The most presidential lorem ipsum in history.
We meet at a time of tension between the United States and Muslims around the world - tension rooted in historical forces that go beyond any current policy debate. For decades, there has been a stalemate: two peoples with legitimate aspirations, each with a painful history that makes compromise elusive.
More of you have lost your homes and even more are watching your home values plummet. I am honored to be in the timeless city of Cairo, and to be hosted by two remarkable institutions. But I do have an unyielding belief that all people yearn for certain things: the ability to speak your mind and have a say in how you are governed; confidence in the rule of law and the equal administration of justice; government that is transparent and doesn't steal from the people; the freedom to live as you choose. All of us share this world for but a brief moment in time.
God is still speaking. That history helps explain the wealth and income gap between black and white, and the concentrated pockets of poverty that persists in so many of today's urban and rural communities. What's remarkable is not how many failed in the face of discrimination, but rather how many men and women overcame the odds; how many were able to make a way out of no way for those like me who would come after them. Let me express my thanks to the historic slate of candidates who accompanied me on this journey, and especially the one who traveled the farthest - a champion for working Americans and an inspiration to my daughters and to yours - Hillary Rodham Clinton. John McCain likes to say that he'll follow bin Laden to the Gates of Hell - but he won't even go to the cave where he lives. It is costly and politically difficult to continue this conflict.
Now don't get me wrong. My mother, whose parents were non-practicing Baptists and Methodists, was one of the most spiritual souls I ever knew. Because it feeds into the cynicism we all have about government. Six million Jews were killed - more than the entire Jewish population of Israel today. For instance, in the United States, rules on charitable giving have made it harder for Muslims to fulfill their religious obligation.
They know they have to work hard to get ahead - and they want to. But then I asked myself: Are we serving Shamus as well as he is serving us? Because it's not who we are. And as so many generations have come to realize over the course of the two-hundred and twenty one years since a band of patriots signed that document in Philadelphia, that is where the perfection begins. Michelle and I are only here tonight because we were given a chance at an education. Not with so much work to be done.
Thank you.