Barack Obama

__PUNCT__ we the peopl __PUNCT__ in order to form a more perfect_union __PUNCT__

two hundr and twenti on year_ago __PUNCT__ in a hall that still stand across the street __PUNCT__ a group of men gather and __PUNCT__ with these simpl word __PUNCT__ launch america improb experi in democraci __PUNCT__

farmer and scholar __PUNCT__ statesmen and patriot who had travel across an ocean to escap tyranni and persecut final made real their declar of independ at a philadelphia_convent that last through the spring of __NUM__ __PUNCT__

the document thei produc wa eventu sign but ultim unfinish __PUNCT__

it wa stain by thi nation_origin origin_sin of slaveri __PUNCT__ a question that divid the coloni and brought the convent to a stalem until the founder chose to allow the slave_trade to continu for at least twenti more year __PUNCT__ and to leav ani final resolut to futur_gener __PUNCT__

of cours __PUNCT__ the answer to the slaveri question wa alreadi embed within our constitut __PUNCT__ a constitut that had at is veri core the ideal of equal citizenship under the law __PUNCT__ a constitut that promis it peopl liberti __PUNCT__ and justic __PUNCT__ and a union that could be and should be perfect over time __PUNCT__

and yet word on a parchment would not be enough to deliv slave from bondag __PUNCT__ or provid men and women of everi color and creed their full right and oblig as citizen of the unit_state __PUNCT__

what would be need were american in success_gener who were will to do their part __PUNCT__ through protest and struggl __PUNCT__ on the street and in the court __PUNCT__ through a civil_war and civil_disobedi and alwai at great risk __PUNCT__ to narrow that gap between the promis of our ideal and the realiti of their time __PUNCT__

thi wa on of the task we set forth at the begin of thi campaign __PUNCT__ to continu the long_march of those who came befor us __PUNCT__ a march for a more just __PUNCT__ more equal __PUNCT__ more free __PUNCT__ more care and more prosper america __PUNCT__

i chose to run for the presid at thi moment in histori becaus i believ deepli that we cannot solv the challeng of our time unless we solv them togeth __PUNCT__ unless we perfect our union by understand that we mai have differ stori __PUNCT__ but we hold common hope __PUNCT__ that we mai not look the same and we mai not have come from the same place __PUNCT__ but we all want to move in the same direct __PUNCT__ toward a better futur for our children and our grandchildren __PUNCT__

thi belief come from my unyield faith in the decenc and generos of the american_peopl __PUNCT__

but it also come from my own american stori __PUNCT__

i am the son of a black_man from kenya and a white_woman from kansa __PUNCT__

i wa rais with the help of a white grandfath who surviv a depress to serv in patton armi dure world_war_ii and a white grandmoth who work on a bomber assembl_line at fort leavenworth while he wa oversea __PUNCT__

i gone to some of the best school in america and live in on of the world_poorest nation __PUNCT__

i am marri to a black_american who carri within her the blood of slave and slaveown __PUNCT__ an inherit we pass on to our two preciou daughter __PUNCT__

i have brother __PUNCT__ sister __PUNCT__ niec __PUNCT__ nephew __PUNCT__ uncl and cousin __PUNCT__ of everi race and everi hue __PUNCT__ scatter across three contin __PUNCT__ and for as long as i live __PUNCT__ i will never forget that in no other countri on earth is my stori even possibl __PUNCT__

it a stori that hasn't made me the most convent candid __PUNCT__

but it is a stori that ha sear into my genet makeup the idea that thi nation is more than the sum of it part __PUNCT__ that out of mani __PUNCT__ we ar truli on __PUNCT__

throughout the first year of thi campaign __PUNCT__ against all predict to the contrari __PUNCT__ we saw how hungri the american_peopl were for thi messag of uniti __PUNCT__

despit the temptat to view my candidaci through a pure racial len __PUNCT__ we won command victori in state with some of the whitest popul in the countri __PUNCT__

in south_carolina __PUNCT__ where the confeder_flag still fli __PUNCT__ we built a power coalit of african_american and white_american __PUNCT__

thi is not to sai that race ha not been an issu in the campaign __PUNCT__

at variou stage in the campaign __PUNCT__ some comment have deem me either __PUNCT__ too black __PUNCT__ or __PUNCT__ not black enough __PUNCT__

we saw racial tension bubbl to the surfac dure the week befor the south_carolina primari __PUNCT__

the press ha scour everi exit_poll for the latest evid of racial polar __PUNCT__ not just in term of white and black __PUNCT__ but black and brown as well __PUNCT__

and yet __PUNCT__ it ha onli been in the last coupl of week that the discuss of race in thi campaign ha taken a particularli divis turn __PUNCT__

on on end of the spectrum __PUNCT__ we heard the implic that my candidaci is somehow an exercis in affirm_action __PUNCT__ that it base sole on the desir of wide __PUNCT__ ei liber to purchas racial reconcili on the cheap __PUNCT__

on the other end __PUNCT__ we heard my former pastor __PUNCT__ reverend jeremiah_wright __PUNCT__ us incendiari languag to express view that have the potenti not onli to widen the racial divid __PUNCT__ but view that denigr both the great and the good of our nation __PUNCT__ that rightli offend white and black alik __PUNCT__

i have alreadi condemn __PUNCT__ in unequivoc term __PUNCT__ the statement of reverend_wright that have caus such controversi __PUNCT__

for some __PUNCT__ nag question_remain __PUNCT__

did i know him to be an occasion fierc critic of american domest and foreign_polici __PUNCT__ of cours __PUNCT__

did i ever hear him make remark that could be consid controversi while i sat in church __PUNCT__ ye __PUNCT__

did i strongli disagre with mani of hi polit_view __PUNCT__ absolut __PUNCT__ just as i sure mani of you have heard remark from your pastor __PUNCT__ priest __PUNCT__ or rabbi with which you strongli disagre __PUNCT__

but the remark that have caus thi recent firestorm weren't simpli controversi __PUNCT__

thei weren't simpli a religi_leader effort to speak out against perceiv injustic __PUNCT__

instead __PUNCT__ thei express a profoundli distort view of thi countri __PUNCT__ a view that see white_racism as endem __PUNCT__ and that elev what is wrong with america abov all that we know is right with america __PUNCT__ a view that see the conflict in the middl_east as root primarili in the action of stalwart alli like israel __PUNCT__ instead of eman from the pervers and hate ideolog of radic_islam __PUNCT__

as such __PUNCT__ reverend_wright comment were not onli wrong but divis __PUNCT__ divis at a time when we need uniti __PUNCT__ racial charg at a time when we need to come togeth to solv a set of monument problem __PUNCT__ two war __PUNCT__ a terrorist_threat __PUNCT__ a fall economi __PUNCT__ a chronic health_care crisi and potenti devast climat chang __PUNCT__ problem that ar neither black or white or latino or asian __PUNCT__ but rather problem that confront us all __PUNCT__

given my background __PUNCT__ my polit __PUNCT__ and my profess valu and ideal __PUNCT__ there will no doubt be those for whom my statement of condemn ar not enough __PUNCT__

why associ myself with reverend_wright in the first place __PUNCT__ thei mai ask __PUNCT__ why not join anoth church __PUNCT__ and i confess that if all that i knew of reverend wright were the snippet of those sermon that have run in an endless loop on the televis and you tube __PUNCT__ or if triniti unit_church of christ conform to the caricatur be peddl by some comment __PUNCT__ there is no doubt that i would react in much the same wai

but the truth is __PUNCT__ that isn't all that i know of the man __PUNCT__

the man i met more than twenti_year year_ago is a man who help introduc me to my christian_faith __PUNCT__ a man who spoke to me about our oblig to love on anoth __PUNCT__ to care for the sick and lift up the poor __PUNCT__

he is a man who serv hi countri as a u. __PUNCT__ marin __PUNCT__ who ha studi and lectur at some of the finest univers and seminari in the countri __PUNCT__ and who for over thirti_year led a church that serv the commun by do god_work here on earth __PUNCT__ by hous the homeless __PUNCT__ minist to the needi __PUNCT__ provid dai_care servic and scholarship and prison ministri __PUNCT__ and reach out to those suffer from hiv/aid __PUNCT__

in my first book __PUNCT__ dream from my father __PUNCT__ i describ the experi of my first servic at triniti __PUNCT__

__PUNCT__ peopl_began to shout __PUNCT__ to rise from their seat and clap and cry out __PUNCT__ a forc wind carri the reverend voic up into the __URL__ in that singl note __PUNCT__ hope __PUNCT__ i heard someth els __PUNCT__ at the foot of that cross __PUNCT__ insid the thousand of church across the citi __PUNCT__ i imagin the stori of ordinari black_peopl merg with the stori of david and goliath __PUNCT__ mose and pharaoh __PUNCT__ the christian in the lion den __PUNCT__ ezekiel field of dry bone __PUNCT__

those stori __PUNCT__ of surviv __PUNCT__ and freedom __PUNCT__ and hope __PUNCT__ becam our stori __PUNCT__ my stori __PUNCT__ the blood that had spill wa our blood __PUNCT__ the tear our tear __PUNCT__ until thi black_church __PUNCT__ on thi bright dai __PUNCT__ seem onc more a vessel carri the stori of a peopl into futur_gener and into a larger world __PUNCT__

our trial and triumph becam at onc uniqu and univers __PUNCT__ black and more than black __PUNCT__ in chronicl our journei __PUNCT__ the stori and song gave us a mean to reclaim memori that we didn't need to feel shame __URL__ that all peopl might studi and cherish __PUNCT__ and with which we could start to rebuild __PUNCT__

that ha been my experi at triniti __PUNCT__

like other predominantli black_church across the countri __PUNCT__ triniti embodi the black_commun in it entireti __PUNCT__ the doctor and the welfar mom __PUNCT__ the model student and the former gang __PUNCT__ banger __PUNCT__

like other black_church __PUNCT__ triniti servic ar full of raucou laughter and sometim bawdi humor __PUNCT__

thei ar full of danc __PUNCT__ clap __PUNCT__ scream and shout that mai seem jar to the untrain ear __PUNCT__

the church contain in full the kind and cruelti __PUNCT__ the fierc intellig and the shock ignor __PUNCT__ the struggl and success __PUNCT__ the love and ye __PUNCT__ the bitter and bia that make up the black experi in america __PUNCT__

and thi help explain __PUNCT__ perhap __PUNCT__ my relationship with reverend_wright __PUNCT__

as imperfect as he mai be __PUNCT__ he ha been like famili to me __PUNCT__

he strengthen my faith __PUNCT__ offici my wed __PUNCT__ and baptiz my children __PUNCT__

not onc in my convers with him have i heard him talk about ani ethnic_group in derogatori term __PUNCT__ or treat white with whom he interact with anyth but courtesi and respect __PUNCT__

he contain within him the contradict __PUNCT__ the good and the bad __PUNCT__ of the commun that he ha serv dilig for so mani year __PUNCT__

i can no more disown him than i can disown the black_commun __PUNCT__

i can no more disown him than i can my white grandmoth __PUNCT__ a woman who help rais me __PUNCT__ a woman who sacrif again and again for me __PUNCT__ a woman who love me as much as she love anyth in thi world __PUNCT__ but a woman who onc confess her fear of black_men who pass by her on the street __PUNCT__ and who on more than on occas ha utter racial or ethnic stereotyp that made me cring __PUNCT__

these peopl ar a part of me __PUNCT__

and thei ar a part of america __PUNCT__ thi countri that i love __PUNCT__

some will see thi as an attempt to justifi or excus comment that ar simpli inexcus __PUNCT__

i can assur you it is not __PUNCT__

i suppos the polit safe thing would be to move on from thi episod and just hope that it fade into the woodwork __PUNCT__

we can dismiss reverend_wright as a crank or a demagogu __PUNCT__ just as some have dismiss geraldin ferraro __PUNCT__ in the aftermath of her recent statement __PUNCT__ as harbor some deep __PUNCT__ seat racial bia __PUNCT__

but race is an issu that i believ thi nation cannot afford to ignor right now __PUNCT__

we would be make the same mistak that reverend wright made in hi offend sermon about america __PUNCT__ to simplifi and stereotyp and amplifi the neg to the point that it distort realiti __PUNCT__

the fact is that the comment that have been made and the issu that have surfac over the last few week reflect the complex of race in thi countri that we never realli work through __PUNCT__ a part of our union that we have yet to perfect __PUNCT__

and if we walk awai now __PUNCT__ if we simpli retreat into our respect corner __PUNCT__ we will never be abl to come togeth and solv challeng like health_care __PUNCT__ or educ __PUNCT__ or the need to find good_job for everi american __PUNCT__

understand thi realiti requir a remind of how we arriv at thi point __PUNCT__

as william faulkner onc wrote __PUNCT__ the past isn't dead and buri __PUNCT__

in fact __PUNCT__ it isn't even past __PUNCT__

we do not need to recit here the histori of racial_injustic in thi countri __PUNCT__

but we do need to remind ourselv that so mani of the dispar that exist in the african __PUNCT__ american_commun todai can be directli trace to inequ pass on from an earlier_gener that suffer under the brutal legaci of slaveri and jim_crow __PUNCT__

segreg school were __PUNCT__ and ar __PUNCT__ inferior school __PUNCT__ we still haven't fix them __PUNCT__ fifti_year after brown v __PUNCT__ board of educ __PUNCT__ and the inferior educ thei provid __PUNCT__ then and now __PUNCT__ help explain the pervas achiev_gap between todai black and white_student __PUNCT__

legal discrimin __PUNCT__ where black were prevent __PUNCT__ often through violenc __PUNCT__ from own properti __PUNCT__ or loan were not grant to african __PUNCT__ american_busi busi_owner __PUNCT__ or black homeown could not access fha mortgag __PUNCT__ or black were exclud from union __PUNCT__ or the polic_forc __PUNCT__ or fire_depart __PUNCT__ meant that black_famili could not amass ani meaning wealth to bequeath to futur_gener __PUNCT__

that histori help explain the wealth and incom gap between black and white __PUNCT__ and the concentr pocket of poverti that persist in so mani of todai urban and rural_commun __PUNCT__

a lack of econom_opportun among black_men __PUNCT__ and the shame and frustrat that came from not be abl to provid for on famili __PUNCT__ contribut to the eros of black_famili __PUNCT__ a problem that welfar polici for mani year mai have worsen __PUNCT__

and the lack of basic servic in so mani urban black neighborhood __PUNCT__ park for kid to plai in __PUNCT__ polic walk the beat __PUNCT__ regular garbag pick __PUNCT__ up and build code enforc __PUNCT__ all help creat a cycl of violenc __PUNCT__ blight and neglect that continu to haunt us __PUNCT__

thi is the realiti in which reverend_wright and other african __PUNCT__ american of hi gener grew up __PUNCT__

thei came of ag in the late fifti and earli sixti __PUNCT__ a time when segreg wa still the law of the land and opportun wa systemat constrict __PUNCT__

what remark is not how mani fail in the face of discrimin __PUNCT__ but rather how mani men and women overcam the odd __PUNCT__ how mani were abl to make a wai out of no wai for those like me who would come after them __PUNCT__

but for all those who scratch and claw their wai to get a piec of the american_dream __PUNCT__ there were mani who didn't make it __PUNCT__ those who were ultim defeat __PUNCT__ in on wai or anoth __PUNCT__ by discrimin __PUNCT__

that legaci of defeat wa pass on to futur_gener __PUNCT__ those young_men and increasingli young_women who we see stand on street_corner or languish in our prison __PUNCT__ without hope or prospect for the futur __PUNCT__

even for those black who did make it __PUNCT__ question of race __PUNCT__ and racism __PUNCT__ continu to defin their worldview in fundament wai __PUNCT__

for the men and women of reverend_wright gener __PUNCT__ the memori of humili and doubt and fear have not gone awai __PUNCT__ nor ha the anger and the bitter of those year __PUNCT__

that anger mai not get express in public __PUNCT__ in front of white co __PUNCT__ worker or white friend __PUNCT__

but it doe find voic in the barbershop or around the kitchen_tabl __PUNCT__

at time __PUNCT__ that anger is exploit by politician __PUNCT__ to gin up vote along racial line __PUNCT__ or to make up for a politician own fail __PUNCT__

and occasion it find voic in the church on sundai_morn __PUNCT__ in the pulpit and in the pew __PUNCT__

the fact that so mani peopl ar surpris to hear that anger in some of reverend_wright sermon simpli remind us of the old truism that the most segreg hour in american_life occur on sundai_morn __PUNCT__

that anger is not alwai product __PUNCT__ inde __PUNCT__ all too often it distract attent from solv real_problem __PUNCT__ it keep us from squar face our own complic in our condit __PUNCT__ and prevent the african __PUNCT__ american_commun from forg the allianc it need to bring about real chang __PUNCT__

but the anger is real __PUNCT__ it is power __PUNCT__ and to simpli wish it awai __PUNCT__ to condemn it without understand it root __PUNCT__ onli serv to widen the chasm of misunderstand that exist between the race __PUNCT__

in fact __PUNCT__ a similar anger exist within segment of the white commun __PUNCT__

most work __PUNCT__ and middl __PUNCT__ class_white white_american don't feel that thei have been particularli privileg by their race __PUNCT__

their experi is the immigr experi __PUNCT__ as far as thei concern __PUNCT__ no on hand them anyth __PUNCT__ thei built it from scratch __PUNCT__

thei work_hard all their live __PUNCT__ mani time onli to see their job ship oversea or their pension dump after a lifetim of labor __PUNCT__

thei ar anxiou about their futur __PUNCT__ and feel their dream slip awai __PUNCT__ in an era of stagnant wage and global_competit __PUNCT__ opportun come to be seen as a zero sum_game __PUNCT__ in which your dream come at my expens __PUNCT__

so when thei ar told to bu their children to a school across town __PUNCT__ when thei hear that an african_american is get an advantag in land a good_job or a spot in a good colleg becaus of an injustic that thei themselv never commit __PUNCT__ when thei told that their fear about crime in urban neighborhood ar somehow prejud __PUNCT__ resent build over time __PUNCT__

like the anger within the black_commun __PUNCT__ these resent aren't alwai express in polit compani __PUNCT__

but thei have help shape the polit_landscap for at least a gener __PUNCT__

anger over welfar and affirm_action help forg the reagan coalit __PUNCT__

politician routin exploit fear of crime for their own elector end __PUNCT__

talk_show_host and conserv comment built entir career unmask bogu claim of racism while dismiss legitim discuss of racial_injustic and inequ as mere polit_correct or revers racism __PUNCT__

just as black anger often prove counterproduct __PUNCT__ so have these white resent distract attent from the real culprit of the middl_class squeez __PUNCT__ a corpor_cultur rife with insid deal __PUNCT__ question account practic __PUNCT__ and short __PUNCT__ term greed __PUNCT__ a washington domin by lobbyist and special_interest __PUNCT__ econom_polici that favor the few over the mani __PUNCT__

and yet __PUNCT__ to wish awai the resent of white_american __PUNCT__ to label them as misguid or even racist __PUNCT__ without recogn thei ar ground in legitim concern __PUNCT__ thi too widen the racial divid __PUNCT__ and block the path to understand __PUNCT__

thi is where we ar right now __PUNCT__

it a racial stalem we been stuck in for year __PUNCT__

contrari to the claim of some of my critic __PUNCT__ black and white __PUNCT__ i have never been so naïv as to believ that we can get beyond our racial_divis in a singl elect_cycl __PUNCT__ or with a singl candidaci __PUNCT__ particularli a candidaci as imperfect as my own __PUNCT__

but i have assert a firm convict __PUNCT__ a convict root in my faith in god and my faith in the american_peopl __PUNCT__ that work togeth we can move beyond some of our old racial wound __PUNCT__ and that in fact we have no choic if we ar to continu on the path of a more perfect_union __PUNCT__

for the african __PUNCT__ american_commun __PUNCT__ that path mean embrac the burden of our past without becom victim of our past __PUNCT__

it mean continu to insist on a full_measur of justic in everi aspect of american_life __PUNCT__

but it also mean bind our particular grievanc __PUNCT__ for better health_care __PUNCT__ and better school __PUNCT__ and better job __PUNCT__ to the larger aspir of all american __PUNCT__ the white_woman struggl to break the glass_ceil __PUNCT__ the white_man whose been laid off __PUNCT__ the immigr try to feed hi famili __PUNCT__

and it mean take full respons for own live __PUNCT__ by demand more from our father __PUNCT__ and spend more time with our children __PUNCT__ and read to them __PUNCT__ and teach them that while thei mai face challeng and discrimin in their own live __PUNCT__ thei must never succumb to despair or cynic __PUNCT__ thei must alwai believ that thei can write their own destini __PUNCT__

iron __PUNCT__ thi quintessenti american __PUNCT__ and ye __PUNCT__ conserv __PUNCT__ notion of self __PUNCT__ help found frequent express in reverend_wright sermon __PUNCT__

but what my former pastor too often fail to understand is that embark on a program of self __PUNCT__ help also requir a belief that societi can chang __PUNCT__

the profound mistak of reverend wright sermon is not that he spoke about racism in our societi __PUNCT__

it that he spoke as if our societi wa static __PUNCT__ as if no progress ha been made __PUNCT__ as if thi countri __PUNCT__ a countri that ha made it possibl for on of hi own member to run for the highest offic in the land and build a coalit of white and black __PUNCT__ latino and asian __PUNCT__ rich and poor __PUNCT__ young and old __PUNCT__ is still irrevoc bound to a tragic past __PUNCT__

but what we know __PUNCT__ what we have seen __PUNCT__ is that america can chang __PUNCT__

that is true geniu of thi nation __PUNCT__

what we have alreadi achiev give us hope __PUNCT__ the audac to hope __PUNCT__ for what we can and must achiev tomorrow __PUNCT__

in the white commun __PUNCT__ the path to a more perfect_union mean acknowledg that what ail the african __PUNCT__ american_commun doe not just exist in the mind of black_peopl __PUNCT__ that the legaci of discrimin __PUNCT__ and current incid of discrimin __PUNCT__ while less overt than in the past __PUNCT__ ar real and must be address __PUNCT__

not just with word __PUNCT__ but with deed __PUNCT__ by invest in our school and our commun __PUNCT__ by enforc our civil right law and ensur fair in our crimin_justic_system __PUNCT__ by provid thi gener with ladder of opportun that were unavail for previou_gener __PUNCT__

it requir all american to realiz that your dream do not have to come at the expens of my dream __PUNCT__ that invest in the health __PUNCT__ welfar __PUNCT__ and educ of black and brown and white children will ultim help all of america prosper __PUNCT__

in the end __PUNCT__ then __PUNCT__ what is call for is noth more __PUNCT__ and noth less __PUNCT__ than what all the world great religion demand __PUNCT__ that we do unto other as we would have them do unto us __PUNCT__

let us be our brother keeper __PUNCT__ scriptur tell us __PUNCT__

let us be our sister keeper __PUNCT__

let us find that common stake we all have in on anoth __PUNCT__ and let our polit reflect that spirit as well __PUNCT__

for we have a choic in thi countri __PUNCT__

we can accept a polit that breed divis __PUNCT__ and conflict __PUNCT__ and cynic __PUNCT__

we can tackl race onli as spectacl __PUNCT__ as we did in the oj trial __PUNCT__ or in the wake of tragedi __PUNCT__ as we did in the aftermath of katrina __PUNCT__ or as fodder for the nightli new __PUNCT__

we can plai reverend_wright sermon on everi channel __PUNCT__ everi dai and talk about them from now until the elect __PUNCT__ and make the onli question in thi campaign whether or not the american_peopl think that i somehow believ or sympath with hi most offens word __PUNCT__

we can pounc on some gaff by a hillari support as evid that she plai the race card __PUNCT__ or we can specul on whether white_men will all flock to john_mccain in the gener_elect regardless of hi polici __PUNCT__

we can do that __PUNCT__

but if we do __PUNCT__ i can tell you that in the next elect __PUNCT__ we be talk about some other distract __PUNCT__

and then anoth on __PUNCT__

and then anoth on __PUNCT__

and noth will chang __PUNCT__

that is on option __PUNCT__

or __PUNCT__ at thi moment __PUNCT__ in thi elect __PUNCT__ we can come togeth and sai __PUNCT__ not thi time __PUNCT__

thi time we want to talk about the crumbl school that ar steal the futur of black_children and white children and asian children and hispan children and nativ_american american_children __PUNCT__

thi time we want to reject the cynic that tell us that these kid can't learn __PUNCT__ that those kid who don't look like us ar somebodi els problem __PUNCT__

the children of america ar not those kid __PUNCT__ thei ar our kid __PUNCT__ and we will not let them fall behind in a __NUM___centuri economi __PUNCT__

not thi time __PUNCT__

thi time we want to talk about how the line in the emerg_room ar fill with white and black and hispan who do not have health_care __PUNCT__ who don't have the power on their own to overcom the special_interest in washington __PUNCT__ but who can take them on if we do it togeth __PUNCT__

thi time we want to talk about the shutter mill that onc provid a decent life for men and women of everi race __PUNCT__ and the home for sale that onc belong to american from everi religion __PUNCT__ everi region __PUNCT__ everi walk of life __PUNCT__

thi time we want to talk about the fact that the real_problem is not that someon who doesn't look like you might take your job __PUNCT__ it that the corpor you work for will ship it oversea for noth more than a profit __PUNCT__

thi time we want to talk about the men and women of everi color and creed who serv togeth __PUNCT__ and fight togeth __PUNCT__ and bleed togeth under the same proud flag __PUNCT__

we want to talk about how to bring them home from a war that never should been author and never should been wage __PUNCT__ and we want to talk about how we show our patriot by care for them __PUNCT__ and their famili __PUNCT__ and give them the benefit thei have earn __PUNCT__

i would not be run for presid if i didn't believ with all my heart that thi is what the vast_major of american want for thi countri __PUNCT__

thi union mai never be perfect __PUNCT__ but gener after gener ha shown that it can alwai be perfect __PUNCT__

and todai __PUNCT__ whenev i find myself feel doubt or cynic about thi possibl __PUNCT__ what give me the most hope is the next gener __PUNCT__ the young_peopl whose attitud and belief and open to chang have alreadi made histori in thi elect __PUNCT__

there is on stori in particularli that i like to leav you with todai __PUNCT__ a stori i told when i had the great honor of speak on dr __PUNCT__ king birthdai at hi home church __PUNCT__ ebenez baptist __PUNCT__ in atlanta __PUNCT__

there is a young __PUNCT__ twenti __PUNCT__ three year old white_woman name ashlei baia who organ for our campaign in florenc __PUNCT__ south_carolina __PUNCT__

she had been work to organ a mostli african __PUNCT__ american_commun sinc the begin of thi campaign __PUNCT__ and on dai she wa at a roundtabl discuss where everyon went around tell their stori and why thei were there __PUNCT__

and ashlei said that when she wa nine year old __PUNCT__ her mother got cancer __PUNCT__

and becaus she had to miss dai of work __PUNCT__ she wa let go and lost her health_care __PUNCT__

thei had to file for bankruptci __PUNCT__ and that when ashlei decid that she had to do someth to help her mom __PUNCT__

she knew that food wa on of their most expens cost __PUNCT__ and so ashlei convinc her mother that what she realli like and realli want to eat more than anyth els wa mustard and relish sandwich __PUNCT__

becaus that wa the cheapest wai to eat __PUNCT__

she did thi for a year until her mom got better __PUNCT__ and she told everyon at the roundtabl that the reason she join our campaign wa so that she could help the million of other children in the countri who want and need to help their parent too __PUNCT__

now ashlei might have made a differ choic __PUNCT__

perhap somebodi told her along the wai that the sourc of her mother problem were black who were on welfar and too lazi to work __PUNCT__ or hispan who were come into the countri_illeg __PUNCT__

but she didn't __PUNCT__

she sought out alli in her fight against injustic __PUNCT__

anywai __PUNCT__ ashlei finish her stori and then goe around the room and ask everyon els why thei support the campaign __PUNCT__

thei all have differ stori and reason __PUNCT__

mani bring up a specif issu __PUNCT__

and final thei come to thi elderli black_man who been sit there quietli the entir time __PUNCT__

and ashlei ask him why he there __PUNCT__

and he doe not bring up a specif issu __PUNCT__

he doe not sai health_care or the economi __PUNCT__

he doe not sai educ or the war __PUNCT__

he doe not sai that he wa there becaus of barack_obama __PUNCT__

he simpli sai to everyon in the room __PUNCT__ i am here becaus of ashlei __PUNCT__

__PUNCT__ i here becaus of ashlei __PUNCT__

by itself __PUNCT__ that singl_moment of recognit between that young white girl and that old black_man is not enough __PUNCT__

it is not enough to give health_care to the sick __PUNCT__ or job to the jobless __PUNCT__ or educ to our children __PUNCT__

but it is where we start __PUNCT__

it is where our union grow stronger __PUNCT__

and as so mani gener have come to realiz over the cours of the two __PUNCT__ hundr and twenti on year sinc a band of patriot sign that document in philadelphia __PUNCT__ that is where the perfect begin __PUNCT__