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Did I strongly disagree with many of his political views? Absolutely - just as I'm sure many of you have heard remarks from your pastors, priests, or rabbis with which you strongly disagreed. We measure the strength of our economy not by the number of billionaires we have or the profits of the Fortune 500, but by whether someone with a good idea can take a risk and start a new business, or whether the waitress who lives on tips can take a day off to look after a sick kid without losing her job - an economy that honors the dignity of work. So let us agree that patriotism has no party. Because I've seen it. Instead, they overlap, and share common principles - principles of justice and progress; tolerance and the dignity of all human beings. It's a belief that pulsed in the cradle of civilization, and that still beats in the heart of billions.
If there is a child on the south side of Chicago who can't read, that matters to me, even if it's not my child. The Bush-McCain foreign policy has squandered the legacy that generations of Americans - Democrats and Republicans - have built, and we are here to restore that legacy.
Tonight is a particular honor for me because - let's face it - my presence on this stage is pretty unlikely. I'm talking about something more substantial. 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. So let me spell out exactly what that change would mean if I am President. 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.
We can accept a politics that breeds division, and conflict, and cynicism. They could've been told to succumb to the fear and frustration of so many dreams deferred.
But they sense, deep in their bones, that with just a slight change in priorities, we can make sure that every child in America has a decent shot at life, and that the doors of opportunity remain open to all. And I've seen it in this campaign. The first issue that we have to confront is violent extremism in all of its forms.
Thank you, God Bless you, and God Bless the United States of America.