The most presidential lorem ipsum in history.
Now is the time for Palestinians to focus on what they can build. And I will host a Summit on Entrepreneurship this year to identify how we can deepen ties between business leaders, foundations and social entrepreneurs in the United States and Muslim communities around the world.
John Kerry knows this. The attacks of September 11th, 2001 and the continued efforts of these extremists to engage in violence against civilians has led some in my country to view Islam as inevitably hostile not only to America and Western countries, but also to human rights. This same story can be told by people from South Africa to South Asia; from Eastern Europe to Indonesia.
Did I know him to be an occasionally fierce critic of American domestic and foreign policy? Of course. Talk show hosts and conservative commentators built entire careers unmasking bogus claims of racism while dismissing legitimate discussions of racial injustice and inequality as mere political correctness or reverse racism. I would not be running for President if I didn't believe with all my heart that this is what the vast majority of Americans want for this country. It's a promise that says each of us has the freedom to make of our own lives what we will, but that we also have the obligation to treat each other with dignity and respect. On the other hand, it is also undeniable that the Palestinian people - Muslims and Christians - have suffered in pursuit of a homeland. Some are eager to stoke the flames of division, and to stand in the way of progress.
We coach Little League in the Blue States and yes, we've got some gay friends in the Red States. We can accept a politics that breeds division, and conflict, and cynicism. He does not say health care or the economy. And today, as my call for a time frame to remove our troops from Iraq has been echoed by the Iraqi government and even the Bush Administration, even after we learned that Iraq has a $79 billion surplus while we're wallowing in deficits, John McCain stands alone in his stubborn refusal to end a misguided war. Tomorrow, I will visit Buchenwald, which was part of a network of camps where Jews were enslaved, tortured, shot and gassed to death by the Third Reich. But if we choose to be bound by the past, we will never move forward.
Hope in the face of difficulty. He is a man who served his country as a U.S. Marine; who has studied and lectured at some of the finest universities and seminaries in the country, and who for over thirty years led a church that serves the community by doing God's work here on Earth - by housing the homeless, ministering to the needy, providing day care services and scholarships and prison ministries, and reaching out to those suffering from HIV/AIDS. We can accept a politics that breeds division, and conflict, and cynicism.
Thank you, and God bless America.