Obama Ipsum

I'd been inspired by the civil rights movement - by all the clear-eyed, straight-backed, courageous young people who'd boarded buses and traveled down South to march and sit at lunch counters, and lay down their lives in some cases for freedom. This is a problem that's brought together churches and synagogues and mosques and people of all faiths as part of a grassroots movement. But we also know our conscience cannot rest so long as the war goes on in Iraq. But it is where we start. It's because John McCain doesn't get it. It is easier to start wars than to end them.

For the men and women of Reverend Wright's generation, the memories of humiliation and doubt and fear have not gone away; nor has the anger and the bitterness of those years. That is why we welcome efforts like Saudi Arabian King Abdullah's Interfaith dialogue and Turkey's leadership in the Alliance of Civilizations.

John Kerry understands the ideals of community, faith, and service because they've defined his life. Politicians routinely exploited fears of crime for their own electoral ends.

But that same principle must apply to Muslim perceptions of America. For instance, in the United States, rules on charitable giving have made it harder for Muslims to fulfill their religious obligation.

That they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights. There is real evil and hardship and pain and suffering in the world and we should be humble in our belief that we can eliminate them. We the people, in order to form a more perfect union." 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.

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