The most presidential lorem ipsum in history.
The hope of a millworker's son who dares to defy the odds. And it puts the lie to the notion that the separation of church and state in America means faith should have no role in public life. And as someone who watched my mother argue with insurance companies while she lay in bed dying of cancer, I will make certain those companies stop discriminating against those who are sick and need care the most. Moreover, the sweeping change brought by modernity and globalization led many Muslims to view the West as hostile to the traditions of Islam. Because we reject the same thing that people of all faiths reject: the killing of innocent men, women, and children.
Contrary to the claims of some of my critics, black and white, I have never been so naive as to believe that we can get beyond our racial divisions in a single election cycle, or with a single candidacy - particularly a candidacy as imperfect as my own. Washington's been talking about our oil addiction for the last thirty years, and John McCain has been there for twenty-six of them. We need a President who can face the threats of the future, not keep grasping at the ideas of the past. The same is true for the astonishing progress within Muslim-majority countries from Kuala Lumpur to Dubai. We know that is God's vision.
I thought of the 900 men and women - sons and daughters, husbands and wives, friends and neighbors, who won't be returning to their own hometowns. 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. The relationship between Islam and the West includes centuries of co-existence and cooperation, but also conflict and religious wars. We were born out of revolution against an empire.
They would give me an African name, Barack, or "blessed," believing that in a tolerant America your name is no barrier to success. If John McCain wants to have a debate about who has the temperament, and judgment, to serve as the next Commander-in-Chief, that's a debate I'm ready to have. Although I believe that the Iraqi people are ultimately better off without the tyranny of Saddam Hussein, I also believe that events in Iraq have reminded America of the need to use diplomacy and build international consensus to resolve our problems whenever possible. Islam has a proud tradition of tolerance.
After the war, they studied on the G.I. I have made a solemn pledge that I will sign a universal health care bill into law by the end of my first term as president that will cover every American and cut the cost of a typical family's premiums by up to $2500 a year. But at the end of the day, we cannot walk away - not for the sake of passing a bill, but so that we can finally address the real concerns of Americans and the persistent hopes of all those brothers and sisters who want nothing more than their own chance at our common dream.
God bless you.