Sarah Palin and Feminists for Life

By Ruth Rosen, AlterNet.

McCain's veep pick is a proud member of Feminists for Life, which tries to convince young women that choice means giving up the right to 'choose.'

Many people are unfamiliar with Feminists for Life and wonder what the choice of Sarah Palin, who is against abortion rights, signals to the electorate.
Well, let me tell you something about Feminists for Life. In 2003, I decided to investigate this group and its energetic leader, Serrin Foster. What did it mean, I wondered, to be a feminist and actively fight against the right to choose when or whether to have a child?
So I went to a church in sprawling, suburban, wealthy Danville, California to hear Serrin Foster, president of Feminists for Life, speak on "The Feminist Case Against Abortion" to a huge crowd of mainly high-school students.
Founded in 1972, one year before the U.S. Supreme Court handed down the historic Roe vs. Wade decision that made abortion legal in the United States, Feminists for Life now focuses exclusively on practical alternatives to abortion for college-age women.
No woman, argues Foster, should ever have to choose between having a child and a career. "Abortion is a reflection that society has failed women," she tells high school and college students as she tours the country.
"Women deserve better choices," she says and points to practical alternatives and resources available to a young woman who has an unwanted pregnancy. She can choose single parenthood and use food stamps or temporary assistance to needy families. She can choose adoption. Or, college-age women can pressure school campuses to offer child care and family housing so that they never, ever, have to choose between a pregnancy and an education.
Feminism is all about having choices, Foster told me, after her talk. I couldn't agree more. Young women, she says, should have the right to bear a child and have access to high-quality, affordable child care. Again, I heartily agreed.
But Foster is cleverly disingenuous. When I asked what she does to promote child care, her answers were vague and evasive. When I read the organization's brochures aimed at campus physicians and psychologists, I found nothing about campaigning for child care. The real goal is to convince professionals to persuade young women to "choose" to bear a baby.
Despite its protestations, Feminists for Life is not really about choice. You can see this on its Web site, where the slogan "refuse to choose" appeared repeatedly. Nor does the organization challenge the real difficulties working mothers face. Instead, it cleverly appropriates the words "feminist" and "choice" to convince young women that abortion is always an unacceptable choice.
Part of the problem is that Foster either does not know her history or purposefully distorts the past. She spoke that night as though she had invented the idea of child care and describes pioneer feminists of the 1960s and 1970s as selfish, diabolical creatures who never wanted women to have the choice to bear a child.
But she's wrong. The three demands made at the first national march in New York City in 1970 included child care, equal pay for equal work and the legal right to "choose" an abortion. Many feminists, moreover, spent years trying to persuade the institutions where they worked that real equality for women required family-friendly policies, including child care.
Foster also accused Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America of supporting abortion in order to stay in business. But I had to wonder about her own financial goals when I saw, in the organization's magazine, that I could buy a "stunning new logo pin" in either sterling silver or 24-carat gold for $75.
In the end, I decided that Feminists for Life is neither about feminism nor about choice. It is a cunning attempt to convince young women that choice means giving up the right to "choose."
Sarah Palin is the inexperienced woman Sen. John McCain has chosen as his running mate, hoping that she will attract the vital female vote.. It's the worst kind of affirmative action, choosing a person he barely knows, who is completely unprepared to assume any national office. It's like nominating Clarence Thomas for the Supreme Court. It's all about ideology and not about competence.
To put it bluntly, Sarah Palin is no Hillary Clinton. Nor does she have the vision and brilliance of Barack Obama. This is an incredible insult to most American women. Just how stupid does he think we are?

Getting to Know Sarah Palin

To show what a Republican is worth in current politics, it is a pleasure to take the measures of Sarah Palin, who is, according to Republican standards, the most qualified after McCain to be President of the United States of America.
Pointer presents a series of aspects, selected from the media, to see what and how long this image can endure, a count down. This dossier of articles is labeled The Palin COUNT DOWN and you can select the articles apart from the others by selecting that label.
Fairbanks Paper Hits Palin Veep Pick
Editor & Publisher Staff August 29, 2008
NEW YORK Since, even as her leading backers admit, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska is unknown nationally -- until today, when she was picked by John McCain as his running mate -- E&P will provide a number of pieces in coming days about her, taken strictly from Alaska newspapers and reporters for same.
The first one comes from the Daily News-Miner in Fairbanks, Alaska. Surprisingly, considering she is now the highest profile political figure to ever come from Alaska, the newspaper in an editorial posted on its site today declared her flatly not qualified for the office of vice president.
It also brought up an intriguing fact. Palin in her speech on Friday -- also a point used by McCain surrogates -- is that she refused to go along with the plan to build the so-called "bridge to nowhere" in her state, wanting to halt wasteful spending. But the Fairbanks editorial points out that the state still kept the money for the project.

Here is an excerpt from the editorial.

Sen. John McCain’s selection of Gov. Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate was a stunning decision that should make Alaskans proud, even while we wonder about the actual merits of the choice....

Alaskans and Americans must ask, though, whether she should become vice president and, more importantly, be placed first in line to become president.

In fact, as the governor herself acknowledged in her acceptance speech, she never set out to be involved in public affairs. She has never publicly demonstrated the kind of interest, much less expertise, in federal issues and foreign affairs that should mark a candidate for the second-highest office in the land. Republicans rightfully have criticized the Democratic nominee, Sen. Barack Obama, for his lack of experience, but Palin is a neophyte in comparison; how will Republicans reconcile the criticism of Obama with the obligatory cheering for Palin?
Most people would acknowledge that, regardless of her charm and good intentions, Palin is not ready for the top job. McCain seems to have put his political interests ahead of the nation’s when he created the possibility that she might fill it.
It’s clear that McCain picked Palin for reasons of image, not substance. She’s a woman. She has fought corruption. She has fought the oil companies. She’s married to a union member. These are portrayals for campaign speeches; they are not policy positions.
There was also some pandering right from the start. “I told Congress `Thanks but no thanks on that bridge to nowhere,’ ” Palin reported to the crowd in Dayton, Ohio. “If our state wanted a bridge, I said, we’d build it ourselves.”
But the state kept the bridge money. That’s because Alaskans pay federal gas taxes and they expect a good share to come back, just like people do in every other state. We build very little by ourselves, and any governor who would turn that tax money down likely would be turned out of office.


Anchorage Reporter Expresses Strong Doubts About Palin
NEW YORK As related in a previous article today, E&P over the next few days will be presenting how Alaska newspapers and reporters view their Gov. Sarah Palin -- now John McCain's pick for his running mate. She has been a near-unknown nationally so it seems to makes sense to go to the people who know her best locally. See our Part I today, on a surprising editorial in the Fairbanks daily.

Also today, Gregg Erickson, columnist and reporter for the Anchorage Daily News, took part in an online chat at www.washingtonpost.com. He expressed some rather mixed views about his governor. Here are a few excerpts.

Baltimore, Md.: What are Governor Palin's three greatest strengths? What are her three greatest weaknesses?
Gregg Erickson: She is smart, vivacious and energetic; she tends to oversimplify complex issues, has had difficulty delegating authority, and clearly has some difficulty distinguishing the line between her public responsibilities and private wishes.
She is under legislative investigation regarding the last issue, the so-called "troopergate," in which she is said to have used improper influence to try to get her sister's ex-husband fired from the state troopers.

Eagle River, Ak.: Morning, Gregg! I've suddenly being hearing a number of pundits credit Gov. Palin with stopping the "bridge to nowhere." This isn't how I remember it, though -- in fact, I seem to recall that she was initially in favor of the bridge. Could you clarify? Thanks!
Gregg Erickson: She did curtail state support of the "bridge to nowhere" connecting Ketchikan with its island airport. But contrary to her statement today in Dayton, OH, she didn't send the federal money back. It's available for use in other projects elsewhere.

Los Angeles, Calif.: It's clear from your responses that you don't particularly like her (I'm not speaking personally, but politically.) How do you explain her high approval ratings?
Gregg Erickson: I think she did a great job in taking on the oil industry, that has had a lock on Alaska politics since 1981 She is also stood up against the corruption in Alaska politics long before it was fashionable to do so. I think those things resonate with many Alaskans beside myself.
Her approval ratings are high--65 percent, or so--but down from 80 percent earlier in her term. Most Alaskan's haven't watched her as closely as most reporters or legislators. If you took a poll of reporters and legislators I expect her approval rating would be down in the teens or twenties.

Washington, D.C.: Why don't reporters and legislators have a high opinion of the governor?
Gregg Erickson: It is clear that she has not paid much attention to the nitty-gritty unglamorous work of government, of gaining consensus, and making difficult compromises. She seems to be of the view that politics should be all rather simple. That often appeals to the wider public, but frustrates those who see themselves as laboring in the less glamorous parts of the vineyard.

Washington, D.C.;: You wrote: "If you took a poll of reporters and legislators I expect her approval rating would be down in the teens or twenties." What do they know about her that the general population does not?
Gregg Erickson: One example: The Republican chair of the Alaska State House Finance budget subcommittee on Heath and Medicaid says he can't find anyone in Palin's executive office who cares about helping bring that budget under control. He is furious with her about that.

Wheaton, Md.: Why is she experienced enough to lead our nation as president if McCain were unable to do so?
Gregg Erickson: I have a hard time seeing how her qualifications stack up against the duties and responsibilities of being president.

Washington, D.C.: What should we expect from her during the VP debates?
Gregg Erickson: I expect her to stick with simple truths. When asked about continued American troop presence in Iraq she said she knows only one thing about that (I paraphrase): no one has attacked the American homeland since George Bush took the war to Iraq.

Germantown, Md.: Is it true that Gov. Palin is skeptical about global warming?
Gregg Erickson: Yes. Although she has not been outspoken about that. Alaska's national politicians have been allied with Sen. Imhoff, but have had to reverse course rather dramatically on that as the effects of climate change began to show up so dramatically in Alaska.

Palin Ad Starring Ted Stevens Already Scrubbed From Palin's Campaign Website
By Greg Sargent - August 29, 2008, 1:58PM
That was quick. This morning, an ad from Sarah Palin's 2006 gubernatorial campaign featuring an endorsement from scandal-plagued Alaska Senator Ted Stevens was available on Palin's campaign Web site. We were able to access it ourselves by clicking on the link:
...but now the Stevens ad has already been scrubbed. The link is no longer on her campaign site.
Luckily, the ad featuring Stevens and Palin is still available for your viewing pleasure!
Ah, the miracles of YouTube...
Senator Ted Stevens is under investigation about nothing less but corruption.

Representative Jesse Jackson Jr.(Ill-2)

U.S. Representative Jesse Jackson Jr., IL-2
Monday, August 25, 2008 at 06:00 PM
I’m sure Dr. King is looking down on us here in Denver, noting that this is the first political convention in history to take place within sight of his mountaintop.
On the day President Johnson submitted the Voting Rights Act to Congress, he said, “At times, history and fate meet at a single time in a single place to shape a turning point in man’s unending search for freedom.”
So it was at Lexington and Concord. So it was at Appomattox. So it was in Selma, Alabama. Tonight, I would like to add: and so it shall be in Denver, Colorado, with the nomination of Barack Obama to be President of the United States.
What a remarkable thing it is that the man who came to this convention four years ago as the keynote speaker is returning this year as our party’s nominee. But for those of us who’ve known Barack over his decade in public office in Illinois the yearning for change, the hunger for unity that he’s tapped into across the country has a familiar ring.
I remember when Barack first decided to run for the United States Senate. He’d had a remarkable career in the state Senate, reaching across the aisle to put a tax cut into the pockets of working families, to expand health care for more children and parents and to take on the lobbyists who had so much influence in Springfield.
But despite this record, most in Springfield didn’t take his candidacy all that seriously. The party establishment was skeptical of this young leader from the South Side. They didn’t know what to make of a man like Barack, with a father from Kenya, a mother from Kansas and a funny name that few could pronounce. They didn’t see how this former community organizer could possibly defeat candidates with more money, more name recognition and more backing from “all the right people.”
But here’s the thing: that race wasn’t going to be decided in the halls of power in Springfield or the high rises on the lakefront. It was not going to be decided by the power brokers or opinion shapers. It was going to be decided by the people of Illinois. Illinois is America. It’s great cities and small towns, it’s old factories and new industries, it’s timeless Midwestern values of faith, family and hard work. And it’s black and white and Latino all living together, as one Illinois family, as one America. And the people of Illinois were hungry for change. From the old factory towns of our industrial north to the farms of our agrarian south, families had been struggling to meet the challenges of our global economy. And more often than not, they’d been harmed, rather than helped, by economic policies that failed to them get ahead and reach for their dreams.
But what they heard from Barack as he traveled across the state was a message of hope. Whether he was upstate or downstate; whether he was talking with folks who’d been laid off and seen their jobs shipped overseas or families struggling to keep up with rising costs; whether he was talking with recent immigrants who wanted to know that America had a place for them too, or African Americans who were falling further and further behind, Barack spoke of the same powerful idea. The idea that’s at the heart of who Barack is. The idea that’s at the heart of who we are as Americans. And the idea that’s at the heart of this campaign. That we all have a stake in each other; that the well-being of the “we” depends on the well-being of the “he” and “she”; and that in this country we rise and fall together as one people, as one nation.
And what I saw in that campaign is what I’m seeing today: ordinary men and women of all races, all religions, all walks of life coming together to demand a government in Washington that’s as honest and decent, as purposeful and responsible as the American people.
Fellow Democrats, this is an historic moment. I know. I grew up with the lessons of another generation, my father’s generation. I know his stories of struggle and sacrifice, of fear and division. I know America is still a place where dreams are too often deferred and opportunities too often denied.
But here’s what I also know. I know that while America may not be perfect, our union can always be perfected. I know what we can achieve when good people with strong convictions come together around a common purpose. And I know what a great leader can do to help us find common ground. America, we need such a leader today, a leader who can heal the wounds of the last eight years, a leader who knows that what unites us is greater than what divides us and that America is at its strongest when hard work is rewarded and all of our dreams are within reach.
I know Barack Obama. I’ve seen his leadership at work. I’ve seen the difference he’s made in the lives of people across Illinois. And that is why I know that for the sake of our children, our families, and the future we hold in common, he is the leader America needs right now. Forty-five years to the day after a young preacher called out, “Let freedom ring,” let history show in this fourth week of August in this Mile-High City, freedom in America has never rung from a higher mountaintop than it does here today.

Brian Schweitzer at the DNC About Energy

Brian Schweizer, Governor of Montana at the Democratic National Convention the video:
Tuesday, August 26, 2008 at 08:05 PM
I’m a rancher who has made my living raising cattle and growing wheat, barley and alfalfa in Montana, a beautiful place with soaring peaks, pristine rivers and endless prairies. I’m probably a little biased, but I think it’s the best place in the world to raise a family, to start and grow a business, and to build a community.

When I ran for governor of Montana, I had never before held elected office. I chose a Republican, John Bohlinger, to be my lieutenant governor, with the simple proposition that we could get more done working together than we could fighting. Because Montana really isn’t a red state or a blue state. As Senator Obama might put it, we’re a united state.

And so in three-and-a-half years, working together—Republicans and Democrats in Montana—we have cut more taxes for more Montanans than any time in history, increased energy production at the fastest rate in the history of Montana, invested more new money in education than ever before and we created the largest budget surplus in the history of Montana. That’s the kind of change we brought to Montana, and that’s the kind of change President Barack Obama is going to bring to America.

Like Senator Obama, my family has roots in the Great Plains. My grandparents were immigrants who came to Montana with nothing more than the clothes on their back, high hopes and faith in God. My family didn’t have much in our little house. But a few things stand out in my memory: a crucifix and, on our kitchen wall, a framed picture of President Kennedy. My parents never even graduated from high school, but President Kennedy’s idealism and spirit of possibility inspired them to send all six of us children to college. And when he said, “we’re going to the moon,” he showed us that no challenge was insurmountable.

A generation later, we face a great new challenge, a world energy crisis that threatens our economy, our security, our climate and our way of life. And until we address that energy crisis, our problems will only get worse. For eight long years, the White House has led us in the wrong direction. And now Senator McCain wants four more years of the same.

Can we afford four more years? Is it time for a change? When do we need it? And who do we need as the next President of the United States of America? That’s right. Barack Obama is the change we need!

Right now, the United States imports about 70 percent of its oil from overseas. At the same time, billions of dollars that we spend on all that foreign oil seems to end up in the bank accounts of those around the world who are openly hostile to American values and our way of life. This costly reliance on fossil fuels threatens America and the world in other ways, too. CO2 emissions are increasing global temperatures, sea levels are rising and storms are getting worse.

We need to break America’s addiction to foreign oil. We need a new energy system that is clean, green and American-made. And we need a president who can marshal our nation’s resources, get the job done and deliver the change we need.

That leader is Barack Obama. Barack Obama knows there’s no single platform for energy independence. It’s not a question of either wind or clean coal, solar or hydrogen, oil or geothermal. We need them all to create a strong American energy system, a system built on American innovation.

After eight years of a White House waiting hand and foot on big oil, John McCain offers more of the same. At a time of skyrocketing fuel prices, when American families are struggling to keep their gas tanks full, John McCain voted 25 times against renewable and alternative energy. Against clean biofuels. Against solar power. Against wind energy.

This not only hurts America’s energy independence, it could cost American families more than a hundred thousand jobs. At a time when America should be working harder than ever to develop new, clean sources, John McCain wants more of the same and has taken more than a million dollars in campaign donations from the oil and gas industry. Now he wants to give the oil companies another 4 billion dollars in tax breaks. Four billion in tax breaks for big oil?

That’s a lot of change, but it’s not the change we need.

In Montana, we’re investing in wind farms and we’re drilling in the Bakken formation, one of the most promising oil fields in America. We’re pursuing coal gasification with carbon sequestration and we’re promoting greater energy efficiency in homes and offices.

Even leaders in the oil industry know that Senator McCain has it wrong. We simply can’t drill our way to energy independence, even if you drilled in all of John McCain’s backyards, including the ones he can’t even remember.

That single-answer proposition is a dry well, and here’s why. America consumes 25 percent of the world’s oil, but has less than 3 percent of the reserves. You don’t need a $2 calculator to figure that one out. There just isn’t enough oil in America, on land or offshore, to meet America’s full energy needs.

Barack Obama understands the most important barrel of oil is the one you don’t use. Barack Obama’s energy strategy taps all sources and all possibilities. It will give you a tax credit if you buy a fuel-efficient car or truck, increase fuel-efficiency standards and put a million plug-in hybrids on the road.

Invest $150 billion over the next 10 years in clean, renewable energy technology. This will create up to 5 million new, green jobs and fuel long-term growth and prosperity. Senator Obama’s plan will also invest in a modern transmission grid to deliver this new, clean electricity from wind turbines and solar panels to homes, offices and the batteries in America’s new plug-in hybrid cars.

Julie Nixon and Susan Eisenhower back Barack Obama

Suzan's website
As their family names make clear, Susan Eisenhower and her sister-in-law Julie Nixon Eisenhower hail from Republican presidential aristocracy. But the two lifelong Republicans are spurning those loyalties this year to back Barack Obama for the nation's top job.
Miss Eisenhower, the granddaughter of the Second World War hero and two-term president Dwight Eisenhower, has become one of the most prominent members of a new breed – Obamacans (Republicans backing Mr Obama).
"I am proud to be an Eisenhower Republican. But my wing of the party, fiscally conservative and socially progressive, is not represented by the Republican party today.
"It has become a socially conservative and fiscally reckless party," she told The Sunday Telegraph. "And at the same time, there is a candidate in Barack Obama who is enormously appealing. He has the temperament and attitude that can bring together different sides which is tremendously important for this country right now."
Miss Eisenhower, 56, runs the Eisenhower Institute, a public policy think-tank. She gave interviews promoting Mr Obama in North Carolina ahead of his crushing victory there last week and said she would step up her campaigning for the general election.
Julie Nixon Eisenhower, 59, the youngest daughter of the disgraced former president Richard Nixon and wife of Susan's brother, David, is also supporting Mr Obama.
Although she has made no public comment on the election, publicly disclosed political finance records show that she made the maximum contribution of $2,300 to Mr Obama.
In the process, she put herself on the other side of the political fence from her sister, Tricia, who has donated the same sum to Republican John McCain.
However, Miss Eisenhower says her brother and two sisters have also contributed to the Obama campaign.
Their support for Mr Obama, a politician who, according to one recent analysis, has the most liberal voting record in the Senate, reflects a dramatic political realignment.
In the Eisenhower and Nixon eras, the party was dominated by the "country club" New England set. Now they feel shunted aside by the social conservatives for whom issues such as abortion and homosexual marriage are pivotal.
Indeed, many modern-day conservatives view Miss Eisenhower and her family as so-called RINOs (Republicans In Name Only). It is designation that she rejects.
"I remain a registered Republican and don't intend to leave the party," she said. "I am proud that my grandfather dragged the Republicans off the political ash-heap after 20 years of Democratic presidential rule."

AL GORE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES:

Video
Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

Thank you very much. What an amazing crowd. Thank you for this warm welcome. Thank you so much.
One of the greatest gifts of our democracy is the opportunity it offers us every four years to change course. It's not a guarantee. It's only an opportunity.
The question facing us simply put, is will we seize this opportunity for a change? That's why I came here tonight to tell you why I feel so strongly that we must seize this opportunity to elect Barack Obama president of the United States of America.

(APPLAUSE)

Eight years ago, some said there was not much difference between the nominees of the two major parties and it didn't really matter who became president. Our nation was enjoying peace and prosperity and some assumed we would continue with both no matter the outcome. But here we all are in 2008, and I doubt anyone would argue now that election didn't matter.
Take it from me. If it had ended differently, we would not be bogged down in Iraq. We would have pursued bin Laden until we captured him.

(APPLAUSE)

We wouldn't be facing a self-inflicted economic crisis. We'd be fighting for middle-income families. We would not be showing contempt for the Constitution. We'd be protecting the rights of every American, regardless of race, religion, disability, gender or sexual orientation.

(APPLAUSE)

And we would not be denying the climate crisis. We'd be solving the climate crisis.
Today, we face essentially the same choice we faced in 2000, though it may be even more obvious now. Because John McCain, a man who has earned our respect on many levels, is now openly endorsing the policies of the Bush-Cheney White House and promising to actually continue them.
The same policies? Those policies all over again? Hey, I believe in recycling but that's ridiculous.

(APPLAUSE)

With John McCain's support, President Bush and Vice President Cheney have led our nation into one calamity after another because of their indifference to facts, their readiness to sacrifice the long term to the short term, subordinate the general good to the benefit of the few, and short circuit the rule of law.
If you like the Bush-Cheney approach, John McCain is your man. If you believe it's time for a change, then vote for Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

(APPLAUSE)

What a great speech Joe Biden gave last night. Barack Obama is telling us exactly what he will do. Launch a bold new economic plan to restore America's greatness. Fight for smarter government that trusts the market but protects us against its excesses. Enact policies that are pro-choice, pro-education and pro-family. Establish a foreign policy that is smart as well as strong. Provide health care for all and solutions for the climate crisis.
So why is this election so close? Well, I know something about close elections so let me offer you my opinion.
I believe this election is close today mainly because the forces of the status quo are desperately afraid of the change Barack Obama represents.

(APPLAUSE)

There is no better example than the climate crisis. As I have said throughout this land for many years, we're borrowing money from China to buy oil from the Persian Gulf to burn it in waste that destroy the future of human civilization. Every bit of that has to change.

(APPLAUSE)

Oil company profits, as you know, have soared to record levels and gasoline prices have gone through the roof, and we are more dependent than ever on dirty and dangerous fossil fuels.
Many scientists predict shockingly that the entire north polar ice cap may be completely gone during summer months during the first term of the next president. Sea levels are rising. Fires are raging. Storms are stronger.
Military experts warn us our national security is threatened by massive waves of climate refugees, destabilizing countries around the world. And scientists tell us the very web of life is endangered by unprecedented extinctions.
We are facing a planetary emergency, which if not solved, would exceed anything we've ever experienced in the history of humankind.
In spite of John McCain's past record of open-mindedness and leadership on the climate crisis, he has now apparently allowed his party to browbeat him into abandoning his support of mandatory caps on global warming pollution.
And it just so happens that the climate crisis is intertwined with the other two great challenges facing our nation -- reviving our economy and strengthening our national security. The solutions to all three require us to end our dependence on carbon-based fuels.

(APPLAUSE)

Instead of letting lobbyists and polluters control our destiny, we need to invest in American innovation. Almost a hundred years ago, Thomas Edison, our most famous inventor, said, "I would put my money on the sun and solar energy." "What a source of power," he continued. I hope we don't have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that.
Well, now, in 2008, we have everything we need to start using the sun, the wind, geothermal power, conservation and efficiency to solve the climate crisis. Everything, that is, except a president in the White House who inspires us to believe, yes, we can.

(APPLAUSE)

Now we know how to fix that. So how did this no-brainer become a brain twister?
Because the carbon fuels industry, big oil and coal have a 50- year lease on the Republican Party and they're drilling it for everything it's worth. And this same industry has spent $0.5 billion this year alone trying to convince the public that they're actually solving the problem when they're, in fact, making it worse every single day.
This administration and the special interests who control that lock, stock and barrel after barrel, have performed this same sleight of hand on issue after issue. Some of the best marketers have the worst products, and this is certainly true of today's Republican Party.
The party itself has on its rolls men and women of great quality. But the last eight years demonstrate that the special interests who have come to control the Republican Party are so powerful that serving them and serving the national well-being are now irreconcilable choices.
So what can we do about it? We can carry Barack Obama's message of hope and change to every family in America and pledge that we'll be there for him. Not only in the heat of this election but in the aftermath as we put his agenda to work for our country.
We can tell Republicans and independents, as well as Democrats, exactly why our nation so badly needs a change from the approach of Bush, Cheney and McCain. After they wrecked our economy, it's time for a change. After they abandoned the search for the terrorist who attacked us and redeployed the troops to invade a nation that did not attack us, it's time for a change.

(APPLAUSE)

After they abandoned the principle first laid down by General George Washington when he prohibited the torture of captives because it would bring in his words, shame, disgrace and ruin to our nation, it's time for a change. When as many as three Supreme Court justices could be appointed in the first term of the next president, and John McCain promises to appoint more Scalias and Thomases, and end a woman's right to choose, it is time for a change.

(APPLAUSE)

Many people have been waiting for some sign that our country is ready for such a change. How will we know when it's beginning to take hold?
I think we might recognize it as a sign of such change if we saw millions of young people getting involved for the first time in the political process.

(APPLAUSE)

This election is actually not close at all among younger voters. You are responding in unprecedented numbers to Barack Obama's message of change and hope. You recognize that he represents a clean break from the politics of partisanship and bitter division. You understand that the politics of the past are exhausted.
And you're tired. We're all tired of appeals based on fear.
You know that America is capable of better than what we have seen in recent years, and you're hungry for a new politics based on bipartisan respect for the ageless principles embodied in the United States Constitution.

(APPLAUSE)

There are times in the history of our nation when our very way of life depends upon awakening to the challenge of a present danger, checking off complacency and rising clear eyed and alert to the necessity of embracing change.
A century and a half ago, when America faced our greatest triumph, the end of one era gave way to the birth of another. The candidate who emerged victorious in that election is now regarded by most historians as our greatest president.
Before he entered the White House, Abraham Lincoln's experience in elective office consisted of eight years in his state legislature in Springfield, Illinois, and one term in Congress. During which, he showed courage and wisdom to oppose the invasion of another country in a war that was popular when it was started but later condemned by history.
The experience that Lincoln supporters valued most in that race was his powerful ability to inspire hope in the future at a time of impasse. He was known chiefly as a clear thinker, and a great orator with a passion for justice and a determination to heal the deep divisions of our land. He insisted on reaching past partisan and regional divides to exult our humanity.
In 2008, once again, we find ourselves at the end of an era with a mandate from history to launch another new beginning. And once again, we have a candidate whose experience perfectly matches an extraordinary moment of transition.
Barack Obama had the experience and wisdom to oppose a popular war based on faulty premises. His leadership experience has given him a unique capacity to inspire hope in the promise of the American dream of a boundless future. His experience has also given him genuine respect for different views and humility in the face of complex realities that cannot be squeezed into the narrow compartments of ideology.
His experience has taught him something that career politicians often overlook. That inconvenient truths must be acknowledged if we were to have wise governance.

(APPLAUSE)

And the extraordinary strength of his personal character and that of his wonderful wife, Michelle, who gave such a magnificent address and will be such a wonderful first lady for our country, their strength of character is grounded in the strengths of the American community.
Barack Obama's vision and his voice represent the best of America. His life experience embodies the essence of our motto, "E pluribus unum," out of many, one. That is the linking identity at the other end of all the hyphens that pervade our modern political culture.
It is that common American identity which Barack Obama exemplifies heart and soul. That enables us, as Americans, to speak with moral authority to all of the peoples of the world to inspire hope that we, as human beings, can transcend our limitations to redeem the promise of human freedom.
Late this evening, our convention will end with a benediction. As we bow in reverence, remember the words of the old proverb, "When you pray, move your feet." And then let us leave here tonight and take that message of hope from Denver to every corner of our land and do everything we can to serve our nation, our world, and our children and their future by electing Barack Obama, president of the United States of America.

(APPLAUSE)

…
Transcript from CNN:
BLITZER: It's not every day where you have the granddaughter of the late president of the United States, a Republican -- there she is -- a Republican president and a war hero, obviously. She's decided that she's going to come here and deliver this speech in support of Barack Obama.

And I think it's going to be interesting. It's not going to be a long speech. But I think it's going to be interesting to hear what she has to say.

COOPER: And we'll bring that speech to you live, as well.

KING: To Paul's point, I think this is what you would have heard -- at least from some of the people in New York -- is that he has started a grassroots movement. Look around. It's just -- the evidence is right in front of your face.

The question is, can it get him to the finish line?

And to Paul's point about the point he has to make tonight, there are a number of Americans out there -- just read our polling data, visit certain places in the country -- who have what they believe to be profound and legitimate questions about is he ready to be commander-in-chief, does he share my values.

That's part of the challenge tonight.

He has built something, but is it enough to get him to the finish line is the big question.

(AUDIO GAP)

BORGER: ...has been doing.

BLITZER: All right.

BORGER: They say they are appealing to those people.

BLITZER: And here she is. She's going to be speaking.

And let's listen in.

SUSAN EISENHOWER, PRESIDENT EISENHOWER'S GRANDDAUGHTER: I stand before you tonight not as a Republican or a Democrat, but as an American. The Eisenhowers came to this great country in the 18th century, settling first amid the hills of Pennsylvania and later on the plains of Kansas.

Like many of your ancestors, they built our nation and served it in times of national crisis and war.

I grew up in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where my parents and grandparents, Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower, chose to live after Ike's retirement as Supreme Commander Europe and as president -- after president of the United States.

It was also in Gettysburg where Abraham Lincoln gave his historic address.

On the killing fields of Pickett's charge, our country came of age and assured that our nation would survive as one.

Yet today, the divisions in our are deep and wide. Our cohesiveness as a nation is strained by multiple crises in finance and credit, energy and health care. And we have knowingly saddled our children and grandchildren with a staggering debt. This is a moral failing, not just a financial one.

Overseas, our credibility is at an all-time low. We must restore our international leadership position and the leverage that goes with it. But rather than focus on the strategic issue, our nation's discourse has turned into a petty squabble. Too many people in power failed us. Belligerence has become a substitute for stubbornness, stubbornness has been a substitute for leadership and impulsive action has been -- has replaced measured and thoughtful response.

(APPLAUSE)

EISENHOWER: Once during the Eisenhower administration, Ike was under fire from his critics for moving too slowly in responding to political pressure. After a visit to the Oval Office by Robert Frost, the famous American poet sent the president a note of support. "The strong," he wrote, "are saying nothing until they see."

I believe that Barack Obama has the energy, but more importantly, the temperament to run this country and to provide the leadership we need.

(APPLAUSE)

EISENHOWER: He knows that we can either advance on the distant hills of hope or retreat to the garrisons of fear. He can mobilize and inspire us all to show up for duty.

The task before our next president will be overwhelming, but no undertaking can be more critical than bringing about a sense of national unity and purpose built on mutual respect and bipartisanship. Unless we squarely face our challenges as Americans together, we risk losing the priceless heritage bestowed on us by the sweat and sacrifice of our forbearers.

If we do not pull together, we could lose the America that has been an inspiration to the world.

On December 1, 1862, in his annual message to Congress, Abraham Lincoln immortalized this thought when he said: "We shall nobly save or meanly lose the last best hope of earth."

Let us respond this November to President Lincoln's challenge. Let us restore the hope and bring the change that our nation so desperately needs.

Yes, we can!

(APPLAUSE)

BLITZER: All right. It's interesting, an Eisenhower speaking at a Democratic convention. It's almost as if at the Republican convention next week they get a Kennedy to speak at the Republican convention, Anderson. It's pretty unusual.

COOPER: We'll see if they're able to, huh?

BLITZER: Yes. That would be -- that would be something. I suspect they won't be able to.

Let me get some insight from David Gergen right now. Susan Eisenhower speaking at this convention.

What do you make of it, David?

DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER: Well, I must say, Wolf, that as much as all of us enjoy the music, I'm really glad that we've had Al Gore and Mrs. Eisenhower out here speaking so we have some substance to this, too on an evening.

And what was -- I think the Gore speech, he -- while it was way too rushed in delivery, had an awful lot to offer and was one of the first times anybody in this campaign has spoken seriously to the nation about the potential catastrophe coming from global warming.

I don't think any -- either one

one of these candidates has really seriously addressed what has to be done, how much sacrifice is going to be required, how rapidly this is moving in on us.

But it was also interesting to me to hear both Gore and Susie Eisenhower tonight -- and Susie is a long-time friend -- go back on a night when we're all talking about Martin Luther King and remembering that Martin Luther King stood that historic day at the feet of Abraham Lincoln. Both of them tonight have gone back to Lincoln in their speeches and to -- and have evoked memories of what Lincoln faced -- his brief time in politics before he became president, only eight years in the state legislature in Illinois, just one two year term in the Congress. That's all the experience he had before he got to the White House and yet became one our, you know, perhaps our most historic president.

It was interesting that both went back to Lincoln through -- on a night we honor King, went back through King to Lincoln, and helped us to frame these choices tonight.

So I thought both speeches were memorable and I think it's really was worth a lot of people going back and actually reading the text of Al Gore's speech, because a lot of it went by so quickly.

BLITZER: Yes. He did rush through that speech.

Ed Rollins, let me tell our viewers what we're seeing right now. There are 24 retired U.S. generals up on the stage. Each one of them is going to be speaking very briefly to endorse Barack Obama, to underscore that, I guess, the point they want to make, the nation's military, at least these retired military officers, want Barack Obama to be the next president of the United States.

ALEX CASTELLANOS, REPUBLICAN CONSULTANT: Well, there's a -- Ed had to take a -- I think he was drafted, actually.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Identify yourself.

CASTELLANOS: But Alex Castellanos is here.

BLITZER: All right. Never mind. Let me ask Alex -- Alex Castellanos is a Republican strategist.

Talk about this -- this is a symbolically important step that these Democrats are doing to try to show that the military is behind Barack Obama and that, when it comes to national security, he won't take anyone's backseat.

CASTELLANOS: You know, this is -- this is the brand new product on the shelf that you've never tried. And you're wondering whether to buy it or not.

And so what do you want?

You want endorsements. You want other people who have seen the show to tell you how good it was. And so he's surrounding himself as much as possible with credibility.

You know, the danger, I think, tonight, for the Democrats -- and I think Republicans are looking for is are the Democrats gift wrapping air here?

Is this a great sight, a great spectacle, great colors, but is there enough substance to it?

You know, Barack Obama still has the challenge of just a few years ago, he was a state legislator. He was a community activist. He was voting present a few hundred days in the Senate. And the next thing you know, he's running for the president of the United -- the presidency of the United States, when, you know, a four year job when he's never held a job that long in his life.

So, he's trying to surround himself with as much credibility and with as much popularity as he can.

COOPER: Certainly, the same kind of arguments that were made against John F. Kennedy, who is the other Democratic presidential candidate who decided to take his acceptance speech outside the convention hall in Los Angeles to the coliseum.

BEGALA: Just days before Kennedy's election, Susan Eisenhower's grandfather went out and spoke to enormous rallies. And he said that. He said Kennedy was too young and untested. He said, who is this young genius who thinks he can do so well? That's how he described JFK. It's a very close parallel.

And I think the credibility that these generals -- that Ms. Eisenhower provides -- she looks the part of the Republicans. She does not look like she stepped out of a Black Eyed Peas video, you know?

(LAUGHTER)

Typical Republican response on YouTube:
You nigger filth, if I had my way I would put you back in chains! You blacks are responsible for most of the crime in this country!

McCain 08!!!!

Senator Barack Obama Addresses Denver National Convention at Invesco Field

SPEAKER: SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D-ILL.): Thank you so much.
(APPLAUSE)
Thank you very much.
(APPLAUSE)
Thank you, everybody.
To -- to Chairman Dean and my great friend Dick Durbin, and to all my fellow citizens of this great nation, with profound gratitude and great humility, I accept your nomination for presidency of the United States.
(APPLAUSE)
Let me -- let me express -- let me express my thanks to the historic slate of candidates who accompanied me on this journey, and especially the one who traveled the farthest, a champion for working Americans and an inspiration to my daughters and to yours, Hillary Rodham Clinton.
(APPLAUSE)
To President Clinton, to President Bill Clinton, who made last night the case for change as only he can make it...
(APPLAUSE)
... to Ted Kennedy, who embodies the spirit of service...
(APPLAUSE)
... and to the next vice president of the United States, Joe Biden, I thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
I am grateful to finish this journey with one of the finest statesmen of our time, a man at ease with everyone from world leaders to the conductors on the Amtrak train he still takes home every night.
To the love of my life, our next first lady, Michelle Obama...
(APPLAUSE)
... and to Malia and Sasha, I love you so much, and I am so proud of you.
(APPLAUSE)
Four years ago, I stood before you and told you my story, of the brief union between a young man from Kenya and a young woman from Kansas who weren't well-off or well-known, but shared a belief that in America their son could achieve whatever he put his mind to.
It is that promise that's always set this country apart, that through hard work and sacrifice each of us can pursue our individual dreams, but still come together as one American family, to ensure that the next generation can pursue their dreams, as well. That's why I stand here tonight. Because for 232 years, at each moment when that promise was in jeopardy, ordinary men and women -- students and soldiers, farmers and teachers, nurses and janitors -- found the courage to keep it alive.
We meet at one of those defining moments, a moment when our nation is at war, our economy is in turmoil, and the American promise has been threatened once more.
Tonight, more Americans are out of work and more are working harder for less. More of you have lost your homes and even more are watching your home values plummet. More of you have cars you can't afford to drive, credit cards, bills you can't afford to pay, and tuition that's beyond your reach.
These challenges are not all of government's making. But the failure to respond is a direct result of a broken politics in Washington and the failed policies of George W. Bush.
(APPLAUSE)
America, we are better than these last eight years. We are a better country than this.
(APPLAUSE)
This country is more decent than one where a woman in Ohio, on the brink of retirement, finds herself one illness away from disaster after a lifetime of hard work.
We're a better country than one where a man in Indiana has to pack up the equipment that he's worked on for 20 years and watch as it's shipped off to China, and then chokes up as he explains how he felt like a failure when he went home to tell his family the news.
We are more compassionate than a government that lets veterans sleep on our streets and families slide into poverty...
(APPLAUSE)
... that sits...
(APPLAUSE)
... that sits on its hands while a major American city drowns before our eyes.
(APPLAUSE)
Tonight, tonight, I say to the people of America, to Democrats and Republicans and independents across this great land: Enough. This moment...
(APPLAUSE)
This moment, this moment, this election is our chance to keep, in the 21st century, the American promise alive.
Because next week, in Minnesota, the same party that brought you two terms of George Bush and Dick Cheney will ask this country for a third.
(AUDIENCE BOOS)
And we are here -- we are here because we love this country too much to let the next four years look just like the last eight.
(APPLAUSE)
On November 4th, on November 4th, we must stand up and say: Eight is enough.
(APPLAUSE)
Now, now, let me -- let there be no doubt. The Republican nominee, John McCain, has worn the uniform of our country with bravery and distinction, and for that we owe him our gratitude and our respect.
(APPLAUSE)
And next week, we'll also hear about those occasions when he's broken with his party as evidence that he can deliver the change that we need.
But the record's clear: John McCain has voted with George Bush 90 percent of the time.
Senator McCain likes to talk about judgment, but, really, what does it say about your judgment when you think George Bush has been right more than 90 percent of the time?
(APPLAUSE)
I don't know about you, but I am not ready to take a 10 percent chance on change.
(APPLAUSE)
The truth is, on issue after issue that would make a difference in your lives -- on health care, and education, and the economy -- Senator McCain has been anything but independent.
He said that our economy has made great progress under this president. He said that the fundamentals of the economy are strong.
And when one of his chief advisers, the man who wrote his economic plan, was talking about the anxieties that Americans are feeling, he said that we were just suffering from a mental recession and that we've become, and I quote, "a nation of whiners."
(AUDIENCE BOOS) A nation of whiners? Tell that to the proud auto workers at a Michigan plant who, after they found out it was closing, kept showing up every day and working as hard as ever, because they knew there were people who counted on the brakes that they made.
Tell that to the military families who shoulder their burdens silently as they watch their loved ones leave for their third, or fourth, or fifth tour of duty.
These are not whiners. They work hard, and they give back, and they keep going without complaint. These are the Americans I know.
(APPLAUSE)
Now, I don't believe that Senator McCain doesn't care what's going on in the lives of Americans; I just think he doesn't know.
(LAUGHTER)
Why else would he define middle-class as someone making under $5 million a year? How else could he propose hundreds of billions in tax breaks for big corporations and oil companies, but not one penny of tax relief to more than 100 million Americans?
OBAMA: How else could he offer a health care plan that would actually tax people's benefits, or an education plan that would do nothing to help families pay for college, or a plan that would privatize Social Security and gamble your retirement?
(AUDIENCE BOOS)
It's not because John McCain doesn't care; it's because John McCain doesn't get it.
(APPLAUSE)
For over two decades -- for over two decades, he's subscribed to that old, discredited Republican philosophy: Give more and more to those with the most and hope that prosperity trickles down to everyone else.
In Washington, they call this the "Ownership Society," but what it really means is that you're on your own. Out of work? Tough luck, you're on your own. No health care? The market will fix it. You're on your own. Born into poverty? Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps, even if you don't have boots. You are on your own.
(APPLAUSE)
Well, it's time for them to own their failure. It's time for us to change America. And that's why I'm running for president of the United States.
(APPLAUSE)
You see, you see, we Democrats have a very different measure of what constitutes progress in this country.
We measure progress by how many people can find a job that pays the mortgage, whether you can put a little extra money away at the end of each month so you can someday watch your child receive her college diploma.
We measure progress in the 23 million new jobs that were created when Bill Clinton was president...
(APPLAUSE)
... when the average American family saw its income go up $7,500 instead of go down $2,000, like it has under George Bush. (APPLAUSE)
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 and look after a sick kid without losing her job, an economy that honors the dignity of work.
The fundamentals we use to measure economic strength are whether we are living up to that fundamental promise that has made this country great, a promise that is the only reason I am standing here tonight.
Because, in the faces of those young veterans who come back from Iraq and Afghanistan, I see my grandfather, who signed up after Pearl Harbor, marched in Patton's army, and was rewarded by a grateful nation with the chance to go to college on the G.I. Bill.
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.
(APPLAUSE)
When I -- when I listen to another worker tell me that his factory has shut down, I remember all those men and women on the South Side of Chicago who I stood by and fought for two decades ago after the local steel plant closed.
And when I hear a woman talk about the difficulties of starting her own business or making her way in the world, I think about my grandmother, who worked her way up from the secretarial pool to middle management, despite years of being passed over for promotions because she was a woman.
She's the one who taught me about hard work. She's the one who put off buying a new car or a new dress for herself so that I could have a better life. She poured everything she had into me. And although she can no longer travel, I know that she's watching tonight and that tonight is her night, as well.
(APPLAUSE)
Now, I don't know what kind of lives John McCain thinks that celebrities lead, but this has been mine.
(APPLAUSE)
These are my heroes; theirs are the stories that shaped my life. And it is on behalf of them that I intend to win this election and keep our promise alive as president of the United States.
(APPLAUSE)
What -- what is that American promise? 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 obligations to treat each other with dignity and respect.
It's a promise that says the market should reward drive and innovation and generate growth, but that businesses should live up to their responsibilities to create American jobs, to look out for American workers, and play by the rules of the road.
Ours -- ours is a promise that says government cannot solve all our problems, but what it should do is that which we cannot do for ourselves: protect us from harm and provide every child a decent education; keep our water clean and our toys safe; invest in new schools, and new roads, and science, and technology.
Our government should work for us, not against us. It should help us, not hurt us. It should ensure opportunity not just for those with the most money and influence, but for every American who's willing to work.
That's the promise of America, the idea that we are responsible for ourselves, but that we also rise or fall as one nation, the fundamental belief that I am my brother's keeper, I am my sister's keeper.
That's the promise we need to keep. That's the change we need right now.
(APPLAUSE)
So -- so let me -- let me spell out exactly what that change would mean if I am president.
(APPLAUSE)
Change means a tax code that doesn't reward the lobbyists who wrote it, but the American workers and small businesses who deserve it.
(APPLAUSE)
You know, unlike John McCain, I will stop giving tax breaks to companies that ship jobs overseas, and I will start giving them to companies that create good jobs right here in America.
(APPLAUSE)
I'll eliminate capital gains taxes for the small businesses and start-ups that will create the high-wage, high-tech jobs of tomorrow.
(APPLAUSE)
I will -- listen now -- I will cut taxes -- cut taxes -- for 95 percent of all working families, because, in an economy like this, the last thing we should do is raise taxes on the middle class.
(APPLAUSE)
And for the sake of our economy, our security, and the future of our planet, I will set a clear goal as president: In 10 years, we will finally end our dependence on oil from the Middle East.
(APPLAUSE)
We will do this. Washington -- Washington has been talking about our oil addiction for the last 30 years. And, by the way, John McCain has been there for 26 of them.
(LAUGHTER)
And in that time, he has said no to higher fuel-efficiency standards for cars, no to investments in renewable energy, no to renewable fuels. And today, we import triple the amount of oil than we had on the day that Senator McCain took office.
Now is the time to end this addiction and to understand that drilling is a stop-gap measure, not a long-term solution, not even close.
(APPLAUSE)
As president, as president, I will tap our natural gas reserves, invest in clean coal technology, and find ways to safely harness nuclear power. I'll help our auto companies re-tool, so that the fuel-efficient cars of the future are built right here in America.
(APPLAUSE)
I'll make it easier for the American people to afford these new cars.
OBAMA: And I'll invest $150 billion over the next decade in affordable, renewable sources of energy -- wind power, and solar power, and the next generation of biofuels -- an investment that will lead to new industries and 5 million new jobs that pay well and can't be outsourced.
(APPLAUSE)
America, now is not the time for small plans. Now is the time to finally meet our moral obligation to provide every child a world-class education, because it will take nothing less to compete in the global economy.
You know, Michelle and I are only here tonight because we were given a chance at an education. And I will not settle for an America where some kids don't have that chance.
(APPLAUSE)
I'll invest in early childhood education. I'll recruit an army of new teachers, and pay them higher salaries, and give them more support. And in exchange, I'll ask for higher standards and more accountability.
And we will keep our promise to every young American: If you commit to serving your community or our country, we will make sure you can afford a college education.
(APPLAUSE)
Now -- now is the time to finally keep the promise of affordable, accessible health care for every single American.
(APPLAUSE)
If you have health care -- if you have health care, my plan will lower your premiums. If you don't, you'll be able to get the same kind of coverage that members of Congress give themselves.
(APPLAUSE)
And -- and as someone who watched my mother argue with insurance companies while she lay in bed dying of cancer, I will make certain those companies stop discriminating against those who are sick and need care the most.
(APPLAUSE)
Now is the time to help families with paid sick days and better family leave, because nobody in America should have to choose between keeping their job and caring for a sick child or an ailing parent.
Now is the time to change our bankruptcy laws, so that your pensions are protected ahead of CEO bonuses, and the time to protect Social Security for future generations.
And now is the time to keep the promise of equal pay for an equal day's work, because I want my daughters to have the exact same opportunities as your sons.
(APPLAUSE)
Now, many of these plans will cost money, which is why I've laid out how I'll pay for every dime: by closing corporate loopholes and tax havens that don't help America grow.
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 21st-century challenges with a 20th-century bureaucracy.
(APPLAUSE)
And, Democrats, Democrats, we must also admit that fulfilling America's promise will require more than just money. It will require a renewed sense of responsibility from each of us to recover what John F. 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.
(APPLAUSE)
Yes, we must provide more ladders to success for young men who fall into lives of crime and despair. But we must also admit that programs alone can't replace parents, that government can't turn off the television and make a child do her homework, that fathers must take more responsibility to provide love and guidance to their children.
Individual responsibility and mutual responsibility, that's the essence of America's promise. And just as we keep our promise to the next generation here at home, so must we keep America's promise abroad.
If John McCain wants to have a debate about who has the temperament and judgment to serve as the next commander-in-chief, that's a debate I'm ready to have.
(APPLAUSE)
For -- for while -- while Senator McCain was turning his sights to Iraq just days after 9/11, I stood up and opposed this war, knowing that it would distract us from the real threats that we face.
When John McCain said we could just muddle through in Afghanistan, I argued for more resources and more troops to finish the fight against the terrorists who actually attacked us on 9/11, and made clear that we must take out Osama bin Laden and his lieutenants if we have them in our sights.
You know, John McCain likes to say that he'll follow bin Laden to the gates of Hell, but he won't even follow him to the cave where he lives.
(APPLAUSE)
And today, today, as my call for a timeframe 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 $79 billion in surplus while we are wallowing in deficit, John McCain stands alone in his stubborn refusal to end a misguided war.
That's not the judgment we need; that won't keep America safe. We need a president who can face the threats of the future, not keep grasping at the ideas of the past.
(APPLAUSE)
You don't defeat -- you don't defeat a terrorist network that operates in 80 countries by occupying Iraq. You don't protect Israel and deter Iran just by talking tough in Washington. You can't truly stand up for Georgia when you've strained our oldest alliances.
If John McCain wants to follow George Bush with more tough talk and bad strategy, that is his choice, but that is not the change that America needs.
(APPLAUSE)
We are the party of Roosevelt. We are the party of Kennedy. So don't tell me that Democrats won't defend this country. Don't tell me that Democrats won't keep us safe.
The Bush-McCain foreign policy has squandered the legacy that generations of Americans, Democrats and Republicans, have built, and we are here to restore that legacy.
(APPLAUSE)
As commander-in-chief, I will never hesitate to defend this nation, but I will only send our troops into harm's way with a clear mission and a sacred commitment to give them the equipment they need in battle and the care and benefits they deserve when they come home.
(APPLAUSE)
I will end this war in Iraq responsibly and finish the fight against Al Qaida and the Taliban in Afghanistan. I will rebuild our military to meet future conflicts, but I will also renew the tough, direct diplomacy that can prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and curb Russian aggression.
I will build new partnerships to defeat the threats of the 21st century: terrorism and nuclear proliferation, poverty and genocide, climate change and disease.
And I will restore our moral standing so that America is once again that last, best hope for all who are called to the cause of freedom, who long for lives of peace, and who yearn for a better future.
(APPLAUSE)
These -- these are the policies I will pursue. And in the weeks ahead, I look forward to debating them with John McCain.
But what I will not do is suggest that the senator takes his positions for political purposes, because one of the things that we have to change in our politics is the idea that people cannot disagree without challenging each other's character and each other's patriotism.
(APPLAUSE)
The times are too serious, the stakes are too high for this same partisan playbook. So let us agree that patriotism has no party. I love this country, and so do you, and so does John McCain.
The men and women who serve in our battlefields may be Democrats and Republicans and independents, but they have fought together, and bled together, and some died together under the same proud flag. They have not served a red America or a blue America; they have served the United States of America.
(APPLAUSE)
So I've got news for you, John McCain: We all put our country first.
(APPLAUSE)
America, our work will not be easy. The challenges we face require tough choices. And Democrats, as well as Republicans, will need to cast off the worn-out ideas and politics of the past, for part of what has been lost these past eight years can't just be measured by lost wages or bigger trade deficits. What has also been lost is our sense of common purpose, and that's what we have to restore.
We may not agree on abortion, but surely we can agree on reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies in this country.
(APPLAUSE)
The -- the reality of gun ownership may be different for hunters in rural Ohio than they are for those plagued by gang violence in Cleveland, but don't tell me we can't uphold the Second Amendment while keeping AK-47s out of the hands of criminals.
(APPLAUSE)
I know there are differences on same-sex marriage, but surely we can agree that our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters deserve to visit the person they love in a hospital and to live lives free of discrimination.
(APPLAUSE)
You know, passions may fly on immigration, but I don't know anyone who benefits when a mother is separated from her infant child or an employer undercuts American wages by hiring illegal workers.
But this, too, is part of America's promise, the promise of a democracy where we can find the strength and grace to bridge divides and unite in common effort.
I know there are those who dismiss such beliefs as happy talk. They claim that our insistence on something larger, something firmer, and more honest in our public life is just a Trojan horse for higher taxes and the abandonment of traditional values.
And that's to be expected, because if you don't have any fresh ideas, then you use stale tactics to scare voters.
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If you don't have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run from. You make a big election about small things.
And you know what? It's worked before, because it feeds into the cynicism we all have about government. When Washington doesn't work, all its promises seem empty. If your hopes have been dashed again and again, then it's best to stop hoping and settle for what you already know.
I get it. I realize that I am not the likeliest candidate for this office. I don't fit the typical pedigree, and I haven't spent my career in the halls of Washington.
But I stand before you tonight because all across America something is stirring. What the naysayers don't understand is that this election has never been about me; it's about you.
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It's about you.
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For 18 long months, you have stood up, one by one, and said, "Enough," to the politics of the past. You understand that, in this election, the greatest risk we can take is to try the same, old politics with the same, old players and expect a different result.
You have shown what history teaches us, that at defining moments like this one, the change we need doesn't come from Washington. Change comes to Washington.
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Change happens -- change happens because the American people demand it, because they rise up and insist on new ideas and new leadership, a new politics for a new time.
America, this is one of those moments.
I believe that, as hard as it will be, the change we need is coming, because I've seen it, because I've lived it.
Because I've seen it in Illinois, when we provided health care to more children and moved more families from welfare to work.
I've seen it in Washington, where we worked across party lines to open up government and hold lobbyists more accountable, to give better care for our veterans, and keep nuclear weapons out of the hands of terrorists.
And I've seen it in this campaign, in the young people who voted for the first time and the young at heart, those who got involved again after a very long time; in the Republicans who never thought they'd pick up a Democratic ballot, but did.
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I've seen it -- I've seen it in the workers who would rather cut their hours back a day, even though they can't afford it, than see their friends lose their jobs; in the soldiers who re-enlist after losing a limb; in the good neighbors who take a stranger in when a hurricane strikes and the floodwaters rise.
You know, this country of ours has more wealth than any nation, but that's not what makes us rich. We have the most powerful military on Earth, but that's not what makes us strong. Our universities and our culture are the envy of the world, but that's not what keeps the world coming to our shores.
Instead, it is that American spirit, that American promise, that pushes us forward even when the path is uncertain; that binds us together in spite of our differences; that makes us fix our eye not on what is seen, but what is unseen, that better place around the bend.
That promise is our greatest inheritance. It's a promise I make to my daughters when I tuck them in at night and a promise that you make to yours, a promise that has led immigrants to cross oceans and pioneers to travel west, a promise that led workers to picket lines and women to reach for the ballot.
(APPLAUSE) And it is that promise that, 45 years ago today, brought Americans from every corner of this land to stand together on a Mall in Washington, before Lincoln's Memorial, and hear a young preacher from Georgia speak of his dream.
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The men and women who gathered there could've heard many things. They could've heard words of anger and discord. They could've been told to succumb to the fear and frustrations of so many dreams deferred.
But what the people heard instead -- people of every creed and color, from every walk of life -- is that, in America, our destiny is inextricably linked, that together our dreams can be one.
"We cannot walk alone," the preacher cried. "And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back."
America, we cannot turn back...
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... not with so much work to be done; not with so many children to educate, and so many veterans to care for; not with an economy to fix, and cities to rebuild, and farms to save; not with so many families to protect and so many lives to mend.
America, we cannot turn back. We cannot walk alone.
At this moment, in this election, we must pledge once more to march into the future. Let us keep that promise, that American promise, and in the words of scripture hold firmly, without wavering, to the hope that we confess.
Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America.