The most presidential lorem ipsum in history.
We can affirm our faith without endangering the separation of church and state, as long as we understand that when we're in the public square, we have to speak in universal terms that everyone can understand. That is what it means to share this world in the 21st century.
But I'm hopeful because I think there's an awakening taking place in America. And when the first Muslim-American was recently elected to Congress, he took the oath to defend our Constitution using the same Holy Koran that one of our Founding Fathers - Thomas Jefferson - kept in his personal library.
They're ready to turn the page on the old politics and the old policies - whether it's the war in Iraq or the health care crisis we're in, or a school system that's leaving too many kids behind despite the slogans. No, the word is very near.
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. On the other end, we've heard my former pastor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, use incendiary language to express views that have the potential not only to widen the racial divide, but views that denigrate both the greatness and the goodness of our nation; that rightly offend white and black alike. And they are a part of America, this country that I love. This union may never be perfect, but generation after generation has shown that it can always be perfected. They claim that our insistence on something larger, something firmer and more honest in our public life is just a Trojan Horse for higher taxes and the abandonment of traditional values. And throughout history, Islam has demonstrated through words and deeds the possibilities of religious tolerance and racial equality.
And this restlessness - this search for meaning - is familiar to me. But kneeling beneath that cross on the South Side, I felt I heard God's spirit beckoning me. This time we want to talk about the men and women of every color and creed who serve together, and fight together, and bleed together under the same proud flag. As Commander-in-Chief, I will never hesitate to defend this nation, but I will only send our troops into harm's way with a clear mission and a sacred commitment to give them the equipment they need in battle and the care and benefits they deserve when they come home.
Thank you.