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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. What is that promise? 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. That experience guides my conviction that partnership between America and Islam must be based on what Islam is, not what it isn't.
So one Sunday, I put on one of the few clean jackets I had, and went over to Trinity United Church of Christ on 95th Street on the South Side of Chicago. If you don't, you'll be able to get the same kind of coverage that members of Congress give themselves. 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. Each nation gives life to this principle in its own way, grounded in the traditions of its own people. But this much is clear: governments that protect these rights are ultimately more stable, successful and secure.
It means continuing to insist on a full measure of justice in every aspect of American life. That won't keep America safe. We also know that military power alone is not going to solve the problems in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Too much blood has been shed.
And yet, to wish away the resentments of white Americans, to label them as misguided or even racist, without recognizing they are grounded in legitimate concerns - this too widens the racial divide, and blocks the path to understanding. "I'm here because of Ashley." By itself, that single moment of recognition between that young white girl and that old black man is not enough. 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.
That we can participate in the political process without fear of retribution, and that our votes will be counted at least, most of the time. The President vetoed a similar plan, but he doesn't have the last word, and we're going to keep at it, until we bring this war to an end. But Moses says: What I am commanding you is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. You see, we Democrats have a very different measure of what constitutes progress in this country. We did not go by choice, we went because of necessity. No single nation should pick and choose which nations hold nuclear weapons.
Thank you very much everybody.