Obama Ipsum

But then I asked myself: Are we serving Shamus as well as he is serving us? It is a sign of neither courage nor power to shoot rockets at sleeping children, or to blow up old women on a bus. In Turkey, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia, we have seen Muslim-majority countries elect a woman to lead. On science and technology, we will launch a new fund to support technological development in Muslim-majority countries, and to help transfer ideas to the marketplace so they can create jobs. And we will also expand partnerships with Muslim communities to promote child and maternal health.

There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq and there are patriots who supported the war in Iraq. And the lack of basic services in so many urban black neighborhoods - parks for kids to play in, police walking the beat, regular garbage pick-up and building code enforcement - all helped create a cycle of violence, blight and neglect that continue to haunt us. Change happens because the American people demand it - because they rise up and insist on new ideas and new leadership, a new politics for a new time.

Despite the temptation to view my candidacy through a purely racial lens, we won commanding victories in states with some of the whitest populations in the country. But let us be clear: al Qaeda killed nearly 3,000 people on that day. That is why I intend to personally pursue this outcome with all the patience that the task requires. Likewise, many Israelis recognize the need for a Palestinian state.

That experience guides my conviction that partnership between America and Islam must be based on what Islam is, not what it isn't. But we have a responsibility to join together on behalf of the world we seek - a world where extremists no longer threaten our people, and American troops have come home; a world where Israelis and Palestinians are each secure in a state of their own, and nuclear energy is used for peaceful purposes; a world where governments serve their citizens, and the rights of all God's children are respected.

I thought of the families I've met who were struggling to get by without a loved one's full income, or whose loved ones had returned with a limb missing or nerves shattered, but who still lacked long-term health benefits because they were Reservists. The dream of opportunity for all people has not come true for everyone in America, but its promise exists for all who come to our shores - that includes nearly seven million American Muslims in our country today who enjoy incomes and education that are higher than average.

Thank you. And may God's peace be upon you.