Obama Ipsum

It should help us, not hurt us. So let me spell out exactly what that change would mean if I am President. Because I've seen it. All of us share this world for but a brief moment in time.

I've been speaking to a lot of churches recently, so it's nice to be speaking to one that's so familiar. I wanted to be part of something larger. This was one of the tasks we set forth at the beginning of this campaign - to continue the long march of those who came before us, a march for a more just, more equal, more free, more caring and more prosperous America. Not once in my conversations with him have I heard him talk about any ethnic group in derogatory terms, or treat whites with whom he interacted with anything but courtesy and respect.

I stand here today, grateful for the diversity of my heritage, aware that my parents' dreams live on in my two precious daughters. John Kerry believes in America. It wasn't until after college, when I went to Chicago to work as a community organizer for a group of Christian churches, that I confronted my own spiritual dilemma. If you're working forty hours a week, you shouldn't be living in poverty. And yet, it has only been in the last couple of weeks that the discussion of race in this campaign has taken a particularly divisive turn. But what I will not do is suggest that the Senator takes his positions for political purposes.

Now don't get me wrong. I am married to a black American who carries within her the blood of slaves and slaveowners - an inheritance we pass on to our two precious daughters. But it is where we start.

It's a journey that takes us back to our nation's founding, when none other than a UCC church inspired the Boston Tea Party and helped bring an Empire to its knees. We shouldn't use the obstacles we face as an excuse for cynicism. Kennedy called our "intellectual and moral strength." Yes, government must lead on energy independence, but each of us must do our part to make our homes and businesses more efficient.

Thank you.