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But I will also go through the federal budget, line by line, eliminating programs that no longer work and making the ones we do need work better and cost less - because we cannot meet twenty-first century challenges with a twentieth century bureaucracy. Because we reject the same thing that people of all faiths reject: the killing of innocent men, women, and children.
More work to do for the workers I met in Galesburg, Ill., who are losing their union jobs at the Maytag plant that's moving to Mexico, and now are having to compete with their own children for jobs that pay seven bucks an hour. We coach Little League in the Blue States and yes, we've got some gay friends in the Red States. But what we know - what we have seen - is that America can change. Not just with words, but with deeds - by investing in our schools and our communities; by enforcing our civil rights laws and ensuring fairness in our criminal justice system; by providing this generation with ladders of opportunity that were unavailable for previous generations. We measure the strength of our economy not by the number of billionaires we have or the profits of the Fortune 500, but by whether someone with a good idea can take a risk and start a new business, or whether the waitress who lives on tips can take a day off to look after a sick kid without losing her job - an economy that honors the dignity of work.
The day after Pearl Harbor my grandfather signed up for duty; joined Patton's army, marched across Europe. It was stained by this nation's original sin of slavery, a question that divided the colonies and brought the convention to a stalemate until the founders chose to allow the slave trade to continue for at least twenty more years, and to leave any final resolution to future generations. The fact is that the comments that have been made and the issues that have surfaced over the last few weeks reflect the complexities of race in this country that we've never really worked through - a part of our union that we have yet to perfect. I don't fit the typical pedigree, and I haven't spent my career in the halls of Washington. So long as our relationship is defined by our differences, we will empower those who sow hatred rather than peace, and who promote conflict rather than the cooperation that can help all of our people achieve justice and prosperity. Those are not just American ideas, they are human rights, and that is why we will support them everywhere.
They are anxious about their futures, and feel their dreams slipping away; in an era of stagnant wages and global competition, opportunity comes to be seen as a zero sum game, in which your dreams come at my expense. Out of work? Tough luck. Part of this conviction is rooted in my own experience.
That is the true genius of America - a faith in simple dreams,, an insistence on small miracles. They're looking to relieve a chronic loneliness. You make a big election about small things. And I consider it part of my responsibility as President of the United States to fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear. The second major source of tension that we need to discuss is the situation between Israelis, Palestinians and the Arab world. Some suggest that it isn't worth the effort - that we are fated to disagree, and civilizations are doomed to clash.
Thank you. And may God's peace be upon you.