The Zogby organization, the only polling outfit to have posed the
question to date, found last June that 42 percent of Americans felt
Bush should be impeached if he lied about the war (a much larger
percentage believe he lied). That, of course, was before the mainstream
media began finally reporting, as a result of special prosecutor
Patrick Fitzgerald's investigation of Plamegate, on the disinformation
campaign for war against Iraq directed by Vice President Dick Cheney
and the White House Iraq Group. It was also before Bush himself was
found to have been in on the cover-up of the outing of Valerie Plame by
Cheney chief of staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby and presidential advisor
Karl Rove. It was also before the US death toll in Iraq topped 2000.
Introduction [1:07:40]
… The truth is, it's so ironic… the best
information we may get about this election may come
from a combination of The Control Room, Fahrenheit
9/11, John Sayles, the nightly news from Jon Stewart
if some of you watch that. At the height of the
prisoner abuse stories, [Jon Stewart] had one of his
mock news broadcasters say very seriously to the
camera, on the Stewart show, he said, "The important
thing is not that we commit torture and abuses, it's
that we're a country that doesn't condone torture and
abuses" [laughter] — that's a wonderful line.
And so, you start talking about failures of
communication, I don't know where we're going to go
with this, I can't make you feel happy about where we
are. We've got a very important election coming up,
probably the most important since, what, 1860. I think
it is, and there's nothing I can say to you about any
of that. …
So here we are. The bottom line is, by the way,
I'm in a tough position because I'm not done reporting
on all of this. … It's a tough position because there
is more to the story. …
Standards for Government Ethics [1:10:25]
I guess the way to describe how you look at things
is, I don’t know about you, but I have a wife and
children, and one of the things that makes life
livable is trusting in my partner, never lying to my
children and never wanting my children — with the
exception of teenage girls [laughter] — to lie to me
about anything. …
But basically you know what I’m talking about, the
core of how we exist. The way we live — not us,
there’s nothing special about us, everybody in the
world — we all live, the most important thing in our
life is our family structure and the integrity with
which we live, and the honesty with which we conduct
our life, and the trust with which we have people
[sic].
And if you think about it, you begin to understand
the bad bargain we have [now]. It’s, it's, it's a
condition, a requirement, one that we so desperately
live with our own families with that we don’t even
begin to levy on the President of the United States
and the National Security Advisor. It’s not even a
requirement [for them]. We don’t even have any
expectation that they’re going to have the same trust
and integrity in conducting their affairs as we do in
our own personal life.
Rest of Speech
July 29th, 2004 1:52 pm
THE REVEREND AL SHARPTON DELIVERS REMARKS AT THE
DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION - JULY 28, 2004
Thank you.
Tonight I want to address my remarks in two parts.
One, I'm honored to address the delegates here.
Last Friday, I had the experience in Detroit of hearing President George Bush make a speech. And in
the speech, he asked certain questions. I hope he's watching tonight. I would like to answer your
questions, Mr. President.
(APPLAUSE)
To the chairman, our delegates, and all that are assembled, we're honored and glad to be here tonight.
I'm glad to be joined by supporters and friends from around the country. I'm glad to be joined by my
family, Kathy, Dominique, who will be 18, and Ashley.
We
are here 228 years after right here in Boston we fought to establish
the freedoms of America. The first person to die in the Revolutionary
War is buried not far from here, a Black man from Barbados, named
Crispus Attucks.
(APPLAUSE)
Forty years ago, in 1964,
Fannie Lou Hamer and the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party stood at
the Democratic convention in Atlantic City fighting to preserve voting
rights for all America and all
Democrats, regardless of race or gender.
Hamer's stand inspired Dr. King's march in Selma, which brought about the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Twenty
years ago, Reverend Jesse Jackson stood at the Democratic National
Convention in San Francisco,again, appealing to the preserve those
freedoms.
Tonight, we stand with those freedoms at risk and our security as citizens in question.
I have come here tonight to say, that the only choice we have to preserve our freedoms at this point in history is to elect John Kerry the president of the United States.
(APPLAUSE)
I
stood with both John Kerry and John Edwards on over 30 occasions during
the primary season. I not only debated them, I watched them, I observed
their deeds, I looked into their eyes. I am convinced that they are men who say what they mean and mean what they say.
(APPLAUSE)
I'm also convinced that at a time when a vicious spirit in the body politic of this country that
attempts to undermine America's freedoms -- our civil rights, and civil liberties -- we must leave this city
and go forth and organize this nation for victory for our party and John Kerry and John Edwards in November.
(APPLAUSE)
And let me quickly say, this is not just about winning an election. It's about preserving the principles on
which this very nation was founded.
Look
at the current view of our nation worldwide as a results of our
unilateral foreign policy. We went from unprecedented international
support and solidarity on September 12, 2001, to hostility and hatred
as we stand here tonight. We can't survive in the world by ourselves.
(APPLAUSE)
How did we squander this opportunity to unite the world for democracy and to commit to a global fight against hunger and disease?
We
did it with a go-it-alone foreign policy based on flawed intelligence.
We were told that we were going to Iraq because there were weapons of
mass destruction. We've lost hundreds of soldiers. We've spent $200 billion dollars at a time when we had record state deficits. And when it became clear that there were no weapons, they changed the premise for the war and said: No, we went because of other reasons.
If I told you tonight, "Let's leave the Fleet Center,we're in danger," and when you get outside, you ask
me,
Reverend Al, "What is the danger?" and I say, "It don't matter. We just
needed some fresh air," I have misled you and we were misled.
(APPLAUSE)
We are also faced with the prospect of in the next four years that two or more of the Supreme Court
Justice seats will become available. This year we celebrated the anniversary of Brown v. the Board of
Education.
(APPLAUSE)
This court has voted five to four on critical issues of women's rights and civil rights. It is frightening
to
think that the gains of civil and women rights and those movements in
the last century could be reversed if this administration is in the
White House in these next four years.
(APPLAUSE)
I suggest to you tonight that if George Bush had selected the court in '54, Clarence Thomas would have never got to law school.
(APPLAUSE)
This
is not about a party. This is about living up to the promise of
America. The promise of America says we will guarantee quality
education for all children and not spend more money on metal detectors
than computers in our schools.
(APPLAUSE)
The promise of
America guarantees health care for all of its citizens and doesn't
force seniors to travel to Canada to buy prescription drugs they can't
afford here at home.
(APPLAUSE)
The promise of America
provides that those who work in our health care system can afford to be
hospitalized in the very beds they clean up every day.
The
promise of America is that government does not seek to regulate your
behavior in the bedroom, but to guarantee your right to provide food in
the kitchen.
(APPLAUSE)
The issue of government is not to
determine who may sleep together in the bedroom, it's to help those
that might not be eating in the kitchen.
(APPLAUSE)
The
promise of America that we stand for human rights, whether it's
fighting against slavery in the Sudan, where right now Joe Madison and
others are fasting,around what is going on in the Sudan; AIDS in
Lesotho;a police misconduct in this country.
The promise of
America is one immigration policy for all who seek to enter our shores,
whether they come from Mexico, Haiti or Canada, there must be one set
of rules for everybody.
(APPLAUSE)
We cannot welcome
those to come and then try and act as though any culture will not be
respected or treated inferior. We cannot look at the Latino community
and preach "one language." No one gave them an English test before they
sent them to Iraq to fight for America.
(APPLAUSE)
The promise of America is that every citizen vote is counted and protected, and election schemes do not decide the election.
It, to me, is a glaring contradiction that we would fight, and rightfully so, to get the right to vote for
the people in the capital of Iraq in Baghdad, but still don't give the federal right to vote for the
people in the capital of the United States, in Washington, D.C.
(APPLAUSE)
Mr. President, as I close, Mr. President, I heard you say Friday that you had questions for voters,
particularly
African- American voters. And you asked the question: Did the
Democratic Party take us for granted? Well, I have raised questions.
But let me answer your question.
You said the Republican Party
was the party of Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. It is true that Mr.
Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, after which there was a
commitment to give 40 acres and a mule.
That's where the
argument, to this day, of reparations starts. We never got the 40
acres. We went all the way to Herbert Hoover, and we never got the 40
acres.
We didn't get the mule. So we decided we'd ride this donkey as far as it would take us.
(APPLAUSE)
Mr.
President, you said we would have more leverage if both parties got our
votes, but we didn't come this far playing political games. It was
those that earned our vote that got our vote. We got the Civil Rights
Act under a Democrat. We got the Voting Rights Act under a Democrat. We
got the right to organize under Democrats.
(APPLAUSE)
Mr.
President, the reason we are fighting so hard, the reason we took
Florida so seriously, is our right to vote wasn't gained because of our
age. Our vote was soaked in the blood of martyrs, soaked in the blood
of Goodman, Chaney and Schwerner, soaked in the blood of four little
girls in Birmingham. This vote is sacred to us.
(APPLAUSE)
This vote can't be bargained away.
(APPLAUSE)
This vote can't be given away.
(APPLAUSE)
Mr. President, in all due respect, Mr. President, read my lips: Our vote is not for sale.
(APPLAUSE)
And
there's a whole generation of young leaders that have come forward
across this country that stand on integrity and stand on their
traditions, those that have emerged with John Kerry and John Edwards as
partners, like Greg Meeks, like Barack Obama, like our voter
registration director, Marjorie Harris, like those that are in the
trenches.
And we come with strong family values. Family values is not just those with two-car garages and a
retirement
plan. Retirement plans are good. But family values also are those who
had to make nothing stretch into something happening, who had to make
ends meet.
I was raised by a single mother who made a way for
me. She used to scrub floors as a domestic worker, put a cleaning rag
in her pocketbook and ride the subways in Brooklyn so I would have food
on the table.
But she taught me as I walked her to the subway that life is about not where you start, but where you're
going. That's family values.
(APPLAUSE)
And
I wanted somebody in my community -- I wanted to show that example. As
I ran for president, I hoped that one child would come out of the
ghetto like I did, could look at me walk across the stage with
governors and senators and know they didn't have to be a drug dealer,
they didn't have to be a hoodlum, they didn't have to be a gangster,
they could stand up from a broken home, on welfare, and they could run
for president of the United States.
(APPLAUSE)
As you know, I live in New York. I was there September 11th when that despicable act of terrorism happened.
A few days after, I left home, my family had taken in a young man who lost his family. And as they gave
comfort
to him, I had to do a radio show that morning.When I got there, my
friend James Entome (ph) said,"Reverend, we're going to stop at a
certain hour and play a song, synchronized with 990 other stations."
I said, "That's fine."
He said, "We're dedicating it to the victims of 9/11."
I said, "What song are you playing?"
He said "America the Beautiful." The particular station I was at, the played that rendition song by
Ray Charles.
As
you know, we lost Ray a few weeks ago, but I sat there that morning and
listened to Ray sing through those speakers, "Oh beautiful for spacious
skies, for amber waves of grain, for purple mountains' majesty across
the fruited plain."
And it occurred to me as I heard Ray
singing, that Ray wasn't singing about what he knew, because Ray had
been blind since he was a child. He hadn't seen many purple mountains.
He hadn't seen many fruited plains. He was singing about what he
believed to be.
Mr. President, we love America, not because all of us have seen the beauty all the time.
But we believed if we kept on working, if we kept on marching, if we kept on voting, if we kept on
believing, we would make America beautiful for everybody.
Starting in November, let's make America beautiful again.
Thank you. And God bless you.
(APPLAUSE)
Speech to the 2004 Democratic National Convention
Remarks of John Edwards
John Edwards' Speech to the Democratic National
Convention
Boston, MA - Thank you. Now, you know why Elizabeth
is so amazing.
I am a lucky man: to have the love of my life at my
side. We have been blessed with four beautiful
children: Wade, Cate, Emma Claire, and Jack.
My mother and father, Wallace and Bobbie Edwards are
here tonight. You taught me the values that I carry
with me in my heart: faith, family, responsibility,
and opportunity for everyone. You taught me that
there’s dignity and honor in a hard days work. You
taught me that you look out for your neighbors, you
never look down on anybody, and you treat everyone
with respect.
Those are the values John Kerry and I believe in, and
nothing makes me prouder than standing with him in
this campaign. I am so humbled to be your candidate
for Vice President of the United States.
I want to talk about our next president. For those
who want to know what kind of leader he’ll be, I want
to take you back about thirty years. When John Kerry
graduated college, he volunteered for military
service. He volunteered to go to Vietnam and to
captain a swift boat, one of the most dangerous duties
you could have. And as a result he was wounded and
honored for his valor.
If you have any question about what he’s made of, you
need to spend three minutes with the men who served
with him then and stand by him today.
They saw up close what he’s made of. They saw him
reach down and pull one of his men from the river and
save his life. And in the heat of battle, they saw
him decide in an instant to turn his boat around,
drive it straight through an enemy position, and chase
down the enemy to save his crew.
Decisive. Strong. Aren’t these the traits you want
in a Commander in Chief?
We hear a lot of talk about values. Where I come from,
you don’t judge someone’s values based on how they use
that word in a political ad. You judge their values
based upon what they’ve spent their life doing.
So when a man volunteers to serve his country, and
puts his life on the line for others—that’s a man who
represents real American values.
This is a man who is prepared to keep the American
people safe and to make America stronger at home and
respected in the world.
John is a man who knows the difference between what is
right and what is wrong. He wants to serve you—your
cause is his cause. And that is why we must and we
will elect John Kerry as our next president.
For the last few months, John has been talking about
his positive, optimistic vision for the
country—talking about his plan to move this country in
the right direction.
But we’ve seen relentless negative attacks against
John. So in the weeks ahead, we know what’s
coming—don’t we—more negative attacks.
Aren’t you sick of it?
They are doing all they can to take this campaign for
the highest office in the land down the lowest
possible road.
This is where you come in. Between now and
November—you, the American people—you can reject the
tired, old, hateful, negative, politics of the past.
And instead you can embrace the politics of hope, the
politics of what’s possible because this is America,
where everything is possible.
I am here tonight because I love my country. And I
have every reason to love my country because I have
grown up in the bright light of America.
I grew up in a small town in rural North Carolina. My
father worked in a mill all his life, and I will never
forget the men and women who worked with him. They had
lint in their hair and grease on their faces. They
worked hard and tried to put a little something away
every week so their kids and their grandkids could
have a better life. They are just like the auto
workers, office workers, teachers, and shop keepers on
Main Streets all across America.
My mother had a number of jobs. Her last job was
working at the post office so my parents could have
health care. And she owned her own small
business—refinishing furniture to help pay for me go
to college.
I have had such incredible opportunities in my life,
and I was blessed to be the first person in my family
to go to college. I worked my way through, and I have
had opportunities way beyond what I could have ever
imagined.
And the heart of this campaign—your campaign—is to
make sure that everyone has those same opportunities
that I had growing up—no matter where you live, who
your family is, or what the color of your skin is.
This is the America we believe in.
I have spent my life fighting for the kind of people I
grew up with. For two decades, I stood with families
and children against big HMOs and big insurance
companies. And as a Senator, I fought those same
fights against the Washington lobbyists and for causes
like the Patients’ Bill of Rights.
I stand here tonight ready to work with you and John
to make America strong again.
And we have so much work to do. Because the truth is,
we still live in two different Americas: one for
people who have lived the American Dream and don’t
have to worry, and another for most Americans who work
hard and still struggle to make ends meet.
It doesn’t have to be that way. We can build one
America
We can build one America where we no longer have two
healthcare systems. One for people who get the best
healthcare money can buy and then one for everybody
else, rationed out by insurance companies, drug
companies, and HMOs—millions of Americans who don’t
have any health insurance at all.
It doesn’t have to be that way.
We have a plan that will offer everyone the same
health care your Senator has. We can give tax breaks
to help pay for your health care. And we will sign
into law a real Patients’ Bill of Rights so you can
make your own health care decisions.
We shouldn't have two public school systems in this
country: one for the most affluent communities, and
one for everybody else.
None of us believe that the quality of a child’s
education should be controlled by where they live or
the affluence of their community.
It doesn’t have to be that way.
We can build one public school system that works for
all our children. Our plan will reform our schools
and raise our standards. We can give our schools the
resources they need. We can provide incentives to put
quality teachers in the places and the subjects where
we need them the most. And we can ensure that three
million kids with a safe place to go after school.
This is what we can do together.
We shouldn't have two different economies in America:
one for people who are set for life, their kids and
grandkids will be just fine, and then one for most
Americans who live paycheck to paycheck.
And you know what I’m saying. You don’t need me to
explain it to you, you know—you can’t save any money,
can you? Takes every dime you make just to pay your
bills, and you know what happens if something goes
wrong—a child gets sick, somebody gets laid off, or
there’s a financial problem, you go right off the
cliff.
And what’s the first thing to go. Your dreams.
It doesn’t have to be that way.
We can strengthen and lift up your families. Your
agenda is our agenda—so let me give you some
specifics.
First, we can create good paying jobs in America
again. Our plan will stop giving tax breaks to
companies that outsource your jobs. Instead, we will
give tax breaks to American companies that keep jobs
here in America. And we will invest in the jobs of
the future—in the technologies and innovation to
ensure that America stays ahead of the competition.
We will do this because for us a job is about more
than a paycheck—it’s about dignity and self respect.
Hard work should be valued in this country and we’re
going to reward work, not just wealth.
We don’t want people to just get by; we want people to
get ahead. So let me give you some specifics about
how we’re going to do that.
To help you pay for health care, a tax break and
health care reform to lower your premiums up to
$1,000. To help you cover the rising costs of child
care, a tax credit up to $1,000 to cover those costs
so your kids have a safe place to go while you work.
And to help your child have the same chance I had and
be the first person in your family to go to college, a
tax break on up to $4,000 in tuition.
So now you ask how are we going to pay for this?
Well, here’s how we’re going to pay for it. Let me be
very clear, for 98 percent of Americans, you will keep
your tax cut—that’s 98 percent. But we’ll roll back
the tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, close
corporate loopholes, and cut government contractors
and wasteful spending. We can move our country
forward without passing the bill and the burden on to
our children and grandchildren.
We can also do something about 35 million Americans
who live in poverty every day. Here's the reason we
should not just talk about it, but do something about
millions of Americans who still live in poverty,
because it is wrong. We have a moral responsibility
to lift those families up.
I mean the very idea that in a country of our wealth
and our prosperity, we have children going to bed
hungry. We have children who don't have the clothes
to keep them warm. We have millions of Americans who
work full-time every day for minimum wage to support
their family and still live in poverty—it’s wrong.
These are men and women who are living up to their
part of the bargain: working hard and taking care of
their families. Those families are doing their part;
it’s time we did ours.
We will do that when John is in the White House. We
will raise the minimum wage, finish the job on Welfare
Reform, and bring good paying jobs to the places that
need them. And we will say no forever to any American
working full-time and living in poverty—not in our
America, not in our America.
Let me talk about why we need to build one America. I
saw up close what having two Americas does to our
country.
From the time I was very young, I saw the ugly face of
segregation and discrimination. I saw young
African-American kids sent upstairs in movie theaters.
I saw white only signs on restaurant doors and
luncheon counters. I feel such an enormous
responsibility when it comes to issues of race and
equality and civil rights.
I have heard some discussions and debates about where,
and in front of what audiences we should talk about
race, equality, and civil rights. Well, I have an
answer to that question. Everywhere.
This is not an African-American issue, not a Latino
issue, not an Asian-American issue, this is an
American issue. It’s about who we are, what our
values are, what kind of country we want to live in.
What John and I want—what we all want—is for our
children and our grandchildren to be the first
generations to grow up in an America that's no longer
divided by race.
We must build one America. We must be one America,
strong and united for another very important
reason—because we are at war.
None of us will ever forget where we were on September
11th. We share the same terrible images: the Towers
falling, the Pentagon in flames, and the smoldering
field in Pennsylvania. And we share the profound
sadness for the nearly three thousand lives lost.
As a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, I
know that we have to do more to fight terrorism and
protect our country. And we can do that. We are
approaching the third anniversary of September 11th,
and I can tell you that when we’re in office, it won’t
take us three years to get the reforms in our
intelligence we need to protect our country. We will
do whatever it takes, for as long as it takes, to make
sure that never happens again, not to our America.
When John is president, we will listen to the wisdom
of the September 11th Commission. We will build and
lead strong alliances and safeguard and secure weapons
of mass destruction. We will strengthen our homeland
security and protect our ports, safeguard our chemical
plants, and support our firefighters, police officers
and EMT’s. We will always use our military might to
keep the American people safe.
And we will have one clear unmistakable message for al
Qaida and the rest of these terrorists. You cannot
run. You cannot hide. And we will destroy you.
John understands personally about fighting in a war.
And he knows what our brave men and women are going
through in another war—the war in Iraq.
The human cost and extraordinary heroism of this war,
it surrounds us. It surrounds us in our cities and
towns. And we will win this war because of the
strength and courage of our own people.
Some of our friends and neighbors saw their last
images in Baghdad. Some took their last steps
outside of Fallujah. And some buttoned their uniform
for the final time before they went out to save their
unit.
Men and women who used to take care of themselves,
they now count on others to see them through the day.
They need their mother to tie their shoe. Their
husband to brush their hair. And their wife’s arm to
help them across the room.
The stars and stripes wave for them. The word hero
was made for them. They are the best and the bravest.
They will never be left behind. You understand that.
And they deserve a president who understands on the
most personal level what they have gone through—what
they have given and what they have given up for their
country.
To us, the real test of patriotism is how we treat the
men and women who put their lives on the line every
day to defend our values. And let me tell you, the 26
million veterans in this country won’t have to wonder
if they’ll have health care next week or next
year—they will have it always because they took care
of us and we will take care of them.
But today, our great United States military is
stretched thin. More than 140,000 are in Iraq.
Nearly 20,000 are serving in Afghanistan. And I
visited the men and women there and we’re praying for
them as they keep working to give that country hope.
Like all of those brave men and women, John put his
life on the line for our country. He knows that when
authority is given to the president, much is expected
in return. That’s why we will strengthen and modernize
our military.
We will double our Special Forces, and invest in the
new equipment and technologies so that our military
remains the best equipped and best trained in the
world. This will make our military stronger so we’re
able to defeat every enemy in this new world.
But we can’t do this alone. We have to restore our
respect in the world to bring our allies to us and
with us. It’s how we won the World Wars and the Cold
War and it is how we will build a stable Iraq.
With a new president who strengthens and leads our
alliances, we can get NATO to help secure Iraq. We
can ensure that Iraq’s neighbors like Syria and Iran,
don’t stand in the way of a democratic Iraq. We can
help Iraq’s economy by getting other countries to
forgive their enormous debt and participate in the
reconstruction. We can do this for the Iraqi people
and our soldiers. And we will get this done right.
A new president will bring the world to our side, and
with it—a stable Iraq and a real chance for peace and
freedom in the Middle East, including a safe and
secure Israel. And John and I will bring the world
together to face our most dangerous threat: the
possibility of terrorists getting their hands on a
nuclear, chemical or biological weapon.
With our credibility restored, we can work with other
nations to secure stockpiles of the worlds most
dangerous weapons and safeguard this dangerous
material. We can finish the job and secure all loose
nukes in Russia. And we can close the loophole in the
Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty that allows rogue
nations access to the tools they need to develop these
weapons.
That’s how we can address the new threats we face.
That’s how we can keep you safe. That’s how we can
restore America’s respect around the world.
And together, we will ensure that the image of
America—the image all of us love—America this great
shining light, this beacon of freedom, democracy, and
human rights that the world looks up to—that that
beacon is always lit.
The truth is every child, every family in America will
be safer and more secure if you grow up in a world
where America is once again looked up to and
respected. That's the world we can create together.
Tonight, as we celebrate in this hall, somewhere in
America, a mother sits at the kitchen table. She
can’t sleep. She’s worried because she can’t pay her
bills. She’s working hard to pay the rent and feed
her kids. She’s doing everything right, but she still
can’t get ahead.
It didn’t use to be that way in her house. Her husband
was called up in the Guard and he’s been serving in
Iraq for more than a year. She thought he’d be home
last month, but now he’s got to stay longer.
She thinks she’s alone. But tonight in this hall and
in your homes—you know what? She’s got a lot of
friends. We want her to know that we hear her. And
it’s time to bring opportunity and an equal chance to
her door.
We’re here to make America stronger at home so she can
get ahead. And we’re here to make America respected
in the world so that we can bring him home and
American soldiers don’t have to fight the war in Iraq
and the war on terror alone.
So when you return home, you might pass a mother on
her way to work the late-shift—you tell her……hope is
on the way.
When your brother calls and says that he’s working all
the time at the office and still can’t get ahead—you
tell him……hope is on the way.
When your parents call and tell you their medical
bills are through the roof—you tell them…...hope is on
the way.
When your neighbor calls you and says that her
daughter has worked hard and wants to go to
college—you tell her……hope is on the way.
When you talk to your son or daughter who is serving
this country and protecting our freedoms in Iraq—you
tell them……hope is on the way.
And when you wake up and sit with your kids at the
kitchen table, talking to them about the great
possibilities in America, you make sure that they know
that John and I believe at our core that tomorrow can
be better than today.
Like all of us, I have learned a lot of lessons in my
life. Two of the most important are that first, there
will always be heartache and struggle—you can’t make
it go away. But the other is that people of good and
strong will, can make a difference. One lesson is a
sad lesson and the other’s inspiring. We are
Americans and we choose to be inspired.
We choose hope over despair; possibilities over
problems, optimism over cynicism. We choose to do
what’s right even when those around us say “You can’t
do that.” We choose to be inspired because we know
that we can do better—because this is America where
everything is still possible.
What we believe—what John Kerry and I believe—is that
you should never look down on anybody, that we should
lift people up. We don't believe in tearing people
apart. We believe in bringing people together. What we
believe—what I believe—is that the family you're born
into and the color of your skin in our America should
never control your destiny.
Join us in this cause. Let’s make America stronger at
home and respected in the world. Let’s ensure that
once again, in our one America—our one
America—tomorrow will always be better than today.
Thank you and God bless you.
Barack Obama's Keynote Address at the Democratic
National Convention
Boston, MA - On behalf of the great state of Illinois,
crossroads of a nation, land of Lincoln, let me
express my deep gratitude for the privilege of
addressing this convention. Tonight is a particular
honor for me because, let’s face it, my presence on
this stage is pretty unlikely. My father was a foreign
student, born and raised in a small village in Kenya.
He grew up herding goats, went to school in a tin-roof
shack. His father, my grandfather, was a cook, a
domestic servant.
But my grandfather had larger dreams for his son.
Through hard work and perseverance my father got a
scholarship to study in a magical place; America which
stood as a beacon of freedom and opportunity to so
many who had come before. While studying here, my
father met my mother. She was born in a town on the
other side of the world, in Kansas. Her father worked
on oil rigs and farms through most of the Depression.
The day after Pearl Harbor he signed up for duty,
joined Patton’s army and marched across Europe. Back
home, my grandmother raised their baby and went to
work on a bomber assembly line. After the war, they
studied on the GI Bill, bought a house through FHA,
and moved west in search of opportunity.
And they, too, had big dreams for their daughter, a
common dream, born of two continents. My parents
shared not only an improbable love; they shared an
abiding faith in the possibilities of this nation.
They would give me an African name, Barack, or
“blessed,” believing that in a tolerant America your
name is no barrier to success. They imagined me going
to the best schools in the land, even though they
weren’t rich, because in a generous America you don’t
have to be rich to achieve your potential. They are
both passed away now. Yet, I know that, on this night,
they look down on me with pride.
I stand here today, grateful for the diversity of my
heritage, aware that my parents’ dreams live on in my
precious daughters. I stand here knowing that my story
is part of the larger American story, that I owe a
debt to all of those who came before me, and that, in
no other country on earth, is my story even possible.
Tonight, we gather to affirm the greatness of our
nation, not because of the height of our skyscrapers,
or the power of our military, or the size of our
economy. Our pride is based on a very simple premise,
summed up in a declaration made over two hundred years
ago, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that
all men are created equal. That they are endowed by
their Creator with certain inalienable rights. That
among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness.”
That is the true genius of America, a faith in the
simple dreams of its people, the insistence on small
miracles. That we can tuck in our children at night
and know they are fed and clothed and safe from harm.
That we can say what we think, write what we think,
without hearing a sudden knock on the door. That we
can have an idea and start our own business without
paying a bribe or hiring somebody’s son. That we can
participate in the political process without fear of
retribution, and that our votes will be counted—or at
least, most of the time.
This year, in this election, we are called to reaffirm
our values and commitments, to hold them against a
hard reality and see how we are measuring up, to the
legacy of our forbearers, and the promise of future
generations. And fellow Americans—Democrats,
Republicans, Independents—I say to you tonight: we
have more work to do. More to do for the workers I met
in Galesburg, Illinois, who are losing their union
jobs at the Maytag plant that’s moving to Mexico, and
now are having to compete with their own children for
jobs that pay seven bucks an hour. More to do for the
father I met who was losing his job and choking back
tears, wondering how he would pay $4,500 a month for
the drugs his son needs without the health benefits he
counted on. More to do for the young woman in East St.
Louis, and thousands more like her, who has the
grades, has the drive, has the will, but doesn’t have
the money to go to college.
Don’t get me wrong. The people I meet in small towns
and big cities, in diners and office parks, they don’t
expect government to solve all their problems. They
know they have to work hard to get ahead and they want
to. Go into the collar counties around Chicago, and
people will tell you they don’t want their tax money
wasted by a welfare agency or the Pentagon. Go into
any inner city neighborhood, and folks will tell you
that government alone can’t teach kids to learn. They
know that parents have to parent, that children can’t
achieve unless we raise their expectations and turn
off the television sets and eradicate the slander that
says a black youth with a book is acting white. No,
people don’t expect government to solve all their
problems. But they sense, deep in their bones, that
with just a change in priorities, we can make sure
that every child in America has a decent shot at life,
and that the doors of opportunity remain open to all.
They know we can do better. And they want that choice.
In this election, we offer that choice. Our party has
chosen a man to lead us who embodies the best this
country has to offer. That man is John Kerry. John
Kerry understands the ideals of community, faith, and
sacrifice, because they’ve defined his life. From his
heroic service in Vietnam to his years as prosecutor
and lieutenant governor, through two decades in the
United States Senate, he has devoted himself to this
country. Again and again, we’ve seen him make tough
choices when easier ones were available. His values
and his record affirm what is best in us.
John Kerry believes in an America where hard work is
rewarded. So instead of offering tax breaks to
companies shipping jobs overseas, he’ll offer them to
companies creating jobs here at home. John Kerry
believes in an America where all Americans can afford
the same health coverage our politicians in Washington
have for themselves. John Kerry believes in energy
independence, so we aren’t held hostage to the profits
of oil companies or the sabotage of foreign oil
fields. John Kerry believes in the constitutional
freedoms that have made our country the envy of the
world, and he will never sacrifice our basic liberties
nor use faith as a wedge to divide us. And John Kerry
believes that in a dangerous world, war must be an
option, but it should never be the first option.
A while back, I met a young man named Shamus at the
VFW Hall in East Moline, Illinois. He was a
good-looking kid, six-two or six-three, clear eyed,
with an easy smile. He told me he’d joined the Marines
and was heading to Iraq the following week. As I
listened to him explain why he’d enlisted, his
absolute faith in our country and its leaders, his
devotion to duty and service, I thought this young man
was all any of us might hope for in a child. But then
I asked myself: Are we serving Shamus as well as he
was serving us? I thought of more than 900 service men
and women, sons and daughters, husbands and wives,
friends and neighbors, who will not be returning to
their hometowns. I thought of families I had met who
were struggling to get by without a loved one’s full
income, or whose loved ones had returned with a limb
missing or with nerves shattered, but who still lacked
long-term health benefits because they were
reservists. When we send our young men and women into
harm’s way, we have a solemn obligation not to fudge
the numbers or shade the truth about why they’re
going, to care for their families while they’re gone,
to tend to the soldiers upon their return, and to
never ever go to war without enough troops to win the
war, secure the peace, and earn the respect of the
world.
Now let me be clear. We have real enemies in the
world. These enemies must be found. They must be
pursued and they must be defeated. John Kerry knows
this. And just as Lieutenant Kerry did not hesitate to
risk his life to protect the men who served with him
in Vietnam, President Kerry will not hesitate one
moment to use our military might to keep America safe
and secure. John Kerry believes in America. And he
knows it’s not enough for just some of us to prosper.
For alongside our famous individualism, there’s
another ingredient in the American saga.
A belief that we are connected as one people. If
there’s a child on the south side of Chicago who can’t
read, that matters to me, even if it’s not my child.
If there’s a senior citizen somewhere who can’t pay
for her prescription and has to choose between
medicine and the rent, that makes my life poorer, even
if it’s not my grandmother. If there’s an Arab
American family being rounded up without benefit of an
attorney or due process, that threatens my civil
liberties. It’s that fundamental belief—I am my
brother’s keeper, I am my sisters’ keeper—that makes
this country work. It’s what allows us to pursue our
individual dreams, yet still come together as a single
American family. “E pluribus unum.” Out of many, one.
Yet even as we speak, there are those who are
preparing to divide us, the spin masters and negative
ad peddlers who embrace the politics of anything goes.
Well, I say to them tonight, there’s not a liberal
America and a conservative America—there’s the United
States of America. There’s not a black America and
white America and Latino America and Asian America;
there’s the United States of America. The pundits like
to slice-and-dice our country into Red States and Blue
States; Red States for Republicans, Blue States for
Democrats. But I’ve got news for them, too. We worship
an awesome God in the Blue States, and we don’t like
federal agents poking around our libraries in the Red
States. We coach Little League in the Blue States and
have gay friends in the Red States. There are patriots
who opposed the war in Iraq and patriots who supported
it. We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance
to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the
United States of America.
In the end, that’s what this election is about. Do we
participate in a politics of cynicism or a politics of
hope? John Kerry calls on us to hope. John Edwards
calls on us to hope. I’m not talking about blind
optimism here—the almost willful ignorance that thinks
unemployment will go away if we just don’t talk about
it, or the health care crisis will solve itself if we
just ignore it. No, I’m talking about something more
substantial. It’s the hope of slaves sitting around a
fire singing freedom songs; the hope of immigrants
setting out for distant shores; the hope of a young
naval lieutenant bravely patrolling the Mekong Delta;
the hope of a millworker’s son who dares to defy the
odds; the hope of a skinny kid with a funny name who
believes that America has a place for him, too. The
audacity of hope!
In the end, that is God’s greatest gift to us, the
bedrock of this nation; the belief in things not seen;
the belief that there are better days ahead. I believe
we can give our middle class relief and provide
working families with a road to opportunity. I believe
we can provide jobs to the jobless, homes to the
homeless, and reclaim young people in cities across
America from violence and despair. I believe that as
we stand on the crossroads of history, we can make the
right choices, and meet the challenges that face us.
America!
Tonight, if you feel the same energy I do, the same
urgency I do, the same passion I do, the same
hopefulness I do—if we do what we must do, then I have
no doubt that all across the country, from Florida to
Oregon, from Washington to Maine, the people will rise
up in November, and John Kerry will be sworn in as
president, and John Edwards will be sworn in as vice
president, and this country will reclaim its promise,
and out of this long political darkness a brighter day
will come. Thank you and God bless you.
Text of Bill Clinton's speech
July 27, 2004, 12:06 AM EDT
The following is a transcript of a speech by William
J. Clinton at the Democratic National Convention:
Thank you. I am honored to share the podium with my
Senator, though I think I should be introducing her.
I'm proud of her and so grateful to the people of New
York that the best public servant in our family is
still on the job and grateful to all of you,
especially my friends from Arkansas, for the chance
you gave us to serve our country in the White House.
I am also honored to share this night with President
Carter, who has inspired the world with his work for
peace, democracy, and human rights. And with Al Gore,
my friend and partner for eight years, who played such
a large role in building the prosperity and progress
that brought America into the 21st century, who showed
incredible grace and patriotism under pressure, and
who is the living embodiment that every vote counts --
and must be counted in every state in America.
Tonight I speak as a citizen, returning to the role I
have played for most of my life as a foot soldier in
the fight for our future, as we nominate a true New
England patriot for president. The state that gave us
John Adams and John Kennedy has now given us John
Kerry, a good man, a great senator, a visionary
leader. We are constantly told America is deeply
divided. But all Americans value freedom, faith, and
family. We all honor the service and sacrifice of our
men and women in uniform in Iraq, Afghanistan and
around the world.
We all want good jobs, good schools, health care, safe
streets, a clean environment. We all want our children
to grow up in a secure America leading the world
toward a peaceful future. Our differences are in how
we can best achieve these things, in a time of
unprecedented change. Therefore, we Democrats will
bring the American people a positive campaign, arguing
not who's good and who's bad, but what is the best way
to build the safe, prosperous world our children
deserve.
The 21st century is marked by serious security
threats, serious economic challenges, and serious
problems like global warming and the AIDS epidemic.
But it is also full of enormous opportunities-to
create millions of high paying jobs in clean energy,
and biotechnology; to restore the manufacturing base
and reap the benefits of the global economy through
our diversity and our commitment to decent labor and
environmental standards everywhere; and to create a
world where we can celebrate our religious and racial
differences, because our common humanity matters more.
To build that kind of world we must make the right
choices; and we must have a president who will lead
the way. Democrats and Republicans have very different
and honestly held ideas on that choices we should
make, rooted in fundamentally different views of how
we should meet our common challenges at home and how
we should play our role in the world. Democrats want
to build an America of shared responsibilities and
shared opportunities and more global cooperation,
acting alone only when we must.
We think the role of government is to give people the
tools and conditions to make the most of their lives.
Republicans believe in an America run by the right
people, their people, in a world in which we act
unilaterally when we can, and cooperate when we have
to.
They think the role of government is to concentrate
wealth and power in the hands of those who embrace
their political, economic, and social views, leaving
ordinary citizens to fend for themselves on matters
like health care and retirement security. Since most
Americans are not that far to the right, they have to
portray us Democrats as unacceptable, lacking in
strength and values. In other words, they need a
divided America. But Americans long to be united.
After 9/11, we all wanted to be one nation, strong in
the fight against terror. The president had a great
opportunity to bring us together under his slogan of
compassionate conservatism and to unite the world in
common cause against terror.
Instead, he and his congressional allies made a very
different choice: to use the moment of unity to push
America too far to the right and to walk away from our
allies, not only in attacking Iraq before the weapons
inspectors finished their jobs, but in withdrawing
American support for the Climate Change Treaty, the
International Court for war criminals, the ABM treaty,
and even the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
Now they are working to develop two new nuclear
weapons which they say we might use first. At home,
the President and the Republican Congress have made
equally fateful choices indeed. For the first time
ever when America was on a war footing, there were two
huge tax cuts, nearly half of which went to the top
one percent. I'm in that group now for the first time
in my life.
When I was in office, the Republicans were pretty mean
to me. When I left and made money, I became part of
the most important group in the world to them. At
first I thought I should send them a thank you note --
until I realized they were sending you the bill.
They protected my tax cuts while:
-- Withholding promised funding for the Leave No Child
Behind Act, leaving
over 2 million children behind
-- Cutting 140,000 unemployed workers out of job
training
-- 100,000 working families out of child care
assistance
-- 300,000 poor children out of after school programs
-- Raising out of pocket healthcare costs to veterans
-- Weakening or reversing important environmental
advances for clean air
and the preservation of our forests.
Everyone had to sacrifice except the wealthiest
Americans, who wanted to do their part but were asked
only to expend the energy necessary to open the
envelopes containing our tax cuts. If you agree with
these choices, you should vote to return them to the
White House and Congress. If not, take a look at John
Kerry, John Edwards and the Democrats.
In this year's budget, the White House wants to cut
off federal funding for 88,000 uniformed police,
including more than 700 on the New York City police
force who put their lives on the line on 9/11. As gang
violence is rising and we look for terrorists in our
midst, Congress and the President are also about to
allow the ten-year-old ban on assault weapons to
expire. Our crime policy was to put more police on the
streets and take assault weapons off the streets. It
brought eight years of declining crime and violence.
Their policy is the reverse, they're taking police off
the streets and putting assault weapons back on the
streets. If you agree with their choices, vote to
continue them. If not, join John Kerry, John Edwards
and the Democrats in making America safer, smarter,
and stronger.
On Homeland Security, Democrats tried to double the
number of containers at ports and airports checked for
Weapons of Mass Destruction. The one billion dollar
cost would have been paid for by reducing the tax cut
of 200,000 millionaires by five thousand dollars each.
Almost all 200,000 of us would have been glad to pay
5,000 dollars to make the nearly 300 million Americans
safer-but the measure failed because the White House
and the Republican leadership in the House decided my
tax cut was more important -- If you agree with that
choice, re-elect them. If not, give John Kerry and
John Edwards a chance.
These policies have turned the projected 5.8 trillion
dollar surplus we left-enough to pay for the baby
boomers retirement-into a projected debt of nearly 5
trillion dollars, with a 400 plus billion dollar
deficit this year and for years to come. How do they
pay for it? First by taking the monthly surplus in
Social Security payments and endorsing the checks of
working people over to me to cover my tax cut. But
it's not enough. They are borrowing the rest from
foreign governments, mostly Japan and China. Sure,
they're competing with us for good jobs but how can we
enforce our trade laws against our bankers? If you
think it's good policy to pay for my tax cut with the
Social Security checks of working men and women, and
borrowed money from China, vote for them. If not, John
Kerry's your man.
We Americans must choose for President one of two
strong men who both love our country, but who have
very different worldviews: Democrats favor shared
responsibility, shared opportunity, and more global
cooperation. Republicans favor concentrated wealth and
power, leaving people to fend for themselves and more
unilateral action. I think we're right for two
reasons: First, America works better when all people
have a chance to live their dreams. Second, we live in
an interdependent world in which we can't kill, jail,
or occupy all our potential adversaries, so we have to
both fight terror and build a world with more partners
and fewer terrorists. We tried it their way for twelve
years, our way for eight, and then their way for four
more.
By the only test that matters, whether people were
better off when we finished than when we started, our
way works better-it produced over 22 million good
jobs, rising incomes, and 100 times as many people
moving out of poverty into the middle class. It
produced more health care, the largest increase in
college aid in 50 years, record home ownership, a
cleaner environment, three surpluses in a row, a
modernized defense force, strong efforts against
terror, and an America respected as a world leader for
peace, security and prosperity.
More importantly, we have great new champions in John
Kerry and John Edwards. Two good men with wonderful
wives-Teresa a generous and wise woman who understands
the world we are trying to shape. And Elizabeth, a
lawyer and mother who understands the lives we are all
trying to lift. Here is what I know about John Kerry.
During the Vietnam War, many young men -- including
the current president, the vice president and me-could
have gone to Vietnam but didn't. John Kerry came from
a privileged background and could have avoided it too.
Instead he said, send me.
When they sent those swift-boats up the river in
Vietnam, and told them their job was to draw hostile
fire-to show the American flag and bait the enemy to
come out and fight-John Kerry said, send me. When it
was time to heal the wounds of war and normalize
relations with Vietnam-and to demand an accounting of
the POWs and MIAs we lost there-John Kerry said, send
me.
When we needed someone to push the cause of inner-city
kids struggling to avoid a life of crime, or to bring
the benefits of high technology to ordinary Americans,
or to clean the environment in a way that creates
jobs, or to give small businesses a better chance to
make it, John Kerry said send me.
Tonight my friends, I ask you to join me for the next
100 days in telling John Kerry's story and promoting
his plans. Let every person in this hall and all
across America say to him what he has always said to
America: Send Me. The bravery that the men who fought
by his side saw in battle I've seen in the political
arena. When I was President, John Kerry showed courage
and conviction on crime, on welfare reform, on
balancing the budget at a time when those priorities
were not exactly a way to win a popularity contest in
our party.
He took tough positions on tough problems. John Kerry
knows who he is and where he's going. He has the
experience, the character, the ideas and the values to
be a great President. In a time of change he has two
other important qualities: his insatiable curiosity to
understand the forces shaping our lives, and a
willingness to hear the views even of those who
disagree with him. Therefore his choices will be full
of both conviction and common sense.
He proved that when he picked a tremendous partner in
John Edwards. Everybody talks about John Edwards'
energy, intellect, and charisma. The important thing
is how he has used his talents to improve the lives of
people who -- like John himself -- had to work hard
for all they've got. He has always championed the
cause of people too often left out or left behind. And
that's what he'll do as our Vice President.
Their opponents will tell you to be afraid of John
Kerry and John Edwards, because they won't stand up to
the terrorists -- don't you believe it. Strength and
wisdom are not conflicting values -- they go hand in
hand. John Kerry has both. His first priority will be
keeping America safe. Remember the scripture: Be Not
Afraid.
John Kerry and John Edwards, have good ideas:
-- To make this economy work again for middle-class
Americans
-- To restore fiscal responsibility
-- To save Social Security; to make healthcare more
affordable and college
more available
-- To free us from dependence on foreign oil and
create new jobs in clean
energy
-- To rally the world to win the war on terror and to
make more friends
and fewer terrorists.
At every turning point in our history we the people
have chosen unity over division, heeding our founders'
call to America's eternal mission: to form a more
perfect union, to widen the circle of opportunity,
deepen the reach of freedom, and strengthen the bonds
of community.
It happened because we made the right choices. In the
early days of the republic, America was at a
crossroads much like it is today, deeply divided over
whether or not to build a real nation with a national
economy, and a national legal system. We chose a more
perfect union.
In the Civil War, America was at a crossroads, divided
over whether to save the union and end slavery -- we
chose a more perfect union. In the 1960s, America was
at a crossroads, divided again over civil rights and
women's rights. Again, we chose a more perfect union.
As I said in 1992, we're all in this together; we have
an obligation both to work hard and to help our fellow
citizens, both to fight terror and to build a world
with more cooperation and less terror. Now again, it
is time to choose.
Since we're all in the same boat, let us chose as the
captain of our ship a brave good man who knows how to
steer a vessel though troubled waters to the calm seas
and clear skies of our more perfect union. We know our
mission. Let us join as one and say in a loud, clear
voice: Send John Kerry.
Copyright © 2004, Newsday, Inc.
__________________________________________________
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Friends, fellow Democrats, fellow Americans: I'll be candid with you. I
had hoped to be back here this week under different circumstances,
running for re-election.
But you know the old saying: you win some, you lose some. And then there's that little-known third
category.
I didn't come here tonight to talk about the past. After all, I don't
want you to think I lie awake at night counting and recounting sheep. I
prefer to focus on the future because I know from my own experience
that America is a land of opportunity,where every little boy and girl
has a chance to grow up and win the popular vote.
In all seriousness, I am deeply grateful for the opportunity you have given me to serve America. I want
to
thank you as Democrats for the honor of being your nominee for
president four years ago. And I want to thank the American people for
the privilege of serving as vice-president.
And most of all, I
want to thank my family with all my heart-my children and
grandchildren, and especially my beloved partner in life, Tipper.
I
love this country deeply, and even though I always look to the future
with optimism and hope-I do think it is worth pausing for just a moment
as we begin this year's convention, to take note of two very important
lessons from four years ago.
The first lesson is this: take it
from me-every vote counts. In our Democracy, every vote has power. And
never forget: that power is yours. Don't let anyone take it away or
talk you into throwing it away. And let's make sure that this time
every vote is counted.
Let's make sure not only that the Supreme Court does not pick the next President, but also that this
President is not the one who picks the next Supreme Court.
The
second lesson from 2000 is this: what happens in a presidential
election matters. A lot. The outcome profoundly affects the lives of
all 293 million Americans-and people in the rest of the world too. The
choice of who is president affects your life and your family's future.
And never has this been more true than in 2004,because-let's face it-our country faces deep
challenges.
These challenges we now confront are not Democratic or Republican
challenges; they are American challenges-that we all must overcome
together.
It is in that spirit, that I sincerely ask those watching at home who supported President Bush four
years ago: did you really get what you expected from the candidate you voted for?
Is our country more united today? Or more divided?
Has the promise of compassionate conservatism been fulfilled? Or do those words now ring hollow?
For that matter, are the economic policies really conservative at all? Did you expect, for example, the
largest deficits in history? One after another? And the loss of more than a million jobs?
By
the way, I know about the bad economy. I was the first one laid off.
And while it's true that new jobs are being created, they're just not
as good as the jobs people have lost. And incidentally, that's been
true for me too. Unfortunately, this is no joke for millions of
Americans. And the real solutions require us to transcend partisanship.
So
that's one reason why, even though we meet here as Democrats, we
believe this is a time to reach beyond our party lines to Republicans
as well.
I also ask tonight for the help of those who supported a third party candidate in 2000. I urge you to ask
yourselves this question: do you still believe that there was no difference between the candidates? Are
you troubled by the erosion of some of America's most basic civil liberties? Are you worried that our
environmental laws are being weakened and dismantled to allow vast increases in pollution that are
contributing to a global climate crisis? No matter how you voted in the last election, these are profound
problems that all voters must take into account this November 2d.
And of course, no challenge is more critical than the situation we confront in Iraq. Regardless of your
opinion at the beginning of this war, isn't it now obvious that the way the war has been managed by the
Administration has gotten us into very serioustrouble? Wouldn't we be better off with a new
President who hasn't burned his bridges to our allies,and who could rebuild respect for America in the
world? Isn't cooperation with other nations crucial to solving our dilemma in Iraq? Isn't it also critical to
defeating the terrorists?
We have to be crystal clear about the threat we face from terrorism. It is deadly. It is real. It is
imminent. But in order to protect our people,shouldn't we focus on the real source of this threat:
the group that attacked us and is trying to attack us again-al Qaeda, headed by Osama Bin Laden?
Wouldn't we be safer with a President who didn't insist on confusing al Qaeda with Iraq? Doesn't that
divert too much of our attention away from the principal danger?
I want to say to all Americans this evening that whether it is the threat to the global environment or
the erosion of America's leadership in the world,whether it is the challenge to our economy from new
competitors
or the challenge to our security from new enemies, I believe that we
need new leadership that is both strong and wise.
And we can
have new leadership, because one of our greatest strengths as a
democracy is that when we are headed in the wrong direction, we can
correct our course. When policies are clearly not working, we can
change them. If our leaders make mistakes, we can hold them
accountable-even if they never admit their mistakes. I firmly believe
America needs new leadership that will make us stronger at home and
respected in the world.
We are here this week to present to the nation the man who should be our new president: John Kerry.
John
and I were elected to the US Senate on the same day 20 years ago and I
have worked closely with him for all that time. So I want to say a
personal word about John Kerry the man.
He is a friend who will
stand by you. His word is his bond. He has a deep patriotism that goes
far beyond words. He has devoted his life to making America a better
place for all of us. He showed uncommon heroism on the battlefield in
Vietnam. I watched him show thatsame courage on the Senate floor. He
had the best record of protecting the environment against polluters of
any of my colleagues-bar none.
He never shied away from a fight, no matter how powerful the foe. He was never afraid to take on
difficult and thankless issues that few others wanted to touch-like exposing the threat of narcoterrorism
and tracing the sources of terrorist financing. He was one of the very first in our party to take on the
issue of drastic deficit reduction. He has developed a tough and thoughtful plan to restore our economic
strength and fiscal discipline.
To put it simply, those of us who have worked with John know that he has the courage, integrity and
leadership to be a truly great President of the United States.
And
he showed wisdom in his very first decision as the leader of our
party-when he picked as his running mate an inspiring fighter for
middle class families and families struggling to reach the middle
class: John Edwards.
John Kerry and John Edwards are fighting
for us and for all Americans, so after we nominate them here in Boston
and return to our home states across this land, we have to fight for
them. Talk to your friends and neighbors, go to "JohnKerry.com," raise
money,register voters and get them to the polls, volunteer
your time, and above all: make your vote count.
To
those of you who felt disappointed or angry with the outcome in 2000, I
want you to remember all of those feelings. But then I want you to do
with them what I have done: focus them fully and completely on putting
John Kerry and John Edwards in the White House.
Fellow
Democrats, when I look out and see so many friends who have meant so
much to me in my own public service, my heart is full tonight. I thank
you for all the love you've shown Tipper and me. You will forever be in
our hearts.
There's someone else I'd like to thank, and that's the man who asked me to join him on the ticket at our
convention
12 years ago, my friend-and my partner for eight years-President Bill
Clinton. I'll never forget that convention or that campaign-the way we
barnstormed the country, carrying a message of hope and change,
believing with our whole hearts that America could be made new again.
And so it was. And with your help, and with the leadership of John Kerry and John Edwards, so it shall
be again.
Thank you-God bless you and your families-and may God bless the United States of America.