2008
CONVENTION:
EXCERPTS
OF
THE
REMARKS
OF
SENATOR
BARACK
OBAMA
Excerpts
of
the
Remarks
of
Senator
Barack
Obama
“The
American
Promise”
Democratic
National
Convention
August
28,
2008
Denver,
Colorado
As
prepared
for
delivery
“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.
“It
is
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
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
is
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
presidency
of
George
W.
Bush.
“America,
we
are
better
than
these
last
eight
years.
We
are
a
better
country
than
this.”
***
“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
just
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
was
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.”
***
“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
away
a
little
extra
money
at
the
end
of
each
month
so
that
you
can
someday
watch
your
child
receive
her
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
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.”
***
“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
our
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
has
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
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.”
***
“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
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.
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
more
the
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.”
###
EXCERPTS
OF
JOE
BIDEN-DEMOCRATIC
NATIONAL
CONVENTION—AS
PREPARED
FOR
DELIVERY
Excerpts
of
Joe
Biden—as
prepared
for
delivery
Democratic
National
Convention
Denver,
Colorado
Wednesday,
August
27,
2008
Barack
Obama
and
I
took
very
different
journeys
to
this
destination,
but
we
share
a
common
story.
Mine
began
in
Scranton,
Pennsylvania,
and
then
Wilmington,
Delaware,
with
a
dad
who
fell
on
hard
economic
times,
but
who
always
told
me:
“Champ,
when
you
get
knocked
down,
get
up...
get
up.”
My
mother's
creed
is
the
American
creed:
no
one
is
better
than
you.
You
are
everyone's
equal,
and
everyone
is
equal
to
you.
My
parents
taught
us
to
live
our
faith
and
treasure
our
family.
We
learned
the
dignity
of
work,
and
we
were
told
that
anyone
can
make
it
if
they
try.
That
was
America's
promise.
For
those
of
us
who
grew
up
in
middle
class
neighborhoods
like
Scranton
and
Wilmington,
that
was
the
American
dream
–
and
we
knew
it.
-
You
can
learn
an
awful
lot
about
a
man
campaigning
with
him,
debating
him,
and
seeing
how
he
reacts
under
pressure.
You
learn
about
the
strength
of
his
mind.
But
even
more
importantly,
you
learn
about
the
quality
of
his
heart.
I
watched
how
he
touched
people,
how
he
inspired
them,
and
I
realized
he
has
tapped
into
the
oldest
American
belief
of
all:
we
don't
have
to
accept
a
situation
we
cannot
bear.
We
have
the
power
to
change
it.
-
The
choice
in
this
election
is
clear.
These
times
require
more
than
a
good
soldier
–
they
require
a
wise
leader.
A
leader
who
can
deliver
change.
The
change
everybody
knows
we
need.
Barack
Obama
will
deliver
that
change.
-
As
we
gather
here
tonight,
our
country
is
less
secure
and
more
isolated
than
at
any
time
in
recent
history.
The
Bush-McCain
foreign
policy
has
dug
us
into
a
very
deep
hole,
with
very
few
friends
to
help
us
climb
out.
Should
we
trust
John
McCain’s
judgment
when
he
says
there
can
be
no
timelines
to
drawdown
our
troops
from
Iraq
–
that
we
must
stay
indefinitely?
Or
should
we
listen
to
Barack
Obama,
who
says
shift
responsibility
to
the
Iraqis
–
and
set
a
time
to
bring
our
combat
troops
home?
Now,
after
six
long
years,
the
Bush
administration
and
the
Iraqi
government
are
on
the
verge
of
setting
a
date
to
bring
our
troops
home.
John
McCain
was
wrong.
Barack
Obama
was
right.
-
Now,
it’s
our
responsibility
to
meet
that
challenge.
Millions
of
Americans
have
been
knocked
down.
And
this
is
the
time
as
Americans,
together,
we
get
back
up.
Source: Obama For America |