me Let -- let me express -- let me express my thanks to the historic
slate of candidates who accompanied me on this journey, and especially
the one who traveled the farthest, a champion for working Americans and
an inspiration to my daughters and to yours, Hillary Rodham Clinton.
To President Clinton, 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 am 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's 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 cards, 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 that he's worked on for 20 years and watch as it's 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...
... that sits on its hands while a major American city drowns before our
eyes.
Tonight, tonight, I say to the people of America, to Democrats and
Republicans and independents across this great land: Enough. This
moment...
This moment, 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 -- we are here because we love this country too much to
let the next four years look just like the last eight.
On November 4th, on November 4th, we must stand up and say: Eight is
enough.
Now, now, let me -- 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.
Senator McCain likes to talk about judgment, but, really, what does it
say about your judgment when you think George Bush has been right more
than 90 percent of the time?
I don't know about you, but I am 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 -- Senator
McCain has been anything but independent.
He said that our economy has made great progress under this
president. He said that the fundamentals of the economy are strong.
And when one of his chief advisers, the man who wrote his economic plan,
was talking about the 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 auto workers
at a Michigan plant who, after they found out it was closing, kept
showing up every day and working as hard as ever, because they knew
there were people who counted on the brakes that they made.
Tell that to the military families who shoulder their burdens silently
as they watch their loved ones leave for their third, or fourth, or
fifth tour of duty.
These are not whiners. They work hard, and they give back, and they keep
going without complaint. These are the Americans I know.
Now, I don't believe that Senator McCain doesn't care what's going on in
the lives of Americans; I just think he doesn't know.
Why else would he define middle-class as someone making under $5 million
a year? How else could he propose hundreds of billions in tax breaks for
big corporations and oil companies, but not one penny of tax relief to
more than 100 million Americans?
OBAMA: 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 -- 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, 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 G.I. 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 -- when I listen to another worker tell me that his factory has
shut down, I remember all those men and women on the South Side of
Chicago who I stood by and fought for two decades ago after the local
steel plant closed.
And when I hear a woman talk about the difficulties of starting her own
business 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 -- 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 obligations 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 -- 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 -- so let me -- 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 companies
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
start-ups that will create the high-wage, high-tech jobs of tomorrow.
I will -- listen now -- I will 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 -- Washington has been talking about our oil
addiction for the last 30 years. And, by the way, John McCain has been
there for 26 of them.
And in that time, he has 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 than we had on the day that
Senator 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, 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 because tonight 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 -- now is the time to finally keep the promise of affordable,
accessible health care for every single American.
If you have health care -- 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 -- 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 an 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, 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 keep our promise to the next
generation here at home, so must we keep America's promise abroad.
If John McCain wants to have a debate about who has the temperament and
judgment to serve as the next commander-in-chief, that's a debate I'm
ready to have.
For -- for while -- while Senator McCain was turning his sights to Iraq
just days after 9/11, I stood up and opposed this war, knowing that it
would distract us from the real threats 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 follow him to the cave where he lives.
And today, today, as my call for a timeframe 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 deficit, 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 -- 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
Qaida and the Taliban in Afghanistan. I will rebuild our military to
meet future conflicts, but I will also renew the tough, direct diplomacy
that can prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and curb Russian
aggression.
I will build new partnerships to defeat the threats of the 21st century:
terrorism and nuclear proliferation, poverty and genocide, climate
change and disease.
And I will restore our moral standing so that America is once again that
last, best hope for all who are called to the cause of freedom, who long
for lives of peace, and who yearn for a better future.
These -- 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, and that's what we have to restore.
We may not agree on abortion, but surely we can agree on reducing the
number of unwanted pregnancies in this country.
The -- 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 a 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 empl...