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So doing the Lord's work is a thread that's run through our politics since the very beginning. But we also know our conscience cannot rest so long as the war goes on in Iraq. And so this will be a difficult debate next week. And this helps explain, perhaps, my relationship with Reverend Wright. To President Clinton, who last night made the case for change as only he can make it; to Ted Kennedy, who embodies the spirit of service; and to the next Vice President of the United States, Joe Biden, I thank you. If your hopes have been dashed again and again, then it's best to stop hoping, and settle for what you already know.
There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq and there are patriots who supported the war in Iraq. Did I know him to be an occasionally fierce critic of American domestic and foreign policy? Of course. As William Faulkner once wrote, "The past isn't dead and buried.
My father, who I didn't know, returned to Kenya when I was just two. Religious leaders like my friends Rev. Jim Wallis and Rabbi David Saperstein and Nathan Diament are working for justice and fighting for change. The fact that so many people are surprised to hear that anger in some of Reverend Wright's sermons simply reminds us of the old truism that the most segregated hour in American life occurs on Sunday morning. To Chairman Dean and my great friend Dick Durbin; and to all my fellow citizens of this great nation; On November 4th, we must stand up and say: "Eight is enough." So let me be clear: no system of government can or should be imposed upon one nation by any other.
America! Tonight, if you feel the same energy that I do, if you feel the same urgency that I do, if you feel the same passion I do, if you feel the same hopefulness that I do - if we do what we must do, then I have no doubts that all across the country, from Florida to Oregon, from Washington to Maine, the people will rise up in November, and John Kerry will be sworn in as president, and John Edwards will be sworn in as vice president, and this country will reclaim its promise, and out of this long political darkness a brighter day will come. At every opportunity, they've told evangelical Christians that Democrats disrespect their values and dislike their Church, while suggesting to the rest of the country that religious Americans care only about issues like abortion and gay marriage; school prayer and intelligent design. It's that we all have it within our power to make this a better world. I would not be running for President if I didn't believe with all my heart that this is what the vast majority of Americans want for this country.
This year, in this election, we are called to reaffirm our values and our commitments, to hold them against a hard reality and see how we are measuring up, to the legacy of our forbearers, and the promise of future generations. A belief in things not seen. That's why organizations are rising up across the country to reclaim the language of faith to bring about change. Not this time. That's the change we need right now. And we will welcome all elected, peaceful governments - provided they govern with respect for all their people.
Thank you, and God bless America.