We are here tonight because we love our
country.
We are proud of what America is and what
it can become.
My fellow Americans: we are here tonight
united in one simple purpose: to make America stronger at home and respected
in the world.
A great American novelist wrote that you
can't go home again. He could not have imagined this evening. Tonight, I am
home. Home where my public life began and those who made it possible live.
Home where our nation's history was written in blood, idealism, and hope.
Home where my parents showed me the values of family, faith, and country.
Thank you, all of you, for a welcome
home I will never forget.
I wish my parents could share this
moment. They went to their rest in the last few years, but their example,
their inspiration, their gift of open eyes, open mind, and endless world are
bigger and more lasting than any words.
I was born in Colorado, in Fitzsimmons
Army Hospital, when my dad was a pilot in World War II. Now, I'm not one to
read into things, but guess which wing of the hospital the maternity ward was
in? I'm not making this up. I was born in the West Wing!
My mother was the rock of our family as
so many mothers are. She stayed up late to help me do my homework. She sat by
my bed when I was sick, and she answered the questions of a child who, like
all children, found the world full of wonders and mysteries.
She was my den mother when I was a Cub
Scout and she was so proud of her fifty year pin as a Girl Scout leader. She
gave me her passion for the environment. She taught me to see trees as the
cathedrals of nature. And by the power of her example, she showed me that we
can and must finish the march toward full equality for all women in our
country.
My dad did the things that a boy
remembers. He gave me my first model airplane, my first baseball mitt and my
first bicycle. He also taught me that we are here for something bigger than
ourselves; he lived out the responsibilities and sacrifices of the greatest
generation to whom we owe so much.
When I was a young man, he was in the
State Department, stationed in Berlin when it and the world were divided
between democracy and communism. I have unforgettable memories of being a kid
mesmerized by the British, French, and American troops, each of them guarding
their own part of the city, and Russians standing guard on the stark line
separating East from West. On one occasion, I rode my bike into Soviet East
Berlin. And when I proudly told my dad, he promptly grounded me.
But what I learned has stayed with me
for a lifetime. I saw how different life was on different sides of the same
city. I saw the fear in the eyes of people who were not free. I saw the
gratitude of people toward the United States for all that we had done. I felt
goose bumps as I got off a military train and heard the Army band strike up
"Stars and Stripes Forever." I learned what it meant to be America at our
best. I learned the pride of our freedom. And I am determined now to restore
that pride to all who look to America.
Mine were greatest generation parents.
And as I thank them, we all join together to thank that whole generation for
making America strong, for winning World War II, winning the Cold War, and for
the great gift of service which brought America fifty years of peace and
prosperity.
My parents inspired me to serve, and
when I was a junior in high school, John Kennedy called my generation to
service. It was the beginning of a great journey a time to march for civil
rights, for voting rights, for the environment, for women, and for peace. We
believed we could change the world. And you know what? We did.
But we're not finished. The journey
isn't complete. The march isn't over. The promise isn't perfected.
Tonight, we're setting out again. And together, we're going to write the next
great chapter of America's story.
We have it in our power to change the
world again. But only if we're true to our ideals and that starts by
telling the truth to the American people. That is my first pledge to you
tonight. As President, I will restore trust and credibility to the White
House.
I ask you to judge me by my record: As
a young prosecutor, I fought for victim's rights and made prosecuting violence
against women a priority. When I came to the Senate, I broke with many in my
own party to vote for a balanced budget, because I thought it was the right
thing to do. I fought to put a 100,000 cops on the street.
And then I reached across the aisle to
work with John McCain, to find the truth about our POW's and missing in
action, and to finally make peace with Vietnam.
I will be a commander in chief who will
never mislead us into war. I will have a Vice President who will not conduct
secret meetings with polluters to rewrite our environmental laws. I will have
a Secretary of Defense who will listen to the best advice of our military
leaders. And I will appoint an Attorney General who actually upholds the
Constitution of the United States.
My fellow Americans, this is the most
important election of our lifetime. The stakes are high. We are a nation at
war a global war on terror against an enemy unlike any we have ever known
before. And here at home, wages are falling, health care costs are rising, and
our great middle class is shrinking. People are working weekends; they're
working two jobs, three jobs, and they're still not getting ahead.
We're told that outsourcing jobs is good
for America. We're told that new jobs that pay $9,000 less than the jobs that
have been lost is the best we can do. They say this is the best economy we've
ever had. And they say that anyone who thinks otherwise is a pessimist.
Well, here is our answer: There is nothing more pessimistic than saying
America can't do better.
We can do better and we will. We're the
optimists. For us, this is a country of the future. We're the can do people.
And let's not forget what we did in the 1990s. We balanced the budget. We paid
down the debt. We created 23 million new jobs. We lifted millions out of
poverty and we lifted the standard of living for the middle class. We just
need to believe in ourselves and we can do it again.
So tonight, in the city where America's
freedom began, only a few blocks from where the sons and daughters of liberty
gave birth to our nation here tonight, on behalf of a new birth of freedom
on behalf of the middle class who deserve a champion, and those struggling to
join it who deserve a fair shot for the brave men and women in uniform who
risk their lives every day and the families who pray for their return for
all those who believe our best days are ahead of us for all of you with
great faith in the American people, I accept your nomination for President of
the United States.
I am proud that at my side will be a
running mate whose life is the story of the American dream and who's worked
every day to make that dream real for all Americans Senator John Edwards of
North Carolina. And his wonderful wife Elizabeth and their family. This son of
a mill worker is ready to lead and next January, Americans will be proud to
have a fighter for the middle class to succeed Dick Cheney as Vice President
of the United States.
And what can I say about Teresa? She
has the strongest moral compass of anyone I know. She's down to earth,
nurturing, courageous, wise and smart. She speaks her mind and she speaks the
truth, and I love her for that, too. And that's why America will embrace her
as the next First Lady of the United States.
For Teresa and me, no matter what the
future holds or the past has given us, nothing will ever mean as much as our
children. We love them not just for who they are and what they've become, but
for being themselves, making us laugh, holding our feet to the fire, and never
letting me get away with anything. Thank you, Andre, Alex, Chris, Vanessa,
and John.
And in this journey, I am accompanied by
an extraordinary band of brothers led by that American hero, a patriot named
Max Cleland. Our band of brothers doesn't march together because of who we
are as veterans, but because of what we learned as soldiers. We fought for
this nation because we loved it and we came back with the deep belief that
every day is extra. We may be a little older now, we may be a little grayer,
but we still know how to fight for our country.
And standing with us in that fight are
those who shared with me the long season of the primary campaign: Carol
Moseley Braun, General Wesley Clark, Howard Dean, Dick Gephardt, Bob Graham,
Dennis Kucinich, Joe Lieberman and Al Sharpton.
To all of you, I say thank you for
teaching me and testing me but mostly, we say thank you for standing up for
our country and giving us the unity to move America forward.
My fellow Americans, the world tonight
is very different from the world of four years ago. But I believe the American
people are more than equal to the challenge.
Remember the hours after September 11th,
when we came together as one to answer the attack against our homeland. We
drew strength when our firefighters ran up the stairs and risked their lives,
so that others might live. When rescuers rushed into smoke and fire at the
Pentagon. When the men and women of Flight 93 sacrificed themselves to save
our nation's Capitol. When flags were hanging from front porches all across
America, and strangers became friends. It was the worst day we have ever seen,
but it brought out the best in all of us.
I am proud that after September 11th all
our people rallied to President Bush's call for unity to meet the danger.
There were no Democrats. There were no Republicans. There were only
Americans. How we wish it had stayed that way.
Now I know there are those who criticize
me for seeing complexities and I do because some issues just aren't all
that simple. Saying there are weapons of mass destruction in Iraq doesn't
make it so. Saying we can fight a war on the cheap doesnt make it so. And
proclaiming mission accomplished certainly doesn't make it so.
As President, I will ask hard questions
and demand hard evidence. I will immediately reform the intelligence system
so policy is guided by facts, and facts are never distorted by politics. And
as President, I will bring back this nation's time-honored tradition: the
United States of America never goes to war because we want to, we only go to
war because we have to.
I know what kids go through when they
are carrying an M-16 in a dangerous place and they can't tell friend from
foe. I know what they go through when they're out on patrol at night and they
don't know what's coming around the next bend. I know what it's like to write
letters home telling your family that everything's all right when you're not
sure that's true.
As President, I will wage this war with
the lessons I learned in war. Before you go to battle, you have to be able to
look a parent in the eye and truthfully say: "I tried everything possible to
avoid sending your son or daughter into harm's way. But we had no choice. We
had to protect the American people, fundamental American values from a threat
that was real and imminent." So lesson one, this is the only justification
for going to war.
And on my first day in office, I will
send a message to every man and woman in our armed forces: You will never be
asked to fight a war without a plan to win the peace.
I know what we have to do in Iraq. We
need a President who has the credibility to bring our allies to our side and
share the burden, reduce the cost to American taxpayers, and reduce the risk
to American soldiers. That's the right way to get the job done and bring our
troops home.
Here is the reality: that won't happen
until we have a president who restores America's respect and leadership -- so
we don't have to go it alone in the world.
And we need to rebuild our alliances, so
we can get the terrorists before they get us.
I defended this country as a young man
and I will defend it as President. Let there be no mistake: I will never
hesitate to use force when it is required. Any attack will be met with a
swift and certain response. I will never give any nation or international
institution a veto over our national security. And I will build a stronger
American military.
We will add 40,000 active duty troops
not in Iraq, but to strengthen American forces that are now overstretched,
overextended, and under pressure. We will double our special forces to conduct
anti-terrorist operations. We will provide our troops with the newest weapons
and technology to save their lives and win the battle. And we will end the
backdoor draft of National Guard and reservists.
To all who serve in our armed forces
today, I say, help is on the way.
As President, I will fight a smarter,
more effective war on terror. We will deploy every tool in our arsenal: our
economic as well as our military might; our principles as well as our
firepower.
In these dangerous days there is a right
way and a wrong way to be strong. Strength is more than tough words. After
decades of experience in national security, I know the reach of our power and
I know the power of our ideals.
We need to make America once again a
beacon in the world. We need to be looked up to and not just feared.
We need to lead a global effort against
nuclear proliferation to keep the most dangerous weapons in the world out of
the most dangerous hands in the world.
We need a strong military and we need to
lead strong alliances. And then, with confidence and determination, we will
be able to tell the terrorists: You will lose and we will win. The future
doesn't belong to fear; it belongs to freedom.
And the front lines of this battle are
not just far away they're right here on our shores, at our airports, and
potentially in any town or city. Today, our national security begins with
homeland security. The 9-11 Commission has given us a path to follow, endorsed
by Democrats, Republicans, and the 9-11 families. As President, I will not
evade or equivocate; I will immediately implement the recommendations of that
commission. We shouldn't be letting ninety-five percent of container ships
come into our ports without ever being physically inspected. We shouldn't be
leaving our nuclear and chemical plants without enough protection. And we
shouldn't be opening firehouses in Baghdad and closing them down in the United
States of America.
And tonight, we have an important
message for those who question the patriotism of Americans who offer a better
direction for our country. Before wrapping themselves in the flag and
shutting their eyes and ears to the truth, they should remember what America
is really all about. They should remember the great idea of freedom for which
so many have given their lives. Our purpose now is to reclaim democracy
itself. We are here to affirm that when Americans stand up and speak their
minds and say America can do better, that is not a challenge to patriotism; it
is the heart and soul of patriotism.
You see that flag up there. We call her
Old Glory. The stars and stripes forever. I fought under that flag, as did so
many of you here and all across our country. That flag flew from the gun
turret right behind my head. It was shot through and through and tattered, but
it never ceased to wave in the wind. It draped the caskets of men I served
with and friends I grew up with. For us, that flag is the most powerful
symbol of who we are and what we believe in. Our strength. Our diversity. Our
love of country. All that makes America both great and good.
That flag doesn't belong to any
president. It doesn't belong to any ideology and it doesn't belong to any
political party. It belongs to all the American people.
My fellow citizens, elections are about
choices. And choices are about values. In the end, it's not just policies and
programs that matter; the president who sits at that desk must be guided by
principle.
For four years, we've heard a lot of
talk about values. But values spoken without actions taken are just slogans.
Values are not just words. They're what we live by. They're about the causes
we champion and the people we fight for. And it is time for those who talk
about family values to start valuing families.
You don't value families by kicking kids
out of after school programs and taking cops off our streets, so that Enron
can get another tax break.
We believe in the family value of caring
for our children and protecting the neighborhoods where they walk and play.
And that is the choice in this election.
You don't value families by denying real
prescription drug coverage to seniors, so big drug companies can get another
windfall.
We believe in the family value expressed
in one of the oldest Commandments: "Honor thy father and thy mother." As
President, I will not privatize Social Security. I will not cut benefits. And
together, we will make sure that senior citizens never have to cut their pills
in half because they can't afford life-saving medicine.
And that is the choice in this election.
You don't value families if you force
them to take up a collection to buy body armor for a son or daughter in the
service, if you deny veterans health care, or if you tell middle class
families to wait for a tax cut, so that the wealthiest among us can get even
more.
We believe in the value of doing what's
right for everyone in the American family.
And that is the choice in this election.
We believe that what matters most is not
narrow appeals masquerading as values, but the shared values that show the
true face of America. Not narrow appeals that divide us, but shared values
that unite us. Family and faith. Hard work and responsibility. Opportunity
for all so that every child, every parent, every worker has an equal shot at
living up to their God-given potential.
What does it mean in America today when
Dave McCune, a steel worker I met in Canton, Ohio, saw his job sent overseas
and the equipment in his factory literally unbolted, crated up, and shipped
thousands of miles away along with that job? What does it mean when workers
I've met had to train their foreign replacements?
America can do better. So tonight we
say: help is on the way.
What does it mean when Mary Ann Knowles,
a woman with breast cancer I met in New Hampshire, had to keep working day
after day right through her chemotherapy, no matter how sick she felt, because
she was terrified of losing her family's health insurance.
America can do better. And help is on
the way.
What does it mean when Deborah Kromins
from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania works and saves all her life only to find out
that her pension has disappeared into thin air and the executive who looted
it has bailed out on a golden parachute?
America can do better. And help is on
the way.
What does it mean when twenty five
percent of the children in Harlem have asthma because of air pollution?
America can do better. And help is on
the way.
What does it mean when people are
huddled in blankets in the cold, sleeping in Lafayette Park on the doorstep of
the White House itself and the number of families living in poverty has
risen by three million in the last four years?
America can do better. And help is on
the way.
And so we come here tonight to ask:
Where is the conscience of our country?
I'll tell you where it is: it's in rural
and small town America; it's in urban neighborhoods and suburban main streets;
it's alive in the people I've met in every part of this land. It's bursting in
the hearts of Americans who are determined to give our country back its values
and its truth.
We value jobs that pay you more not less
than you earned before. We value jobs where, when you put in a week's work,
you can actually pay your bills, provide for your children, and lift up the
quality of your life. We value an America where the middle class is not being
squeezed, but doing better.
So here is our economic plan to build a
stronger America:
First, new incentives to revitalize
manufacturing.
Second, investment in technology and
innovation that will create the good-paying jobs of the future.
Third, close the tax loopholes that
reward companies for shipping our jobs overseas. Instead, we will reward
companies that create and keep good paying jobs where they belong in the
good old U.S.A.
We value an America that exports
products, not jobs and we believe American workers should never have to
subsidize the loss of their own job.
Next, we will trade and compete in the
world. But our plan calls for a fair playing field because if you give the
American worker a fair playing field, there's nobody in the world the American
worker can't compete against.
And we're going to return to fiscal
responsibility because it is the foundation of our economic strength. Our
plan will cut the deficit in half in four years by ending tax giveaways that
are nothing more than corporate welfare and will make government live by the
rule that every family has to follow: pay as you go.
And let me tell you what we won't do: we
won't raise taxes on the middle class. You've heard a lot of false charges
about this in recent months. So let me say straight out what I will do as
President: I will cut middle class taxes. I will reduce the tax burden on
small business. And I will roll back the tax cuts for the wealthiest
individuals who make over $200,000 a year, so we can invest in job creation,
health care and education.
Our education plan for a stronger
America sets high standards and demands accountability from parents, teachers,
and schools. It provides for smaller class sizes and treats teachers like the
professionals they are. And it gives a tax credit to families for each and
every year of college.
When I was a prosecutor, I met young
kids who were in trouble, abandoned by adults. And as President, I am
determined that we stop being a nation content to spend $50,000 a year to keep
a young person in prison for the rest of their life when we could invest
$10,000 to give them Head Start, Early Start, Smart Start, the best possible
start in life.
And we value health care that's
affordable and accessible for all Americans.
Since 2000, four million people have
lost their health insurance. Millions more are struggling to afford it.
You know what's happening. Your
premiums, your co-payments, your deductibles have all gone through the roof.
Our health care plan for a stronger
America cracks down on the waste, greed, and abuse in our health care system
and will save families up to $1,000 a year on their premiums. You'll get to
pick your own doctor and patients and doctors, not insurance company
bureaucrats, will make medical decisions. Under our plan, Medicare will
negotiate lower drug prices for seniors. And all Americans will be able to buy
less expensive prescription drugs from countries like Canada.
The story of people struggling for
health care is the story of so many Americans. But you know what, it's not the
story of senators and members of Congress. Because we give ourselves great
health care and you get the bill. Well, I'm here to say, your family's health
care is just as important as any politician's in Washington, D.C.
And when I'm President, America will
stop being the only advanced nation in the world which fails to understand
that health care is not a privilege for the wealthy, the connected, and the
elected it is a right for all Americans.
We value an America that controls its
own destiny because it's finally and forever independent of Mideast oil. What
does it mean for our economy and our national security when we only have three
percent of the world's oil reserves, yet we rely on foreign countries for
fifty-three percent of what we consume?
I want an America that relies on its own
ingenuity and innovation not the Saudi royal family.
And our energy plan for a stronger
America will invest in new technologies and alternative fuels and the cars of
the future -- so that no young American in uniform will ever be held hostage
to our dependence on oil from the Middle East.
I've told you about our plans for the
economy, for education, for health care, for energy independence. I want you
to know more about them. So now I'm going to say something that Franklin
Roosevelt could never have said in his acceptance speech: go to
johnkerry.com.
I want to address these next words
directly to President George W. Bush: In the weeks ahead, let's be optimists,
not just opponents. Let's build unity in the American family, not angry
division. Let's honor this nation's diversity; let's respect one another; and
let's never misuse for political purposes the most precious document in
American history, the Constitution of the United States.
My friends, the high road may be harder,
but it leads to a better place. And that's why Republicans and Democrats must
make this election a contest of big ideas, not small-minded attacks. This is
our time to reject the kind of politics calculated to divide race from race,
group from group, region from region. Maybe some just see us divided into red
states and blue states, but I see us as one America red, white, and blue.
And when I am President, the government I lead will enlist people of talent,
Republicans as well as Democrats, to find the common ground so that no one
who has something to contribute will be left on the sidelines.
And let me say it plainly: in that
cause, and in this campaign, we welcome people of faith. America is not us and
them. I think of what Ron Reagan said of his father a few weeks ago, and I
want to say this to you tonight: I don't wear my own faith on my sleeve. But
faith has given me values and hope to live by, from Vietnam to this day, from
Sunday to Sunday. I don't want to claim that God is on our side. As Abraham
Lincoln told us, I want to pray humbly that we are on God's side. And whatever
our faith, one belief should bind us all: The measure of our character is our
willingness to give of ourselves for others and for our country.
These aren't Democratic values. These
aren't Republican values. They're American values. We believe in them.
They're who we are. And if we honor them, if we believe in ourselves, we can
build an America that's stronger at home and respected in the world.
So much promise stretches before us.
Americans have always reached for the impossible, looked to the next horizon,
and asked: What if?
Two young bicycle mechanics from Dayton
asked what if this airplane could take off at Kitty Hawk? It did that and
changed the world forever. A young president asked what if we could go to the
moon in ten years? And now we're exploring the solar system and the stars
themselves. A young generation of entrepreneurs asked, what if we could take
all the information in a library and put it on a little chip the size of a
fingernail? We did and that too changed the world forever.
And now it's our time to ask: What if?
What if we find a breakthrough to cure
Parkinson's, diabetes, Alzheimer's and AIDs? What if we have a president who
believes in science, so we can unleash the wonders of discovery like stem cell
research to treat illness and save millions of lives?
What if we do what adults should do
and make sure all our children are safe in the afternoons after school? And
what if we have a leadership that's as good as the American dream so that
bigotry and hatred never again steal the hope and future of any American?
I learned a lot about these values on
that gunboat patrolling the Mekong Delta with young Americans who came from
places as different as Iowa and Oregon, Arkansas, Florida and California. No
one cared where we went to school. No one cared about our race or our
backgrounds. We were literally all in the same boat. We looked out, one for
the other and we still do.
That is the kind of America I will lead
as President an America where we are all in the same boat.
Never has there been a more urgent
moment for Americans to step up and define ourselves. I will work my heart
out. But, my fellow citizens, the outcome is in your hands more than mine.
It is time to reach for the next dream.
It is time to look to the next horizon. For America, the hope is there. The
sun is rising. Our best days are still to come.
Goodnight, God bless you, and God bless
America.
-30-
www.johnkerry.com
Paid for by John Kerry for President,
Inc.