Senator Barack Obama = - Democratic National Convention

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Thursday, = August 28=20

Barack Obama, Illinois

Thursday, August 28, 2008 at 08:00 PM

To Chairman Dean and my great friend Dick Durbin; and to all my = fellow=20 citizens of this great nation;

With profound gratitude and great=20 humility, I accept your nomination for the presidency of the United=20 States.

Let me express my thanks to the historic slate of = candidates who=20 accompanied me on this journey, and especially the one who traveled the = farthest=20 - a champion for working Americans and an inspiration to my daughters = and to=20 yours -- Hillary Rodham Clinton. To President Clinton, who last = night made=20 the case for change as only he can make it; to Ted Kennedy, who embodies = the=20 spirit of service; and to the next Vice President of the United States, = Joe=20 Biden, I thank you. I am grateful to finish this journey with one of the = finest=20 statesmen of our time, a man at ease with everyone from world leaders to = the=20 conductors on the Amtrak train he still takes home every = night.

To the=20 love of my life, our next First Lady, Michelle Obama, and to Sasha and = Malia - I=20 love you so much, and I'm so proud of all of you.

Four years ago, = I stood=20 before you and told you my story - of the briefu nion between a young = man from=20 Kenya and a young woman from Kansas who weren't well-off or well-known, = but=20 shared a belief that in America, their son could achieve whatever he put = his=20 mind to.

It is that promise that has always set this country apart - = that=20 through hard work and sacrifice, each of us can pursue our individual = dreams but=20 still come together as one American family, to ensure that the next = generation=20 can pursue their dreams as well.

That's why I stand here = tonight. =20 Because for two hundred and thirty two years, at each moment when that = promise=20 was in jeopardy, ordinary men and women - students and soldiers, farmers = and=20 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=20 at war, our economy is in turmoil, and the American promise has been = threatened=20 once more.

Tonight, more Americans are out of work and more are = working=20 harder for less. More of you have lost your homes and even more = are=20 watching your home values plummet. More of you have cars you can't = afford=20 to drive, credit card bills you can't afford to pay, and tuition that's = beyond=20 your reach.

These challenges are not all of government's = making. =20 But the failure to respond is a direct result of a broken politics in = Washington=20 and the failed policies of George W. Bush.

America, we are better = than=20 these last eight years. We are a better country than = this.

This=20 country is more decent than one where a woman in Ohio, on the brink of=20 retirement, finds herself one illness away from disaster after a = lifetime of=20 hard work.

This country is more generous than one where a man in = Indiana=20 has to pack up the equipment he's worked on for twenty years and watch = it=20 shipped off to China, and then chokes up as he explains how he felt like = a=20 failure when he went home to tell his family the news.

We are = more=20 compassionate than a government that lets veterans sleep on our streets = and=20 families slide into poverty; that sits on its hands while a major = American city=20 drowns before our eyes.

Tonight, I say to the American people, to = Democrats and Republicans and Independents across this great land -=20 enough! This moment - this election - is our chance to keep, in = the 21st=20 century, the American promise alive. Because next week, in = Minnesota, the=20 same party that brought you two terms of George Bush and Dick Cheney = will ask=20 this country for a third. And we are here because we love this = country too=20 much to let the next four years look like the last eight. On = November 4th,=20 we must stand up and say: "Eight is enough."

Now let there be no doubt. The Republican nominee, John McCain, = has=20 worn the uniform of our country with bravery and distinction, and for = that we=20 owe him our gratitude and respect. And next week, we'll also hear = about=20 those occasions when he's broken with his party as evidence that he can = deliver=20 the change that we need.

But the record's clear: John McCain has = voted=20 with George Bush ninety percent of the time. Senator McCain likes = to talk=20 about judgment, but really, what does it say about your judgment when = you think=20 George Bush has been right more than ninety percent of the time? I = don't=20 know about you, but I'm not ready to take a ten percent chance on=20 change.

The truth is, on issue after issue that would make a = difference=20 in your lives - on health care and education and the economy - Senator = McCain=20 has been anything but independent. He said that our economy has = made=20 "great progress" under this President. He said that the = fundamentals of=20 the economy are strong. And when one of his chief advisors - the = man who=20 wrote his economic plan - was talking about the anxiety Americans are = feeling,=20 he said that we were just suffering from a "mental recession," and that = we've=20 become, and I quote, "a nation of whiners."

A nation of = whiners? =20 Tell that to the proud auto workers at a Michigan plant who, after they = found=20 out it was closing, kept showing up every day and working as hard as = ever,=20 because they knew there were people who counted on the brakes that they=20 made. Tell that to the military families who shoulder their = burdens=20 silently as they watch their loved ones leave for their third or fourth = or fifth=20 tour of duty. These are not whiners. They work hard and give = back=20 and keep going without complaint. These are the Americans that I=20 know.

Now, I don't believe that Senator McCain doesn't care = what's going=20 on in the lives of Americans. I just think he doesn't know. = Why else=20 would he define middle-class as someone making under five million = dollars a=20 year? How else could he propose hundreds of billions in tax breaks = for big=20 corporations and oil companies but not one penny of tax relief to more = than one=20 hundred million Americans? How else could he offer a health care = plan that=20 would actually tax people's benefits, or an education plan that would do = nothing=20 to help families pay for college, or a plan that would privatize Social = Security=20 and gamble your retirement?

It's not because John McCain doesn't=20 care. It's because John McCain doesn't get it.

For over two = decades, he's subscribed to that old, discredited Republican philosophy = - give=20 more and more to those with the most and hope that prosperity trickles = down to=20 everyone else. In Washington, they call this the Ownership = Society, but=20 what it really means is - you're on your own. Out of work? = Tough=20 luck. No health care? The market will fix it. Born = into=20 poverty? Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps - even if you = don't have=20 boots. You're on your own.

Well it's time for them to own their failure. It's time for us = to=20 change America.

You see, we Democrats have a very different = measure of=20 what constitutes progress in this country.

We measure progress by = how=20 many people can find a job that pays the mortgage; whether you can put a = little=20 extra money away at the end of each month so you can someday watch your = child=20 receive her college diploma. We measure progress in the 23 million = new=20 jobs that were created when Bill Clinton was President - when the = average=20 American family saw its income go up $7,500 instead of down $2,000 like = it has=20 under George Bush.

We measure the strength of our economy not by = the=20 number of billionaires we have or the profits of the Fortune 500, but by = whether=20 someone with a good idea can take a risk and start a new business, or = whether=20 the waitress who lives on tips can take a day off to look after a sick = kid=20 without losing her job - an economy that honors the dignity of = work.

The=20 fundamentals we use to measure economic strength are whether we are = living up to=20 that fundamental promise that has made this country great - a promise = that is=20 the only reason I am standing here tonight.

Because in the faces = of those=20 young veterans who come back from Iraq and Afghanistan, I see my = grandfather,=20 who signed up after Pearl Harbor, marched in Patton's Army, and was = rewarded by=20 a grateful nation with the chance to go to college on the GI = Bill.

In the=20 face of that young student who sleeps just three hours before working = the night=20 shift, I think about my mom, who raised my sister and me on her own = while she=20 worked and earned her degree; who once turned to food stamps but was = still able=20 to send us to the best schools in the country with the help of student = loans and=20 scholarships.

When I listen to another worker tell me that his = factory=20 has shut down, I remember all those men and women on the South Side of = Chicago=20 who I stood by and fought for two decades ago after the local steel = plant=20 closed.

And when I hear a woman talk about the difficulties of = starting=20 her own business, I think about my grandmother, who worked her way up = from the=20 secretarial pool to middle-management, despite years of being passed = over for=20 promotions because she was a woman. She's the one who taught me = about hard=20 work. She's the one who put off buying a new car or a new dress = for=20 herself so that I could have a better life. She poured everything = she had=20 into me. And although she can no longer travel, I know that she's = watching=20 tonight, and that tonight is her night as well.

I don't know what = kind of=20 lives John McCain thinks that celebrities lead, but this has been = mine. =20 These are my heroes. Theirs are the stories that shaped me. = And it=20 is on their behalf that I intend to win this election and keep our = promise alive=20 as President of the United States.

What is that promise?

It's a promise that says each of us has = the=20 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=20 that says the market should reward drive and innovation and generate = growth, but=20 that businesses should live up to their responsibilities to create = American=20 jobs, look out for American workers, and play by the rules of the=20 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 = -=20 protect us from harm and provide every child a decent education; keep = our water=20 clean and our toys safe; invest in new schools and new roads and new = science and=20 technology.

Our government should work for us, not against = us. It=20 should help us, not hurt us. It should ensure opportunity not just = for=20 those with the most money and influence, but for every American who's = willing to=20 work.

That's the promise of America - the idea that we are = responsible=20 for ourselves, but that we also rise or fall as one nation; the = fundamental=20 belief that I am my brother's keeper; I am my sister's = keeper.

That's the=20 promise we need to keep. That's the change we need right = now. So let=20 me spell out exactly what that change would mean if I am=20 President.

Change means a tax code that doesn't reward the = lobbyists who=20 wrote it, but the American workers and small businesses who deserve=20 it.

Unlike John McCain, I will stop giving tax breaks to = corporations=20 that ship jobs overseas, and I will start giving them to companies that = create=20 good jobs right here in America.

I will eliminate capital gains = taxes for=20 the small businesses and the start-ups that will create the high-wage, = high-tech=20 jobs of tomorrow.

I will cut taxes - cut taxes - for 95% of all = working=20 families. Because in an economy like this, the last thing we = should do is=20 raise taxes on the middle-class.

And for the sake of our economy, = our=20 security, and the future of our planet, I will set a clear goal as = President: in=20 ten years, we will finally end our dependence on oil from the Middle=20 East.

Washington's been talking about our oil addiction for the = last=20 thirty years, and John McCain has been there for twenty-six of = them. In=20 that time, he's said no to higher fuel-efficiency standards for cars, no = to=20 investments in renewable energy, no to renewable fuels. And today, = we=20 import triple the amount of oil as the day that Senator McCain took=20 office.

Now is the time to end this addiction, and to understand = that=20 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=20 coal technology, and find ways to safely harness nuclear power. = I'll help=20 our auto companies re-tool, so that the fuel-efficient cars of the = future are=20 built right here in America. I'll make it easier for the American = people=20 to afford these new cars. And I'll invest 150 billion dollars over = the=20 next decade in affordable, renewable sources of energy - wind power and = solar=20 power and the next generation of biofuels; an investment that will lead = to new=20 industries and five million new jobs that pay well and can't ever be=20 outsourced.

America, now is not the time for small = plans.

Now is=20 the time to finally meet our moral obligation to provide every child a=20 world-class education, because it will take nothing less to compete in = the=20 global economy. Michelle and I are only here tonight because we = were given=20 a chance at an education. And I will not settle for an America = where some=20 kids don't have that chance. I'll invest in early childhood=20 education. I'll recruit an army of new teachers, and pay them = higher=20 salaries and give them more support. And in exchange, I'll ask for = higher=20 standards and more accountability. And we will keep our promise to = every=20 young American - if you commit to serving your community or your = country, we=20 will make sure you can afford a college education.

Now is the = time to=20 finally keep the promise of affordable, accessible health care for every = single=20 American. If you have health care, my plan will lower your = premiums. =20 If you don't, you'll be able to get the same kind of coverage that = members of=20 Congress give themselves. And as someone who watched my mother = argue with=20 insurance companies while she lay in bed dying of cancer, I will make = certain=20 those companies stop discriminating against those who are sick and need = care the=20 most.

Now is the time to help families with paid sick days and = better=20 family leave, because nobody in America should have to choose between = keeping=20 their jobs and caring for a sick child or ailing parent.

Now is = the time=20 to change our bankruptcy laws, so that your pensions are protected ahead = of CEO=20 bonuses; and the time to protect Social Security for future=20 generations.

And now is the time to keep the promise of equal pay = for an=20 equal day's work, because I want my daughters to have exactly the same=20 opportunities as your sons.

Now, many of these plans will cost = money,=20 which is why I've laid out how I'll pay for every dime - by closing = corporate=20 loopholes and tax havens that don't help America grow. But I will = also go=20 through the federal budget, line by line, eliminating programs that no = longer=20 work and making the ones we do need work better and cost less - because = we=20 cannot meet twenty-first century challenges with a twentieth century=20 bureaucracy.

And Democrats, we must also admit that fulfilling = America's=20 promise will require more than just money. It will require a = renewed sense=20 of responsibility from each of us to recover what John F. Kennedy called = our=20 "intellectual and moral strength." Yes, government must lead on = energy=20 independence, but each of us must do our part to make our homes and = businesses=20 more efficient. Yes, we must provide more ladders to success for young = men who=20 fall into lives of crime and despair. But we must also admit that = programs=20 alone can't replace parents; that government can't turn off the = television and=20 make a child do her homework; that fathers must take more responsibility = for=20 providing the love and guidance their children need.

Individual=20 responsibility and mutual responsibility - that's the essence of = America's=20 promise.

And just as we keep our promise to the next generation = here at=20 home, so must we keep America's promise abroad. If John = McCain wants=20 to have a debate about who has the temperament, and judgment, to serve = as the=20 next Commander-in-Chief, that's a debate I'm ready to have.

For = while=20 Senator McCain was turning his sights to Iraq just days after 9/11, I = stood up=20 and opposed this war, knowing that it would distract us from the real = threats we=20 face. When John McCain said we could just "muddle through" in = Afghanistan,=20 I argued for more resources and more troops to finish the fight against = the=20 terrorists who actually attacked us on 9/11, and made clear that we must = take=20 out Osama bin Laden and his lieutenants if we have them in our = sights. =20 John McCain likes to say that he'll follow bin Laden to the Gates of = Hell - but=20 he won't even go to the cave where he lives.

And today, as my = call for a=20 time frame to remove our troops from Iraq has been echoed by the Iraqi=20 government and even the Bush Administration, even after we learned that = Iraq has=20 a $79 billion surplus while we're wallowing in deficits, John McCain = stands=20 alone in his stubborn refusal to end a misguided war.

That's not = the=20 judgment we need. That won't keep America safe. We need a = President=20 who can face the threats of the future, not keep grasping at the ideas = of the=20 past.

You don't defeat a terrorist network that operates in = eighty=20 countries by occupying Iraq. You don't protect Israel and deter = Iran just=20 by talking tough in Washington. You can't truly stand up for = Georgia when=20 you've strained our oldest alliances. If John McCain wants to = follow=20 George Bush with more tough talk and bad strategy, that is his choice - = but it=20 is not the change we need.

We are the party of Roosevelt. = We are=20 the party of Kennedy. So don't tell me that Democrats won't defend = this=20 country. Don't tell me that Democrats won't keep us safe. = The=20 Bush-McCain foreign policy has squandered the legacy that generations of = Americans -- Democrats and Republicans - have built, and we are here to = restore=20 that legacy.

As Commander-in-Chief, I will never hesitate to = defend this=20 nation, but I will only send our troops into harm's way with a clear = mission and=20 a sacred commitment to give them the equipment they need in battle and = the care=20 and benefits they deserve when they come home.

I will end this = war in=20 Iraq responsibly, and finish the fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban = in=20 Afghanistan. I will rebuild our military to meet future = conflicts. =20 But I will also renew the tough, direct diplomacy that can prevent Iran = from=20 obtaining nuclear weapons and curb Russian aggression. I will = build new=20 partnerships to defeat the threats of the 21st century: terrorism and = nuclear=20 proliferation; poverty and genocide; climate change and disease. = And I=20 will restore our moral standing, so that America is once again that = last, best=20 hope for all who are called to the cause of freedom, who long for lives = of=20 peace, and who yearn for a better future.

These are the policies = I will=20 pursue. And in the weeks ahead, I look forward to debating them = with John=20 McCain.

But what I will not do is suggest that the Senator takes = his=20 positions for political purposes. Because one of the things that = we have=20 to change in our politics is the idea that people cannot disagree = without=20 challenging each other's character and patriotism.

The times are = too=20 serious, the stakes are too high for this same partisan playbook. So let = us=20 agree that patriotism has no party. I love this country, and so do = you,=20 and so does John McCain. The men and women who serve in our = battlefields=20 may be Democrats and Republicans and Independents, but they have fought = together=20 and bled together and some died together under the same proud = flag. They=20 have not served a Red America or a Blue America - they have served the = United=20 States of America.

So I've got news for you, John McCain. = We all=20 put our country first.

America, our work will not be easy. = The=20 challenges we face require tough choices, and Democrats as well as = Republicans=20 will need to cast off the worn-out ideas and politics of the past. = For=20 part of what has been lost these past eight years can't just be measured = by lost=20 wages or bigger trade deficits. What has also been lost is our = sense of=20 common purpose - our sense of higher purpose. And that's what we = have to=20 restore.

We may not agree on abortion, but surely we can agree on = reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies in this country. The = reality=20 of gun ownership may be different for hunters in rural Ohio than for = those=20 plagued by gang-violence in Cleveland, but don't tell me we can't uphold = the=20 Second Amendment while keeping AK-47s out of the hands of = criminals. I=20 know there are differences on same-sex marriage, but surely we can agree = that=20 our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters deserve to visit the person = they love=20 in the hospital and to live lives free of discrimination. Passions = fly on=20 immigration, but I don't know anyone who benefits when a mother is = separated=20 from her infant child or an employer undercuts American wages by hiring = illegal=20 workers. This too is part of America's promise - the promise of a=20 democracy where we can find the strength and grace to bridge divides and = unite=20 in common effort.

I know there are those who dismiss such beliefs = as=20 happy talk. They claim that our insistence on something larger, = something=20 firmer and more honest in our public life is just a Trojan Horse for = higher=20 taxes and the abandonment of traditional values. And that's to be=20 expected. Because if you don't have any fresh ideas, then you use stale = tactics=20 to scare the voters. If you don't have a record to run on, then = you paint=20 your opponent as someone people should run from.

You make a big = election=20 about small things.

And you know what - it's worked before. = Because=20 it feeds into the cynicism we all have about government. When = Washington=20 doesn't work, all its promises seem empty. If your hopes have been = dashed=20 again and again, then it's best to stop hoping, and settle for what you = already=20 know.

I get it. I realize that I am not the likeliest = candidate for=20 this office. I don't fit the typical pedigree, and I haven't spent = my=20 career in the halls of Washington.

But I stand before you tonight = because=20 all across America something is stirring. What the nay-sayers = don't=20 understand is that this election has never been about me. It's = been about=20 you.

For eighteen long months, you have stood up, one by one, and = said=20 enough to the politics of the past. You understand that in this = election,=20 the greatest risk we can take is to try the same old politics with the = same old=20 players and expect a different result. You have shown what history = teaches=20 us - that at defining moments like this one, the change we need doesn't = come=20 from Washington. Change comes to Washington. Change happens = because=20 the American people demand it - because they rise up and insist on new = ideas and=20 new leadership, a new politics for a new time.

America, this is = one of=20 those moments.

I believe that as hard as it will be, the change = we need=20 is coming. Because I've seen it. Because I've lived = it. I've=20 seen it in Illinois, when we provided health care to more children and = moved=20 more families from welfare to work. I've seen it in Washington, = when we=20 worked across party lines to open up government and hold lobbyists more=20 accountable, to give better care for our veterans and keep nuclear = weapons out=20 of terrorist hands.

And I've seen it in this campaign. In = the young=20 people who voted for the first time, and in those who got involved again = after a=20 very long time. In the Republicans who never thought they'd pick = up a=20 Democratic ballot, but did. I've seen it in the workers who would = rather=20 cut their hours back a day than see their friends lose their jobs, in = the=20 soldiers who re-enlist after losing a limb, in the good neighbors who = take a=20 stranger in when a hurricane strikes and the floodwaters = rise.

This=20 country of ours has more wealth than any nation, but that's not what = makes us=20 rich. We have the most powerful military on Earth, but that's not = what=20 makes us strong. Our universities and our culture are the envy of = the=20 world, but that's not what keeps the world coming to our = shores.

Instead,=20 it is that American spirit - that American promise - that pushes us = forward even=20 when the path is uncertain; that binds us together in spite of our = differences;=20 that makes us fix our eye not on what is seen, but what is unseen, that = better=20 place around the bend.

That promise is our greatest = inheritance. =20 It's a promise I make to my daughters when I tuck them in at night, and = a=20 promise that you make to yours - a promise that has led immigrants to = cross=20 oceans and pioneers to travel west; a promise that led workers to picket = lines,=20 and women to reach for the ballot.

And it is that promise that = forty five=20 years ago today, brought Americans from every corner of this land to = stand=20 together on a Mall in Washington, before Lincoln's Memorial, and hear a = young=20 preacher from Georgia speak of his dream.

The men and women who = gathered=20 there could've heard many things. They could've heard words of = anger and=20 discord. They could've been told to succumb to the fear and = frustration of=20 so many dreams deferred.

But what the people heard instead - = people of=20 every creed and color, from every walk of life - is that in America, our = destiny=20 is inextricably linked. That together, our dreams can be = one.

"We=20 cannot walk alone," the preacher cried. "And as we walk, we must = make the=20 pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn=20 back."

America, we cannot turn back. Not with so much work = to be=20 done. Not with so many children to educate, and so many veterans = to care=20 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=20 mend. America, we cannot turn back. We cannot walk = alone. At=20 this moment, in this election, we must pledge once more to march into = the=20 future. Let us keep that promise - that American promise - and in = the=20 words of Scripture hold firmly, without wavering, to the hope that we=20 confess.

Thank you, God Bless you, and God Bless the United = States of=20 America.

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