President-Elect Barack Obama

Grant Park, Chicago, Illinois was the setting for Sen. Barack Obama, now President-Elect Obama, to offer the world his acceptance speech upon winning the race to the White House in November 4 election. This is a unedited transcript of his speech:

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.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The first segment of Obama’s acceptance speech.

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. Video Watch Obama’s speech in its entirety »

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 Sen. McCain. Sen. 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 Gov. 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.

The power and love of family

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…

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.

None of the emails were particularly impressive. Some were even from attorneys. However, not a single letter was able to boil down a very simple reality in this whole mess: Obama has run in and won several elections, including at least one (two if he wins next week) at the federal level. Throughout all of these elections, isn’t it possible that someone asked for a copy of the valid birth certificate or proof of citizenship?

Here’s one letter in particular:

Hello,
I’ve only read the short version of the Berg law suit. I’m not a lawyer but the impression I got was that there wasn’t any evidence to support the claims presented by Berg except for this: At one time Obama had dual citizenship but they occurred when he was a child. So then the question is does that prevent him from holding the office of President?

It’s pretty obvious that the Constitution doesn’t allow anyone to hold the office of President if he or she has dual citizenship because they would have divided loyalties. That’s implied in the Constitution. Otherwise why does the President have to be a natural born citizen? But Obama does not have dual citizenship now nor is there any evidence that he had it at any time when we was an adult.  Hope this clears things up.

One other issue seems to be what happened to his citizenship when his step father took him to Indonesia and had him registered as an Indonesian citizen? He was adopted. But he didn’t lose his U. S. citizenship. That would only happen if his mother and step father renounced his citizenship. But there’s no evidence of that.

True his name was legally changed. And there’s no evidence that it was ever changed back. So there does seem to be a technical problem there. But when his mother and his step father divorced his name reverted back to his birth name automatically? It might be in the divorce papers?

In a word, no. Dual citizenship at one point in a person’s life does not disqualify someone from being President. Here’s the qualifications straight from the horse’s mouth (of the US Constitution):

No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the age of thirty five years, and been fourteen Years a resident within the United States.

To hear this letter writer say it, it would disqualify someone who would have been born on a German military base to a US soldier and their German spouse. Such a person would have solid dual citizenship their entire life. They were born on American soil (the military base) and have both German and American citizenship.

So, no. Dual citizenship would not disqualify a candidate.

Here’s what really needs to happen if anyone wants to be serious about this whole mess. They need to contact the McCain campaign and give them every bit of their bullsh…er… information so that John McCain can add it to his overwhelming effort to have Obama removed from the ballot on the basis of questioned citizenship.

I shall now plant my tongue firmly in my cheek:

What, you mean McCain hasn’t said or done anything in this issue? Well, then! It’s a CONSPIRACY! John McCain KNOWS that Obama is not a citizen, and he’s been running a lackluster campaign on PURPOSE so that he can HELP a NON-CITIZEN get ELECTED! He even picked a terrible, laughingstock vice-presidential nominee intentionally! Anything to help Obama!

Not only THAT… but Hillary Clinton is in on it too! She had 18 MILLION votes behind her, and she just let Obama win that primary…

What’s more… both candidates put out a combined quarter of a BILLION dollars to fight their campaigns, when all they would have had to do is file one well-placed lawsuit (since they have legal standing here) to demand a birth certificate they KNOW doesn’t exist!

Great. Now that you understand how ridiculous the whole thing is, can you just shut the hell up about it?

Thanks.

Halfway through the four debates of this campaign, which overlaps the largest fiscal crisis in the country since the Great Depression, the campaigns are heating up, readying for the remaining two debates:

• October 7: Presidential Debate  at Belmont University in Nashville, moderated by NBC’s Tom Brokaw

• October 15: Presidential Debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, moderated by CBS’s Bob Schieffer

The Republican headquarters is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m, and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The office is closed on Sunday. To contact the Republican Party, call 931-647-4477.

Americans United for Separation of Church and State today filed complaints with the Internal Revenue Service about six churches whose pastors endorsed candidates from the pulpit during a mass defiance of federal tax law last Sunday.

The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), a Religious Right legal group in Scottsdale, Ariz., urged pastors to defy federal tax law by endorsing or opposing candidates during a so-called “Pulpit Freedom Sunday” Sept. 28. Under the IRS Code, churches and other 501(c)(3) tax-exempt groups may not intervene in elections.

“These pastors flagrantly violated the law and now must deal with the consequences. This is one of the most appalling Religious Right gambits I’ve ever seen. Church leaders are supposed to tend to Americans’ spiritual needs, not behave like partisan political hacks. I urge the IRS to act swiftly in these cases.” ~~ Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United.

Lynn also scored the ministers who took part in the ADF gambit.

“A pastor who knowingly violates federal tax law is setting a poor example for his or her congregation,” Lynn said. “Every pastor who took part in this stunt ought to be ashamed.”

The ADF overture has been roundly criticized. Many pastors refused to take part, arguing that America’s pulpits should not be politicized. In addition, three former IRS officials have filed a complaint asserting that the ADF has violated ethics standards governing tax attorneys by urging clients to violate the law.

The six churches reported to the IRS by Americans United today are:

• Bethlehem Baptist Church, Bethlehem, Ga.: According to press accounts, Pastor Jody Hice “urged his congregation to vote for Sen. John McCain and to not vote for Sen. Barack Obama.”
• Fairview Baptist Church, Fairview, Okla.: The Associated Press reported that Pastor Paul Blair “says he told his congregation that as a Christian and as an American citizen, he would be voting for John McCain.”
• Warroad Community Church, Warroad, Minn.: Pastor Gus Booth told his congregation, “We need to vote for the most righteous of candidates. And it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure that out. The most righteous is John McCain.”
• Calvary Chapel, Philadelphia, Pa.: The Rev. Francis Pultro told the congregation, “As Christians it’s clear we should vote for John McCain. He is the only candidate I believe a Christian can vote for.”
• First Southern Baptist Church, Buena Park, Calif.: The Rev. Wiley Drake said, “I am angry because the government and the IRS and some Christians have taken away the rights of pastors. I have a right to endorse anybody I doggone well please. And if they don’t like that, too bad….According to my Bible and in my opinion, there is no way in the world a Christian can vote for Barack Hussein Obama. Mr. Obama is not standing up for anything that is tradition in America.”
• New Life Church, West Bend, Wisc.: Speaking from the pulpit, Pastor Luke Emrich said, “I’m telling you straight up I would choose life. I would cast a vote for John McCain and Sarah Palin.”

Said AU’s Lynn, “When five of the six pastors choose to endorse John McCain, it’s hard not to see the ADF scheme as partisan in character.”

In complaint letters filed with the IRS, Americans United urged swift investigations of the churches and appropriate penalties.

About AU: Americans United is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom.

“Yes we can.” Yes we can.” The mantra of the Obama for President campaign.

Cheers, applause as the audience begins its standing ovation for Sen. Barack Obama's DNC Convention Speech

Montgomery County Democratic Headquarters rang out with cheers and applause Thursday night as a full house watched Sen. Barack Obama address the nation and lay out the issues facing America today. Invesco Stadium in Denver was tightly packed with an estimated 4,000 Democratic National Convention delegates and another 80,000 every day Americans eager to watch as a new page in American history was written.

At MCDP, Obama supporters gathered for a group photo with the sign calling for "Change,", an action being carried out across the country

In 1860, the Civil War erupted over slavery; it was a time when African Americans were regarded as property rather than human beings with spirit, soul and intelligence. In 1960, the heat of integration and desegregation was raging, culminating a few years later with Martin Luther King’s immortal “I Have A Dream” speech.  Civil rights. Tonight, some forty-plus years after King, three generations of my family in three different locations watched as a new page in American history was written with the acceptance speech of Senator Obama, now standing on the threshold of the U.S. presidency. Obama, though he refers to history in this speech, ingored the lines of race, wealth, education and other common denominators to see himself and all of the people surrounding him as “Americans.” Plain and simple.

First came a rousing series of speeches by both the famous and previously unknown “average American” speakers, including a middle aged worker named Barney Smith, an ordinary citizen whose job was outsourced overseas. Smith stole the pre-show with a one liner on the economy that called for the United States to “help Barney Smith, not Smith Barney.” It was a night of one liners and sound bites, with many destined for repeated play.

Al Gore delivered a solid show of support for Obama and the senator’s proposed policies and positions on and for America.  Vice-Presidential nominee Joe Biden gave an equally powerful statement targeting the issues Americans care about and the issues that matter most in the coming election. Sustainability. Economy. Education. Health care. taxes. War. But it was Obama’s night, and he delivered.

The speech was, in a word, astounding. It resonated with the live audience, and with the people packed shoulder to shoulder in a  rapidly shrinking room on Madison Street. “O-Ba-Ma.” “O-Ba-Ma” they chanted in unison with the televised crowds. “We want change.” “We want change.” Obama delivered, both the ideal and the platform to build it on. He admitted though, that the ideal was not his but was in fact the Constitution and the freedoms upon which America was built, and which have been “sacrificed” under the Bush/Cheney administration.

“Tonight, I say to the people of America, 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 just like the last eight. On November 4, we must stand up and say: “Eight is enough.”" – Barack Obama

He held listeners in the palm of his hand, mesmerizing them with the amazing simplicity of simply doing what is right and respecting the rights and laws this country was founded on. He brought the campaign platform home, addressing issues of sustainable energy, affordable education, civil liberties, fair taxation, global policy and social issues that included a new emphasis on family responsibilities. To illustrate the points that affect the millions of middle and lower income Americans, he ventured through areas of his own life story, his grandparents decision to prioritize education, his grandmother’s death, to cost of education, the need to raise standards of learning to be competitive in the 21st century… it was a message his supporters have waited to hear.

“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.” — Barack Obama

He also challenged parents to vest themselves in the children, to “turn off the TV,” and, referring to issues of juvenile delinquency and youth crime, urged absent fathers (and all parents) to take responsibility for their children and become part of the rearing of their children.

“John McCain doesn’t get it,” Obama said. “Now is not the time for small plans. We need world class education.”

Obama paid tribute to former President and Mrs. Clinton, and to the late President Kennedy. In fact, for those of us who remember that Kennedy era and “Camelot,” this was amazingly familiar. Not the background of wealth, but the commitment in terms of social, individual and government responsibilities. His speech could easily be described as powerful, on point, compassionate, ambitious, and aimed at healing and rebuilding the things that have gone wrong in the past eight years under President Bush.

“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.” — Barack Obama

Obama advocated a tax system that would reward companies for keeping their offices, warehouses and factories in the United States and make it less economically feasible to move business overseas.

Obama received kudos locally for his statements about the need to sustain and support our troops at home and abroad, and to not send them in harm’s way based on lies and inaccuracies.

“For while Sen. 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 that 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. You know, 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.” — Barack Obama

The cheering crowd spread out to the horizon of the stadium, reminiscent of Obama’s Oregon speech that packed a field with 75,000 people. It was also reminiscent of the era of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and the Civil Rights/Vietnam protests of forty years ago. It has been that long since I have seen such passion, or seen so many respond to it.

Before Obama took center stage at 9:14 p.m. CST Thursday night, the crowd at MCDP chatted among themselves, discussing campaign events and browsing an array of food brought in for the occasion. But as the hands of the clock ticked toward “the moment” this gathering of old, young, black, white, the well-to-do and the average or low income Clarksvillians, an infant cuddled by her mom, young boys with red and blue balloons, circled their chairs to watch, listen and cheer for a candidate who comes from the people and created a strategy that works for the people.

Today, the real campaign begins.

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All Photos by Bill Larson

The complete text of Obama’s speech:

Barack Obama: 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 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 yours — Hillary Rodham Clinton. To President Bill Clinton, who made last night 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 Malia and Sasha — I love you so much, and I’m so proud 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.

We’re a better country than one where a man in Indiana has to pack up the equipment he’s worked on for 20 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 people of America, 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 just like the last eight. On November 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 our 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. Sen. 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 90 percent of the time? I don’t know about you, but I’m not ready to take a 10 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 — Sen. 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 anxieties that 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 autoworkers 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 they give back and they keep going without complaint. These are the Americans I know.

Now, I don’t believe that Sen. 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 that you’re on your own. Out of work? Tough luck. You’re on your own. No health care? The market will fix it. You’re on your own. Born into poverty? Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps — even if you don’t have boots. You are on your own.

Well it’s time for them to own their failure. It’s time for us to change America. And that’s why I’m running for president of the United States.

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 go 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 and 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 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 or making her way in the world, 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.

Now, 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 my life. And it is on behalf of them that I intend to win this election and keep our promise alive as president of the United States.

What is that American 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, to 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 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.

You know, 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’ll eliminate capital gains taxes for the small businesses and the start-ups that will create the high-wage, high-tech jobs of tomorrow.

I will, listen now, cut taxes — cut taxes — for 95 percent 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 10 years, we will finally end our dependence on oil from the Middle East. We will do this.

Washington’s been talking about our oil addiction for the last 30 years, and by the way John McCain’s been there for 26 of them. And 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 that we had as the day that Sen. McCain took office.

Now is the time to end this addiction, and to understand that drilling is a stop-gap 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 re-tool, 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 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 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. You know, 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 our 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 job 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 the exact 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 to provide love and guidance to their children.

Individual responsibility and mutual responsibility — that’s the essence of America’s promise.

And just as we keepour 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 Sen. 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 that 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. You know, 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 $79 billion in surplus while we are 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 that is not the change that America needs.

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 Qaeda 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 each other’s 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. 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 they are 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. You know, passions may 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. But 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 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 about you. It’s about you.

For 18 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. Because 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, where 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 the hands of terrorist.

And I’ve seen it in this campaign. In the young people who voted for the first time, and the young at heart, 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 even though they can’t afford it 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.

You know, 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 45 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.

The Bush/Cheney team on the move(scene from I.O.U.S.A.)

Across the country today corporate media headlines screamed the news that “an agreement has been reached” that would pull troops out of Iraq’s major cities ten months from now, in June, 2009. Read the fine print. Scrutinize between the lines. If you think all our troops are destined to come home, think again.

Yes, the United States and Iraq have “tentatively” reached an agreement that would see American troops vacated Iraq’s major cities, but that leaves a lot of ground out of the pact. That’s when the terms “broader withdrawal” and the words “tentative” and “but” come into play.

Iraqi leaders have yet to put a final stamp of approval on the deal, and as for that 2011 withdrawal date, it’s “contigent” on the implementation of additional security and on the “political progress” achieved in Iraq. So, folks, don’t hold your breath. The door is still ajar and our soldiers will still be rotating in and out of Iraq.

This agreement only touches one stressor on our military forces; we cannot forget that the door is still wide open and growing in Afghanistan, which has increasingly been a bubbling hotbed for insurgencies and terrorism.

Subject to final approval by the top Iraqi leadership, the exit date for U.S. troops would be December 2011, although American negotiators (Bush and company) insist on linking that target to additional security and political progress.

Timing is everything. The possibility of removing our troops from the Middle East is the new American Dream, fueled (1) by the insane billions of dollars we are now, as a country, indebted for, and (2) by the unconscionable number of lives lost for a war built on politically expedient lies. The longer the war drags on, the lower President Bush’s rating dip, with the end result that he’s now being called “the worst president ever.”

Timing is everything. What better way to boost the image of the Republic Party than a pre-presidential election resolution that appears to deliver a much-wanted objective without having to guarantee that the objective is met. The Republicans can “Rah Rah Rah” this issue through their upcoming convention as “mission completed” and make their party look like it has done the job after all.

It’s been done before.

In September, 2007, President Bush in a speech heard ’round the world’, attempted to support a gradual troop withdrawal:

“The principle guiding my decisions on troop levels in Iraq is ‘return on success’ — the more successful we are, the more American troops can return home.” (In other words, there is no, as the NY Sun explained, “no dramatic change in course.” –9.14.07

Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, responded to that day’s speech with “The President failed to provide either a plan to successfully end the war or a convincing rationale to continue it.”

The NY Times immediately posted an No Exit, No Strategy editorial that said:

“Mr. Bush’s claims last night about how well the war is going are believable only if you use Pentagon numbers so obviously cooked that they call to mind the way Americans were duped into first supporting this war.”

A post editorial, The Korea Parallel, offers a darker perspective: ,

“In retrospect, Iraq may prove to be another Korea – a seemingly stalemated war in a strategically vital region that dominated a bitterly partisan presidential campaign.”

Newsday offered this editorial comment:

“[In his speech,] Bush will make it clear that, beyond a token troop reduction, he has no intention of deviating from a course of action that has produced minimal results at a heavy cost in lives and treasure – and provides no guarantees of future success.” 9.14.07

Same speech, different year.

Sen. Barack Obama

Sen. John McCain

Democratic Candidate Barack Obama has stated he wants all US forces out of Iraq within 16 months of his taking office (that’s July, 2010). He also says they are more urgently needed in Afghanistan. That means we will still have forces at war, but hopefully not as many.

Republican Candidate John McCain can’t even go that far; he says the timing of any withdrawal from Iraq must be based on “the conditions on the ground” (read: indeterminate) rather than on prearranged timetables. The Webster’s Dictionary defines “indeterminate” as “not able to be determined.” In other words: Who the hell knows?

Bush and company believe that a firm withdrawal date makes US presence more acceptable to the Iraq government and is rooted in the belief that Iraqi forces can stand on their own. It also has the caveat that some US military training forces would still be required even after 2011. Iraq has slated provincial elections in late 2008 and a national election in 2009. The new agreement being bandied about places US contractors under Iraq law while US troops remain subject to US law. Questions of immunity are reportedly the sole sticking point in this agreement.

What makes this deal so urgent?

The United Nations Security Council resolution that is the legal and binding authority for US troops to stay in Iraq ends December 31, 2009. After that, and in the absence of a an agreement for troop withdrawal in place, America’s presence in Iraq becomes illegal. It is why Britain is pulling all of its troops out by the end of the year. It will be interesting to see if Bush and company, if unable to seal the Iraq deal, will defy the UN and keep a highly visible presence in Iraq, in essence thumbing the US nose at the world.

As I read various reports on this “wonderful deal” I try to focus on the subtext, and on the terminology officially used:

• Aspirational: to aspire to (i.e. we hope that…)
• Broader withdrawal in 2011: implies that withdrawal will not be “complete”
• Contigent: it will happen if…

Troops in Iraq

The bottom line is yes, troops will be out of Iraq’s major cities … if conditions are met.

The bottom line is yes, they will out of one place … but moved to another.

The bottom line is yes … but many will be waging war in Afghanistan.

The bottom line is yes, we will remove troops from Iraq by 2011 … but we will still have a military presence there as “advisors.” Yeah, right.

In the meantime, military families can expect still more deployments to both Iraq and Afghanistan, because the troops there now have to be rotated home for some R&R with families before taking that 2nd, 3rd, 4th or heaven forbid, 5th tour of duty in an unending war zone.

Even with this almost-agreement, US forces will be deployed on the desert sand, waiting to step in “as needed” to assist Iraq military and police.

Some agreement!