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It seems to me that each day, thousands of Americans are going about their lives - dropping the kids off at school, driving to work, shopping at the mall, trying to stay on their diets, trying to kick a cigarette habit - and they're coming to the realization that something is missing. He does not say education or the war. Why else would he define middle-class as someone making under five million dollars a year? How else could he propose hundreds of billions in tax breaks for big corporations and oil companies but not one penny of tax relief to more than one hundred million Americans? How else could he offer a health care plan that would actually tax people's benefits, or an education plan that would do nothing to help families pay for college, or a plan that would privatize Social Security and gamble your retirement? We measure progress in the 23 million new jobs that were created when Bill Clinton was President - when the average American family saw its income go up $7,500 instead of down $2,000 like it has under George Bush.
That we can participate in the political process without fear of retribution, and that our votes will be counted at least, most of the time. For alongside our famous individualism, there's another ingredient in the American saga. But for all those who scratched and clawed their way to get a piece of the American Dream, there were many who didn't make it - those who were ultimately defeated, in one way or another, by discrimination.
And yet, I know that, on this night, they look down on me with great pride. It's not enough, but it's helping. He said that the fundamentals of the economy are strong. Washington's been talking about our oil addiction for the last thirty years, and John McCain has been there for twenty-six of them. Since the Islamic Revolution, Iran has played a role in acts of hostage-taking and violence against U.S.
People are coming together around a simple truth - that we are all connected, that I am my brother's keeper; I am my sister's keeper. But what the people heard instead - people of every creed and color, from every walk of life - is that in America, our destiny is inextricably linked. At this moment, in this election, we must pledge once more to march into the future. This same story can be told by people from South Africa to South Asia; from Eastern Europe to Indonesia. To play a role in fulfilling Palestinian aspirations, and to unify the Palestinian people, Hamas must put an end to violence, recognize past agreements, and recognize Israel's right to exist.
Religious leaders like my friends Rev. Jim Wallis and Rabbi David Saperstein and Nathan Diament are working for justice and fighting for change. These are not whiners. The question, now, is not what Iran is against, but rather what future it wants to build. That is why I am committed to working with American Muslims to ensure that they can fulfill zakat. That is why we welcome efforts like Saudi Arabian King Abdullah's Interfaith dialogue and Turkey's leadership in the Alliance of Civilizations.
Thank you, God Bless you, and God Bless the United States of America.