Obama Ipsum

This year, in this election, we are called to reaffirm our values and our commitments, to hold them against a hard reality and see how we are measuring up, to the legacy of our forbearers, and the promise of future generations. Now let there be no doubt. But I stand before you tonight because all across America something is stirring.

But my grandfather had larger dreams for his son. They know those things. And that it's not enough to just believe this - we have to do our part to make it a reality. And occasionally it finds voice in the church on Sunday morning, in the pulpit and in the pews. Let us be our brother's keeper, Scripture tells us. And yet Al Qaeda chose to ruthlessly murder these people, claimed credit for the attack, and even now states their determination to kill on a massive scale.

I chose to run for the presidency at this moment in history because I believe deeply that we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together - unless we perfect our union by understanding that we may have different stories, but we hold common hopes; that we may not look the same and we may not have come from the same place, but we all want to move in the same direction - towards a better future for of children and our grandchildren. If your hopes have been dashed again and again, then it's best to stop hoping, and settle for what you already know. Change comes to Washington.

It is where our union grows stronger. America, we cannot turn back. I am a Christian, but my father came from a Kenyan family that includes generations of Muslims. But I also know that human progress cannot be denied.

These are some of the challenges that test our conscience - as Americans and people of faith. Theirs are the stories that shaped me. When Washington doesn't work, all its promises seem empty.

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