We will end it by telling the truth – forcefully, repeatedly, confidently – and by trusting that the American people will embrace the need for change.
Because that’s how we’ve always changed this country – not from the top-down, but from the bottom-up; when you – the American people – decide that the stakes are too high and the challenges are too great.
The other side can label and name-call all they want, but I trust the American people to recognize that it’s not surrender to end the war in Iraq so that we can rebuild our military and go after al Qaeda’s leaders. I trust the American people to understand that it’s not weakness, but wisdom to talk not just to our friends, but our enemies – like Roosevelt did, and Kennedy did, and Truman did.
I trust the American people to realize that while we don’t need big government, we do need a government that stands up for families who are being tricked out of their homes by Wall Street predators; a government that stands up for the middle-class by giving them a tax break; a government that ensures that no American will ever lose their life savings just because their child gets sick. Security and opportunity; compassion and prosperity aren’t liberal values or conservative values – they’re American values.
Most of all, I trust the American people’s desire to no longer be defined by our differences. Because no matter where I’ve been in this country – whether it was the corn fields of Iowa or the textile mills of the Carolinas; the streets of San Antonio or the foothills of Georgia – I’ve found that while we may have different stories, we hold common hopes. We may not look the same or come from the same place, but we want to move in the same direction – towards a better future for our children and our grandchildren.
That’s why I’m in this race. I love this country too much to see it divided and distracted at this moment in history. I believe in our ability to perfect this union because it’s the only reason I’m standing here today. And I know the promise of America because I have lived it.
It is the light of opportunity that led my father across an ocean.
It is the founding ideals that the flag draped over my grandfather’s coffin stands for – it is life, and liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
It’s the simple truth I learned all those years ago when I worked in the shadows of a shuttered steel mill on the South Side of Chicago – that in this country, justice can be won against the greatest of odds; hope can find its way back to the darkest of corners; and when we are told that we cannot bring about the change that we seek, we answer with one voice – yes we can.
So don’t ever forget that this election is not about me, or any candidate. Don’t ever forget that this campaign is about you – about your hopes, about your dreams, about your struggles, about securing your portion of the American Dream.
Don’t ever forget that we have a choice in this country – that we can choose not to be divided; that we can choose not to be afraid; that we can still choose this moment to finally come together and solve the problems we’ve talked about all those other years in all those other elections.
This time can be different than all the rest. This time we can face down those who say our road is too long; that our climb is too steep; that we can no longer achieve the change that we seek. This is our time to answer the call that so many generations of Americans have answered before – by insisting that by hard work, and by sacrifice, the American Dream will endure. Thank you, and may God Bless the United States of America.
One of B.O.'s supporters posted this on our blog from a post that is on the NY Times website and I find it very relevant.
I am an African American female physician executive and I am outraged by Reverend Wright’s behavior. It enforces every stereotype that people of African descent say about each other privately. There is nothing about him that resonates with me or represents my values and beliefs. Barack Obama’s candidacy is a threat to the old guard of the civil rights movement. After the death of MLK many of his close associates gained power, influence and prestige by their connection to him and trying to speak for the entire African-American community. Part of the “leadership” was to constantly reinforce the message that black people cannot advance due to continued oppression and discrimination. Much of that is true, but that’s not the whole story. In Barack Obama we have a man who represents the promise of MLK’s dream and has overcome circumstances that many African-American leaders stated was not possible. In turn he has captured the imagination and hearts of many people that none of the established leaders could. That… cannot be tolerated. So they have banded together to drag Obama down. They do not want change. They cannot embrace change. They have little relevance in the new millenium. They have not adapted themselves or their mission to these times. The style that worked in the 1960’s will not work in 2008 and beyond. This is a piece of the epic drama that no one wants to discuss. However, it is real. Wright, Sharpton, Jackson, et al are all acting like jealous crabs in the barrel. May they all reap exponentially what they sow.
as explained by another poster on our blog
Several years ago, when I was going to college for the first time, my grandmother (rest her soul) told me to be careful. Careful about what? I went to college on an academic scholarship and she was afraid that I would get around people who would bring me down. She called it the crab mentality. She told me about crabs in a bucket. When crabs try to get out a bucket, another one will grab it and pull it down.I say all of this to say that I feel like Wright has become Obama's crab. After all Obama tried to do for him--explain his position and basically extend an olive branch, I am appalled that Wright would show out in the manner that he did.
