Here is the 3o minute video the Obama campaign aired tonight on network television (minus three minutes of live feed from Florida shown at the end). The video weaves through the tapestry of his campaign by tracing the threads of people across the US.
Senator Obama's campaign has been different in many ways, but principally because it has been driven by ordinary citizens. We have contributed the money which has fueled it. We have provided the stories which inspired it. We have used our creativity, our ideas, and our heart to further it. We have created art, music, videos, and blogs. We have made calls and knocked on doors in neighboring states. We have held house parties and major concerts. And the campaign has welcomed our participation and involved us at nearly every level. A vote for Obama is a vote for us.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Obama 30 Minute TV Message--It's About Us
Monday, October 27, 2008
Obama's Closing Argument
Here is the full video of Obama's speech in Canton OH, one week before the election. It is effectively his closing argument: We cannot afford to keep doing the same thing. We need to move forward forcefully but pragmatically. And though the times ahead will be challenging, there is hope if we are willing to change.
TRANSCRIPT
After decades of broken politics in Washington, eight years of failed policies from George Bush and twenty-one months of a campaign that has taken us from the rocky coast of Maine to the sunshine of California and everywhere in between, we are one week away from changing America. (Cheers, applause.)
In one week, you can turn the page on policies that have put greed and irresponsibility of Wall Street before the hard work and sacrifice of folks right here in Canton, folks right on Main Street. (Cheers, applause.)
In one week, you can choose. You can choose policies that invest in our middle-class and create new jobs and grow this economy from the bottom-up, so that everyone has a chance to succeed, from the CEO to the secretary and the janitor, from the factory owner to the men and women on the factory floor. In one week. (Cheers, applause.)
In one week, you can put an end to the politics that would divide a nation, just to win an election; that tries to pit region against region and city against town, Republican against Democrat; that asks us to fear at a time when we need hope. In one week, at this defining moment in history, you can give this country the change we need. You can do that. (Cheers, applause.)
You know, we began this journey in the depths of winter, nearly two years ago, on the steps of the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Illinois, the place where Abraham Lincoln served for so many years.
You know, back then, we didn't have much money and we didn't have many endorsements. We weren't given much of a chance by the polls or the pundits. And we knew how steep our climb would be.
But I also knew this. I knew that the size of our challenges had outgrown the smallness of our politics. I believed that Democrats and Republicans and Americans of every political stripe were hungry for new ideas and new leadership and a new kind of politics, one that favors common sense over ideology, one that focuses on those values and ideals we hold in common as Americans. (Cheers, applause.)
Most of all, I believed in you. I believed in your ability to make change happen. I knew that the American people were a decent, generous people who are willing to work hard and sacrifice for future generations. (Cheers, applause.)
And I was absolutely convinced that when we come together, our voices are more powerful than the most entrenched lobbyists or the most vicious political attacks -- (cheers) -- or the full force of a status quo in Washington that wants to keep things just the way they are. (Cheers, applause.)
And Canton, 21 months later, my faith in the American people has been vindicated. That's how we've come so far, how we've come so close -- because of you. That's how we'll change this country -- with your help. That's why we cannot afford to slow down or sit back. We cannot let up for one day, or one minute, or one second in this last week. (Cheers, applause.) Not now, not when there's so much is at stake. One week. (Cheers, applause.)
We are in the middle of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. I don't have to tell you, Ohio; 760,000 workers have lost their jobs so far this year. Businesses and families can't get credit. Home values are falling. Pensions are disappearing. Wages are lower than they've been in a decade, at a time when the cost of everything from health care to college have never been higher. It's getting harder and harder to make the mortgage, or fill up your gas tank, or even keep the electricity on at the end of the month.
At a moment like this, the last thing we can afford is four more years of the tired, worn-out, old theory -- (cheers) -- that says -- that says we should give more to billionaires and big corporations and hope that prosperity trickles down on everybody else. The last thing -- the last thing we can afford is four more years where no one in Washington is watching anyone on Wall Street because politicians and lobbyists killed common-sense regulations. (Cheers.) Those are the theories that got us into this mess. They haven't worked, and it is time for change. And that's why I'm running for president of the United States of America. (Cheers, applause.)
Now, Senator McCain has served this country honorably. And Senator McCain can point to a few moments, like torture, where he has broken with George Bush over the past eight years. He deserves credit for that. He deserves credit for that.
But when it comes to the economy -- when it comes to the central issue of our time, the central issue of this election -- the plain truth is that John McCain has stood with this president every step of the way, voting for the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy that he once opposed; voting for the Bush budgets that spent us into debt; calling for less regulation 21 times just this year.
Those are the facts.
And now after 21 months and three debates, Senator McCain still has not been able to tell the American people a single major thing he'd do differently from George Bush when it comes to the economy. (Cheers, applause.) Not one thing. Senator McCain says we can't spend the next four years waiting for our luck to change, but you understand that the biggest gamble we can take is to embrace the same old Bush-McCain policies that have failed us for the last eight years. (Cheers, applause.) We can't afford to take that risk.
It's not change when John McCain wants to give a $700,000 tax cut to the average Fortune 500 CEO. It's not change when he wants to give $200 billion to the biggest corporations or $4 billion to the oil companies or 300 billion (dollars) to the same Wall Street banks that got us into this mess. (Boos.) It's not change when he comes up with a tax plan that doesn't give a penny of relief to more than 100 million middle-class Americans. That is not change. (Applause.)
So look, Ohio, we have tried it John McCain's way. We have tried it George Bush's way. And deep down -- deep down, Senator McCain knows that, which is why his campaign said that "if we keep talking about the economy, we're going to lose." (Applause.) That's why he's spending these last weeks calling me every name in the book -- (boos) -- because that's how you play the game in Washington. If you can't beat your opponent's ideas, you distort those ideas and maybe make some up. (Boos, applause.) If you don't have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run away from. You make -- you make a big election about small things.
Ohio, we're here to say not this time, not this year -- (cheers, applause) -- not when so much is at stake. (Cheers, applause.) John McCain might be worried about losing an election, but I'm worried about Americans who are losing their homes and their jobs and their life savings. (Cheers, applause.) I can take one more week of John McCain's attacks, but this country can't take four more years of the same failed politics -- (cheers) -- and the same failed policies. It's time to try something new. (Cheers, applause.) It is time, Canton, to try something new. (Cheers.)
The question in this election is not are you better off than you were four years ago. We all know the answer to that. The real question is, will this country be better off four years from now? (Cheers, applause.)
I know these are difficult times. They're difficult times for Ohio; they're difficult times for America. But I also know that we've faced difficult times before. The American story has never been about things coming easy, it's been about rising to the moment when the moment was hard. It's about seeing the highest mountaintop from the deepest of valleys. It's about rejecting fear and division for unity of purpose.
That's how we overcame war and depression. That's how we've won great struggles for civil rights and women's rights and workers' rights. That's how we'll emerge from this crisis stronger and more prosperous than we were before, as one nation and as one people. (Cheers, applause.)
Remember, we still have the most talented, most productive workers of any country on Earth. We're still home to innovation and technology, colleges and universities that are the envy of the world. Some of the biggest, brightest ideas in history have come from our small businesses; in the back of somebody's garage, in our research facilities.
So there's no reason we can't make this century another American century. We just need --
AUDIENCE MEMBER: (Off mike.)
SEN. OBAMA: -- we just need a new direction. We just need a new politics.
Now, understand, I don't believe that government can or should try to solve all our problems. You don't believe that either. But I do believe that government should do that which we cannot do for ourselves -- protect us from harm; provide a decent education for all children -- (cheers, applause); invest in new roads and new bridges, in new science and technology. (Applause.) Our government should reward drive and innovation and encourage growth in the free market, but it should also make sure businesses live up to their responsibility to create American jobs, and look out for American workers, and play by the rules of the road. (Cheers, applause.)
It should ensure a shot at success, not just for those with money and power and influence, but for every single American who's willing to work. That's how we create not just more millionaires or more billionaires, but how we create more middle-class families. That's how we make sure businesses have customers that can afford their products or services. That's how we've always grown the American economy -- from the bottom-up. John McCain calls this socialism.
I call it opportunity. (Cheers, applause.) And there is nothing more American than that. (Cheers, applause.)
AUDIENCE MEMBERS: Obama! Obama! Obama! Obama! Obama! Obama! Obama! Obama! Obama! Obama! Obama! Obama! Obama!
SEN. OBAMA: Thank you.
AUDIENCE MEMBERS: Obama! Obama!
SEN. OBAMA: Look, if we want get through this crisis -- if we want to get through this crisis, we need to get beyond the old ideological debates and divides between the left and the right. We don't need bigger government or smaller government. We need better government. (Cheers.) We need a more competent government. We need a government that upholds the values we hold in common as Americans.
We don't have to choose between allowing our financial system to collapse and spending billions of dollars of taxpayer money to bail out Wall Street banks. As president, I will ensure the financial rescue plan helps stop foreclosures and protects your money instead of enriching CEOs. (Cheers, applause.) And I'll put in place the common- sense regulations that I've been calling for throughout this campaign so that Wall Street can never cause a crisis like this again. That's the change we need. (Applause.)
The choice -- the choice in this election isn't between tax cuts and no tax cuts. It's about whether you believe we should only reward wealth, or whether we should also reward the workers (sic) and workers who create wealth. (Cheers, applause.) I will give a tax break to 95 percent of Americans who work every day and get taxes taken out of their paychecks every week. (Cheers, applause.) I'll eliminate income taxes for seniors making under $50,000. (Cheers, applause.) And we're going to give homeowners and working parents more of a break. (Cheers, applause.) And yes, I'll help pay for this by asking the folks who are making more than $250,000 a year to go back to the tax rate they were paying in the 1990s. (Cheers, applause.)
No matter what John McCain may claim, here are the facts. If you make under $250,000 a year, you will not see your taxes increase by a single dime; not your income taxes, not your payroll taxes, not your capital gains taxes. No taxes. Because the last thing we should do in this economy is raise taxes on the middle class. (Applause.) And we have been saying that throughout this campaign.
Now, when it comes to jobs, the choice in this election is not between putting up a wall around America or allowing every job to disappear overseas. The truth is, we won't be able to bring back every single job that we've lost here in Ohio or across the country, but that doesn't mean we should follow John McCain's plan to keep giving tax breaks to corporations that send American jobs overseas. (Cheers.)
I will end those breaks as president. (Cheers, applause.) I will give American businesses a $3,000 tax credit for every job they create right here in Ohio, right here in the United States of America. (Cheers, applause.)
I'll eliminate capital gains taxes for small businesses and start-up companies that are the engine of job creation in this country. We'll create 2 million new jobs by rebuilding our crumbling roads and bridges and schools, by laying broadband lines to reach every corner of the country.
And I will invest $15 billion a year in renewable sources of energy -- (cheers, applause) -- to create 5 million new energy jobs over the next decade -- jobs that pay well; jobs that can't be outsourced; jobs building solar panels and wind turbines and a new electricity grid -- (cheers, applause continue) -- jobs building the fuel-efficient cars of tomorrow, not in Japan, not in South Korea but right here in the U.S. of A. -- (sustained cheers, applause) -- jobs that will help us eliminate the oil we import from the Middle East in 10 years and help save the planet in the bargain. That's how America can lead again.
When it comes to health care, we don't have to choose between a government-run health care system and the unaffordable one we have now. If you already have health insurance, the only thing that will change under my plan is that we will lower your premiums. (Cheers, applause.) If you don't have health insurance, you'll be able to get the same kind of health insurance that members of Congress give themselves. (Cheers, applause.)
We'll invest in preventive care and new technology to finally lower the cost of health care for families and businesses and the entire economy. And as someone -- as someone who watched his own mother spend the final months of her life arguing with insurance companies because they claimed her cancer was a pre-existing condition and they didn't want to pay for her treatment, I will stop insurance companies from discriminating against those who are sick and need care the most. You can count on that. (Cheers, applause.)
When it comes to giving every child a world-class education -- (applause) -- so they can compete in this global economy for the jobs of the 21st century, the choice is not between more money and more reform, because our schools need both. As president, I will invest in early childhood education -- (cheers, applause) -- to close the achievement gap. We'll recruit an army of new teachers. We'll pay them more money. We'll give them more support. (Cheers, applause.)
But I will also demand higher standards and more accountability from everybody, from our teachers and principals and our schools. (Cheers, applause.) And I will make a deal with every young American who has the drive and the will but not the money to go to college: If you commit to serving your community or your country in national service, we will make sure you can afford your tuition. (Cheers, applause.)
You invest in America; America will invest in you. Together we'll move this country forward.
When it comes to keeping this country safe, we don't have to choose between retreating from the world and fighting a war without end in Iraq. It is time to stop spending $10 billion a month, in Iraq, while the Iraqi government sits on a huge surplus. (Cheers, applause.)
As president, I will end this war, by asking -- (cheers, applause) -- by asking the Iraqi government to step up, and finally finish the fight against bin Laden and the al Qaeda terrorists who attacked us on 9/11.
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. We will treat our veterans with honor and respect. (Cheers, applause.)
I will build new partnerships to defeat the threats of the 21st century. And I will restore our moral standing, so that America is once again viewed as that last, best hope for all, who are called to the cause of freedom, who long for lives of peace, who yearn for a better future.
Now, Canton, I won't stand here and pretend that any of this will be easy, especially now. The cost of this economic crisis, the cost of the war in Iraq means that Washington will have to tighten its belt and put off spending on things we can afford to do without.
On this, there is no other choice. As president, I will go through the federal budget, line by line, ending programs that we don't need and making the ones we do need work better and cost less.
But as I've said from the day we began this journey, all those months ago, the change we need isn't just about new programs and policies. It's about a new attitude. It's about new politics, a politics that calls on our better angels, instead of encouraging our worst instincts, one that reminds us of the obligations we have to ourselves and one another.
Part of the reason this economic crisis occurred is, because we have been living through an era of profound irresponsibility. On Wall Street, easy money and an ethic of "what's good for me is good enough" blinded greedy executives to the dangers in decisions that they were making. On Main Street, lenders tricked people into buying homes they couldn't afford. Some folks knew they couldn't afford those houses and bought them anyway.
In Washington, politicians spent money they didn't have and allowed lobbyists to set the agenda.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Yeah!
SEN. OBAMA: They scored political points instead of solving our problems.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Right!
SEN. OBAMA: And even after the greatest attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor, all we were asked to do by our president was to go out and shop. That's why what we've lost in these last eight years can't be measured just by lost wages or bigger trade deficits.
What's also been lost is the idea that in this American story, each of us has a role to play. Each of us have responsibilities to work hard, to look after ourselves and our families, and each of us has a responsibility to look out for each other, our fellow citizens. (Cheers, applause.) That's what's been lost these last eight years, our common sense of purpose, our sense of higher purpose. That's what we need to restore right now. That's one of the reasons I'm running for president of the United States of America. (Cheers, sustained applause.)
So yes, government must lead the way 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 all of us have to do our part as parents, to turn off the TV set and read to our children, to take responsibility for providing love and guidance. (Cheers, applause.)
Yes, we can argue and debate our positions passionately, but all of us must summon the strength and grace to bridge our differences and unite in common effort -- black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American; Democrat, Republican; young, old; rich, poor, gay, straight; disabled or not. All of us have to come together. (Cheers, sustained applause.)
Ohio, in this election, we cannot afford the same political games and tactics that are being used to pit us against one another, to make us afraid of one another. The stakes are too high to divide us by class and region and background; by who we are or what we believe. Because, despite what our opponents may claim, there are no real or fake parts of this country. There is no city or town that is more pro-America than anywhere else. (Cheers, applause. We're one nation, all of us proud, all of us patriots. (Cheers, applause.)
There are patriots who supported this war in Iraq and patriots who opposed it; patriots who believe in Democratic policies and those who believe in Republican policies. The men and women who serve in our battlefields -- some may be Democrats, some may be Republicans, others independents, but they fought together and they bled together, and some died together, under the same proud flag. (Cheers, applause.)
They have not served a red America or a blue America. They served the United States of America. (Cheers, applause.)
It won't be easy, Ohio. It won't be easy; it won't be quick. But you and I know that it is time to come together and change this country. (Cheers.) Some of you may be cynical. Some of you may be fed up with politics. A lot of you may be disappointed and even angry with your leaders, and you have every right to be. But despite all of this -- (applause) -- I ask of you what has been asked of Americans throughout our history. I ask you to believe, not just in my ability to bring about change, but in yours.
I know this change is possible, because I've seen it -- I've seen it over the last 21 months -- because in this campaign, I've had the privilege to witness what is best in America. I've seen it in the lines of voters that stretched around schools and churches; in the young people who cast their ballots for the first time -- (applause) -- and those not so young folks who got involved again after a very long time. I've seen it in the workers who would rather cut back their hours than see their friends lose their jobs; in the neighbors who take in a stranger when the floodwaters rise; in the soldiers who reenlist after losing a limb. I've seen it in the faces of the men and women I've met at countless rallies and town halls across the country, men and women who speak of their struggles but also of their hopes, of their dreams.
I still remember the e-mail that a woman named Robyn sent me after I met her in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Sometime after our event, her son nearly went into cardiac arrest. He was diagnosed with a heart condition that could only be treated with a procedure that cost tens of thousands of dollars. Her insurance company refused to pay, and their family didn't have that kind of money.
In her e-mail, Robyn wrote, "I ask only this of you -- on the days where you feel so tired you can't think of uttering another word to the people, think of us. When those who oppose you have you down, reach deep and fight back harder." (Cheers, applause.)
Ohio, that's what hope is -- (cheers, applause) -- that thing inside us that insists, despite all evidence to the contrary, that something better is waiting around the bend -- (cheers, applause) -- that insists there are better days ahead if we're willing to work for it; if we're willing to shed our fears and our doubts; if we're willing to reach deep down inside ourselves when we're tired, when we're worn out and we come back fighting harder. (Cheers, applause.)
Hope -- that's what kept some of our parents and grandparents going when times were tough, what led them to say, "Maybe I can't go to college, but if I save a little bit each week my child can go to college -- (applause) -- maybe I can't have my own business but if I work really hard my child can open one of her own." Hope -- it's what led immigrants from distant lands to come to these shores against great odds and carve a new life for their families in America; what led those who couldn't vote to march and organize and stand for freedom -- (cheers, applause) -- that led them to cry out, "It may look dark tonight, but if I hold on to hope, tomorrow will be brighter."
That's what this election is about. That's the choice we face right now. (Cheers, applause.)
Canton, don't believe for a second this election is over. Don't think for a minute that power concedes. We have a lot of work to do. We have to work like our future depends on it, in this last week, because it does depend on it this week. (Cheers, applause.)
In one week's time, we can choose an economy that rewards work and creates new jobs and fuels prosperity from the bottom up. In one week, we can choose to invest in health care for our families and education for our kids and renewable energy for our future.
In one week, we can choose hope over fear and unity over division, the promise of change over the power of the status quo. In one week, we can come together, as one nation and one people, and once more choose our better history. (Cheers, applause.)
That's what's at stake. That's what we're fighting for. And if in this last week, you will knock on some doors for me and make some calls for me and talk to your neighbors and convince your friends; if you will stand with me and fight with me and give me your vote, then I promise you, we will not just win Ohio; we will win this general election. And together we'll change this country and we will change the world.
God bless you. God bless the United States of America. Let's get to work. (Cheers, applause.)
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Obama's Defining Moment Ad
I have spent all my blog time keeping the running list of endorsements up to date (that post has been getting about 100 hits a day of late). I will try to make some short posts rather than none at all.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
2008 Nobel Prize in Physics
The 2008 Nobel Prize in Physics goes to two different achieve- ments. Both relate to symmetry breaking, but in very different ways. All three recipients, Yoichiro Nambu, Makoto Kobayashi and Toshihide Maskawa, certainly deserved the prize, but Nambu should have gotten the prize years ago, and they should given the prize to Nicola Cabibbo as well—after all it is called the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa mechanism!
Nambu explained how protons and neutrons could get mass in the same way that superconductivity happens. If that doesn't sound ground-breaking, I don't know what does! He showed that a symmetry in something called a quantum field theory can be "spontaneously broken".
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Obama and McCain Contrast on Economic Crisis
"In a crisis, voters want steady, calm leadership, not easy, misleading answers that will do nothing to help. Mr. McCain is sounding like a candidate searching for a political foil rather than a genuine solution."
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Science Debate Answers!
As I introduced in one of my first posts, there has been a grassroots effort to get the presidential candidates to have a debate centered on concerns of science and technology. These concerns are intertwined with many foreign and domestic political issues. It is vital that the next President be aware of these concerns when constructing policy.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Is the Large Hadron Collider safe?
The Large Hadron Collider, usually referred to by scientists as the LHC, had its first preliminary test today. All went well. But what does the LHC do, and is it safe?
What is the LHC?
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Sarah Palin's thoughts on Iraq
Friday, August 29, 2008
McCain's Choice
Today, John McCain chose Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska to be his running mate. There is no question that it was a Hail Mary pass. It was designed to
• Appeal to anti-abortion activists
• Try to pick off disaffected Hillary voters
Obama's Acceptance Speech
Sorry I haven't posted in a while. Life is busy. Here is Obama's acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention. I thought he did everything he needed to do in a masterful way. The text is below.
Democratic Convention at Invesco Field
Denver, Colorado
As Prepared for Delivery
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 the 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 to yours -- Hillary Rodham Clinton. To President Clinton, who last night made 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 Sasha and Malia - I love you so much, and I'm so proud of all 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 two hundred and thirty two 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.
This country is more generous than one where a man in Indiana has to pack up the equipment he's worked on for twenty 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 American people, 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 like the last eight. On November 4th, 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 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 ninety 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 ninety percent of the time? I don't know about you, but I'm not ready to take a ten 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 advisors - the man who wrote his economic plan - was talking about the anxiety 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 give back and keep going without complaint. These are the Americans that 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 five million dollars 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 one hundred 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 - you're on your own. Out of work? Tough luck. No health care? The market will fix it. Born into poverty? Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps - even if you don't have boots. You're on your own.
Well it's time for them to own their failure. It's time for us to change America.
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 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 to 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 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, 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.
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 me. And it is on their behalf that I intend to win this election and keep our promise alive as President of the United States.
What is that 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, 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 new 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.
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 will 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 cut taxes - cut taxes - for 95% 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 ten years, we will finally end our dependence on oil from the Middle East.
Washington's been talking about our oil addiction for the last thirty years, and John McCain has been there for twenty-six of them. 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 as 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, 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 dollars 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 five million new jobs that pay well and can't ever 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. 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 your 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 jobs 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 exactly the 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 twenty-first century challenges with a twentieth 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 for providing the love and guidance their children need.
Individual responsibility and mutual responsibility - that's the essence of America's promise.
And just as we keep our 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 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 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. 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 a $79 billion surplus while we're 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 eighty 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 it is not the change we need.
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 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 - our sense of higher 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 reality of gun ownership may be different for hunters in rural Ohio than 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. Passions 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. 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 the 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 nay-sayers don't understand is that this election has never been about me. It's been about you.
For eighteen 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. 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, when 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 terrorist hands.
And I've seen it in this campaign. In the young people who voted for the first time, and in 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 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.
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 forty five 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.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
"We have water"
On Wednesday, the Phoenix Mars probe successfully delivered a scoop of icy martian soil to its chemistry lab. Previous attempts had failed because the soil proved stickier than expected. Although all indications were that the white stuff Phoenix uncovered was water ice, Phoenix's lab results now confirm it. William Boynton, lead scientist for the Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer said, "We have water".
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Obama's Speech on Patriotism
Senator Obama gave a speech on patriotism in Independence, MO on 2 July. He touches on the current election in a few places, but the speech is mostly about defining patriotism in general using historical references. It is well worth the half hour. Here is a transcript (from the NY Times)
Transcript:
And the odds against them were long, and the risks were enormous, for even if they survived that particular battle, any ultimate failure would bring charges of treason and death by hanging. And yet they took that chance.
They did so not on behalf of a particular tribe or lineage, but on behalf of a larger idea: the idea of liberty, the idea of God- given, inalienable rights.
And when the first shot of that fateful day, a shot heard 'round the world, was fired, the American Revolution and America's experiment with democracy began.
Those men of Lexington and Concord were among our first patriots. And at the beginning of a week when we celebrate the birth of our nation, I think it's fitting to pause for a moment and reflect on the meaning of patriotism, theirs and ours.
We do so in part because we're in the midst of war. More than 1.5 million of our finest young men and women have now fought in Iraq and Afghanistan. Over 60,000 have been wounded. Over 4,600 have been laid to rest. The costs of war have been great, and the debate surrounding our mission in Iraq has been fierce.
It's natural in light of such sacrifice by so many to think more deeply about the commitments that bind us together as a nation and that bind us to each other, as well.
We reflect on these questions also because we are in the midst of a presidential election, perhaps the most consequential in generations, a contest that will determine the course of this nation for years, perhaps decades, to come.
Not only is it a debate about big issues -- health care, jobs, energy, education, retirement security -- but it's also a debate about values.
How do we keep ourselves safe and secure while preserving our liberties? How do we restore trust in a government that seems increasingly removed from its people and dominated by special interests?
How do we ensure that, in an increasingly global economy, the winners maintain allegiance to the less fortunate? And how do we resolve our differences at a time of increasing diversity?
Finally, it's worth considering the meaning of patriotism, because the question of who is or is not a patriot all too often poisons our political debates in ways that divide us rather than bring us together.
I've come to know this from my own experience on the campaign trail. Throughout my life, I've always taken my deep and abiding love for this country as a given. It was how I was raised; it is what propelled me into public service; it is why I am running for president.
And yet, at certain times over the last 16 months, I've found for the first time my patriotism challenged, at times as a result of my own carelessness, more often as a result of the desire by some to score political points and raise fears and doubts about who I am and what I stand for.
So let me say this at the outset of my remarks: I will never question the patriotism of others in this campaign.
(APPLAUSE)
And I will not stand idly by when I hear others question mine.
(APPLAUSE)
My concerns here aren't simply personal, however. After all, throughout our history, men and women of far greater significance and stature than me have had their patriotism questioned in the midst of momentous debates.
Thomas Jefferson was accused by the Federalists of selling out to the French; the Anti-Federalists were just as convinced that John Adams was in cahoots with the British, intent on restoring monarchal rule.
Likewise, even our wisest presidents have sought sometimes to justify questionable practices on the basis of patriotism: Adams' Alien and Sedition Act, Lincoln's suspension of habeas corpus, Roosevelt's internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II.
All were defended at the time as expressions of patriotism, and those who disagreed with their policies were sometimes labeled as unpatriotic. In other words, the use of patriotism as a political sword or a political shield is as old as the republic.
Still, what's striking about today's patriotism debate is the degree to which it remains rooted in the culture wars of the 1960s, in the arguments that go back 40 years or more.
Some of you remember this. In the early years of the civil rights movement and the opposition to the Vietnam War, defenders of the status quo often accused anybody who questioned the wisdom of government policies of being unpatriotic.
Meanwhile, some of those in the so-called counter-culture of the '60s reacted not merely by criticizing particular government policies, but by attacking the symbols, and in extreme cases the very idea of America itself, by burning flags; by blaming America for all that was wrong with the world; and, perhaps most tragically, by failing to honor those veterans coming home from Vietnam, something that remains a national shame to this day.
(APPLAUSE)
Now, most Americans never bought into these simplistic worldviews, these caricatures of left and of right. Most Americans understood that dissent does not make one unpatriotic...
(APPLAUSE)
... and most Americans understand that there's nothing smart or sophisticated about a cynical disregard for America's traditions and institutions.
(APPLAUSE)
And yet the anger and turmoil of that period never entirely drained away. All too often, our politics still seems trapped in these old, threadbare arguments, a fact most evident during our recent debates about the war in Iraq, when those who opposed administration policy were tagged by some as unpatriotic, and a general providing his best counsel on how to move forward in Iraq was accused of betrayal.
Given the enormous challenges that lie before us, we can no longer afford these sorts of divisions. None of us expect that arguments about patriotism will, or should, vanish entirely. After all, when we argue about patriotism, we're arguing about who we are as a country and, more importantly, who we should be.
But surely we can agree that no party or political philosophy has a monopoly on patriotism.
(APPLAUSE)
And surely we can arrive at a definition of patriotism that, however rough and imperfect, captures the best of America's common spirit.
What would such a definition look like? For me, as for most Americans, patriotism starts as a gut instinct, a loyalty and love for country that's rooted in some of my earliest memories.
And I'm not just talking about the recitations of the Pledge of Allegiance, or the Thanksgiving pageants at school, or the same fireworks on the Fourth of July that we just heard from earlier from Vince. Rather, as wonderful as these things may be, I'm referring to the way the American ideal wove its way throughout the lessons of my family, the lessons that my family taught me as a child.
You know, one of my earliest memories is of sitting on my grandfather's shoulders and watching the astronauts come to shore in Hawaii. I remember the cheers and the small flags that people waved, and my grandfather explaining how we Americans could do anything we set our minds to do. That's my idea of America.
(APPLAUSE)
I remember listening to my grandmother telling stories about her work on a bomber assembly line during World War II. I remember my grandfather handing me his dog tags from his time in Patton's army and understanding that his defense of this country marked one of his greatest sources of pride. That's my idea of America.
I remember...
(APPLAUSE)
I remember, when living for four years in Indonesia as a child, I listened to my mother reading me the first lines of the Declaration of Independence, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they're endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
I remember her explaining how this declaration applied to every American, black and white and brown alike, how those words and the words of the United States Constitution protected us from the injustices that we witnessed other people suffering during those years abroad. That's my idea of America.
(APPLAUSE)
As I got older, that gut instinct that so many of us have, that America is the greatest country on Earth, would survive...
(APPLAUSE)
That gut instinct, that knowledge would survive my growing awareness of our nation's imperfections: its ongoing racial strife; the perversions of our political system that were laid bare during the Watergate hearings; the wrenching poverty of the Mississippi Delta and the hills of Appalachia, and inner cities and rural communities all across America.
That instinct that this is the greatest country on Earth survived not only because, in my mind, the joys of American life and culture -- its vitality, its variety, its freedom -- always outweighed its imperfections, but because I learned that what makes America great has never been its perfection, but the belief that it can be made better.
I came to understand that our revolution was waged for the sake of that belief: that we could be governed by laws, not men; that we could be equal in the eyes of those laws; that we could be free to say what we want, and assemble with whomever we want, and worship as we please; that we could have the right to pursue our individual dreams, but the obligation to help our fellow citizens pursue theirs.
(APPLAUSE)
You know, for a young man like me of mixed race, without firm anchor in any particular community, without even a father's steadying hand, it is this essential American idea -- that we are not constrained by the accident of birth, but can make of our lives what we will -- that has defined my life, just as it has defined the life of so many other Americans.
(APPLAUSE)
And that's why, for me, patriotism is always more than just loyalty to a place on a map or a certain kind of people. Instead, it's also loyalty to America's ideals, ideals for which anyone can sacrifice, or defend, or give their last full measure of devotion.
I believe it is this loyalty that allows a country teeming with different races and ethnicities, religions and customs, to come together as one. It is the application of these ideals that separates us from Zimbabwe, where the opposition party and their supporters have been silently hunted, tortured or killed.
It separates us from Burma, where tens of thousands continue to struggle for basic food and shelter in the wake of a monstrous storm because a military junta fears opening up the country to outsiders.
Or Iraq, where, despite the heroic efforts of our military, men and women like this, and the courage of many ordinary Iraqis, even limited cooperation between various factions remains far too elusive.
I believe those who attack America's flaws without acknowledging the singular greatness of our ideals, and their proven capacity to inspire a better world, do not truly understand America.
(APPLAUSE)
Of course, precisely because America isn't perfect, precisely because our ideals constantly demand more from us, patriotism can never be defined as loyalty to any particular leader, or government, or policy.
(APPLAUSE)
As Mark Twain, that greatest of American satirists and proud son of Missouri, once wrote, "Patriotism is supporting your country all the time and your government when it deserves it."
(LAUGHTER)
That's what patriotism is.
(APPLAUSE)
That's what patriotism is.
(APPLAUSE)
Now, we may hope that our leaders and our government stand up for our ideals, stand up for what's right, and there are many times in our history when that's occurred. But when our laws, when our leaders or our government are out of alignment with those ideals, then the dissent of ordinary Americans may prove to be one of the truest expressions of patriotism.
(APPLAUSE)
The young preacher from Georgia, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who led a movement to help America confront our tragic history of racial injustice and live up to the meaning of our creed, he was a patriot.
The young soldier who first spoke about the prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib, he is a patriot.
(APPLAUSE)
Recognizing a wrong being committed in this country's name, insisting that we deliver on the promise of our Constitution, these are the acts of patriots, men and women who are defending what is best in America. And we should never forget that, especially when we disagree with them, especially when they make us uncomfortable with their words. (APPLAUSE)
That's part of the American tradition. That's part of why we are proud to be Americans.
Beyond a loyalty to America's ideals, beyond a willingness to dissent on behalf of those ideals, I also believe that patriotism must, if it is to mean anything, involve the willingness to sacrifice, to give up something we value on behalf of a larger cause.
Now, for those who've fought under the flag of this nation, for the young veterans like Vince, the young veterans I meet when I visit Walter Reed, for those like John McCain, who have endured physical torment in service to our country, no further proof of such sacrifice is necessary.
And let me also add that no one should ever devalue that service, especially for the sake of a political campaign, and that goes for supporters of both sides.
(APPLAUSE)
We must always express our profound gratitude for the service of our men and women in uniform, period, full-stop.
(APPLAUSE)
Indeed, one of the good things to emerge from the current conflict in Iraq has been the widespread recognition that, whether you support this war or oppose it, the sacrifice of our troops is always worthy of honor. That's a change from the '60s that's been very welcome to many of us.
But for the rest of us, for those of us not in uniform or without loved ones in the military, the call to service for the country's greater good remains an imperative of citizenship. Sadly, in recent years, in the midst of war on two fronts, this call to service never came.
After 9/11, we were asked to shop. The wealthiest among us saw their tax obligations decline, something that had never occurred before during wartime, even as the costs of war continued to mount. Rather than work together to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and thereby lessen our vulnerability to a volatile region, our energy policy remained unchanged and our oil dependence only grew.
In spite of this absence of leadership from Washington, I've seen a new generation of Americans begin to take up the call. I meet them everywhere I go, young people involved in the project of American renewal, not only those who have signed up to fight for our country in distant lands, but those who are fighting for a better America right here at home, by reaching out to those who are less fortunate, by teaching in underserved schools, or caring for the sick in understaffed hospitals, or promoting more sustainable energy policies in their local communities.
(APPLAUSE)
I believe one of the tasks of the next administration is to ensure that this movement towards service grows and sustains itself in the years to come.
We should expand AmeriCorps and grow the Peace Corps. We should encourage national service by making it a part of the requirement for a new college assistance program, even as we strengthen the benefits for those whose sense of duty has already led them to serve in our military.
(APPLAUSE)
So government can do its part. We must remember, though, that true patriotism cannot be forced or legislated with a mere set of government programs. Instead, it must reside in the hearts of our people, and cultivated in the heart of our culture, and nurtured in the hearts of our children.
As we begin...
(APPLAUSE)
As we begin our fourth century as a nation, it is easy to take the extraordinary nature of America for granted. But it is our responsibility as Americans and as parents to instill that history in our children, both at home and at school.
The loss of quality civic education from so many of our classrooms has left too many young Americans without the most basic knowledge of who our forefathers are, or what they did, or the significance of the founding documents that bear their names.
(APPLAUSE)
Too many children are ignorant of the sheer effort, the risks and sacrifices made by previous generations, to ensure that this country survived war and depression, through the great struggles of civil, and social, and worker's rights.
It is up to us, then, to teach them. It is up to us to teach them that even though we have faced great challenges and made our share of mistakes, we have always been able to come together and make this nation stronger, and more prosperous, and more united, and more just.
It's up to us to teach them that America has been a force for good in the world and that other nations and other people have looked to us as the last, best hope on Earth. It is up to us to teach them that it is good to give back to one's community, that it is honorable to serve in the military, that it is vital to participate in our democracy and make our voices heard.
(APPLAUSE)
And it is up to us to teach our children a lesson that those of us in politics all too often forget: that patriotism involves not only defending this country against external threat, but also working constantly to make America a better place for future generations.
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When we pile up mountains of debt for the next generation to absorb or put off changes to our energy policies, knowing full well the potential consequences of inaction, we are placing our short-term interests ahead of the nation's long-term well-being.
When we fail to educate effectively millions of our children so that they might compete in a global economy or we fail to invest in the basic scientific research that has driven innovation in this country, we risk leaving behind an America that has fallen in the ranks of the world.
Just as patriotism involves each of us making a commitment to this nation that extends beyond our own individual immediate self- interest, so must that commitment extend beyond our own time here on Earth.
Our greatest leaders have always understood this. They've defined patriotism with an eye towards posterity.
George Washington is rightly revered for his leadership of the Continental Army, but one of his greatest acts of patriotism was his insistence on stepping down after two terms, thereby setting a pattern for those that would follow, reminding future presidents that this is a government of and by and for the people.
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Abraham Lincoln did not simply win a war or hold the union together. In his unwillingness to demonize those against whom he fought, in his refusal to succumb to either the hatred or self- righteousness that war can unleash, in his ultimate insistence that in the aftermath of war the nation would no longer remain half-slave and half-free, in his trust in the better angels of our nature, Lincoln displayed the wisdom and courage that sets a standard for patriotism.
And it was the most famous son of Independence, Harry S Truman, who sat in the White House during his final days in office and said in his farewell address, "When Franklin Roosevelt died, I felt there must be a million men better qualified than I to take up the presidential task. But through all of it, through all the years I have worked here in this room, I have been well aware than I did not really work alone, that you were working with me. No president could ever hope to lead our country or to sustain the burdens of this office, save the people helped with their support."
In the end...
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That's what Truman said. And in the end, it may be this quality that best describes patriotism in my mind, not just a love of America in the abstract, but a very particular love for, and faith in, the American people.
That's why our hearts swell with pride at the sight of our flag, why we shed a tear as the lonely notes of "Taps" sound. For we know that the greatness of this country, its victories in war, its enormous wealth, its scientific and cultural achievements, all result from the energy and imagination of the American people, their toil, drive, struggle, their restlessness and humor and quiet heroism.
That's the liberty we defend, the liberty of each of us to pursue our own dreams. That's the equality we seek, not an equality of results, but the chance of every single one of us to make it if we try.
That's the community we strive to build, one in which we trust in this sometimes messy democracy of ours, one in which we continue to insist that there is nothing we cannot do when we put our mind to it, one in which we see ourselves as part of a larger story, our own fates wrapped up in the fates of those who share allegiance to America's happy and singular creed.
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That's what patriotism means to me. Thank you, Independence. God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America.
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Thank you.
