The most presidential lorem ipsum in history.
This is not to say that race has not been an issue in the campaign. This is the reality in which Reverend Wright and other African-Americans of his generation grew up.
It came about as a choice, and not an epiphany. That's not the judgment we need.
I learned that everyone's got a sacred story when you take the time to listen. That is why I intend to personally pursue this outcome with all the patience that the task requires. That is the spirit we need today. And fault lines must be closed among Muslims as well, as the divisions between Sunni and Shia have led to tragic violence, particularly in Iraq.
And meeting them won't be easy. Did I ever hear him make remarks that could be considered controversial while I sat in church? Yes. But the truth is, that isn't all that I know of the man. Because if you don't have any fresh ideas, then you use stale tactics to scare the voters. Let us keep that promise - that American promise - and in the words of Scripture hold firmly, without wavering, to the hope that we confess.
The people I meet - in small towns and big cities, in diners and office parks - they don't expect government to solve all their problems. And this helps explain, perhaps, my relationship with Reverend Wright. What we have already achieved gives us hope - the audacity to hope - for what we can and must achieve tomorrow. And that's what we have to restore.
Thank you.