Barack Obama Untitled Speech Delivered July 27, 2004 to the Democratic National Convention

supporting the nomination of Senator John Kerry for President of the United States
From June 26 to 29, 2004, the Democratic National Convention convened at the FleetCenter in Boston, Massachusetts to nominate Senator John Kerry and then-Senator John Edwards as the official candidates of the Democratic Party for President and Vice President of the United States. On the second night of the convention, Barack Obama, then a candidate from Illinois for the United States Senate, made his formal national debut, delivering the featured keynote address. The text below presents an edited transcript of his speech:

On behalf of the great state of Illinois, crossroads of a nation, land of Lincoln, let me express my deep gratitude for the privilege of addressing this convention. Tonight is a particular honor for me because, lets face it, my presence on this stage is pretty unlikely. My father was a foreign student, born and raised in a small village in Kenya. He grew up herding goats, went to school in a tin-roof shack. His father, my grandfather, was a cook, a domestic servant to the British. But my grandfather had larger dreams for his son. Through hard work and perseverance my father got a scholarship to study in a magical place, America, thats shown as a beacon of freedom and opportunity to so many who had come before him. While studying here my father met my mother. She was born in a town on the other side of the world, in Kansas. Her father worked on oil rigs and farms through most of the Depression. The day after Pearl Harbor, my grandfather signed up for duty, joined Pattons army, marched across Europe. Back home my grandmother raised a baby and went to work on a bomber assembly line. After the war, they studied on the GI Bill, bought a house through FHA and later moved west, all the way to Hawaii, in search of opportunity. And they too had big dreams for their daughter, a common dream born of two continents. My parents shared not only an improbable love; they shared an abiding faith in the possibilities of this nation. They would give me an African name, Barack, or blessed, believing that in a tolerant America, your name is no barrier to success. They imagined me going to the best schools in the land, even though they werent rich, because in a generous America you dont have to be rich to achieve your potential. Theyre both passed away now. And yet I know that, on this night, they look down on me with great pride. And I stand here today grateful for the diversity of my heritage, aware that my parents dreams live on in my two precious daughters. I stand here knowing that my story is part of the larger American story, that I owe a debt to all of those who came before me, and that in no other country on Earth is my story even possible.
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_______________ Tonight, we gather to affirm the greatness of our nation not because of the height of our skyscrapers, or the power of our military, or the size of our economy; our pride is based on a very simple premise, summed up in a declaration made over two hundred years ago: We hold these truths to be selfevident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That is the true genius of America, a faith a faith in simple dreams, an insistence on small miracles; that we can tuck in our children at night and know that they are fed and clothed and safe from harm; that we can say what we think, write what we think, without hearing a sudden knock on the door; that we can have an idea and start our own business without paying a bribe; that we can participate in the political process without fear of retribution; and that our votes will be counted -- or at least, most of the time.

This year, in this election, we are called to reaffirm our values and our commitments, to hold them against a hard reality and see how we are measuring up, to the legacy of our forbearers and the promise of future generations. And fellow Americans, Democrats, Republicans, independents, I say to you, tonight, we have more work to do. More work to do, for the workers I met in Galesburg, Illinois, who are losing their union jobs at the Maytag plant thats moving to Mexico, and now theyre having to compete with their own children for jobs that pay seven bucks an hour; more to do for the father I met who was losing his job and chocking back the tears wondering how he would pay $4,500 a months for the drugs his son needs without the health benefits that he counted on; more to do for the young woman in East St. Louis, and thousands more like her who have the grades, have the drive, have the will, but doesnt have the money to go to college.

Now, dont get me wrong, the people I meet in small towns and big cities and diners and office parks, they dont expect government to solve all of their problems. They know they have to work hard to get ahead. And they want to. Go into the collar counties around Chicago, and people will tell you: They dont want their tax money wasted by a welfare agency or by the Pentagon. Go into any inner-city neighborhood, and folks will tell you that government alone cant teach kids to learn. They know that parents have to teach, that children cant achieve unless we raise their expectations and turn off the television sets and eradicate the slander that says a black youth with a book is acting white. They know those things. People dont expect government to solve all their problems. But they sense, deep in their bones, that with just a slight change in priorities, we can make sure that every child in America has a decent shot at life and that the doors of opportunity remain open to all. They know we can do better. And they want that choice.

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_______________ In this election, we offer that choice. Our party has chosen a man to lead us who embodies the best this country has to offer. And that man is John Kerry. [] John Kerry believes in America. And he knows that its not enough for just some of us to prosper. For alongside our famous individualism, theres another ingredient in the American saga, a belief that we are all connected as one people. If theres a child on the south side of Chicago who cant read, that matters to me, even if its not my child. If theres a senior citizen somewhere who cant pay for her prescription and having to choose between medicine and the rent, that makes my life poorer even if its not my grandparent. If theres an Arab-American family being rounded up without benefit of an attorney or due process, that threatens my civil liberties. It is that fundamental beliefI am my brothers keeper, I am my sisters keeperthat makes this country work. Its what allows us to pursue our individual dreams, yet still come together as a single American family: e pluribus unum, out of many, one.

Now even as we speak, there are those who are preparing to divide us, the spin masters and negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of anything goes. Well, I say to them tonight, theres not a liberal America and a conservative America; theres the United States of America. Theres not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America; theres the United States of America. The pundits like to slice and dice our country into red states and blue States: red states for Republicans, blue States for Democrats. But Ive got news for them, too. We worship an awesome God in the blue states, and we dont like federal agents poking around our libraries in the red states. We coach little league in the blue states and, yes, weve got some gay friends in the red states. There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq, and there are patriots who supported the war in Iraq. We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America. _______________ In the end, thats what this election is about. Do we participate in a politics of cynicism, or do we participate in a politics of hope? John Kerry calls on us to hope. John Edwards calls on us to hope. Im not talking about blind optimism here, the almost willful ignorance that thinks unemployment will go away if we just dont think about it, or health care crisis will solve itself if we just ignore it. Thats not what Im talking about. Im talking about something more substantial. Its the hope of slaves sitting around a fire singing freedom songs; the hope of immigrants setting out for distant shores; the hope of a young naval lieutenant bravely patrolling the Mekong Delta; the hope of a millworkers son who dares to defy the odds; the hope of a skinny kid with a funny name who believes that America has a place for him, too. Hope in the face of difficulty, hope in the face of uncertainty, the audacity of hope: In the end, that is Gods greatest gift to us, the bedrock of this nation, a belief in things not seen, a belief that there are better days ahead.
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I believe that we can give our middle class relief and provide working families with a road to opportunity. I believe we can provide jobs for the jobless, homes to the homeless, and reclaim young people in cities across America from violence and despair. I believe that we have a righteous wind at our backs, and that as we stand on the crossroads of history, we can make the right choices and meet the challenges that face us.

America, tonight, if you feel the same energy that I do, if you feel the same urgency that I do, if you feel the same passion that I do, if you feel the same hopefulness that I do, if we do what we must do, then I have no doubt that all across the country, from Florida to Oregon, from Washington to Maine, the people will rise up in November, and John Kerry will be sworn in as president. And John Edwards will be sworn in as vice president. And this country will reclaim its promise. And out of this long political darkness a brighter day will come.

Notes:

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