The most presidential lorem ipsum in history.
When we send our young men and women into harm's way, we have a solemn obligation not to fudge the numbers or shade the truth about why they're going, to care for their families while they're gone, to tend to the soldiers upon their return, and to never ever go to war without enough troops to win the war, secure the peace, and earn the respect of the world. Not just with words, but with deeds - by investing in our schools and our communities; by enforcing our civil rights laws and ensuring fairness in our criminal justice system; by providing this generation with ladders of opportunity that were unavailable for previous generations. They could've been told to succumb to the fear and frustration of so many dreams deferred. The victims were innocent men, women and children from America and many other nations who had done nothing to harm anybody.
It wasn't until after college, when I went to Chicago to work as a community organizer for a group of Christian churches, that I confronted my own spiritual dilemma. Because if you don't have any fresh ideas, then you use stale tactics to scare the voters.
John Kerry believes in energy independence, so we aren't held hostage to the profits of oil companies, or the sabotage of foreign oil fields. Four years ago, I stood before you and told you my story - of the brief union between a young man from Kenya and a young woman from Kansas who weren't well-off or well-known, but shared a belief that in America, their son could achieve whatever he put his mind to. He said that our economy has made "great progress" under this President. I'll recruit an army of new teachers, and pay them higher salaries and give them more support. We have the most powerful military on Earth, but that's not what makes us strong. But if we choose to be bound by the past, we will never move forward.
There was even a time when the Christian Coalition determined that its number one legislative priority was tax cuts for the rich. The man I met more than twenty years ago is a man who helped introduce me to my Christian faith, a man who spoke to me about our obligations to love one another; to care for the sick and lift up the poor.
Because the Iraq war is not just a security problem, it's a moral problem. In my first book, Dreams From My Father, I described the experience of my first service at Trinity: We are the party of Kennedy. They have fought in our wars, served in government, stood for civil rights, started businesses, taught at our Universities, excelled in our sports arenas, won Nobel Prizes, built our tallest building, and lit the Olympic Torch. So America will defend itself respectful of the sovereignty of nations and the rule of law. The obligations that the parties have agreed to under the Road Map are clear.
Thank you, God Bless you, and God Bless the United States of America.