Obama Ipsum

Well, I say to them tonight, there is not a liberal America and a conservative America - there is the United States of America. It means continuing to insist on a full measure of justice in every aspect of American life. And we will do so in partnership with Muslim communities which are also threatened. The sooner the extremists are isolated and unwelcome in Muslim communities, the sooner we will all be safer. Likewise, many Israelis recognize the need for a Palestinian state. Too much blood has been shed.

And just as Lieutenant Kerry did not hesitate to risk his life to protect the men who served with him in Vietnam, President Kerry will not hesitate one moment to use our military might to keep America safe and secure. That's not what I'm talking about. The hope of a skinny kid with a funny name who believes that America has a place for him, too. But I have asserted a firm conviction - a conviction rooted in my faith in God and my faith in the American people - that working together we can move beyond some of our old racial wounds, and that in fact we have no choice is we are to continue on the path of a more perfect union. America will align our policies with those who pursue peace, and say in public what we say in private to Israelis and Palestinians and Arabs.

I am married to a black American who carries within her the blood of slaves and slaveowners - an inheritance we pass on to our two precious daughters. 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.

Don't tell me that Democrats won't keep us safe. Much has been made of the fact that an African-American with the name Barack Hussein Obama could be elected President. All of us share this world for but a brief moment in time.

And they want that choice. 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. We all put our country first. And you know what - it's worked before.

Thank you very much everybody.