn't
all that I know of the man. The man I met more than twenty years ago is a man
who helped introduce me to my Christian faith, a man who spoke to me about our
obligations to love one another; to care for the sick and lift up the poor.
He is a man who served his country as a U.S. Marine; who has studied and lectured
at some of the finest universities and seminaries in the country, and who for
over thirty years led a church that serves the community by doing God's work
here on Earth - by housing the homeless, ministering to the needy, providing
day care services and scholarships and prison ministries, and reaching out to
those suffering from HIV/AIDS.
9. In my first book, Dreams From My Father, I described the
experience of my first service at Trinity: "People began to shout, to rise
from their seats and clap and cry out, a forceful wind carrying the reverend's
voice up into the rafters....And in that single note - hope! - I heard something
else; at the foot of that cross, inside the thousands of churches across the
city, I imagined the stories of ordinary black people merging with the stories
of David and Goliath, Moses and Pharaoh, the Christians in the lion's den, Ezekiel's
field of dry bones. Those stories - of survival, and freedom, and hope - became
our story, my story; the blood that had spilled was our blood, the tears our
tears; until this black church, on this bright day, seemed once more a vessel
carrying the story of a people into future generations and into a larger world.
Our trials and triumphs became at once unique and universal, black and more
than black; in chronicling our journey, the stories and songs gave us a means
to reclaim memories that we didn't need to feel shame about...memories that
all people might study and cherish - and with which we could start to rebuild."
10. That has been my experience at Trinity. Like other predominantly
black churches across the country, Trinity embodies the black community in its
entirety - the doctor and the welfare mom, the model student and the former
gang-banger. Like other black churches, Trinity's services are full of raucous
laughter and sometimes bawdy humor. They are full of dancing, clapping, screaming
and shouting that may seem jarring to the untrained ear. The church contains
in full the kindness and cruelty, the fierce intelligence and the shocking ignorance,
the struggles and successes, the love and yes, the bitterness and bias that
make up the black experience in America. And this helps explain, perhaps, my
relationship with Reverend Wright. As imperfect as he may be, he has been like
family to me. He strengthened my faith, officiated my wedding, and baptized
my children. Not once in my conversations with him have I heard him talk about
any ethnic group in derogatory terms, or treat whites with whom he interacted
with anything but courtesy and respect. He contains within him the contradictions
- the good and the bad - of the community that he has served diligently for
so many years.
11. I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community.
I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother - a woman who helped
raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me
as much as she loves anything in this world, but a woman who once confessed
her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than
one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe. These
people are a part of me. And they are a part of America, this country that I
love. Some will see this as an attempt to justify or excuse comments that are
simply inexcusable. I can assure you it is not. I suppose the politically safe
thing would be to move on from this episode and just hope that it fades into
the woodwork. We can dismiss Reverend Wright as a crank or a demagogue, just
as some have dismissed Geraldine Ferraro, in the aftermath of her recent statements,
as harboring some deep-seated racial bias. But race is an issue that I believe
this nation cannot afford to ignore right now. We would be making the same mistake
that Reverend Wright made in his offending sermons about America - to simplify
and stereotype and amplify the negative to the point that it distorts reality.
12. The fact is that the comments that have been made and the
issues that have surfaced over the last few weeks reflect the complexities of
race in this country that we've never really worked through - a part of our
union that we have yet to perfect. And if we walk away now, if we simply retreat
into our respective corners, we will never be able to come together and solve
challenges like health care, or education, or the need to find good jobs for
every American. Understanding this reality requires a reminder of how we arrived
at this point. As William Faulkner once wrote, "The past isn't dead and
buried. In fact, it isn't even past." We do not need to recite here the
history of racial injustice in this country. But we do need to remind ourselves
that so many of the disparities that exist in the African-American community
today can be directly traced to inequalities passed on from an earlier generation
that suffered under the brutal legacy of slavery and Jim Crow. Segregated schools
were, and are, inferior schools; we still haven't fixed them, fifty years after
Brown v. Board of Education, and the inferior education they provided, then
and now, helps explain the pervasive achievement gap between today's black and
white students. Legalized discrimination - where blacks were prevented, often
through violence, from owning property, or loans were not granted to African-American
business owners, or black homeowners could not access FHA mortgages, or blacks
were excluded from unions, or the police force, or fire departments - meant
that black families could not amass any meaningful wealth to bequeath to future
generations. That history helps explain the wealth and income gap between black
and white, and the concentrated pockets of poverty that persists in so many
of today's urban and rural communities.
13. A lack of economic opportunity among black men, and the
shame and frustration that came from not being able to provide for one's family,
contributed to the erosion of black families - a problem that welfare policies
for many years may have worsened. And the lack of basic services in so many
urban black neighborhoods - parks for kids to play in, police walking the beat,
regular garbage pick-up and building code enforcement - all helped create a
cycle of violence, blight and neglect that continue to haunt us. This is the
reality in which Reverend Wright and other African-Americans of his generation
grew up. They came of age in the late fifties and early sixties, a time when
segregation was still the law of the land and opportunity was systematically
constricted. What's remarkable is not how many failed in the face of discrimination,
but rather how many men and women overcame the odds; how many were able to make
a way out of no way for those like me who would come after them. But for all
those who scratched and clawed their way to get a piece of the American Dream,
there were many who didn't make it - those who were ultimately defeated, in
one way or another, by discrimination. That legacy of defeat was passed on to
future generations - those young men and increasingly young women who we see
standing on street corners or languishing in our prisons, without hope or prospects
for the future. Even for those blacks who did make it, questions of race, and
racism, continue to define their world view in fundamental ways. For the men
and women of Reverend Wright's generation, the memories of humiliation and doubt
and fear have not gone away; nor has the anger and the bitterness of those years.
That anger may not get expressed in public, in front of white co-workers or
white friends. But it does find voice in the barbershop or around the kitchen
table. At times, that anger is exploited by politicians, to gin up votes along
racial lines, or to make up for a politician's own failings. And occasionally
it finds voice in the church on Sunday morning, in the pulpit and in the pews.
The fact that so many people are surprised to hear that anger in some of Reverend
Wright's sermons simply reminds us of the old truism that the most segregated
hour in American life occurs on Sunday morning. That anger is not always productive;
indeed, all too often it distracts attention from solving real problems; it
keeps us from squarely facing our own complicity in our condition, and prevents
the African-American community from forging the alliances it needs to bring
about real change. But the anger is real; it is powerful; and to simply wish
it away, to condemn it without understanding its roots, only serves to widen
the chasm of misunderstanding that exists between the races.
14. In fact, a similar anger exists within segments of the
white community. Most working- and middle-class white Americans don't feel that
they have been particularly privileged by their race. Their experience is the
immigrant experience - as far as they're concerned, no one's handed them anything,
they've built it from scratch. They've worked hard all their lives, many times
only to see their jobs shipped overseas or their pension dumped after a lifetime
of labor. They are anxious about their futures, and feel their dreams slipping
away; in an era of stagnant wages and global competition, opportunity comes
to be seen as a zero sum game, in which your dreams come at my expense. So when
they are told to bus their children to a school across town; when they hear
that an African American is getting an advantage in landing a good job or a
spot in a good college because of an injustice that they themselves never committed;
when they're told that their fears about crime in urban neighborhoods are somehow
prejudiced, resentment builds over time.
15. Like the anger within the black community, these resentments
aren't always expressed in polite company. But they have helped shape the political
landscape for at least a generation. Anger over welfare and affirmative action
helped forge the Reagan Coalition. Politicians routinely exploited fears of
crime for their own electoral ends. Talk show hosts and conservative commentators
built entire careers unmasking bogus claims of racism while dismissing legitimate
discussions of racial injustice and inequality as mere political correctness
or reverse racism. Just as black anger often proved counterproductive, so have
these white resentments distracted attention from the real culprits of the middle
class squeeze - a corporate culture rife with inside dealing, questionable accounting
practices, and short-term greed; a Washington dominated by lobbyists and special
interests; economic policies that favor the few over the many. And yet, to wish
away the resentments of white Americans, to label them as misguided or even
racist, without recognizing they are grounded in legitimate concerns - this
too widens the racial divide, and blocks the path to understanding.
16. This is where we are right now. It's a racial stalemate
we've been stuck in for years. Contrary to the claims of some of my critics,
black and white, I have never been so naive as to believe that we can get beyond
our racial divisions in a single election cycle, or with a single candidacy
- particularly a candidacy as imperfect as my own. But I have asserted a firm
conviction - a conviction rooted in my faith in God and my faith in the American
people - that working together we can move beyond some of our old racial wounds,
and that in fact we have no choice is we are to continue on the path of a more
perfect union. For the African-American community, that path means embracing
the burdens of our past without becoming victims of our past. It means continuing
to insist on a full measure of justice in every aspect of American life. But
it also means binding our particular grievances - for better health care, and
better schools, and better jobs - to the larger aspirations of all Americans
-- the white woman struggling to break the glass ceiling, the white man whose
been laid off, the immigrant trying to feed his family. And it means taking
full responsibility for own lives - by demanding more from our fathers, and
spending more time with our children, and reading to them, and teaching them
that while they may face challenges and discrimination in their own lives, they
must never succumb to despair or cynicism; they must always believe that they
can write their own destiny.
17. Ironically, this quintessentially American - and yes, conservative
- notion of self-help found frequent expression in Reverend Wright's sermons.
But what my former pastor too often failed to understand is that embarking on
a program of self-help also requires a belief that society can change. The profound
mistake of Reverend Wright's sermons is not that he spoke about racism in our
society. It's that he spoke as if our society was static; as if no progress
has been made; as if this country - a country that has made it possible for
one of his own members to run for the highest office in the land and build a
coalition of white and black; Latino and Asian, rich and poor, young and old
-- is still irrevocably bound to a tragic past. But what we know -- what we
have seen - is that America can change. That is true genius of this nation.
What we have already achieved gives us hope - the audacity to hope - for what
we can and must achieve tomorrow.
18. In the white community, the path to a more perfect union means acknowledging that what ails the African-American community does not just exist in the minds of black people; that the legacy of discrimination - and current incidents of discrimination, while less overt than in the past - are real and must be addressed. Not just with words, but with deeds - by investing in our schools and our communities; by enforcing our civil rights laws and ensuring fairness in our criminal justice system; by providing this generation with ladders of opportunity that were unavailable for previous generations. It requires all Americans to realize that your dreams do not have to come at the expense of my dreams; that investing in the health, welfare, and education of black and brown and white children will ultimately help all of America prosper. In the end, then, what is called for is nothing more, and nothing less, than what all the world's great religions demand - that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us. Let us be our brother's keeper, Scripture tells us. Let us be our sister's keeper. Let us find that common stake we all have in one another, and let our politics reflect that spirit as well.
19. For we have a choice in this country. We can accept a politics
that breeds division, and conflict, and cynicism. We can tackle race only as
spectacle - as we did in the OJ trial - or in the wake of tragedy, as we did
in the aftermath of Katrina - or as fodder for the nightly news. We can play
Reverend Wright's sermons on every channel, every day and talk about them from
now until the election, and make the only question in this campaign whether
or not the American people think that I somehow believe or sympathize with his
most offensive words. We can pounce on some gaffe by a Hillary supporter as
evidence that she's playing the race card, or we can speculate on whether white
men will all flock to John McCain in the general election regardless of his
policies. We can do that. But if we do, I can tell you that in the next election,
we'll be talking about some other distraction. And then another one. And then
another one. And nothing will change.
20. That is one option. Or, at this moment, in this election,
we can come together and say, "Not this time." This time we want to
talk about the crumbling schools that are stealing the future of black children
and white children and Asian children and Hispanic children and Native American
children. This time we want to reject the cynicism that tells us that these
kids can't learn; that those kids who don't look like us are somebody else's
problem. The children of America are not those kids, they are our kids, and
we will not let them fall behind in a 21st century economy. Not this time. This
time we want to talk about how the lines in the Emergency Room are filled with
whites and blacks and Hispanics who do not have health care; who don't have
the power on their own to overcome the special interests in Washington, but
who can take them on if we do it together. This time we want to talk about the
shuttered mills that once provided a decent life for men and women of every
race, and the homes for sale that once belonged to Americans from every religion,
every region, every walk of life. This time we want to talk about the fact that
the real problem is not that someone who doesn't look like you might take your
job; it's that the corporation you work for will ship it overseas for nothing
more than a profit. This time we want to talk about the men and women of every
color and creed who serve together, and fight together, and bleed together under
the same proud flag. We want to talk about how to bring them home from a war
that never should've been authorized and never should've been waged, and we
want to talk about how we'll show our patriotism by caring for them, and their
families, and giving them the benefits they have earned.
21. I would not be running for President if I didn't believe
with all my heart that this is what the vast majority of Americans want for
this country. This union may never be perfect, but generation after generation
has shown that it can always be perfected. And today, whenever I find myself
feeling doubtful or cynical about this possibility, what gives me the most hope
is the next generation - the young people whose attitudes and beliefs and openness
to change have already made history in this election. There is one story in
particularly that I'd like to leave you with today - a story I told when I had
the great honor of speaking on Dr. King's birthday at his home church, Ebenezer
Baptist, in Atlanta.
22. There is a young, twenty-three year old white woman named
Ashley Baia who organized for our campaign in Florence, South Carolina. She
had been working to organize a mostly African-American community since the beginning
of this campaign, and one day she was at a roundtable discussion where everyone
went around telling their story and why they were there. And Ashley said that
when she was nine years old, her mother got cancer. And because she had to miss
days of work, she was let go and lost her health care. They had to file for
bankruptcy, and that's when Ashley decided that she had to do something to help
her mom. She knew that food was one of their most expensive costs, and so Ashley
convinced her mother that what she really liked and really wanted to eat more
than anything else was mustard and relish sandwiches. Because that was the cheapest
way to eat. She did this for a year until her mom got better, and she told everyone
at the roundtable that the reason she joined our campaign was so that she could
help the millions of other children in the country who want and need to help
their parents too. Now Ashley might have made a different choice. Perhaps somebody
told her along the way that the source of her mother's problems were blacks
who were on welfare and too lazy to work, or Hispanics who were coming into
the country illegally. But she didn't. She sought out allies in her fight against
injustice. Anyway, Ashley finishes her story and then goes around the room and
asks everyone else why they're supporting the campaign. They all have different
stories and reasons. Many bring up a specific issue. And finally they come to
this elderly black man who's been sitting there quietly the entire time. And
Ashley asks him why he's there. And he does not bring up a specific issue. He
does not say health care or the economy. He does not say education or the war.
He does not say that he was there because of Barack Obama. He simply says to
everyone in the room, "I am here because of Ashley."
23. "I'm here because of Ashley." By itself, that
single moment of recognition between that young white girl and that old black
man is not enough. It is not enough to give health care to the sick, or jobs
to the jobless, or education to our children.
24. But it is where we start. It is where our union grows stronger.
And as so many generations have come to realize over the course of the two-hundred
and twenty one years since a band of patriots signed that document in Philadelphia,
that is where the perfection begins.
Some comments we have gotten:
"Brilliant Speech"
"Can the racial wounds that this speech opens up be healed?"
"Too little Too late"
Barack Obama 4/28/2008
Democratic Nomination acceptance speech.
45 years to the day of Martin Luther Kings "I have a dream" speech, Barack Obama accepts the nomination as Democratic candidate for President of the United States of America.
Insure the next generation can pursue their dreams.
The American Promise.
Together our dreams can be one.
America, we can not turn back.
8/28/2008 Speech in Denver
To Chairman Dean and my great friend Dick Durbin, and to all my fellow citizens of this great nation: With profound gratitude and great humility, I accept your nomination for the presidency of the United States.
Let me express my thanks to the historic slate of candidates who accompanied me on this journey, and especially the one who traveled the farthest_ a champion for working Americans and an inspiration to my daughters and to yours — Hillary Rodham Clinton. To President Clinton, who last night made the case for change as only he can make it; to Ted Kennedy, who embodies the spirit of service; and to the next vice president of the United States, Joe Biden, I thank you. I am grateful to finish this journey with one of the finest statesmen of our time, a man at ease with everyone from world leaders to the conductors on the Amtrak train he still takes home every night.
To the love of my life, our next first lady, Michelle Obama, and to Sasha and
Malia, I love you so much, and I’m so proud of all of you.
Four years ago, I stood before you and told you my story of the brief union between a young man from Kenya and a young woman from Kansas who weren’t well-off or well-known, but shared a belief that in America, their son could achieve whatever he put his mind to.
It is that promise that has always set this country apart, that through hard work and sacrifice, each of us can pursue our individual dreams but still come together as one American family, to ensure that the next generation can pursue their dreams as well.
That’s why I stand here tonight. Because for 232 years, at each moment when that promise was in jeopardy, ordinary men and women, students and soldiers, farmers and teachers, nurses and janitors, found the courage to keep it alive.
We meet at one of those defining moments, a moment when our nation is at war, our economy is in turmoil, and the American promise has been threatened once more.
Tonight, more Americans are out of work, and more are working harder for less. More of you have lost your homes, and even more are watching your home values plummet. More of you have cars you can’t afford to drive, credit card bills you can’t afford to pay, and tuition that’s beyond your reach.
These challenges are not all of government’s making. But the failure to respond is a direct result of a broken politics in Washington and the failed policies of George W. Bush.
America, we are better than these last eight years. We are a better country than this.
This country is more decent than one where a woman in Ohio, on the brink of retirement, finds herself one illness away from disaster after a lifetime of hard work.
This country is more generous than one where a man in Indiana has to pack up the equipment he’s worked on for twenty years and watch it shipped off to China, and then chokes up as he explains how he felt like a failure when he went home to tell his family the news.
We are more compassionate than a government that lets veterans sleep on our streets and families slide into poverty; that sits on its hands while a major American city drowns before our eyes.
Tonight, I say to the American people, to Democrats and Republicans and Independents across this great land: enough! This moment, this election is our chance to keep, in the 21st century, the American promise alive. Because next week, in Minnesota, the same party that brought you two terms of George Bush and Dick Cheney will ask this country for a third. And we are here because we love this country too much to let the next four years look like the last eight. On Nov. 4, we must stand up and say: “Eight is enough.”
Now let there be no doubt. The Republican nominee, John McCain, has worn the uniform of our country with bravery and distinction, and for that, we owe him our gratitude and respect. And next week, we’ll also hear about those occasions when he’s broken with his party as evidence that he can deliver the change that we need.
But the record’s clear: John McCain has voted with George Bush 90 percent of the time. Senator McCain likes to talk about judgment, but really, what does it say about your judgment when you think George Bush has been right more than ninety percent of the time? I don’t know about you, but I’m not ready to take a ten percent chance on change.
The truth is, on issue after issue that would make a difference in your lives, on health care and education and the economy, Senator McCain has been anything but independent. He said that our economy has made “great progress” under this president. He said that the fundamentals of the economy are strong. And when one of his chief advisers, the man who wrote his economic plan, was talking about the anxiety Americans are feeling, he said that we were just suffering from a “mental recession,” and that we’ve become, and I quote, “a nation of whiners.”
A nation of whiners? Tell that to the proud auto workers at a Michigan plant who, after they found out it was closing, kept showing up every day and working as hard as ever, because they knew there were people who counted on the brakes that they made. Tell that to the military families who shoulder their burdens silently as they watch their loved ones leave for their third or fourth or fifth tour of duty. These are not whiners. They work hard and give back and keep going without complaint. These are the Americans that I know.
Now, I don’t believe that Senator McCain doesn’t care what’s going on in the lives of Americans. I just think he doesn’t know. Why else would he define middle-class as someone making under $5 million a year? How else could he propose hundreds of billions in tax breaks for big corporations and oil companies but not one penny of tax relief to more than 100 million Americans? How else could he offer a health care plan that would actually tax people’s benefits, or an education plan that would do nothing to help families pay for college, or a plan that would privatize Social Security and gamble your retirement?
It’s not because John McCain doesn’t care. It’s because John McCain doesn’t get it.
For over two decades, he’s subscribed to that old, discredited Republican philosophy — give more and more to those with the most and hope that prosperity trickles down to everyone else. In Washington, they call this the Ownership Society, but what it really means is, you’re on your own. Out of work? Tough luck. No health care? The market will fix it. Born into poverty? Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps, even if you don’t have boots. You’re on your own.
Well, it’s time for them to own their failure. It’s time for us to change America.
You see, we Democrats have a very different measure of what constitutes progress in this country.
We measure progress by how many people can find a job that pays the mortgage; whether you can put a little extra money away at the end of each month so you can someday watch your child receive her college diploma. We measure progress in the 23 million new jobs that were created when Bill Clinton was president, when the average American family saw its income go up $7,500 instead of down $2,000, like it has under George Bush.
We measure the strength of our economy not by the number of billionaires we have or the profits of the Fortune 500, but by whether someone with a good idea can take a risk and start a new business, or whether the waitress who lives on tips can take a day off to look after a sick kid without losing her job an economy that honors the dignity of work.
The fundamentals we use to measure economic strength are whether we are living up to that fundamental promise that has made this country great, a promise that is the only reason I am standing here tonight.
Because in the faces of those young veterans who come back from Iraq and Afghanistan, I see my grandfather, who signed up after Pearl Harbor, marched in Patton’s Army and was rewarded by a grateful nation with the chance to go to college on the GI Bill.
In the face of that young student who sleeps just three hours before working the night shift, I think about my mom, who raised my sister and me on her own while she worked and earned her degree; who once turned to food stamps but was still able to send us to the best schools in the country with the help of student loans and scholarships.
When I listen to another worker tell me that his factory has shut down, I remember all those men and women on the South Side of Chicago who I stood by and fought for two decades ago after the local steel plant closed.
And when I hear a woman talk about the difficulties of starting her own business, I think about my grandmother, who worked her way up from the secretarial pool to middle-management, despite years of being passed over for promotions because she was a woman. She’s the one who taught me about hard work. She’s the one who put off buying a new car or a new dress for herself so that I could have a better life. She poured everything she had into me. And although she can no longer travel, I know that she’s watching tonight, and that tonight is her night as well.
I don’t know what kind of lives John McCain thinks that celebrities lead, but this has been mine. These are my heroes. Theirs are the stories that shaped me. And it is on their behalf that I intend to win this election and keep our promise alive as president of the United States.
What is that promise?
It’s a promise that says each of us has the freedom to make of our own lives what we will, but that we also have the obligation to treat each other with dignity and respect.
It’s a promise that says the market should reward drive and innovation and generate growth, but that businesses should live up to their responsibilities to create American jobs, look out for American workers, and play by the rules of the road.
Ours is a promise that says government cannot solve all our problems, but what it should do is that which we cannot do for ourselves, protect us from harm and provide every child a decent education; keep our water clean and our toys safe; invest in new schools and new roads and new science and technology.
Our government should work for us, not against us. It should help us, not hurt us. It should ensure opportunity, not just for those with the most money and influence, but for every American who’s willing to work.
That’s the promise of America, the idea that we are responsible for ourselves, but that we also rise or fall as one nation; the fundamental belief that I am my brother’s keeper; I am my sister’s keeper.
That’s the promise we need to keep. That’s the change we need right now. So let me spell out exactly what that change would mean if I am president.
Change means a tax code that doesn’t reward the lobbyists who wrote it, but the American workers and small businesses who deserve it.
Unlike John McCain, I will stop giving tax breaks to corporations that ship jobs overseas, and I will start giving them to companies that create good jobs right here in America.
I will eliminate capital gains taxes for the small businesses and the startups that will create the high-wage, high-tech jobs of tomorrow.
I will cut taxes — cut taxes for 95% of all working families. Because in an economy like this, the last thing we should do is raise taxes on the middle-class.
And for the sake of our economy, our security, and the future of our planet, I will set a clear goal as president: In ten years, we will finally end our dependence on oil from the Middle East.
Washington’s been talking about our oil addiction for the last thirty years, and John McCain has been there for twenty-six of them. In that time, he’s said no to higher fuel-efficiency standards for cars, no to investments in renewable energy, no to renewable fuels. And today, we import triple the amount of oil as the day that Senator McCain took office.
Now is the time to end this addiction, and to understand that drilling is a stopgap measure, not a long-term solution. Not even close.
As president, I will tap our natural gas reserves, invest in clean coal technology, and find ways to safely harness nuclear power. I’ll help our auto companies retool, so that the fuel-efficient cars of the future are built right here in America. I’ll make it easier for the American people to afford these new cars. And I’ll invest 150 billion dollars over the next decade in affordable, renewable sources of energy; wind power and solar power and the next generation of biofuels; an investment that will lead to new industries and 5 million new jobs that pay well and can’t ever be outsourced.
America, now is not the time for small plans.
Now is the time to finally meet our moral obligation to provide every child a world-class education, because it will take nothing less to compete in the global economy. Michelle and I are only here tonight because we were given a chance at an education. And I will not settle for an America where some kids don’t have that chance. I’ll invest in early childhood education. I’ll recruit an army of new teachers, and pay them higher salaries and give them more support. And in exchange, I’ll ask for higher standards and more accountability. And we will keep our promise to every young American — if you commit to serving your community or your country, we will make sure you can afford a college education.
Now is the time to finally keep the promise of affordable, accessible health care for every single American. If you have health care, my plan will lower your premiums. If you don’t, you’ll be able to get the same kind of coverage that members of Congress give themselves. And as someone who watched my mother argue with insurance companies while she lay in bed dying of cancer, I will make certain those companies stop discriminating against those who are sick and need care the most.
Now is the time to help families with paid sick days and better family leave, because nobody in America should have to choose between keeping their jobs and caring for a sick child or ailing parent.
Now is the time to change our bankruptcy laws, so that your pensions are protected ahead of CEO bonuses; and the time to protect Social Security for future generations.
And now is the time to keep the promise of equal pay for an equal day’s work, because I want my daughters to have exactly the same opportunities as your sons.
Now, many of these plans will cost money, which is why I’ve laid out how I’ll pay for every dime, by closing corporate loopholes and tax havens that don’t help America grow. But I will also go through the federal budget, line by line, eliminating programs that no longer work and making the ones we do need work better and cost less because we cannot meet 21st century challenges with a 20th century bureaucracy.
And Democrats, we must also admit that fulfilling America’s promise will require more than just money. It will require a renewed sense of responsibility from each of us to recover what John F. Kennedy called our “intellectual and moral strength.” Yes, government must lead on energy independence, but each of us must do our part to make our homes and businesses more efficient. Yes, we must provide more ladders to success for young men who fall into lives of crime and despair. But we must also admit that programs alone can’t replace parents; that government can’t turn off the television and make a child do her homework; that fathers must take more responsibility for providing the love and guidance their children need.
Individual responsibility and mutual responsibility — that’s the essence of America’s promise.
And just as we keep our keep our promise to the next generation here at home, so must we keep America’s promise abroad. If John McCain wants to have a debate about who has the temperament, and judgment, to serve as the next commander in chief, that’s a debate I’m ready to have.
For while Senator McCain was turning his sights to Iraq just days after 9/11, I stood up and opposed this war, knowing that it would distract us from the real threats we face. When John McCain said we could just “muddle through” in Afghanistan, I argued for more resources and more troops to finish the fight against the terrorists who actually attacked us on 9/11, and made clear that we must take out Osama bin Laden and his lieutenants if we have them in our sights. John McCain likes to say that he’ll follow bin Laden to the Gates of Hell, but he won’t even go to the cave where he lives.
And today, as my call for a time frame to remove our troops from Iraq has been echoed by the Iraqi government and even the Bush administration, even after we learned that Iraq has a $79 billion surplus while we’re wallowing in deficits, John McCain stands alone in his stubborn refusal to end a misguided war.
That’s not the judgment we need. That won’t keep America safe. We need a president who can face the threats of the future, not keep grasping at the ideas of the past.
You don’t defeat a terrorist network that operates in 80 countries by occupying Iraq. You don’t protect Israel and deter Iran just by talking tough in Washington. You can’t truly stand up for Georgia when you’ve strained our oldest alliances. If John McCain wants to follow George Bush with more tough talk and bad strategy, that is his choice, but it is not the change we need.
We are the party of Roosevelt. We are the party of Kennedy. So don’t tell me that Democrats won’t defend this country. Don’t tell me that Democrats won’t keep us safe. The Bush-McCain foreign policy has squandered the legacy that generations of Americans — Democrats and Republicans have built, and we are here to restore that legacy.
As commander in chief, I will never hesitate to defend this nation, but I will only send our troops into harm’s way with a clear mission and a sacred commitment to give them the equipment they need in battle and the care and benefits they deserve when they come home.
I will end this war in Iraq responsibly and finish the fight against al-Qaida and the Taliban in Afghanistan. I will rebuild our military to meet future conflicts. But I will also renew the tough, direct diplomacy that can prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and curb Russian aggression. I will build new partnerships to defeat the threats of the 21st century: terrorism and nuclear proliferation; poverty and genocide; climate change and disease. And I will restore our moral standing, so that America is once again that last, best hope for all who are called to the cause of freedom, who long for lives of peace, and who yearn for a better future.
These are the policies I will pursue. And in the weeks ahead, I look forward to debating them with John McCain.
But what I will not do is suggest that the senator takes his positions for political purposes. Because one of the things that we have to change in our politics is the idea that people cannot disagree without challenging each other’s character and patriotism.
The times are too serious, the stakes are too high for this same partisan playbook. So let us agree that patriotism has no party. I love this country, and so do you, and so does John McCain. The men and women who serve in our battlefields may be Democrats and Republicans and Independents, but they have fought together and bled together and some died together under the same proud flag. They have not served a Red America or a Blue America, they have served the United States of America.
So I’ve got news for you, John McCain. We all put our country first.
America, our work will not be easy. The challenges we face require tough choices, and Democrats as well as Republicans will need to cast off the worn-out ideas and politics of the past. For part of what has been lost these past eight years can’t just be measured by lost wages or bigger trade deficits. What has also been lost is our sense of common purpose our sense of higher purpose. And that’s what we have to restore.
We may not agree on abortion, but surely we can agree on reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies in this country. The reality of gun ownership may be different for hunters in rural Ohio than for those plagued by gang-violence in Cleveland, but don’t tell me we can’t uphold the Second Amendment while keeping AK-47s out of the hands of criminals. I know there are differences on same-sex marriage, but surely we can agree that our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters deserve to visit the person they love in the hospital and to live lives free of discrimination. Passions fly on immigration, but I don’t know anyone who benefits when a mother is separated from her infant child or an employer undercuts American wages by hiring illegal workers. This, too, is part of America’s promise, the promise of a democracy where we can find the strength and grace to bridge divides and unite in common effort.
I know there are those who dismiss such beliefs as happy talk. They claim that our insistence on something larger, something firmer and more honest in our public life is just a Trojan horse for higher taxes and the abandonment of traditional values. And that’s to be expected. Because if you don’t have any fresh ideas, then you use stale tactics to scare the voters. If you don’t have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run from.
You make a big election about small things.
And you know what it’s worked before. Because it feeds into the cynicism we all have about government. When Washington doesn’t work, all its promises seem empty. If your hopes have been dashed again and again, then it’s best to stop hoping, and settle for what you already know.
I get it. I realize that I am not the likeliest candidate for this office. I don’t fit the typical pedigree, and I haven’t spent my career in the halls of Washington.
But I stand before you tonight because all across America something is stirring. What the naysayers don’t understand is that this election has never been about me. It’s been about you.
For eighteen long months, you have stood up, one by one, and said enough to the politics of the past. You understand that in this election, the greatest risk we can take is to try the same old politics with the same old players and expect a different result. You have shown what history teaches us that at defining moments like this one, the change we need doesn’t come from Washington. Change comes to Washington. Change happens because the American people demand it, because they rise up and insist on new ideas and new leadership, a new politics for a new time.
America, this is one of those moments.
I believe that as hard as it will be, the change we need is coming. Because I’ve seen it. Because I’ve lived it. I’ve seen it in Illinois, when we provided health care to more children and moved more families from welfare to work. I’ve seen it in Washington, when we worked across party lines to open up government and hold lobbyists more accountable, to give better care for our veterans and keep nuclear weapons out of terrorist hands.
And I’ve seen it in this campaign. In the young people who voted for the first time, and in those who got involved again after a very long time. In the Republicans who never thought they’d pick up a Democratic ballot, but did. I’ve seen it in the workers who would rather cut their hours back a day than see their friends lose their jobs, in the soldiers who re-enlist after losing a limb, in the good neighbors who take a stranger in when a hurricane strikes and the floodwaters rise.
This country of ours has more wealth than any nation, but that’s not what makes us rich. We have the most powerful military on Earth, but that’s not what makes us strong. Our universities and our culture are the envy of the world, but that’s not what keeps the world coming to our shores.
Instead, it is that American spirit that American promise that pushes us forward even when the path is uncertain; that binds us together in spite of our differences; that makes us fix our eye not on what is seen, but what is unseen, that better place around the bend.
That promise is our greatest inheritance. It’s a promise I make to my daughters when I tuck them in at night, and a promise that you make to yours, a promise that has led immigrants to cross oceans and pioneers to travel west; a promise that led workers to picket lines, and women to reach for the ballot.
And it is that promise that forty five years ago today, brought Americans from every corner of this land to stand together on a Mall in Washington, before Lincoln’s Memorial, and hear a young preacher from Georgia speak of his dream.
The men and women who gathered there could’ve heard many things. They could’ve heard words of anger and discord. They could’ve been told to succumb to the fear and frustration of so many dreams deferred.
But what the people heard instead, people of every creed and color, from every walk of life, is that in America, our destiny is inextricably linked. That together, our dreams can be one.
“We cannot walk alone,” the preacher cried. “And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back.”
America, we cannot turn back. Not with so much work to be done. Not with so many children to educate, and so many veterans to care for. Not with an economy to fix and cities to rebuild and farms to save. Not with so many families to protect and so many lives to mend. America, we cannot turn back. We cannot walk alone. At this moment, in this election, we must pledge once more to march into the future. Let us keep that promise, that American promise, and in the words of Scripture, hold firmly, without wavering, to the hope that we confess.
Thank you, God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.
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information and news of the life, speeches, accomplishments, and platfrom of
Barack Obama.
January 20th, 2009 Inauguration speech of
44th President of the United States Barack Obama
My fellow citizens:
I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you
have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President
Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation
he has shown throughout this transition.
Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been
spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet,
every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms.
At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or
vision of those in high office, but because we the people have remained faithful
to the ideals of our forebears, and true to our founding documents.
So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.
That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at
war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly
weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but
also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for
a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health
care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence
that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.
These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable
but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land — a nagging
fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must
lower its sights.
Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and
they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know
this, America — they will be met.
On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose
over conflict and discord.
On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises,
the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled
our politics.
We remain a young nation, but in the words of scripture, the time has come to
set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit;
to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble
idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all
are equal, all are free and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure
of happiness.
In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is
never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts
or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted —
for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches
and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things
— some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor,
who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.
For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans
in search of a new life.
For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of
the whip and plowed the hard earth.
For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy
and Khe Sahn.
Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till
their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as
bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences
of birth or wealth or faction.
This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful
nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began.
Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than
they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished.
But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off
unpleasant decisions — that time has surely passed. Starting today, we
must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking
America.
For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls
for action, bold and swift, and we will act — not only to create new jobs,
but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges,
the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together.
We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders
to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and
the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform
our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age.
All this we can do. And all this we will do.
Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions — who suggest
that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short.
For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and
women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity
to courage.
What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them
— that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long
no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is
too big or too small, but whether it works — whether it helps families
find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified.
Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no,
programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held
to account — to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in
the light of day — because only then can we restore the vital trust between
a people and their government.
Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill.
Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis
has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control
— and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous.
The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross
domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend
opportunity to every willing heart — not out of charity, but because it
is the surest route to our common good.
As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety
and our ideals. Our founding fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine,
drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter
expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and
we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples
and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small
village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation
and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and
that we are ready to lead once more.
Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with
missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They
understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to
do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent
use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our
example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.
We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we
can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort — even greater
cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly
leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With
old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat,
and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our
way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance
their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now
that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and
we will defeat you.
For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are
a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus — and non-believers.
We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth;
and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and
emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but
believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall
soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal
itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.
To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and
mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict,
or blame their society's ills on the West — know that your people will
judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to
power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that
you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you
are willing to unclench your fist.
To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your
farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed
hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we
say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor
can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world
has changed, and we must change with it.
As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude
those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant
mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who
lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they
are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service;
a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet,
at this moment — a moment that will define a generation — it is
precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.
For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and
determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the
kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers
who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees
us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway
filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that
finally decides our fate.
Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new.
But those values upon which our success depends — hard work and honesty,
courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism —
these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force
of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these
truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a
recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves,
our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather
seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the
spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.
This is the price and the promise of citizenship.
This is the source of our confidence — the knowledge that God calls on
us to shape an uncertain destiny.
This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed — why men and women and
children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent
mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been
served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred
oath.
So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have
traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small
band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The
capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood.
At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father
of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:
"Let it be told to the future world ... that in the depth of winter, when
nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed
at one common danger, came forth to meet (it)."
America, in the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship,
let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once
more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our
children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey
end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the
horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom
and delivered it safely to future generations.
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