Obama and the importance of Education

I put the Barack Obama Education Speech in Dayton, OH on my blog because I believe that education is what makes our world not only more prosperous but ultimately safer! Yes, you read correctly. Education will make our world SAFER!

When I am taking about education, I mean a broad curriculum not the kind of education children have been receiving today all around the world. More and more schools are focusing on the preparation for upcoming assessment tests rather than teaching our children the broad knowledge of art, history, natural sciences, mathematics, computer science, social sciences, humanities, applied sciences, English including poetry, languages and other things that are needed to truly understand our world better and thus become more tolerant of other cultures.

Instead today’s students are becoming more and more specialized in one or two fields of interest. Being a computer geek may get you a great paying job but does not teach you to understand the social problems or conflicts of the people you work or live with.

Students have to learn to think critical. Students the have to learn early on that not everything they see or read is the full truth.

Learning to decipher information is one of the most important things we have to teach our children.

SEN. OBAMA: Thank you. (Cheers, applause.) Good to see you, Dayton! Thank you so much. Thank you. (Cheers, applause.) Thank you, everybody. (Cheers, applause.) Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you. (Cheers, applause.) Thank you, everybody. Thank you. Please, have a seat. Thank you. (Cheers, applause.) Thank you so much. Thank you.

Well, it is great to be back. It is wonderful to see all of you.

First of all, I want to say thank you to a wonderful mayor and a great friend, Mayor Ryan McLin. Where's Mayor McLin? There she is, back there. Thank you. (Cheers, applause.)

To State Representative Clayton Lucky (sp) -- there he is. (Cheers, applause.)

To the principal of Stevins (sp) High School, Ron Flory. (Cheers, applause.)

To Greg -- Gregory Tucker (sp). Thank you so much for the wonderful introduction.

And finally, I just want to give a big, heart-felt congratulations to all the teachers in the room because -- (cheers, applause) -- and all the educators in the room, all the para- professionals in the room, I thank you for your great work. (Cheers, applause.) I think some of you know that my sister's a teacher, so the -- I know what you guys have been going through setting up and getting ready for the school year, and we appreciate what you do each and every day because there is no job that is more important. (Applause.)

Yesterday was a special day around my house. It was back-to- school day for my girls. We started a little bit late. Sasha started second grade and Malia began fifth grade. I know Malia was really embarrassed when I walked her to the classroom. (Laughter, applause.) She had her locker with a combination lock for the first time and she had gone early to practice, and here her daddy's coming with her to class. but I went anyway because she is daddy's girl and will remain daddy's girl until she's about 30. (Laughter, cheers, applause.)

So -- you know, seeing them back at school was a reminder not only that another year had passed and that they're growing up a little faster than I'd sometimes like. I was in Indiana and there was a woman there who raised her hand during a town hall meeting, said she was a fifth-grad teacher. So I said, well, you know, what -- can you give me some tips? What's going to happen in fifth grade? And she said, "Boys." (Laughter.) And that wasn't the answer I was looking for. (Laughter, chuckles.) So I explained that one of the benefits of running for president is we have Secret Service around her at all times -- (laughter, applause) -- and they carry guns with them. (Laughs.) So it was also a reminder that they're growing up a little faster than I'd like. But it was also a reminder of all the other parents who are dropping their children off at school and all the other kids who are getting ready for another year of classes.

You know, every four years, we hear candidates talk about the vital importance of education -- about how improving our schools is key to our future and the future of our country. Every four years, we hear about how, this time, we're going to make it an urgent national priority. Remember in the 2000 election, when George W. Bush promised to be -- I quote -- the "education president"? (Jeers.)

But just as with energy independence and health care, the urgency of upgrading public education for the 21st century has been talked to death in Washington, but not much has gotten done. And that failure to act has put our nation in jeopardy.

I believe the day of reckoning is here. (Cheers, applause.) Our -- our children and our country can't afford four more years of neglect and indifference. (Cheers, applause.) At this -- at this defining moment in our history, America faces few more urgent challenges than preparing our children to compete in a global economy. The decisions our leaders make about education in the coming years will shape our future for generations to come. They will help determine not only whether our children have the chance to fulfill their God-given potential or whether our workers have the chance to build a better life for their families, but whether we as a nation will remain in the 21st century the kind of global economic leader that we were in the 20th century.

And the rising importance of education reflects the new demands of our new world. In recent decades, revolutions in communications and information technology have broken down barriers that once kept countries and markets apart, creating a single, global economy that's more integrated and interconnected than ever before. In this economy, companies can plant their jobs wherever there's an Internet connection and someone willing to do the work, meaning that children here in Dayton are growing up competing with children not only in Detroit or Chicago or Los Angeles, but in Beijing and Delhi as well.

What matters, then, isn't what you do or where you live, but what you know. When two-thirds -- (applause) -- of all new jobs require a higher education or advanced training, knowledge is the most valuable skill you can sell. (Applause.) It's not only a pathway to opportunity, but it's a prerequisite for opportunity. Without a good preschool education, our children are less likely to keep up with their peers. Without a high school diploma -- (applause) -- without a high school diploma, you're likely to make about three times less than a college graduate. And without a college degree or industry certification, it's harder and harder to find a job that can help you support your family and keep up with rising costs.

It's not just that a world-class education is essential for workers to compete and win, it's that an educated workforce is essential for America to compete and win. (Applause.) Without a workforce trained in math, science and technology, and the other skills of the 21st century, our companies will innovate less, our economy will grow less, and our nation will be less competitive. If we want to outcompete the world tomorrow, we must out-educate the world today. (Cheers, applause.)

Let me -- let me be more specific. If we want to keep building the cars of the future here in America, then we can't afford to see the number of Ph.D.s in engineering climbing in China, South Korea and Japan even as it's dropped here in the United States. We can't afford a future where our high school students rank near the bottom in -- in math and science among industrialized countries, and our high school drop-out rate is one of the highest in the industrialized world.

If we want to build a 21st century infrastructure and repair our crumbling roads and bridges, we can't afford a future where a third of all fourth graders and a fifth of all eighth graders can't do basic math, and black and -- (applause) -- black and Latino students are even further behind; a world where elementary school kids are only getting an average 25 minutes of science each day when over 80 percent of the fastest-growing jobs require some knowledge in math and science.

If we want to see middle-class incomes rising like they did in the 1990s, we can't afford a future where so many Americans are priced out of college; where only 20 percent -- (applause) -- where only 20 percent of our students are prepared to take college-level English, math and science; where millions of jobs are going unfilled because Americans don't have the skills to work them; and where barely one in 10 low-income students will ever get their college degree.

That kind of future is economically untenable for America. It is morally unacceptable for our children. And it is not who we are as a nation. (Cheers, applause.) And that's one of the reasons I'm running for president of the United States of America. (Cheers, applause.)

We -- we are a nation that's always renewed our system of education to meet the challenges of a new time. There is -- the last president from Illinois, Lincoln, created the land grant colleges to ensure the success of the union he was fighting to save. Generations of leaders built mandatory public schools to prepare our children for the changing needs of our nation. And Eisenhower doubled federal investment in education after the Soviets beat us to space. That's the kind of leadership we must show today.

But that's not the leadership we've been getting from Washington. For decades, folks in Washington have been stuck in the same tired debates over education that have crippled our progress and left schools and parents to fend for themselves. It's been Democrat versus Republican, vouchers versus the status quo, more money versus more reform. There's partisanship and there's bickering, but there's no understanding that both sides have good ideas that we'll need to implement if we hope to make the changes our children need. And we've fallen further and further behind as a result.

If we're going to make a real and lasting difference for our future, we have to be willing to move beyond the old arguments of left and right and take meaningful, practical steps to build an education system worthy of our children and our future. (Cheers, applause.) We have to.

In the past few weeks, my opponent, John McCain, has taken to talking about the need for change and reform in Washington -- (laughter) -- where he has been part of the scene for about three decades. (Applause.) And -- this is important to understand -- in those three decades, he has not done one thing to truly improve the quality of public education in our country. Not one real proposal or law or initiative. Nothing.

Instead, he marched with the ideologues in his party in opposing efforts to hire more teachers and expand Head Start and make college more affordable. You don't reform our schools by opposing efforts to fully fund No Child Left Behind. (Cheers, applause.) And you certainly don't reform our education system by calling to close the Department of Education -- (applause) -- which would just make it harder for us to give out financial aid, harder for us to keep track of how our schools are doing, and lead to widening inequality in who gets a college degree.

That's not my idea of reform. That's not my idea of change. That is not a plan to help your kids compete with those kids in China and India.

After three decades of indifference on education, do you really believe that John McCain is going to suddenly make a difference now?

AUDIENCE: No!

SEN. OBAMA: John McCain doesn't get it. He doesn't understand that our success as a nation depends on our success in education and our success in public education. That's something I do understand. (Cheers, applause.)

We need -- we need a full-throated commitment to public education. And that's why, last November, I proposed an education agenda that moves beyond party and ideology, and focuses instead on what will make the most difference in a child's life.

My plan calls for giving every child a world-class education from the day they're born until the day they graduate from college. It's a plan that starts with investing in early childhood education -- (applause) -- because we know that children in these programs are more likely to score higher in reading and math, and because they start school prepared they are able to keep up. They don't fall behind. They are more likely to graduate high school and attend college. They're more likely to hold a job and earn more in that job. So that's a key component of the plan: closing the achievement gap by investing in early childhood education. It's also -- (applause) -- it's also a plan that will finally put a college degree within reach for anyone who wants one by providing a $4,000 -- (applause) -- tax credit to any middle-class student who's willing to serve their community or their country. We have to make sure that every young person can afford to go to a public college or a university if they've got the will, if they've got the grades. (Cheers, applause.)

Now, part of the plan also calls for fixing the broken promises of No Child Left Behind. (Cheers, applause.) I -- I've said this before. I believe that the goals of this law were the right ones. We all want high standards. We all want a world-class education. We all want highly qualified teachers in the classroom. Making a promise to educate every child with an excellent teacher is right. Closing the achievement gap that exists in too many cities and rural areas is right. More accountability is right. Higher standards are right.

But I'll tell you what's wrong with No Child Left Behind: forcing our teachers, our principals and our schools to accomplish all of this without the resources they need is wrong. (Cheers, applause.) Promising high-quality teachers in every classroom and then leaving the support and the pay for those teachers behind is wrong. (Applause.) Labeling a school and its students as failures one day and then throwing your hands up and walking away from them the next is wrong. (Applause.)

And don't tell us that the only way to teach a child is to spend most of the year preparing him to fill in a few bubbles on a standardized test. (Cheers, applause.) I don't want teachers to the -- teaching to the test. I don't want them uninspired and I don't want our students uninspired. (Applause.) So what I've said is we will measure and hold accountable performance, but let's help our teachers and our principals develop a curriculum and assessments that teach our kids to become not just good test-takers. We need assessments that can improve achievement by including the kinds of research and scientific investigation and problem-solving that our children will need to compete in a 21st century knowledge economy. And we have to make sure that subjects like art and music are not being crowded out of the curriculum. And that's what we will do when I'm president of the United States. (Cheers, applause.)

So we must fix the failures of No Child Left Behind. We must provide the funding that school districts were promised, and give our states the resources they need to finally meet their commitment to special education. But Democrats -- I'm speaking to Democrats now -- Democrats have to realize that fixing No Child Left Behind by itself is not enough to prepare our children for a global economy. Being against No Child Left Behind is not an education policy. (Laughter.)

We need a new vision for a 21st century education -- one where we aren't just supporting existing schools, but spurring innovation; where we're not just investing more money, but demanding more reform; where parents take responsibility for their children's success -- (applause) -- where our schools and our government are accountable for results; where we're recruiting, retaining and rewarding an army of new teachers; and where students are excited to learn because they're attending schools of the future; where we expect all our children not only to graduate from high school, but to graduate college and get a good-paying job. (Applause.) So that's the vision that we have to work towards.

And it's time to ask ourselves why other countries are outperforming us in education, because it's not that their kids are smarter than ours; it's that they're being smarter about how to educate their kids. They're spending less time teaching things that don't matter and more time teaching things that do. Their students -- (applause) -- hear me, now -- their students are spending more time in school and they're setting higher expectations. That's what we need to be doing, because America isn't a country that accepts second place. We don't accept second place or third place or 19th place. (Applause.)

When I'm president, we'll fight to make sure we're once again first in the world when it comes to high school graduation rates. (Cheers, applause.) We're going to push our children to study harder and aim higher. I've worked with Republican Senator Jim DeMint on a bill that would challenge high school students to take college-level courses and make sure low-income neighborhoods and rural communities have access to those courses, and I'll make it the law of the land when I'm president. And we're also going to set a goal of increasing the number of high school students taking college-level or AP courses by 50 percent in the coming years because I believe that when we challenge our kids to succeed, they will succeed. (Cheers, applause.)

You know, a while back, I was talking to a -- a close friend of mine, Arne Duncan, who runs the Chicago public school system, and he was explaining how he'd managed to increase the number of kids taking and passing AP courses in Chicago over the last few years. And I asked him, how did he do it? What he said was, our kids aren't smarter than they were three years ago; it's just our expectations for them are just higher. Well, I think it's time we raised expectations for our kids all across this country, and that's what we'll do when I'm president of the United States of America, raise expectations and give schools the resources to meet them. (Cheers, applause.)

Second thing we need to do is to make sure that we're preparing our kids for the 21st century economy by bringing our school system into the 21st century. Part of what that means is fostering the kinds of schools that will help prepare our children, which is why I'm calling for the creation of innovative -- an Innovative Schools Fund. An Innovative Schools Fund. This fund will invest in schools like the Austin Polytechnical Institute, which is located in a part of Chicago that's been hard hit by the decline in manufacturing over the past few decades. And thanks to a partnership with a number of companies, a curriculum that prepares students for a career in engineering, and a requirement that students graduate with at least two industry certifications, Austin Polytech is bringing hope back to the community. That's the kind of model we'll replicate across the country when I'm president of the United States. (Cheers, applause.)

Now, giving our parents real choices about where to send their kids to school also means showing the same kind of leadership at the national level that I did in Illinois, when I passed a law to double the number of public charter schools in Chicago. Keep in mind that John McCain will say he's arguing for choice by allowing money and students to drain out of the public schools. I believe in public schools. (Cheers, applause.) But I also believe in fostering competition within the public schools. And that's why, as president, I'll double the funding for responsible charter schools.

But I also know you've had a tough time with for-profit charter schools here in Ohio, and that is why I'll work with Governor Strickland to hold for-profit charter schools accountable, and I'll work with all our nation's governors to hold all our charter schools accountable. (Applause.) Charter schools that are successful will get the support they need to grow; charters that aren't will get shut down. (Cheers, applause.) I want experimentation, but I also want accountability. And we'll help ensure that more of our kids have access to quality after-school and summer school and extended school days for students who need it, because if they can do that in China, then we can do that right here in the United States of America. (Applause.)

As we bring our school system into the 21st century, we also have to bring our schools into the 21st century, because while technology has transformed just about every aspect of our lives -- from the way we travel to the way we communicate to the way we look after our health -- one of the places where we've failed to seize its full potential is in the classroom.

Imagine a future where our children are more motivated because they aren't just learning on blackboards, but on new whiteboards with digital touch screens; where every student in a classroom has a laptop at their desk; where they don't just do book reports but design PowerPoint presentations -- (applause) -- where they don't just write papers, but they build websites; where research isn't done just by taking a book out of the library, but by e-mailing experts in the field; and where teachers are less a source of knowledge than a coach for how best to use it and -- and obtain knowledge. By fostering innovation, we can help make sure every school in America is a school of the future.

And that's what we're going to do when I'm president. We will help -- (cheers, applause) -- we will help schools integrate technology into their curriculum so we can make sure public school students are fluent in the digital language of the 21st century economy. We'll teach our students not only math and science, but teamwork and critical thinking and communication skills, because that's how we'll make sure they're prepared for today's workplace.

But no matter how many choices we're giving our parents or how much technology we're using in our schools or how tough our classes are, none of it will make much difference if we don't also recruit, prepare and retain outstanding teachers -- (applause) -- because from the moment a child enters a school, the most important factor in their success is the person standing at the front of the classroom.

And that's why I proposed last year a new Service Scholarship program that will recruit top talent into the profession, and place these new teachers in overcrowded districts and struggling rural towns, or hard-to-staff subjects like special education, in schools across the nation. To prepare these new teachers, I'll create more Teacher Residency Programs that will build on a law I recently passed and train 30,000 high-quality teachers a year, especially in math and science. (Applause.) To support our teachers, we'll expand mentoring programs that pair experienced, successful teachers with new recruits.

And when our teachers succeed in making a real difference in our children's lives, we should reward them for it by finding new ways to increase teachers' pay across the board -- (applause) -- and to find ways to increase teachers' pay that are developed with teachers, not imposed on them. We can do this. From Prince George's County in Maryland to Denver, Colorado, we're seeing teachers and school boards coming together to design performance pay plans.

So yes, we must give every teacher the tools they need to be successful. But we also need to give every child the assurance that they'll have the teacher they need to be successful. And that means setting a firm standard not based on a single, high-stakes standardized test, but based on assessments developed with teachers and educators so that teachers have confidence that they are being judged effectively based on their own -- the own tools that they put together with their peers.

Now, one one of the things that we're going to have to do -- and this is something that I know sometimes is difficult -- but teachers who are doing a poor job, they've got to get extra support. But if they don't improve, then they have to be replaced -- (cheers, applause) -- because as good teachers are the first to tell you -- as good teachers are the first to tell you, if we're going to attract the best teachers to the profession, then we can't settle for schools filled with teachers that aren't up to the job. (Cheers, applause.) That is just something that we're going to have to -- we have to embrace.

Now, I know this sounds like a lot, but we can do it all. We can increase the number of students taking college-level courses. We can expand innovation and school choice. We can invest in the schools of tomorrow. And we can put a quality teacher in every classroom. (Applause.) And you know what? We can do all of this for the cost of just a few days in Iraq. (Cheers, applause.) We can do it. We'll pay for that cost by carefully winding down the war in Iraq, by ending no-bid contracts, by eliminating wasteful spending. So we'll make these investments, but we'll do it without mortgaging our children's future on an even larger amount of debt. We'll do it responsibly. (Applause.)

This leads me to my final point. As president, I will lead a new era of accountability in education. But see, I don't just want to hold our teachers accountable; I want to hold our government accountable. I want you to hold me accountable. (Cheers, applause.) And that's why every year I'm president, I will report back to you on the progress our schools are making because it's time to stop passing the buck on education and start accepting responsibility. And that's the kind of example I'll set as president of the United States.

Accountability in Washington starts by making sure that every tax dollar spent by the Department of Education is being spent wisely. When I'm president, programs that work will get more money. Programs that don't work or just create more bureaucracy and paperwork and administrative gridlock will get less money. (Applause.) We will send -- we'll send a team to fix bad programs by replacing bad managers because your tax dollars should only be funding programs and grants that actually make a difference -- a measurable difference -- in a child's education.

In the end, responsibility for our children's success doesn't start in Washington, it starts in our homes. It starts in our families. (Applause.) Because no education policy can replace a parent who's involved in their child's education from day one -- (applause) -- who makes sure their children are in school on time, helps them with their homework after dinner, and attends those parent- teacher conferences. No government program can turn off the TV set or put away the video games or read to your children. (Cheers, applause.)

But we can help parents do a better job. That's why I'll create a parents report card that will show you whether your kid is on the path to college. We'll help schools post student progress reports online so you can get a regular update on what kind of grades your child is getting on tests and quizzes from week to week. If your child is falling behind or playing hooky, or isn't on track to go to college or compete for that good-paying job, it will be up to you to do something about it.

So yes, we need to hold our government accountable. Yes, we have to hold our schools accountable. But we also have to hold ourselves accountable. (Applause.)

You know, when I dropped my daughters off at school yesterday, I couldn't help but think about all America had done over the years to give me and my family a good education. This is a country that put my grandfather through college on the GI Bill after he left Patton's army in World War II. (Applause.) This -- this is a country that drew my father -- like so many immigrants -- across an ocean in search of a college degree. And this is a country that let the child of a teenage mom and an absent father reach for his dreams.

You see, I wasn't born with a lot of advantages, but I was given love and support, and an education that put me on a pathway to success. The same was true for Michelle. You know, she -- my wife came from a blue-collar family on the south side of Chicago. Even though her father had multiple sclerosis, he went to work every day at the local water filtration plant to support his family. And Michelle and her brother were able to go to excellent schools in Chicago, they were able to get a great college education, and they were able to reach a little further for their dreams.

So I know that the only reason Michelle and I are where we are today is because this country we love gave us the chance at an education. And the reason -- (applause) -- and the reason I'm running for president is to give every single American that same chance -- (applause) -- to give the young sisters out there born with a gift for invention the chance to become the next Orville and Wilbur Wright -- (cheers, applause) -- to give the young boy out there who wants to create a life-saving cure the chance to become the next Jonas Salk -- (applause) -- and to give the child out there whose imagination has been sparked by the wonders of the Internet the chance to become the next Bill Gates. (Applause.) Our future depends on it.

When the story of our time is told, I don't want it to be said that China seized this moment to reform its education system, but the United States did not. I don't want it to be said that India led the way on innovation, but the United States did not. I want it to be said that we rose to meet this challenge and educated our people to become the most highly-skilled workers in the world, just like we've always have been.

Because I know that if we can just bring our education system into the 21st century, if we're looking forward and not back, not only will our children be able to fulfill their God-given potential and our families be able to live out their dreams; not only will our schools out-educate the world and our workers outcompete the world; not only will our companies innovate more and our economy grow more; but at this defining moment, we will do what previous generations of Americans have done, and unleash the promise of our people, unlock the promise of our country, and make sure that America remains a beacon of opportunity and prosperity for all the world.

Thank you so much, everybody. God bless you. Thank you. Thank you. (Cheers, applause.) Thank you. (Cheers, applause.) Thank you. Thank you, everybody. (Cheers, applause.) Thank you. (Cheers, applause.) Thank you.

AUDIENCE: (Chanting.) Yes we can! Yes we can! Yes we can! Yes we can!

SEN. OBAMA: Thank you. (Cheers, applause.) Thank you. (Cheers, applause.) Thank you. (Cheers, applause.)

(The Obama education speech in Ohio on September 9th.
Transcript by Lynn Sweet of the Chicago )

What are Community organizer?

Community organizers are people who help individuals and communities to strengthen them spiritually, politically, socially as well as economically. Their actions help most often low- and moderate-income people. Community organizers coordinate programs of different agencies in an attempt to meet community needs for health and welfare services. They also facilitate self-help programs initiated by local common-interest groups, for example, through the training of local leaders who help analyze and solve the problems of a community. Community organizers work actively together with other types of social workers.

Now we know what community organizers do! We should ask us these questions,"Shouldn't we all be involved in our communities? Isn’t this idea the glue that holds our society together and prevents hate and misunderstandings?"

If we could find a way to eliminate social injustice, we wouldn’t have to worry about crime or terrorism.

In the view of this understanding we have to ask us, how can someone like Sarah Palin mock a person (such as Barack Obama) who has given his time to work as a community organizer? This mockery is appalling and shows that Sarah Palin does not understand the global social problems of the twenty-first century. It shows that Sarah Palin is only interested in her own career and power. Didn’t we have a president (J.W. Bush) for more than seven years whose only interest was his own career and power?

I don’t think we want someone in charge of the United States of America who feels that community organizers are inferior to a mayor or any other political office.

Woopi Goldberg on Sarah Palin

If you are aggravated by what Sarah Palin, the female vice presidential nominee of the Republican party, said during the Republican Convention listen to what Woopi Goldberg has to say about it.

Click on:

Whoopi is 'Really Aggravated' by Palin's Speech

(P.S. The video will start with an Advertisement)

There is not much to say about the way people see Sarah Palin.
Isn't Sarah Palin a little arrogant?

With Sarah Palin prepare yourself for more of the same

If you have listened to McCain’s vice-presidential choice Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, you probably heard what I heard in this speech:

The same rhetoric of the 2000 election. Ms. Sarah Palin continues to repeat the same slogans as the Republicans have used over the past decades as Ms. Sarah Palin said, "The Democratic nominee for president supports plans to raise income taxes, and raise payroll taxes, and raise investment income taxes, and raise the death tax, and raise business taxes, and increase the tax burden on the American people by hundreds of billions of dollars."

Sarah Palin would rather give this money to the oil companies such as Exxon Mobil Corp. that had received the largest tax brake over the almost 8 years from the George W. Bush government!

Well, let’s look at the current situation after almost 8 years of Republican rulings. Are we really saver, as the current government is trying to tell us? Do we have more money than after the Democratic government under President Bill Clinton? Is the standing of the U.S.A better than after the Democratic government under President Bill Clinton?

Now, Ms. Sarah Palin and John McCain are trying to make you believe that things will change. I guess they are talking about the changes we have seen under president George W. Bush. President Bush had made the same promises during his campaign in 2000. Many people believed the Republican rhetoric (promises). However, now we have to fit the bill.

The Republican philosophy is as Barack Obama puts it - "give more and more to those with the most and hope that prosperity trickles down to everyone else. In Washington (Republicans), they call this the Ownership Society, but what it really means is - you're on your own. Out of work? Tough luck. No health care? The market will fix it. Born into poverty? Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps - even if you don't have boots. You're on your own"

America has accumulated the highest budget deficit ($482 billion) ever in US history after a surplus inherited from the Democratic government under President Bill Clinton. Well, if you believe the Republican rhetoric you have to prepare yourself for more of the same and even worse. Except if you own a company like the Exxon Mobil Corp which has made $11.68 billion dollars in proffit in the second quarter of 2008.

2008 Barack Obama Convention Speech

Written by The_Zimbio_Team

Obama: 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 the presidency of the United States.

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. To President Clinton, who last night made the case for change as only he can make it; to Ted Kennedy, who embodies the spirit of service; and to the next Vice President of the United States, Joe Biden, I thank you. 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, and to Sasha and Malia - I love you so much, and I'm so proud of all of you.

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 has 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 two hundred and thirty two 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 card 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.

America, we are better than these last eight years. We are a better country than this.

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.

This country is more generous than one where a man in Indiana has to pack up the equipment he's worked on for twenty years and watch it 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; that sits on its hands while a major American city drowns before our eyes.

Tonight, I say to the American people, to Democrats and Republicans and Independents across this great land - enough! 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. And we are here because we love this country too much to let the next four years look like the last eight. On November 4th, we must stand up and say: "Eight is enough."

Now 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 respect. 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 ninety 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 ninety percent of the time? I don't know about you, but I'm not ready to take a ten percent chance on change.

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 anxiety 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."

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 give back and keep going without complaint. These are the Americans that I know.

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. Why else would he define middle-class as someone making under five million dollars 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 one hundred million Americans? 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?

It's not because John McCain doesn't care. It's because John McCain doesn't get it.

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 - you're on your own. Out of work? Tough luck. No health care? The market will fix it. Born into poverty? Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps - even if you don't have boots. You're on your own.

Well it's time for them to own their failure. It's time for us to change America.

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 - when the average American family saw its income go up $7,500 instead of down $2,000 like it has under George Bush.

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 to 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 GI 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.

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, 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.

I don't know what kind of lives John McCain thinks that celebrities lead, but this has been mine. These are my heroes. Theirs are the stories that shaped me. And it is on their behalf that I intend to win this election and keep our promise alive as President of the United States.

What is that 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 the obligation 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, look out for American workers, and play by the rules of the road.

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 new 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. So let me spell out exactly what that change would mean if I am President.

Change means a tax code that doesn't reward the lobbyists who wrote it, but the American workers and small businesses who deserve it.

Unlike John McCain, I will stop giving tax breaks to corporations that ship jobs overseas, and I will start giving them to companies that create good jobs right here in America.

I will eliminate capital gains taxes for the small businesses and the start-ups that will create the high-wage, high-tech jobs of tomorrow.

I will cut taxes - cut taxes - for 95% of all working families. Because in an economy like this, the last thing we should do is raise taxes on the middle-class.

And for the sake of our economy, our security, and the future of our planet, I will set a clear goal as President: in ten years, we will finally end our dependence on oil from the Middle East.

Washington's been talking about our oil addiction for the last thirty years, and John McCain has been there for twenty-six of them. In that time, he's 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 as 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.

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. I'll make it easier for the American people to afford these new cars. And I'll invest 150 billion dollars 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 five million new jobs that pay well and can't ever be outsourced.

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. 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. 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 your country, we will make sure you can afford a college education.

Now is the time to finally keep the promise of affordable, accessible health care for every single American. 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. 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.

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 jobs and caring for a sick child or 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 exactly the same opportunities as your sons.

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 twenty-first century challenges with a twentieth century bureaucracy.

And 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. 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 for providing the love and guidance their children need.

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.

For 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 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. John McCain likes to say that he'll follow bin Laden to the Gates of Hell - but he won't even go to the cave where he lives.

And today, as my call for a time frame to remove our troops from Iraq has been echoed by the Iraqi government and even the Bush Administration, even after we learned that Iraq has a $79 billion surplus while we're wallowing in deficits, John McCain stands alone in his stubborn refusal to end a misguided war.

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.

You don't defeat a terrorist network that operates in eighty 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 it is not the change we need.

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.

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.

I will end this war in Iraq responsibly, and finish the fight against al Qaeda 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.

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 patriotism.

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.

So I've got news for you, John McCain. We all put our country first.

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 - our sense of higher 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. The reality of gun ownership may be different for hunters in rural Ohio than 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. 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 the hospital and to live lives free of discrimination. Passions 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. 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 the voters. 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 nay-sayers don't understand is that this election has never been about me. It's been about you.

For eighteen 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. 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. 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, when 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 terrorist hands.

And I've seen it in this campaign. In the young people who voted for the first time, and in 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. I've seen it in the workers who would rather cut their hours back a day 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.

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.

And it is that promise that forty five 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.

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 frustration 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. 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.

Joe Biden in Springfield, IL

Transcript provided Clips & Comment


So let me introduce you to the next Vice President of the United States of America, Joe Biden.

President Lincoln once instructed us to be sure to put your feet in the right place. Then stand firm.
Today, Springfield, I know my feet are in the right place. And I am proud to stand firm for the next president of the United States of America, Barack Obama.

Folks, Barack and I come from very different places, but we share a common story. An American story. He was the son of a single mom, a single mom who had to struggle to support her son and her kids. But she raised him. She raised him to believe in America. To believe that in this country there is no obstacle that could keep you from your dreams. If you are willing to work hard and fight for it.

I was different. I was an Irish-Catholic kid from Scranton with a father who like many of yours in tough economic times fell on hard times, but my mom and dad raised me to believe, it’s a saying Barack you heard me say before, my dad repeated it and repeated it. Said champ, it’s not how many times you get knocked down, it’s how quickly you get up. It’s how quickly you get up. Ladies and gentlemen, that’s your story. That’s America’s story. It’s about if you get up, you can make it.

That’s the America Barack Obama and I believe in. That’s the American dream. And ladies and gentlemen, is there no ordinary times, and this is no ordinary election. Because the truth of the matter is, and you know it, that American dream under eight years of Bush and McCain, that American dream is slipping away. I don’t have to tell you that. You feel it in your lives.

You see it in your shrinking wages, and the cost of everything from groceries to health care to college to filling up your car at the gas station. It keeps going up and up and up, and the future keeps receding further and further and further away as you reach for your dreams. You know, ladies and gentlemen, it is not a mere political saying. I say with every fiber of my being I believe we cannot as a nation stand for four more years of this.

We cannot afford to keep giving tax cuts after tax cuts to big corporations and the wealthiest Americans while the middle class America, middle class families are falling behind and their wages are actually shrinking.

We can’t afford four more years of a government that does nothing while they watch the housing market collapse. As you know, it’s not just the millions of people facing foreclosure. It’s the tens of millions of your neighbors who are seeing the values of their homes drop off a cliff along with their dreams.

Ladies and gentlemen, your kitchen table is like mine. You sit there at night before you put the kids — after you put the kids to bed and you talk, you talk about what you need. You talk about how much you are worried about being able to pay the bills. Well, ladies and gentlemen, that’s not a worry John McCain has to worry about. It’s a pretty hard experience. He’ll have to figure out which of the seven kitchen tables to sit at.

Folks, again, it’s not political sloganary when I say we literally can’t afford four more years of this non-energy policy written by and for the oil companies, making us more and more dependent from hostile nations on our ability to run this country and literally, not figuratively, literally putting America’s security at risk, we can’t afford four more years of a foreign policy that has shredded our alliances and sacrificed our moral standing around the world.

Ladies and gentlemen, that’s the bad news. But there is good news, America. We don’t have to have four more years of George W. Bush. And John McCain. The next President of the United States is going to be delivered to the most significant moment in American history since Franklin Roosevelt. He will have such an incredible opportunity, incredible opportunity, not only to change the direction of America, but literally, literally to change the direction of the world.

Barack Obama and I believe, we believe with every fiber in our being that our families, our communities as Americans, there’s not a single solitary challenge we cannot face if we level with the American people. And I don’t say that to say it; history, history has shown it. When have Americans ever, ever, ever, let their country down when they’ve had a leader to lead them?
–
Ladies and gentlemen, we believe that our tomorrows will be better than our yesterdays, and we believe we’ll pass on to our children an even better life than the one we lived. That literally has been the American way, and it can be that way again. But there’s a big, missing piece. The missing piece is leadership.

In all my time in the United States Senate, and I want you to know there’s only four senators senior to me, but Barack, there’s still 44 older than me. I want you to know that part. But all kidding aside, of all my years in the Senate, I have never in my life seen Washington so broken. I have never seen so many dreams denied and so many decisions deferred by politicians who are trying like the devil to escape their responsibility and accountability. But, ladies and gentlemen, the reckoning is now. And the reality, the reality is that we must answer the call or we will risk the harshest version and verdict of history. These times call for a total change in Washington’s worldview. These times require more than a good soldier. They require a wise leader. A leader — a leader who can deliver. A leader who can deliver the change we need.

I’ll say straight up to you – John McCain and the press knows this, is genuinely a friend of mine. I’ve known John for 35 years. He served our country with extraordinary courage and I know he wants to do right by America. But the harsh truth is, ladies and gentlemen, you can’t change America when you boast. And these are John’s words, quote, the most important issues of our day, I’ve been totally in agreement and support of President Bush. Ladies and gentlemen, that’s what he said. You can’t change America when you supported George Bush’s policies 95% of the time. You can’t change America when you believe, and these are his own words, that in the Bush administration we’ve made great progress economically. You can’t change America and make things better for our senior citizens when you signed on to Bush’s scheme of privatizing social security. You can’t change America and give our workers a fighting chance when after 3 million manufacturing jobs disappear, you continue to support tax breaks for companies who ship our jobs overseas. You can’t change America and end this war in Iraq when you declare and, again, these are John’s words, no one has supported President Bush in Iraq more than I have, end of quote. Ladies and gentlemen, you can’t change America, you can’t change America when you know your first four years as president will look exactly like the last eight years of George Bush’s presidency.

My friends — yes, we can. My friends, I don’t have to tell you, this election year the choice is clear. One man stands ready to deliver change we desperately need. A man I’m proud to call my friend. A man who will be the next president of the United States, Barack Amer –

You know, you learn a lot of things being up close with a guy. Let me tell you about Obama. You learn a lot about a man when you campaign with him. When you debate him 12 or 13 times. When you hear him speak. When you see how he thinks. And you watch how he reacts under pressure. You learn a lot about his strength of his mind, and I think even more importantly, the quality of his heart. Ladies and gentlemen, no one knows better than I do that presidential campaigns are crucibles in which you’re tested and challenged every single day. And over the past 18 months, I’ve watched Barack meet those challenges with judgment, intelligence, and steel in his spine. I’ve watched as he’s inspired millions of Americans, millions of Americans to this new cause.

And during those 18 months, I must tell you, frankly, I’ve been disappointed in my friend, John McCain, who gave in to the right wing of his party and yielded to the very swiftboat politics that he so — once so deplored. And folks, campaigns for presidents are a test of character and leadership. And in this campaign, one candidate, one candidate has passed that test.

Barack has the vision, and what you can’t forget, you know his vision, but let me tell you something. He also has the courage, the courage to make this a better place, and let me tell you something else, this man is a clear eyed pragmatist who will get the job done. I watch with amazement as he came to the Senate. I watch with amazement. He made his mark literally from day one reaching across the aisle to pass legislation to secure the world’s deadliest weapons, standing up to some of the most entrenched interests in Washington, risking the wrath of the old order to pass the most sweeping ethics reform in a generation.

But I was proudest, I was proudest, when I watched him spontaneously focus the attention of the nation on the shameful neglect of America’s wounded warriors at Walter Reed Army Hospital. Ladies and gentlemen, I know I’m told I talk too colloquially, but there’s something about this guy. There’s something about this guy. There’s something about Barack Obama that allows him to bring people together like no one I have worked with and seen. There’s something about Barack Obama that makes people understand if they make compromises they can make things better.

It’s been amazing to watch him. But then again, that’s been the story of his whole life. I end where I began. This is a man raised by a single mother who sometimes was on food stamps as she worked to put herself through school, by grandparents from the prairies of Kansas who loved him, a grandfather, a grandfather who marched in Paton’s Army and then came home and went to college on the G.I. Bill, and a grandmother, a grandmother with just a high school education, started off working in a small bank in the secretarial pool and rose to be vice president of that bank.

Ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen, these remarkable people gave Barack Obama the determination and drive, and, yes, the values to turn down that big job on Wall Street, to come to Chicago’s south side, where he helped workers help themselves after the steel mills had been shut down and the jobs disappeared.

Ladies and gentlemen, my wife Jill, who you’ll meet soon, is drop dead gorgeous. My wife Jill, who you’ll meet soon, she also has her doctorate degree, which is a problem. But all kidding aside, my Jill, my Jill, my wife Jill and I are honored to join Barack and Michelle on this journey, because that’s what it is. it’s a journey. We share the same values, the values that we had passed on to us by our parents and the values Jill and I are passing on to our sons Beau and Hunter and Ashley.

Ladies and gentlemen, I’m here for their future. I’m here for the future of your kids. I’m here for everyone I – I’m here for everyone I grew up in Scranton, Pennsylvania, who’s been forgotten and everybody in Claymont, Delaware, in Wilmington where I lived. I’m here for the cops and the fire fighters, the teachers and the line workers, the folks who live – the folks whose lives are the measure of whether the American dream endures.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is no ordinary time. This is no ordinary election. And this may be our last chance to reclaim the America we love, to restore America’s soul. Ladies and gentlemen, America gave Jill and me our chance. It gave Barack and Michelle their chance to stand on this stage today. It’s literally incredible. These values, this country gave us that chance. And now it’s time for all of us, as Lincoln said, to put our feet in the right place and to stand firm. Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time to elect Barack Obama president. It’s our time. It’s America’s time. God bless America, and may he protect our troops.

Barack Obama in Springfield, IL

Transcript provided POLITICO STAFF

Here are the prepared remarks from the appearance by Barack Obama on Saturday afternoon in Springfield, Ill., to announce Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.) as his running mate:

Nineteen months ago, on a cold February day right here on the steps of the Old State Capitol, I stood before you to announce my candidacy for President of the United States of America.

We started this journey with a simple belief: that the American people were better than their government in Washington — a government that has fallen prey to special interests and policies that have left working people behind. As I’ve travelled to towns and cities, farms and factories, front porches and fairgrounds in almost all fifty states — that belief has been strengthened. Because at this defining moment in our history — with our nation at war, and our economy in recession — we know that the American people cannot afford four more years of the same failed policies and the same old politics in Washington. We know that the time for change has come.

For months, I’ve searched for a leader to finish this journey alongside me, and to join in me in making Washington work for the American people. I searched for a leader who understands the rising costs confronting working people, and who will always put their dreams first. A leader who sees clearly the challenges facing America in a changing world, with our security and standing set back by eight years of a failed foreign policy. A leader who shares my vision of an open government that calls all citizens — Democrats, Republicans and Independents — to a common purpose. Above all, I searched for a leader who is ready to step in and be President.

Today, I have come back to Springfield to tell you that I’ve found that leader — a man with a distinguished record and a fundamental decency — Joe Biden.

Joe Biden is that rare mix — for decades, he has brought change to Washington, but Washington hasn’t changed him. He’s an expert on foreign policy whose heart and values are rooted firmly in the middle class. He has stared down dictators and spoken out for America's cops and firefighters. He is uniquely suited to be my partner as we work to put our country back on track.

Now I could stand here and recite a list of Senator Biden’s achievements, because he is one of the finest public servants of our time. But first I want to talk to you about the character of the man standing next to me.

Joe Biden’s many triumphs have only come after great trial.

He was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania. His family didn’t have much money. Joe Sr. worked different jobs, from cleaning boilers to selling cars, sometimes moving in with the in-laws or working weekends to make ends meet. But he raised his family with a strong commitment to work and to family; to the Catholic faith and to the belief that in America, you can make it if you try. Those are the core values that Joe Biden has carried with him to this day. And even though Joe Sr. is not with us, I know that he is proud of Joe today.

It might be hard to believe when you hear him talk now, but as a child he had a terrible stutter. They called him “Bu-bu-Biden.” But he picked himself up, worked harder than the other guy, and got elected to the Senate — a young man with a family and a seemingly limitless future.

Then tragedy struck. Joe’s wife Neilia and their little girl Naomi were killed in a car accident, and their two boys were badly hurt. When Joe was sworn in as a Senator, there was no ceremony in the Capitol — instead, he was standing by his sons in the hospital room where they were recovering. He was 30 years old.

Tragedy tests us — it tests our fortitude and it tests our faith. Here’s how Joe Biden responded. He never moved to Washington. Instead, night after night, week after week, year after year, he returned home to Wilmington on a lonely Amtrak train when his Senate business was done. He raised his boys — first as a single dad, then alongside his wonderful wife Jill, who works as a teacher. He had a beautiful daughter. Now his children are grown and Joe is blessed with 5 grandchildren. He instilled in them such a sense of public service that his son, Beau, who is now Delaware’s Attorney General, is getting ready to deploy to Iraq. And he still takes that train back to Wilmington every night. Out of the heartbreak of that unspeakable accident, he did more than become a Senator — he raised a family. That is the measure of the man standing next to me. That is the character of Joe Biden.

Years later, Senator Biden would face another brush with death when he had a brain aneurysm. On the way to the hospital, they didn’t think he was going to make it. They gave him slim odds to recover. But he did. He beat it. And he came back stronger than before.

Maybe it’s this resilience — this insistence on overcoming adversity — that accounts for Joe Biden’s work in the Senate. Time and again, he has made a difference for the people across this country who work long hours and face long odds. This working class kid from Scranton and Wilmington has always been a friend to the underdog, and all who seek a safer and more prosperous America to live their dreams and raise their families.

Fifteen years ago, too many American communities were plagued by violence and insecurity. So Joe Biden brought Democrats and Republicans together to pass the 1994 Crime Bill, putting 100,000 cops on the streets, and starting an eight year drop in crime across the country.

For far too long, millions of women suffered abuse in the shadows. So Joe Biden wrote the Violence Against Women Act, so every woman would have a place to turn for support. The rate of domestic violence went down dramatically, and countless women got a second chance at life.

Year after year, he has been at the forefront of the fight for judges who respect the fundamental rights and liberties of the American people; college tuition that is affordable for all; equal pay for women and a rising minimum wage for all; and family leave policies that value work and family. Those are the priorities of a man whose work reflects his life and his values.

That same strength of character is at the core of his rise to become one of America’s leading voices on national security.

He looked Slobodan Milosevic in the eye and called him a war criminal, and then helped shape policies that would end the killing in the Balkans and bring him to justice. He passed laws to lock down chemical weapons, and led the push to bring Europe’s newest democracies into NATO. Over the last eight years, he has been a powerful critic of the catastrophic Bush-McCain foreign policy, and a voice for a new direction that takes the fight to the terrorists and ends the war in Iraq responsibly. He recently went to Georgia, where he met quietly with the President and came back with a call for aid and a tough message for Russia.

Joe Biden is what so many others pretend to be — a statesman with sound judgment who doesn’t have to hide behind bluster to keep America strong.

Joe won’t just make a good Vice President — he will make a great one. After decades of steady work across the aisle, I know he’ll be able to help me turn the page on the ugly partisanship in Washington, so we can bring Democrats and Republicans together to pass an agenda that works for the American people. And instead of secret task energy task forces stacked with Big Oil and a Vice President that twists the facts and shuts the American people out, I know that Joe Biden will give us some real straight talk.

I have seen this man work. I have sat with him as he chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and been by his side on the campaign trail. And I can tell you that Joe Biden gets it. He’s that unique public servant who is at home in a bar in Cedar Rapids and the corridors of the Capitol; in the VFW hall in Concord, and at the center of an international crisis.

That’s because he is still that scrappy kid from Scranton who beat the odds; the dedicated family man and committed Catholic who knows every conductor on that Amtrak train to Wilmington. That’s the kind of fighter who I want by my side in the months and years to come.

That’s what it’s going to take to win the fight for good jobs that let people live their dreams, a tax code that rewards work instead of wealth, and health care that is affordable and accessible for every American family. That’s what it’s going to take to forge a new energy policy that frees us from our dependence on foreign oil and $4 gasoline at the pump, while creating new jobs and new industry. That’s what it’s going to take to put an end to a failed foreign policy that’s based on bluster and bad judgment, so that we renew America’s security and standing in the world.

We know what we’re going to get from the other side. Four more years of the same out-of-touch policies that created an economic disaster at home, and a disastrous foreign policy abroad. Four more years of the same divisive politics that is all about tearing people down instead of lifting this country up.

We can’t afford more of the same. I am running for President because that’s a future that I don’t accept for my daughters and I don’t accept it for your children. It’s time for the change that the American people need.

Now, with Joe Biden at my side, I am confident that we can take this country in a new direction; that we are ready to overcome the adversity of the last eight years; that we won’t just win this election in November, we’ll restore that fair shot at your dreams that is at the core of who Joe Biden and I are as people, and what America is as a nation. So let me introduce you to the next Vice President of the United States of America.

Saddleback Civil Forum on the Presidency

Barack Obama is in his decisions. It shows that Sen. Barack Obama does not jump into a decision just because it is popular at the moment.

If you watch this segment and compare it to how John McCain answered these questions by Rick Warren who is the founder and senior pastor of the 22,000 member Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California and who is also a member of the Republican Chistian Coalition, you will notice, that McCain answers quick without even thinking about the question.

Does this mean John McCain is smarter, more experienced or does it mean he does not know what to say and therefore uses only his campaign slogans? Doesn't this sound more like the same as President Bush? (recall the 2000 election, when Bush was telling us he would become a moderate President) As President J.W. Bush, John McCain often does not either understand the questions asked or he does not want to answer them because the questions are inconvenient.John McCain as does J.W. Bush always talk about things that are save to talk about without getting in trouble.

On the other hand, Sen. Barack Obama wants his audience to get to know him in person. He wants people to see the real Barack Obama who cares about them and their problems and not just paint a pretty picture of himself. Not like John McCain who seems to be afraid about people finding out something unknown about him. John McCain wants to keep the pretty picture of an American War-Hero.

Do we want a War-Hero (who scares us and leads us into another war) or someone who care about us and our life?

Just watch the video and you may understand what I talked about!

Tom Hanks endorses Obama for President

Why not just enjoy the Olympic Games?

Why does the international press continue to attack China for its lack of freedom while people in China will tell you that they are quite happy with their government? Moreover, why does the international press continue to distract from the spirit of the Olympic Games, namely to bring all nations together to improve world peace!

The Olympics were originally of fundamental religious importance not political. Moreover, the festival was meant to be a celebration of the achievements of the human body and health. Only in recent history, the Olympic Games have become more and more a vehicle to enforce political ideologies.

Let’s more beyond this new movement and just enjoy the real spirit of the Olympic Games without political turmoil!

To keep up with all the events visit the Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games August 8-24, 2008.

NDS - Olympics 2008 Opening Ceremony

Olympics 2008 Opening Ceremony

With Dutch Audio Comments!

Part of the 2008 Olympics Opening Ceremony

2008 Olympics AWESOME Opening Ceremony

Barack Obama on Energy in Lansing, Michigan

Barack Obama gave a policy address on dealing with the energy crisis in the US and our dependence on foreign oil.