The Audacity of Hope: A Vision for America

thank you so much thank you so much thank you thank

you thank you dick Durban you make us all proud on behalf of the great state of

Illinois Crossroads of a Nation Land of Lincoln let me express my deepest

gratitude for the privilege of addressing this convention tonight is a particular honor

for me because let's face it my presence on this stage is pretty unlikely my father was a foreign student

born and raised in a small village in Kenya he grew up hurting goats went to school in a tin roof Shack his father my

grandfather was a cook a domestic servant to the British but my grandfather had larger

dreams for his son through hard work and perseverance my father got a scholarship to study in a magical place America that

Shone as a beacon of freedom and opportunity to so many who had come before while studying here my father met

my mother she was born in a town on the other side of the world in Kansas

her father worked on oil rigs and Farms through most of the depression the day after Pearl Harbor my

grandfather signed up for Duty joined Patton's Army marched across Europe back home my grandmother raised a baby and

went to work on a bomber assembly line after the war they studied on the GI Bill bought a house through FHA and

later moved West all the way to Hawaii in search of opportunity and They too had Big Dreams

for their daughter a common dream born of two continents my parents shared not only an

improbable love they shared an Abiding Faith in the possibilities of this nation they would give me an African

name Barack or blessed believing that in a tolerant America your name is no barrier to

success they imagine they imagined me going to the best schools in the land even though they

weren't Rich because in a generous America you don't have to be rich to achieve your

potential they're both passed away now and yet I know that on this night they do look down on me with great pride

they stand here and I stand here today grateful for the diversity of my Heritage a Ware that my parents' Dreams

live on in my two precious daughters I stand here knowing that my story is part of the larger American

story that I owe a debt to all of those who came before me and that in no other country on earth is my story even

possible tonight We Gather to affirm the greatness of our nation

not because of the height of our skyscrapers or the power of our military or the size of our economy our pride is

based on a very simple premise summed up in a declaration made over 200 years

ago we hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal that they are endowed by their

creator with certain inalienable rights that among these are life liberty and the pursuit of happiness that is the

true genius of America a faith a faith in simple

dreams an insistence on Small Miracles that we can tuck in our children at night and know that they are

fed and clothed and safe from harm that we can say what we think write what we think without hearing a sudden

knock on the door that we can have an idea and start our own business without paying a

bribe that we can partic participate in the political process without fear of Retribution and that our votes will be

counted at least most of the time this year in this election we are called to reaffirm our values and our

commitments to hold them against a hard reality and see how we're measuring up to the legacy of our forebears and the

promise of future generations and fellow Americans Democrats Republicans Independents I say to you tonight we

have more work to do more work to do for the workers I met in gilburg Illinois who are losing their

union jobs at the mayag plant that's moving to Mexico and now are having to compete with their own children for jobs

that pay seven bucks an hour more to do for the father that I met who was losing his job and choking back the tears

wondering how he would pay $4,500 a month for the drugs his son needs without the health benefits that he

counted on more to do for the young woman in East St Louis and thousands more like

her who has the grades has the drive has the will but doesn't have the money to go to

college now don't get me wrong the people I meet in small towns and big cities and diners and office Parks they

don't expect government to solve all their problems they know they have to work hard to to get ahead and they want

to go into the collar counties around Chicago and people will tell you they don't want their tax money Wasted by a

welfare agency or by the Pentagon go in go into any inner city neighborhood

and folks will tell you that government alone can't teach our kids to learn they know that parents have to teach that

children can't achieve unless we raise their expectations and turn off the television sets and eradicate the

slander that says a black youth with a book is acting white they know those things people don't

expect people don't expect government to solve all their problems but they sense deep in their

bones that with just a slight change in priorities we can make sure that every child in America has a decent shot at

life and that the doors of opportunity remain open to all they know we can do better and they want

that choice in this election we offer that choice our party has chosen a man to

lead us who embodies the best this country has to offer and that man is John

KY John KY understands the ideals of community faith and service because they've defined his life

from his heroic service to Vietnam to his years as a prosecutor and lieutenant governor through two decades in the

United States Senate he's devoted himself to this country again and again we've seen him make tough choices when

easier ones were available his values and his record affirm what is best in US John Kerrey believes in an America

where hard work is rewarded so instead of offering tax breaks to Companies shipping jobs overseas he offers them to

companies creating jobs here at home John krey believes in an America where all Americans can afford the same

health coverage our politicians in Washington have for themselves John kery believes in energy

Independence so we aren't held hostage to the profits of oil companies or the sabotage of foreign oil

fields John krey believes in the Constitutional freedoms that have made our country the Envy of the world and he

will never sacrifice our basic Liberties nor use Faith as a wedge to divide us and John kery

believes that in a dangerous world war must be an option sometimes but it should never be the first

option you know a while back a while back I met a young man named Sheamus in a VFW Hall in East Molen Illinois he was

a good-look kid 62 63 cleare eyed with an easy smile he told me he joined the Marines

and was heading to Iraq the following week and as I listened to him explained why he'd didn't listen the absolute

Faith he had in our country and its leaders his Devotion to duty and service I thought this young man was all that

any of us might ever hope for in a child but then I asked my myself are we serving Sheamus as well as he's serving

us I thought of the 900 men and women Sons and Daughters husbands and wives friends and neighbors who won't be

returning to their own hometowns I thought of the families i' had met who were struggling to get by

without a loved one's full income or whose loved ones had returned with a limb missing or nerve shattered but

still lacked long-term health benefits because they were reservist when we send our young men and women

into Harm's Way we have a solemn obligation not to fudge the numbers or shade the truth about why they are going

to care for their families while they're gone to tend to the soldiers upon their return and to never ever go to war

without enough troops to win the war secure the peace and earn the respect of the world

now now let me be clear let me be clear we have real enemies in the world these enemies must be found they must be

pursued and they must be defeated John krey knows this and just as Lieutenant KY did not hesitate to risk his life to

protect the men who served with him in Vietnam President kery will not hesitate one moment to use our military might to

keep America safe and secure John krey believes in America and he knows that it's not

enough for just some of us to prosper for alongside our famous individualism there's another ingredient in the

American Saga a belief that we're all connected as one people if there is a child on the south side of Chicago who

can't read that matters to me even if it's not my child if there's a senior citizen somewhere who can't pay for

their prescription drugs and having to choose between medicine and the rent that makes my life poor even if it's not

my grandparent if there's an Arab American family being rounded up without benefit

of an attorney or due process that threatens my civil liberties it is that fundamental

belief it is that fun FAL belief I am My Brother's Keeper I am My Sister's Keeper that makes this country

work it's what allows us to pursue our individual dreams and yet still come together as one American Family e pluris

UNAM out of many one now even as we speak there are those who are preparing to divide us the Spin

Masters the negative ad Peddlers who embrace the politics of anything goes well I say to them tonight there is

not a liberal America and a conservative America there is the United States of America there is not a Black America and

a white America and Latino America and Asian America there's the United States of

America the pundits the pundits like to slice and dice our country into red States and blue states red States for

Republicans blue States for Democrats but I've got news for them too we worship an awesome God in the blue

States and we don't like federal agents poking around in our libraries in the red

States we coach little league in the blue States and yes we've got some gay friends in the red

states there are patriots who oppos the war in Iraq and there are patriots who supported the war in Iraq we are are one

people all of us pledging allegiance to the Stars and Stripes all of us defending the United States of

America in the [Music] end in the end in the end that's what

this election is about do we participate in a politics of iism or do we participate in a politics

of Hope John krey calls on us to Hope John Edwards calls on us to hope I'm not

talking about blind optimism here the almost willful ignorance that think unemployment will go away if we just

don't think about it or Health Care crisis will solve itself if we just ignore it that's not what I'm talking

about I'm talking about something more substantial it's the hope of slaves sitting around of fire singing freedom

songs the hope of immigrants setting out for diff Distant

Shores the hope of a young Naval Lieutenant bravely patrolling the makong Delta the hope of a mill worker's son

who dares to defy the odds the hope of a skinny kid with a funny name who believes that America has a place for

him too hope hope in the face of difficulty hope in the face of

uncertainty The Audacity Of Hope in the end that is God's greatest gift to us the Bedrock of this nation a belief in

Things Not Seen A belief that there are better days ahead I believe that we can give our middle class relief and provide

Working Families with a road to opportunity I believe we can provide jobs to the jobless homes to the

homeless and reclaim young people in cities Across America from violence and despair I believe that we have a

righteous wind at our backs and that as we stand on the crossroads of History we can make the right choices and meet the

challenges that face US America tonight if you feel the same energy that I do if you feel the same urgency that I do if

you feel the same passion that I do if you Ste the same hopefulness that I do if we do what we must do then I have no

doubt that all across the country from Florida to Oregon from Washington to Maine the

people will rise up in November and John krey will be sworn in as president and John Edwards will be sworn in as vice

president and this country will reclaim its promise and out of this long political Darkness a brighter day will

come thank you very much everybody God bless you thank you