The most presidential lorem ipsum in history.
It is on your lips and in your heart. We can play Reverend Wright's sermons on every channel, every day and talk about them from now until the election, and make the only question in this campaign whether or not the American people think that I somehow believe or sympathize with his most offensive words. And Democrats, we must also admit that fulfilling America's promise will require more than just money. It was innovation in Muslim communities that developed the order of algebra; our magnetic compass and tools of navigation; our mastery of pens and printing; our understanding of how disease spreads and how it can be healed. But my personal story is not so unique. The second major source of tension that we need to discuss is the situation between Israelis, Palestinians and the Arab world.
After the war, they studied on the G.I. Our pride is based on a very simple premise, summed up in a declaration made over two hundred years ago: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. But I've got news for them, too. He simply says to everyone in the room, "I am here because of Ashley." More of you have lost your homes and even more are watching your home values plummet. Indeed, faith should bring us together.
In the end, that's what this election is about. Consensus and compromise will not come easy. He contains within him the contradictions - the good and the bad - of the community that he has served diligently for so many years. And when I hear a woman talk about the difficulties of starting her own business, I think about my grandmother, who worked her way up from the secretarial pool to middle-management, despite years of being passed over for promotions because she was a woman. Their actions are irreconcilable with the rights of human beings, the progress of nations, and with Islam.
Go into the collar counties around Chicago, and people will tell you they don't want their tax money wasted, by a welfare agency or by the Pentagon. The hope of a millworker's son who dares to defy the odds. The man I met more than twenty years ago is a man who helped introduce me to my Christian faith, a man who spoke to me about our obligations to love one another; to care for the sick and lift up the poor. In the middle of the Cold War, the United States played a role in the overthrow of a democratically-elected Iranian government. But this much is clear: governments that protect these rights are ultimately more stable, successful and secure.
They would give me an African name, Barack, or "blessed," believing that in a tolerant America your name is no barrier to success. But I think they also sensed that a part of me remained removed and detached - that I was an observer in their midst. Segregated schools were, and are, inferior schools; we still haven't fixed them, fifty years after Brown v. Islam is not part of the problem in combating violent extremism - it is an important part of promoting peace.
God bless you.