Obama Ipsum

And meeting them won't be easy. But race is an issue that I believe this nation cannot afford to ignore right now. It's that he spoke as if our society was static; as if no progress has been made; as if this country - a country that has made it possible for one of his own members to run for the highest office in the land and build a coalition of white and black; Latino and Asian, rich and poor, young and old - is still irrevocably bound to a tragic past. This time we want to talk about the men and women of every color and creed who serve together, and fight together, and bleed together under the same proud flag. Too many tears have flowed. We see it in the history of Andalusia and Cordoba during the Inquisition.

But we cannot walk away this time. In the face of that young student who sleeps just three hours before working the night shift, I think about my mom, who raised my sister and me on her own while she worked and earned her degree; who once turned to food stamps but was still able to send us to the best schools in the country with the help of student loans and scholarships. And that's to be expected.

There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq and there are patriots who supported the war in Iraq. And all across the country, communities of faith are sponsoring day care programs, building senior centers, and in so many other ways, taking part in the project of American renewal. Our conscience cannot rest so long as nearly 45 million Americans don't have health insurance and the millions more who do are going bankrupt trying to pay for it. So let us agree that patriotism has no party. We seek no military bases there.

And it is my first duty as President to protect the American people. America respects the right of all peaceful and law-abiding voices to be heard around the world, even if we disagree with them.

That we can have an idea and start our own business without paying a bribe. But we do need to remind ourselves that so many of the disparities that exist in the African-American community today can be directly traced to inequalities passed on from an earlier generation that suffered under the brutal legacy of slavery and Jim Crow. You can't truly stand up for Georgia when you've strained our oldest alliances. As a student of history, I also know civilization's debt to Islam. That is why the United States will partner with any Muslim-majority country to support expanded literacy for girls, and to help young women pursue employment through micro-financing that helps people live their dreams. It is easier to start wars than to end them.

Thank you. And may God's peace be upon you.