Thank you.
You did it. You showed America -- and the world -- that change can happen.
Thank you for the miles you walked, the doors you knocked, the phones you rang, the hard-earned dollars you gave, the spirit you committed to this campaign. Thank you for never wavering, even when the days were dark, the clouds grayed the skies, and the rain poured. Thank you for tuning out the static of the cynics and believing in your power to change this country.
Thank you for all the late nights and all the far too early mornings, for trudging through the bitter cold of winter and wading through the oppressive heat of summer to canvass in your communities. Thank you for the rain-soaked jeans, the mud-caked sneakers, the sweat-drenched t-shirts, and the snow-covered scarves and hats. Thank you for your patience; thank you for your perseverance.
Thank you to Brandi in Minneapolis, who inspired us all with her phone-banking story, and thank you to all those who stayed up all night calling voters in Guam during the primaries, helping us eke out a close victory.
Thank you to everyone who has taken part in the HQ blog conversation and livened the myBO community with your commentary, stories, humor, and passion.
Thank you to everyone who United for Change.
Thank you for painting your barns, canvassing by horseback, and volunteering alongside your Llama for Obama.
Thank you to a man who asked us to put Barney Smith above Smith Barney.
Thank you to the pioneers who risked their lives for the right to vote so that all of us could partake in the democratic process.
Thank you to Andy and Stuart and Theresa and the thousands of Obama Organizing Fellows, who helped lay the foundation for this grassroots movement and built something that can last for years to come.
Thank you to Casperr, Kath25, AdamB, Elise Elise, Icebergslim, Populista, and every Daily Kos diarist (you know who you are) who not only blogged their hearts out, but hit the streets for Obama.
Thank you to the students in the Bronx who helped showed this country that a new generation of young Americans is serious about politics, profoundly inspired, and ready to confront the challenges that face our country.
Thank you to Brittany and the millions of people in this country who have lost a loved one too soon, but have not given up hope that this country can provide affordable health care to every American.
Thank you Duffy Lyon, for your marvelous Butter Cow.
Thank you Purple Shirt Guy, for standing with Barack when he stood against the war in 2002 and standing with Barack when he spoke about the need to end the war five years later (with that same purple shirt on).
Thank you Jeff, for sleeping on your roof to house volunteers and to all of NYC4Obama for helping to put together one of the best nights of this campaign in September of 2007 in New York City.
Thank you Grace, Josh, Lauren, Reverend Scipio and everyone who helped put together a victory in South Carolina that will be talked about for decades to come.
Thank you to Rashed, our 75,000th donor, and Angela, our 250,000th donor. Thank you to every single person -- from Mike in Nevada, to Andrew and Sharon, to Rebecca to Michael Wilson in Florida, Christy, Jane, Caroleand so many others -- who helped build this house with your grassroots contributions. You shattered every record and expectation, and you changed our politics.
Thank you Charles, for telling your story and sharing your faith in the young people of America.
Thank you to everyone who took time out of your lives to work towards something bigger than yourselves.
Change can happen. You proved it.
- Thanks from Sam, Chris, Amanda, Molly, Sarah, George, and the rest of the HQ Blog crew
As election day approaches, take a moment to think about what you've accomplished over these past nearly two years.From the very beginning, you organized yourselves, building this movement from the bottom up.Within 24 hours of Barack's announcement speech in Springfield back in February of 2007, you had already formed over 1,000 grassroots groups on my.BarackObama.com.Weeks later, thousands of you in all 50 states met for Hope Action Change house parties, and a few months after that, you participated in the largest nationwide canvass that had ever been organized at such an early point in a campaign.You knocked on doors in the rain months before the pundits gave us a chance, and braved the icy winds of Iowa in January to caucus for change.Like Grace Cusack, of Florence, South Carolina, so many of of you opened your doors to your neighbors, put your trust in them, and shared your vision for a better America:Long before frozen Iowa night, through the very last primaries, through the summer and fall, you have been there, organizing, never giving up.You've proven the cynics wrong so many times, not simply because you believed in Barack Obama's ability to change things, but in your own.And with one more day, with so few hours left, with so much at stake, we need you to keep going. We need you to stand tall: Go out there and volunteer. Sign up now and tell your friends to sign up too. Look up your polling places at VoteForChange.com and make sure people know their rights by sending this video to everyone you know.If you can't leave home, pick up the phone and make some calls. Power doesn't concede easily, and the status quo doesn't shift without a struggle. This has never been easy -- we all know that -- and we can't let up for a moment. So please, do whatever you can to Get Out The Vote. You've stood through the rain and walked through the snow. We know you're tired. This has been a long, long journey, with so many unexpected turns. But you have never stopped fighting for Barack's vision of a united America. And we need you to fight for one more day.
Let's go win this thing.
Senator Obama on the September Jobs Report...
Today, Americans woke up to the sad news that 159,000 jobs were lost last month alone, making September the ninth straight month of job loss. With three-quarters of a million jobs lost this year, and millions of families struggling to pay the bills and stay in their homes, this country can’t afford Senator McCain’s plan to give America four more years of the same policies that have devastated our middle-class and our economy for the last eight. Instead of Senator McCain’s plan to give tax breaks to CEOs and companies that ship jobs overseas, I will rebuild the middle-class and create millions of new jobs by investing in infrastructure and renewable energy that will reduce our dependence on oil from the Middle East. I also call on Congress to pass an immediate rescue plan for our middle-class that will provide tax relief, save one million jobs, and save our local communities from harmful budget cuts and painful tax increases.
Visit BarackObama.com/plan to read Senator Obama's plan to bring about real change to our economy.
Today, the Obama-Biden campaign released a new 30 second TV ad, “Can’t Explain”, which highlights health care in the debate last night. In the ad, which features footage from the debate, Joe Biden sheds light on the truth about John McCain’s health care plan, telling America that McCain pays for his health care plan by taxing your health care benefits, and he calls that, “the ultimate bridge to nowhere.”
"Can’t Explain" will air across the country on national cable beginning today.
Watch the ad...
Please donate now to help get this important message on the air across America.
Today, the Obama-Biden campaign released a new two minute TV ad, Same Path, which includes Senator Obama telling America he knows we can steer ourselves out of this crisis, but not by driving down the very same path and how that’s what this election’s all about.
In the ad, Obama details how his plan to jump-start our economy, create millions of jobs, and bring back our Main Streets all across America differs with John McCain’s plan to continue the same failed policies. Obama specifically lays out how his tax plan which offers three times as much tax relief to the middle class and cuts taxes for small and startup businesses differs from McCain’s which will continue giving hundreds of billions in new tax breaks to big corporations and oil companies and extends the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest.
Obama-Biden campaign spokesman Bill Burton...
This is a moment of national crisis, and today’s inaction in Congress as well as the angry and hyper-partisan statement released by the McCain campaign are exactly why the American people are disgusted with Washington. Now is the time for Democrats and Republicans to join together and act in a way that prevents an economic catastrophe. Every American should be outraged that an era of greed and irresponsibility on Wall Street and Washington has led us to this point, but now that we are here, the stability of our entire economy depends on us taking immediate action to ease this crisis.
Make sure everyone you know knows. VoteForChange.com.
Seriously, VoteForChange.com.
Today, the Obama-Biden campaign released a new 30 second TV ad, Zero, which highlights how many times McCain mentioned the middle class in the debate last night. In the ad, which features footage from the debate, Obama gives his thoughts on the fundamentals of the economy and explains how John McCain's policies are just a continuation of the last eight years.
Please donate today and help put this ad on the air!
In response to news tonight that Washington Mutual had become the latest U.S. financial institution to fail, Senator Barack Obama released the following statement...
The government-brokered sale of Washington Mutual is the latest sign of the perilous situation facing our financial system and our economy. Although Americans with deposits at Washington Mutual should rest assured that they are safe under this arrangement, the failures of our financial institutions threaten economic instability, jobs, and the incomes of American families. This is a time to rise above politics for the good of the country. We cannot risk an economic catastrophe. This is not a Democratic problem or a Republican problem – this is an American problem. Now, we must find an American solution.
CHICAGO, IL – Today, the Obama-Biden campaign released a new 30 second TV ad, Article, which highlights that despite the current economic crisis, John McCain is arguing for more deregulation – this time in the health insurance marketplace.
Below is what Senator John McCain has to say about the healthcare reform:
“Opening up the health insurance market to more vigorous nationwide competition, as we have done over the last decade in banking, would provide more choices of innovative products less burdened by the worst excesses of state-based regulation.”
Read the article and watch the ad...
Please donate now to help get this ad on the air and share this message with voters across the country.
In response to the terrorist attack in Pakistan late last night, Senator Obama released the following statement:
I strongly condemn the tragic terrorist attack in Pakistan, and my thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families.Today's attack demonstrates the grave and urgent threat that al Qaeda and its affiliates pose to the United States, to Pakistan, and to the security of all nations. As the attack earlier this week on our embassy in Yemen shows, over seven years after 9/11, the terrorist threat knows no borders, and the terrorists threaten innocent civilians of all religions and regions. Now is the time to refocus our efforts on defeating al Qaeda and securing the American people.Today's attack also reminds us once again that the Pakistani people have suffered greatly at the hands of terrorists, and are endangered by the violent extremists operating within their borders. We must forge a deep and lasting partnership with Pakistan, and with nations around the world, to root out and destroy al Qaeda and its affiliates. The United States must lead a truly global effort to prevail against al Qaeda and their hate-filled ideology.
I strongly condemn the tragic terrorist attack in Pakistan, and my thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families.
Today's attack demonstrates the grave and urgent threat that al Qaeda and its affiliates pose to the United States, to Pakistan, and to the security of all nations. As the attack earlier this week on our embassy in Yemen shows, over seven years after 9/11, the terrorist threat knows no borders, and the terrorists threaten innocent civilians of all religions and regions. Now is the time to refocus our efforts on defeating al Qaeda and securing the American people.
Today's attack also reminds us once again that the Pakistani people have suffered greatly at the hands of terrorists, and are endangered by the violent extremists operating within their borders. We must forge a deep and lasting partnership with Pakistan, and with nations around the world, to root out and destroy al Qaeda and its affiliates. The United States must lead a truly global effort to prevail against al Qaeda and their hate-filled ideology.
In response to emerging details of the Federal Reserve – Treasury Plan to address the current financial crisis, Senator Obama released the following statement ...
The events of the last few days have made it clear that we must take further bold and decisive action to shore up confidence in our financial markets and avoid a deepening economic crisis that could jeopardize the life savings and well-being of millions of Americans. I support the effort of Secretary Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke to work in a bipartisan spirit with the Congressional leadership to find a systemic solution to our deepening crisis, and I will closely examine the specifics of their effort and the opportunities for swift action. As I review the emerging details of Fed-Treasury proposal with my top economic advisors this morning I will be guided by four basic principles:First, we cannot lose sight that we are in the midst of a broad economic crisis that also requires immediate action to create jobs and help support distressed homeowners and communities. For too long, this Administration has been willing to hit the fast forward button in helping distressed Wall Street firms while pressing pause when it comes to saving jobs or keeping families in their homes. Swift and unprecedented action to shore up Wall Street must come alongside equally swift and serious efforts to help struggling families on Main Street, create new jobs, and grow our middle-class once more.Second, any taxpayer-funded support must have as its focus protecting our nation's long-term interest in a stable financial market and a growing economy rather than rewarding particular companies or the imprudent decisions of borrowers or lenders. These extraordinary steps must be designed with only the public good in mind, not to enhance the personal gain of CEOs and management at taxpayers’ expense. Third, this plan must be temporary and coupled with tough new oversight and regulations of our financial institutions. There must be a clear process to wind down this plan and restore private sector assets into private sector hands after restoring stability to the system. Taxpayers must share in any upside benefit that such stability brings. Finally, this plan should be part of a globally coordinated effort with our partners in the G-20. We are facing a global financial crisis and the United States can take a leadership role in coordinating a global response to the present crisis, as well as greater regulatory cooperation and alignment to prevent future crises.As we move beyond immediate actions to stabilize financial markets, it is important that we build upon the ideas I have laid out over the last several years about how to modernize our financial regulation. Eliminating consumer protections and lax oversight contributed to the crisis we are in today, and establishing commonsense rules of the road for our financial system can help restore confidence in our financial system.Given the gravity of this situation, and based on conversations I have had with both Secretary Paulson and Chairman Bernanke, I have asked my economic team to refrain from presenting a more detailed blue-print of how an immediate plan might be structured until the Treasury and the Federal Reserve have had an opportunity to present their proposal. It is critical at this point that the markets and the public have confidence that their work will be unimpeded by partisan wrangling, and that leaders in both parties work in concert to solve the problem at hand.
The events of the last few days have made it clear that we must take further bold and decisive action to shore up confidence in our financial markets and avoid a deepening economic crisis that could jeopardize the life savings and well-being of millions of Americans. I support the effort of Secretary Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke to work in a bipartisan spirit with the Congressional leadership to find a systemic solution to our deepening crisis, and I will closely examine the specifics of their effort and the opportunities for swift action. As I review the emerging details of Fed-Treasury proposal with my top economic advisors this morning I will be guided by four basic principles:
First, we cannot lose sight that we are in the midst of a broad economic crisis that also requires immediate action to create jobs and help support distressed homeowners and communities. For too long, this Administration has been willing to hit the fast forward button in helping distressed Wall Street firms while pressing pause when it comes to saving jobs or keeping families in their homes. Swift and unprecedented action to shore up Wall Street must come alongside equally swift and serious efforts to help struggling families on Main Street, create new jobs, and grow our middle-class once more.
Second, any taxpayer-funded support must have as its focus protecting our nation's long-term interest in a stable financial market and a growing economy rather than rewarding particular companies or the imprudent decisions of borrowers or lenders. These extraordinary steps must be designed with only the public good in mind, not to enhance the personal gain of CEOs and management at taxpayers’ expense.
Third, this plan must be temporary and coupled with tough new oversight and regulations of our financial institutions. There must be a clear process to wind down this plan and restore private sector assets into private sector hands after restoring stability to the system. Taxpayers must share in any upside benefit that such stability brings.
Finally, this plan should be part of a globally coordinated effort with our partners in the G-20. We are facing a global financial crisis and the United States can take a leadership role in coordinating a global response to the present crisis, as well as greater regulatory cooperation and alignment to prevent future crises.
As we move beyond immediate actions to stabilize financial markets, it is important that we build upon the ideas I have laid out over the last several years about how to modernize our financial regulation. Eliminating consumer protections and lax oversight contributed to the crisis we are in today, and establishing commonsense rules of the road for our financial system can help restore confidence in our financial system.
Given the gravity of this situation, and based on conversations I have had with both Secretary Paulson and Chairman Bernanke, I have asked my economic team to refrain from presenting a more detailed blue-print of how an immediate plan might be structured until the Treasury and the Federal Reserve have had an opportunity to present their proposal. It is critical at this point that the markets and the public have confidence that their work will be unimpeded by partisan wrangling, and that leaders in both parties work in concert to solve the problem at hand.
Barack Obama...
The current financial market turmoil is a major threat to our economy. I recognize the need for today’s action by the Federal Reserve and their need to act quickly in a globally coordinated fashion to maintain the functioning of our financial system and the flow of credit to American households and businesses.
Today, Barack Obama released the following statement on AIG and the state of our economy...
The fact that we have reached a point where the Federal Reserve felt it had to take this unprecedented step with the American International Group is the final verdict on the failed economic philosophy of the last eight years. While we do not know all the details of this arrangement, the Fed must ensure that the plan protects the families that count on insurance. It should bolster our economy's ability to create good-paying jobs and help working Americans pay their bills and save their money. It must not bail out the shareholders or management of AIG.This crisis serves as a stark reminder of the failures of crony capitalism and an economic philosophy that sees any regulation at all as unwise and unnecessary. It's a philosophy that lets Washington lobbyists shred consumer protections and distort our economy so it works for the special interests instead of working people; a philosophy that says we should give more and more to those with the most and hope that prosperity trickles down to the rest. Instead, the pain has trickled up – from the struggles of Main Street all the way up to the crises on Wall Street. Despite his eleventh hour conversion to the language of reform, Senator McCain has subscribed to this philosophy for twenty-six years in Washington and the events of this week have rendered it a colossal failure. It is time for a new economic strategy, guided by the principle that America prospers when all Americans prosper, where common-sense rules of the road ensure that competition is fair, open, and honest. That is the strategy I will pursue as President, and I will bring the change we need to restore confidence in our financial markets and strength to our economy.
CHICAGO, IL – The Obama campaign today released a two-minute advertisement in which Senator Obama will speak directly to the nation on his view of the state of the economy and what he would do to fix it if he is elected president. The ad will begin today nationally and in battleground states around the country.
Visit BarackObama.com/plan to read Obama's plan for the economy now.
Please donate now to help put this ad on the air and help deliver this important message to voters across America.
Continue reading for the script of the ad...
CHICAGO, IL – Yesterday of all days, with Wall Street in crisis, John McCain declared that the “fundamentals of the economy are strong.” That shows how disturbingly out of touch he is with what’s going in the lives of ordinary Americans. Following Senator McCain’s out of touch belief, the Obama campaign today released a new 30 second TV ad called “Fundamentals.”
Watch fundamentals...
In response to John McCain's remarks this morning on the 'strong' fundamentals of our economy, Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton stated...
Today of all days, John McCain's stubborn insistence that the 'fundamentals of the economy are strong' shows that he is disturbingly out of touch with what's going in the lives of ordinary Americans. Even as his own ads try to convince him that the economy is in crisis, apparently his 26 years in Washington have left him incapable of understanding that the policies he supports have created an historic economic crisis.
Today, the Obama campaign released two new 30-second TV ads, Real Change, which details what "change" is to Senator Obama and Still which details why John McCain would just be another out of touch president offering more of the same.
Watch Real Change...
Watch Still...
Please make a donation now and help share these ads with voters around the country.
Campaign Manager David Plouffe sent out the following memo this morning...
Summary With both conventions and the vice-presidential selections behind us, the campaign is now heading into the final stretch. The race has settled into a tight race nationally with Obama well-positioned in the key battleground states, a historic enthusiasm gap, and a debate being waged on Obama’s home turf – change. In recent weeks, John McCain has shown that he is willing to go into the gutter to win this election. His campaign has become nothing but a series of smears, lies, and cynical attempts to distract from the issues that matter to the American people. But as Barack Obama said earlier this week “enough is enough.” This election is too important and the challenges too big to spend the next 54 days talking about trivial non-issues. Today is the first day of the rest of the campaign, and today we are releasing two new ads that go directly at the fundamental issue in this race: John McCain is out of touch with the American people and unable to address the challenges facing the country in the 21st century and bring about real change, and that Barack Obama is the candidate who will bring about change that works for the middle class. We will respond with speed and ferocity to John McCain’s attacks and we will take the fight to him, but we will do it on the big issues that matter to the American people. We will not allow John McCain and his band of Karl Rove disciples to make this big election about small things.Senator Biden will be integral to that effort, both in pushing back on the lies that we’ll continue to see from our opponents, and in keeping the debate focused on delivering for everyday Americans. After all, that’s what Joe Biden has done throughout his career: passing the Crime Bill to put more cops on our streets, passing to the landmark Violence Against Women Act, and serving as a steadfast voice every day for those more concerned about the price of gas and saving for retirement than the latest political charade in Washington.
Summary
With both conventions and the vice-presidential selections behind us, the campaign is now heading into the final stretch. The race has settled into a tight race nationally with Obama well-positioned in the key battleground states, a historic enthusiasm gap, and a debate being waged on Obama’s home turf – change.
In recent weeks, John McCain has shown that he is willing to go into the gutter to win this election. His campaign has become nothing but a series of smears, lies, and cynical attempts to distract from the issues that matter to the American people. But as Barack Obama said earlier this week “enough is enough.” This election is too important and the challenges too big to spend the next 54 days talking about trivial non-issues.
Today is the first day of the rest of the campaign, and today we are releasing two new ads that go directly at the fundamental issue in this race: John McCain is out of touch with the American people and unable to address the challenges facing the country in the 21st century and bring about real change, and that Barack Obama is the candidate who will bring about change that works for the middle class.
We will respond with speed and ferocity to John McCain’s attacks and we will take the fight to him, but we will do it on the big issues that matter to the American people. We will not allow John McCain and his band of Karl Rove disciples to make this big election about small things.
Senator Biden will be integral to that effort, both in pushing back on the lies that we’ll continue to see from our opponents, and in keeping the debate focused on delivering for everyday Americans. After all, that’s what Joe Biden has done throughout his career: passing the Crime Bill to put more cops on our streets, passing to the landmark Violence Against Women Act, and serving as a steadfast voice every day for those more concerned about the price of gas and saving for retirement than the latest political charade in Washington.
Continue reading...
This morning, Senator Obama responded to President Bush's speech on Iraq and Afghanistan today...
Good morning. I’d like to comment on the President’s speech. First, let me acknowledge the extraordinary and courageous work that our troops have done in both Iraq and Afghanistan. They have performed brilliantly under extremely difficult circumstances. Today, President Bush announced very modest troop redeployments from Iraq. Meanwhile, we will continue to keep nearly 140,000 troops in Iraq while our military is overstretched, which is still at pre-surge levels. We will continue to spend $10 billion a month in Iraq while the Iraqi government sits on a $79 billion surplus. In the absence of a timetable to remove our combat brigades, we will continue to give Iraq’s leaders a blank check instead of pressing them to reconcile their differences. So the President’s talk of “return on success” is a new name for continuing the same strategic mistake that has dominated our foreign policy for over 5 years. President Bush also announced additional troops for Afghanistan. I am glad that the President is moving in the direction of the policy that I have advocated for years. But the most substantial increase will come when an additional Army brigade is deployed five months from now – in February, after the President has left office. His plan comes up short – it is not enough troops, and not enough resources, with not enough urgency. What President Bush and Senator McCain don’t understand is that the central front in the war on terror is not in Iraq, and it never was – the central front is in Afghanistan and Pakistan, where the terrorists who hit us on 9/11 are still plotting attacks seven years later. Today, the Taliban is on the offensive, al Qaeda has a new sanctuary, and its leaders are putting out videotapes. Yet under President Bush’s plan, we still have nearly four times more troops in Iraq than Afghanistan, and we have no comprehensive plan to deal with the al Qaeda sanctuary in northwest Pakistan. Now, the choice for the American people could not be clearer. John McCain has been talking a lot about change, but he’s running for four more years of the same foreign policy that we’ve had under George Bush. Senator McCain will continue the overwhelming focus on Iraq that has taken our eye off of the terrorists who actually attacked us on 9/11. And Senator McCain goes even further than President Bush in opposing the sovereign Iraqi government’s own support for a timetable to redeploy our troops, and he has no plan to press the Iraqis to reconcile. It’s time to change our foreign policy. I will succeed in Iraq by responsibly removing our combat brigades and pressing Iraqis to stand up for their future. I will rebuild our military. I will finally have a comprehensive strategy to finish the job in Afghanistan – with more troops, more training for Afghan security forces, more development resources, more anti-corruption safeguards, and more of a focus on eliminating the Taliban and al Qaeda sanctuary along the Pakistan border. And I will stop spending $10 billion a month in Iraq so that we can invest in our economy here at home. Last week, we heard a lot of tough talk in St. Paul, but we didn’t hear much about the Bush-McCain record. Because seven years after 9/11, we are still fighting a war without end in Iraq and we still haven’t taken out the terrorists responsible for 9/11. We heard no explanation for why Osama bin Laden is still at large, because that’s where George Bush and John McCain’s judgment has gotten us. President Bush’s speech today underscored that we cannot afford more of the same.
Good morning. I’d like to comment on the President’s speech. First, let me acknowledge the extraordinary and courageous work that our troops have done in both Iraq and Afghanistan. They have performed brilliantly under extremely difficult circumstances.
Today, President Bush announced very modest troop redeployments from Iraq. Meanwhile, we will continue to keep nearly 140,000 troops in Iraq while our military is overstretched, which is still at pre-surge levels. We will continue to spend $10 billion a month in Iraq while the Iraqi government sits on a $79 billion surplus. In the absence of a timetable to remove our combat brigades, we will continue to give Iraq’s leaders a blank check instead of pressing them to reconcile their differences. So the President’s talk of “return on success” is a new name for continuing the same strategic mistake that has dominated our foreign policy for over 5 years.
President Bush also announced additional troops for Afghanistan. I am glad that the President is moving in the direction of the policy that I have advocated for years. But the most substantial increase will come when an additional Army brigade is deployed five months from now – in February, after the President has left office. His plan comes up short – it is not enough troops, and not enough resources, with not enough urgency.
What President Bush and Senator McCain don’t understand is that the central front in the war on terror is not in Iraq, and it never was – the central front is in Afghanistan and Pakistan, where the terrorists who hit us on 9/11 are still plotting attacks seven years later. Today, the Taliban is on the offensive, al Qaeda has a new sanctuary, and its leaders are putting out videotapes. Yet under President Bush’s plan, we still have nearly four times more troops in Iraq than Afghanistan, and we have no comprehensive plan to deal with the al Qaeda sanctuary in northwest Pakistan.
Now, the choice for the American people could not be clearer. John McCain has been talking a lot about change, but he’s running for four more years of the same foreign policy that we’ve had under George Bush. Senator McCain will continue the overwhelming focus on Iraq that has taken our eye off of the terrorists who actually attacked us on 9/11. And Senator McCain goes even further than President Bush in opposing the sovereign Iraqi government’s own support for a timetable to redeploy our troops, and he has no plan to press the Iraqis to reconcile.
It’s time to change our foreign policy. I will succeed in Iraq by responsibly removing our combat brigades and pressing Iraqis to stand up for their future. I will rebuild our military. I will finally have a comprehensive strategy to finish the job in Afghanistan – with more troops, more training for Afghan security forces, more development resources, more anti-corruption safeguards, and more of a focus on eliminating the Taliban and al Qaeda sanctuary along the Pakistan border. And I will stop spending $10 billion a month in Iraq so that we can invest in our economy here at home.
Last week, we heard a lot of tough talk in St. Paul, but we didn’t hear much about the Bush-McCain record. Because seven years after 9/11, we are still fighting a war without end in Iraq and we still haven’t taken out the terrorists responsible for 9/11. We heard no explanation for why Osama bin Laden is still at large, because that’s where George Bush and John McCain’s judgment has gotten us. President Bush’s speech today underscored that we cannot afford more of the same.
Click here to read more about Senator Obama's foreign policy plan.
