Remarks
Of
Senator
Barack
Obama
In
St.
Paul
As
Prepared
For
Delivery
Remarks
of
Senator
Barack
Obama
Final
Primary
Night
Tuesday,
June
3rd,
2008
St.
Paul,
Minnesota
As
Prepared
for
Delivery
Tonight,
after
fifty-four
hard-fought
contests,
our
primary
season
has
finally
come
to
an
end.
Sixteen
months
have
passed
since
we
first
stood
together
on
the
steps
of
the
Old
State
Capitol
in
Springfield,
Illinois.
Thousands
of
miles
have
been
traveled.
Millions
of
voices
have
been
heard.
And
because
of
what
you
said
–
because
you
decided
that
change
must
come
to
Washington;
because
you
believed
that
this
year
must
be
different
than
all
the
rest;
because
you
chose
to
listen
not
to
your
doubts
or
your
fears
but
to
your
greatest
hopes
and
highest
aspirations,
tonight
we
mark
the
end
of
one
historic
journey
with
the
beginning
of
another
– a
journey
that
will
bring
a
new
and
better
day
to
America.
Tonight,
I
can
stand
before
you
and
say
that
I
will
be
the
Democratic
nominee
for
President
of
the
United
States.
I
want
to
thank
every
American
who
stood
with
us
over
the
course
of
this
campaign
–
through
the
good
days
and
the
bad;
from
the
snows
of
Cedar
Rapids
to
the
sunshine
of
Sioux
Falls.
And
tonight
I
also
want
to
thank
the
men
and
woman
who
took
this
journey
with
me
as
fellow
candidates
for
President.
At
this
defining
moment
for
our
nation,
we
should
be
proud
that
our
party
put
forth
one
of
the
most
talented,
qualified
field
of
individuals
ever
to
run
for
this
office.
I
have
not
just
competed
with
them
as
rivals,
I
have
learned
from
them
as
friends,
as
public
servants,
and
as
patriots
who
love
America
and
are
willing
to
work
tirelessly
to
make
this
country
better.
They
are
leaders
of
this
party,
and
leaders
that
America
will
turn
to
for
years
to
come.
That
is
particularly
true
for
the
candidate
who
has
traveled
further
on
this
journey
than
anyone
else.
Senator
Hillary
Clinton
has
made
history
in
this
campaign
not
just
because
she’s
a
woman
who
has
done
what
no
woman
has
done
before,
but
because
she’s
a
leader
who
inspires
millions
of
Americans
with
her
strength,
her
courage,
and
her
commitment
to
the
causes
that
brought
us
here
tonight.
We’ve
certainly
had
our
differences
over
the
last
sixteen
months.
But
as
someone
who’s
shared
a
stage
with
her
many
times,
I
can
tell
you
that
what
gets
Hillary
Clinton
up
in
the
morning
–
even
in
the
face
of
tough
odds
– is
exactly
what
sent
her
and
Bill
Clinton
to
sign
up
for
their
first
campaign
in
Texas
all
those
years
ago;
what
sent
her
to
work
at
the
Children’s
Defense
Fund
and
made
her
fight
for
health
care
as
First
Lady;
what
led
her
to
the
United
States
Senate
and
fueled
her
barrier-breaking
campaign
for
the
presidency
– an
unyielding
desire
to
improve
the
lives
of
ordinary
Americans,
no
matter
how
difficult
the
fight
may
be.
And
you
can
rest
assured
that
when
we
finally
win
the
battle
for
universal
health
care
in
this
country,
she
will
be
central
to
that
victory.
When
we
transform
our
energy
policy
and
lift
our
children
out
of
poverty,
it
will
be
because
she
worked
to
help
make
it
happen.
Our
party
and
our
country
are
better
off
because
of
her,
and
I am
a
better
candidate
for
having
had
the
honor
to
compete
with
Hillary
Rodham
Clinton.
There
are
those
who
say
that
this
primary
has
somehow
left
us
weaker
and
more
divided.
Well
I
say
that
because
of
this
primary,
there
are
millions
of
Americans
who
have
cast
their
ballot
for
the
very
first
time.
There
are
Independents
and
Republicans
who
understand
that
this
election
isn’t
just
about
the
party
in
charge
of
Washington,
it’s
about
the
need
to
change
Washington.
There
are
young
people,
and
African-Americans,
and
Latinos,
and
women
of
all
ages
who
have
voted
in
numbers
that
have
broken
records
and
inspired
a
nation.
All
of
you
chose
to
support
a
candidate
you
believe
in
deeply.
But
at
the
end
of
the
day,
we
aren’t
the
reason
you
came
out
and
waited
in
lines
that
stretched
block
after
block
to
make
your
voice
heard.
You
didn’t
do
that
because
of
me
or
Senator
Clinton
or
anyone
else.
You
did
it
because
you
know
in
your
hearts
that
at
this
moment
– a
moment
that
will
define
a
generation
– we
cannot
afford
to
keep
doing
what
we’ve
been
doing.
We
owe
our
children
a
better
future.
We
owe
our
country
a
better
future.
And
for
all
those
who
dream
of
that
future
tonight,
I
say
–
let
us
begin
the
work
together.
Let
us
unite
in
common
effort
to
chart
a
new
course
for
America.
In
just
a
few
short
months,
the
Republican
Party
will
arrive
in
St.
Paul
with
a
very
different
agenda.
They
will
come
here
to
nominate
John
McCain,
a
man
who
has
served
this
country
heroically.
I
honor
that
service,
and
I
respect
his
many
accomplishments,
even
if
he
chooses
to
deny
mine.
My
differences
with
him
are
not
personal;
they
are
with
the
policies
he
has
proposed
in
this
campaign.
Because
while
John
McCain
can
legitimately
tout
moments
of
independence
from
his
party
in
the
past,
such
independence
has
not
been
the
hallmark
of
his
presidential
campaign.
It’s
not
change
when
John
McCain
decided
to
stand
with
George
Bush
ninety-five
percent
of
the
time,
as
he
did
in
the
Senate
last
year.
It’s
not
change
when
he
offers
four
more
years
of
Bush
economic
policies
that
have
failed
to
create
well-paying
jobs,
or
insure
our
workers,
or
help
Americans
afford
the
skyrocketing
cost
of
college
–
policies
that
have
lowered
the
real
incomes
of
the
average
American
family,
widened
the
gap
between
Wall
Street
and
Main
Street,
and
left
our
children
with
a
mountain
of
debt.
And
it’s
not
change
when
he
promises
to
continue
a
policy
in
Iraq
that
asks
everything
of
our
brave
men
and
women
in
uniform
and
nothing
of
Iraqi
politicians
– a
policy
where
all
we
look
for
are
reasons
to
stay
in
Iraq,
while
we
spend
billions
of
dollars
a
month
on a
war
that
isn’t
making
the
American
people
any
safer.
So
I’ll
say
this
–
there
are
many
words
to
describe
John
McCain’s
attempt
to
pass
off
his
embrace
of
George
Bush’s
policies
as
bipartisan
and
new.
But
change
is
not
one
of
them.
Change
is a
foreign
policy
that
doesn’t
begin
and
end
with
a
war
that
should’ve
never
been
authorized
and
never
been
waged.
I
won’t
stand
here
and
pretend
that
there
are
many
good
options
left
in
Iraq,
but
what’s
not
an
option
is
leaving
our
troops
in
that
country
for
the
next
hundred
years
–
especially
at a
time
when
our
military
is
overstretched,
our
nation
is
isolated,
and
nearly
every
other
threat
to
America
is
being
ignored.
We
must
be
as
careful
getting
out
of
Iraq
as
we
were
careless
getting
in -
but
start
leaving
we
must.
It’s
time
for
Iraqis
to
take
responsibility
for
their
future.
It’s
time
to
rebuild
our
military
and
give
our
veterans
the
care
they
need
and
the
benefits
they
deserve
when
they
come
home.
It’s
time
to
refocus
our
efforts
on
al
Qaeda’s
leadership
and
Afghanistan,
and
rally
the
world
against
the
common
threats
of
the
21st
century
–
terrorism
and
nuclear
weapons;
climate
change
and
poverty;
genocide
and
disease.
That’s
what
change
is.
Change
is
realizing
that
meeting
today’s
threats
requires
not
just
our
firepower,
but
the
power
of
our
diplomacy
–
tough,
direct
diplomacy
where
the
President
of
the
United
States
isn’t
afraid
to
let
any
petty
dictator
know
where
America
stands
and
what
we
stand
for.
We
must
once
again
have
the
courage
and
conviction
to
lead
the
free
world.
That
is
the
legacy
of
Roosevelt,
and
Truman,
and
Kennedy.
That’s
what
the
American
people
want.
That’s
what
change
is.
Change
is
building
an
economy
that
rewards
not
just
wealth,
but
the
work
and
workers
who
created
it.
It’s
understanding
that
the
struggles
facing
working
families
can’t
be
solved
by
spending
billions
of
dollars
on
more
tax
breaks
for
big
corporations
and
wealthy
CEOs,
but
by
giving
a
the
middle-class
a
tax
break,
and
investing
in
our
crumbling
infrastructure,
and
transforming
how
we
use
energy,
and
improving
our
schools,
and
renewing
our
commitment
to
science
and
innovation.
It’s
understanding
that
fiscal
responsibility
and
shared
prosperity
can
go
hand-in-hand,
as
they
did
when
Bill
Clinton
was
President.
John
McCain
has
spent
a
lot
of
time
talking
about
trips
to
Iraq
in
the
last
few
weeks,
but
maybe
if
he
spent
some
time
taking
trips
to
the
cities
and
towns
that
have
been
hardest
hit
by
this
economy
–
cities
in
Michigan,
and
Ohio,
and
right
here
in
Minnesota
–
he’d
understand
the
kind
of
change
that
people
are
looking
for.
Maybe
if
he
went
to
Iowa
and
met
the
student
who
works
the
night
shift
after
a
full
day
of
class
and
still
can’t
pay
the
medical
bills
for
a
sister
who’s
ill,
he’d
understand
that
she
can’t
afford
four
more
years
of a
health
care
plan
that
only
takes
care
of
the
healthy
and
wealthy.
She
needs
us
to
pass
health
care
plan
that
guarantees
insurance
to
every
American
who
wants
it
and
brings
down
premiums
for
every
family
who
needs
it.
That’s
the
change
we
need.
Maybe
if
he
went
to
Pennsylvania
and
met
the
man
who
lost
his
job
but
can’t
even
afford
the
gas
to
drive
around
and
look
for
a
new
one,
he’d
understand
that
we
can’t
afford
four
more
years
of
our
addiction
to
oil
from
dictators.
That
man
needs
us
to
pass
an
energy
policy
that
works
with
automakers
to
raise
fuel
standards,
and
makes
corporations
pay
for
their
pollution,
and
oil
companies
invest
their
record
profits
in a
clean
energy
future
– an
energy
policy
that
will
create
millions
of
new
jobs
that
pay
well
and
can’t
be
outsourced.
That’s
the
change
we
need.
And
maybe
if
he
spent
some
time
in
the
schools
of
South
Carolina
or
St.
Paul
or
where
he
spoke
tonight
in
New
Orleans,
he’d
understand
that
we
can’t
afford
to
leave
the
money
behind
for
No
Child
Left
Behind;
that
we
owe
it
to
our
children
to
invest
in
early
childhood
education;
to
recruit
an
army
of
new
teachers
and
give
them
better
pay
and
more
support;
to
finally
decide
that
in
this
global
economy,
the
chance
to
get
a
college
education
should
not
be a
privilege
for
the
wealthy
few,
but
the
birthright
of
every
American.
That’s
the
change
we
need
in
America.
That’s
why
I’m
running
for
President.
The
other
side
will
come
here
in
September
and
offer
a
very
different
set
of
policies
and
positions,
and
that
is a
debate
I
look
forward
to.
It
is a
debate
the
American
people
deserve.
But
what
you
don’t
deserve
is
another
election
that’s
governed
by
fear,
and
innuendo,
and
division.
What
you
won’t
hear
from
this
campaign
or
this
party
is
the
kind
of
politics
that
uses
religion
as a
wedge,
and
patriotism
as a
bludgeon
–
that
sees
our
opponents
not
as
competitors
to
challenge,
but
enemies
to
demonize.
Because
we
may
call
ourselves
Democrats
and
Republicans,
but
we
are
Americans
first.
We
are
always
Americans
first.
Despite
what
the
good
Senator
from
Arizona
said
tonight,
I
have
seen
people
of
differing
views
and
opinions
find
common
cause
many
times
during
my
two
decades
in
public
life,
and
I
have
brought
many
together
myself.
I’ve
walked
arm-in-arm
with
community
leaders
on
the
South
Side
of
Chicago
and
watched
tensions
fade
as
black,
white,
and
Latino
fought
together
for
good
jobs
and
good
schools.
I’ve
sat
across
the
table
from
law
enforcement
and
civil
rights
advocates
to
reform
a
criminal
justice
system
that
sent
thirteen
innocent
people
to
death
row.
And
I’ve
worked
with
friends
in
the
other
party
to
provide
more
children
with
health
insurance
and
more
working
families
with
a
tax
break;
to
curb
the
spread
of
nuclear
weapons
and
ensure
that
the
American
people
know
where
their
tax
dollars
are
being
spent;
and
to
reduce
the
influence
of
lobbyists
who
have
all
too
often
set
the
agenda
in
Washington.
In
our
country,
I
have
found
that
this
cooperation
happens
not
because
we
agree
on
everything,
but
because
behind
all
the
labels
and
false
divisions
and
categories
that
define
us;
beyond
all
the
petty
bickering
and
point-scoring
in
Washington,
Americans
are
a
decent,
generous,
compassionate
people,
united
by
common
challenges
and
common
hopes.
And
every
so
often,
there
are
moments
which
call
on
that
fundamental
goodness
to
make
this
country
great
again.
So
it
was
for
that
band
of
patriots
who
declared
in a
Philadelphia
hall
the
formation
of a
more
perfect
union;
and
for
all
those
who
gave
on
the
fields
of
Gettysburg
and
Antietam
their
last
full
measure
of
devotion
to
save
that
same
union.
So
it
was
for
the
Greatest
Generation
that
conquered
fear
itself,
and
liberated
a
continent
from
tyranny,
and
made
this
country
home
to
untold
opportunity
and
prosperity.
So
it
was
for
the
workers
who
stood
out
on
the
picket
lines;
the
women
who
shattered
glass
ceilings;
the
children
who
braved
a
Selma
bridge
for
freedom’s
cause.
So
it
has
been
for
every
generation
that
faced
down
the
greatest
challenges
and
the
most
improbable
odds
to
leave
their
children
a
world
that’s
better,
and
kinder,
and
more
just.
And
so
it
must
be
for
us.
America,
this
is
our
moment.
This
is
our
time.
Our
time
to
turn
the
page
on
the
policies
of
the
past.
Our
time
to
bring
new
energy
and
new
ideas
to
the
challenges
we
face.
Our
time
to
offer
a
new
direction
for
the
country
we
love.
The
journey
will
be
difficult.
The
road
will
be
long.
I
face
this
challenge
with
profound
humility,
and
knowledge
of
my
own
limitations.
But
I
also
face
it
with
limitless
faith
in
the
capacity
of
the
American
people.
Because
if
we
are
willing
to
work
for
it,
and
fight
for
it,
and
believe
in
it,
then
I am
absolutely
certain
that
generations
from
now,
we
will
be
able
to
look
back
and
tell
our
children
that
this
was
the
moment
when
we
began
to
provide
care
for
the
sick
and
good
jobs
to
the
jobless;
this
was
the
moment
when
the
rise
of
the
oceans
began
to
slow
and
our
planet
began
to
heal;
this
was
the
moment
when
we
ended
a
war
and
secured
our
nation
and
restored
our
image
as
the
last,
best
hope
on
Earth.
This
was
the
moment
–
this
was
the
time
–
when
we
came
together
to
remake
this
great
nation
so
that
it
may
always
reflect
our
very
best
selves,
and
our
highest
ideals.
Thank
you,
God
Bless
you,
and
may
God
Bless
the
United
States
of
America.
Source: Obama For America |