The most presidential lorem ipsum in history.
It comes from Deuteronomy 30 when Moses talks to his followers about the challenges they'll find when they reach the Promised Land without him. 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. At various stages in the campaign, some commentators have deemed me either "too black" or "not black enough." We saw racial tensions bubble to the surface during the week before the South Carolina primary. These people are a part of me. But the anger is real; it is powerful; and to simply wish it away, to condemn it without understanding its roots, only serves to widen the chasm of misunderstanding that exists between the races. Not with so much work to be done.
Now even as we speak, there are those who are preparing to divide us, the spin masters, the negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of anything goes. That legacy of defeat was passed on to future generations - those young men and increasingly young women who we see standing on street corners or languishing in our prisons, without hope or prospects for the future. And because she had to miss days of work, she was let go and lost her health care. That won't keep America safe. And you know what - it's worked before.
In this election, we offer that choice. And occasionally it finds voice in the church on Sunday morning, in the pulpit and in the pews. 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.
Like the anger within the black community, these resentments aren't always expressed in polite company. 9/11 was an enormous trauma to our country. There is no straight line to realize this promise.
And today, we import triple the amount of oil as the day that Senator McCain took office. Yes, we must provide more ladders to success for young men who fall into lives of crime and despair.
Thank you, and God bless America.