Obama's Speech to the Urban League

Aug. 2nd 2008

Barack Obama

Orlando, Florida

I stand here before you today feeling no small amount of gratitude. Because I know that my story, and so many other improbable stories, would not be possible without all that the Urban League has done to put opportunity within reach of every American. It's because of the doors you've opened, because of the battles you've fought and won, because of the sacrifices of people in this room and all those who came before you, that I come here today as a candidate for President of United States of America.

And I'll never forget how my journey began. I'll never forget that I got my start as a foot soldier in the movement the Urban League built – the movement to bring opportunity to every corner of our cities.

As some of you know, after college, I moved to Chicago and went to work for a group of churches to help families that had been devastated when the local steel plants closed down. I knew change in those communities wouldn't come easily – but I also knew it wouldn't come at all if we didn't start bringing people together. So I reached out to community leaders, and we worked together to set up job training to get people back to work and afterschool programs to keep kids safe, and to help people stand up to their government when it wasn't standing up for them.

That work taught me a fundamental truth that has guided me to this day: that change doesn't come from the top down, it comes from the bottom up. Change happens when you teach a child to read, or get a worker a job, or help an entrepreneur set up shop. It happens when you send a young person to college or help a family keep their home. That's the kind of change all of you are making every single day.

Because you know that civil rights and equal treatment under the law are necessary, but not sufficient, to seize America's promise – as Dr. King once said, "the inseparable twin of racial justice is economic justice."

You know that you can't take that seat at the front of the bus if you can't afford the bus fare. You can't live in an integrated neighborhood if you can't afford the house. And it doesn't mean a whole lot to sit down at that lunch counter if you can't afford the lunch.

You know that there was a reason why the march your fourth executive director, Whitney Young, addressed forty-five years ago this summer wasn't just called the March on Washington; and it wasn't just called the March on Washington for Freedom; it was called the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

On that hot August day, Whitney Young declared that the civil rights for which they were marching were "…not negotiable…." But he also described other marches that lay ahead: the march from "ghettos to decent, wholesome, unrestricted residential areas"; the march from "relief rolls" to "retraining centers"; the march from "ill-equipped schools which breed dropouts and which smother motivation" to "well-equipped, integrated facilities throughout the cities."

And he concluded, "Our march is a march for America."

Our march is a march for America.

Not black America or white America. Not rich America or poor America, rural America or urban America. But all America. An America where no child's destiny is determined before she's born – and no one's future is confined to the neighborhood he's born into. An America where hard work is still a ticket to the middle class – and you can make it if you try.

But somewhere along the way, we got off course. Somewhere along the way, we let a reckless few game the system, we let special interests tilt the scale and distort the free market, we stopped making the investments in our children and our workers to help us all rise together.

And today, we're all paying the price. Today, we stand at a defining moment in our history. With seven straight months of job losses; with the highest percentage of homes in foreclosure since the Depression; with family incomes down $1,000 and the costs of gas, groceries and health care up a whole lot more than that – so many people are looking at their children, wondering if they'll be able to give them the same chances they had.

Our cities have been especially hard hit – facing shrinking tax bases, growing budget deficits, and social services that just can't keep up with people's needs.

And let's be very clear: when more than 80 percent of Americans live in metro areas; when the top 100 metro areas generate two-thirds of our jobs; when 42 of our metro areas now rank among the world's 100 largest economies – the problems of our cities aren't just "urban" problems any more.

When rising foreclosures mean vacant homes, abandoned streets and rising crime that spills over city limits – that's a suburban problem and an ex-urban problem too.

When tens of millions of people in our cities are uninsured, and our urban emergency rooms are overflowing – that's a suburban and ex-urban problem too.

When urban roads, bridges and transit systems are crumbling; when urban schools aren't giving young people the skills to compete, so companies decide to take their business and their jobs elsewhere – that's a suburban and ex-urban problem too.

As President Kennedy once said, "We will neglect our cities to our peril, for in neglecting them we neglect the nation."

So we've got a decision to make. We can continue President Bush's economic policies – the policies that got us here in the first place. That's the course Senator McCain would have us follow. He's said we've made "great progress economically" under President Bush.

Well, I disagree. We face serious issues in this election – and have real differences. But I'm not going to assault Senator McCain's character. I'm not going to compare him to pop stars. I will, however, compare our two visions for our economic future.

Senator McCain wants to keep giving tax breaks to companies that ship jobs overseas. I want to end them and start giving incentives to companies that create jobs here at home. Because I don't think 463,000 lost jobs this year is economic progress.

He wants to give $300 billion worth of tax breaks to big corporations and the wealthiest Americans. Under his plan, more than 100 million middle class families won't see a penny in direct tax relief. I want to put a tax cut of up to $1,000 into the pockets of 95% of working Americans. And if you're a family making less than $250,000 a year, my plan won't raise your taxes one penny – not your income taxes, not your payroll taxes, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes.

Senator McCain is opposed to regular increases in the minimum wage – I want to index it so that it rises with rising costs. He thinks the Earned Income Tax Credit is fine as it is – I want to expand it. He has no plans to make childcare more affordable or help people get paid sick leave – while I do.

In the end, Senator McCain's plans, if you're doing spectacularly well now, you'll do even better. Otherwise, you'll likely be stuck running in place – or fall even further behind.

Well, I don't think that's good enough. Those policies haven't worked for the past eight years, they won't work now, and it's time for something new. It's time for policies that reflect the fundamental truth that we rise or fall as one nation. That's the truth at the heart of your Opportunity Compact – that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street and a struggling Main Street. That when wages are flat, prices are rising, and more and more Americans are mired in debt, our economy as a whole suffers. Our competitiveness as a nation suffers. Our children's future suffers.

So we all have a stake here. That's why your opportunity agenda is a compact – not a guarantee, not a promise – but a call to responsibility. Because we know that government can't solve all our problems, and government can't and shouldn't do for us what we should be doing for ourselves: raising our kids the right way, being good neighbors and good citizens, becoming leaders in our industries and communities. We know that the American dream isn't something that happens to you – it's something you strive for and work for and seize with your own two hands. And we've got a responsibility as a nation to keep that dream alive for all of our people.

That's what I was trying to do working with folks on the South Side of Chicago all those years ago. Those folks weren't asking for a handout or an easy way out. They wanted to work, they wanted to contribute, they wanted to give their kids every opportunity to succeed. They just needed a chance, an opportunity to start climbing – the same thing we all want in life. And that's what this election is about.

This election is about the 47 million people who don't have health care – including 1 in 5 African Americans – people for whom one accident, one illness could mean financial ruin. That's why, when I'm President, we'll bring down health care costs by $2,500 for the typical family and prevent insurance companies from discriminating against those who need care most. We'll guarantee health care for anyone who needs it, make it affordable for anyone who wants it, and ensure that the quality of your health care doesn't depend on the color of your skin.

This election is about the couple I met in North Las Vegas who saved up for decades only to be tricked into buying a home they couldn't afford – and all those families whose dream of owning a home has been shattered by that grim foreclosure notice in the mail.

Unfortunately, Senator McCain's housing plan doesn't do anything to help many of the 2.5 million homeowners facing foreclosure – even as he supported spending billions to bail out Wall Street.

I've got a different approach. Two years ago, I offered a proposal to crack down on mortgage fraud. I worked with Senator Chris Dodd and Congressman Barney Frank to pass a housing bill that will help families refinance their mortgages and stay in their homes. And I support tax credits to help low and middle-income Americans afford their mortgage payments. Because if we can bail out the investment banks on Wall Street who helped create this crisis, then we can certainly extend a hand to folks bearing the brunt of it on Main Street.

This election is also about every child sitting in a crumbling classroom; every child taught by a teacher who isn't getting the support he or she needs. It's about the 1.2 million students who fail to graduate high school each year – including 100,000 last year in Florida. It's about the "catastrophe," as Colin Powell put it, of children in our nation's largest cities who have a 50-50 chance – literally a coin toss – of graduating on-time.

Now, I think it's interesting that Senator McCain came before you yesterday and attacked my record on education reform. For someone who's been in Washington nearly 30 years, he's got a pretty slim record on education, and when he has taken a stand, it's been the wrong one. So I'm happy to put my record and ideas up against his any day.

He voted against increased funding for No Child Left Behind to preserve billions in tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans – tax breaks he wants to extend without saying how he'd pay for them. He voted against increasing funds for Head Start, and Pell Grants, and the hiring of 100,000 new teachers again and again and again. He even applauded the idea of abolishing the Department of Education.

In fact, his only proposal seems to be recycling tired rhetoric about vouchers. Now, I've been a proponent of public school choice throughout my career. I also believe that well-designed public charter schools have a lot to offer. That's why I helped pass legislation to double the number of charter schools in Chicago. But what I do oppose is using public money for private school vouchers. We need to focus on fixing and improving our public schools; not throwing our hands up and walking away from them. We need to stop the tired old attacks, and start getting results for our children.

That's why I've been working to reform our schools for years. That's why I introduced a comprehensive plan last fall to recruit, prepare and retain effective teachers across America and why I added a program to the education bill that passed just yesterday to prepare high quality teachers in urban areas. That's why I introduced legislation to lower the dropout rate, starting in middle school. That's why, when I'm President, we'll give every child access to high quality pre-kindergarten programs, recruit an army of new teachers for our communities, stop leaving the money behind for No Child Left Behind, and make college affordable for anyone who wants to go. That's how we'll give every young person the skills to get a good job; that's how we'll ensure that America can compete in the twenty-first century global economy.

And if people tell you that we can't afford to invest in education or health care or good jobs, you just remind them that we're spending $10 billion a month in Iraq. And if we can spend that much money in Iraq, we can spend some of that money right here in America, in cities all across this country.

We know the difference we can make when we work together to open the doors of opportunity wide enough for everyone to walk through. Today, I'm thinking of one particular example from your history.

Back in January of 1949, the Urban League brought representatives from General Electric to Howard University to recruit graduating seniors. It was the first time in history that a company like that had come to a black university campus to hire students. The next year, thirteen companies recruited at Howard. Soon after that, more than 500 corporate representatives came to half a dozen other colleges and universities. And today, national and multinational companies recruit African American students at HBCUs and colleges and universities across this country.

Think about all the careers launched, the wealth built, the homes bought, the tuition paid, and the dreams realized – think about all the grandparents looking back on their achievements with pride, and the children looking forward to their futures with hope – all, at least in part, because of what the Urban League started on a winter day nearly 60 years ago.

That is the march for America that Whitney Young spoke of all those years ago. The march that led so many of our parents and grandparents north to our cities, looking to start a new life, unafraid of hard work, determined to give their children opportunities they never had. As the poet Alice Walker once wrote, "…they knew what we must know without knowing a page of it themselves."

That's what we've always done in America: dream big for ourselves – and even bigger for our children and grandchildren. And if you're willing to work with me, and fight with me, and stand with me this fall, then I promise you, we will build a nation worthy of their future.

Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.

Barack Obama, a Democratic Senator from Illinois, is the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.

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http://www.bransonedge.com
http://www.bransonmissouri.blogspot.com

McCain at the National Urban League - Transcript

August 01, 2008
John McCain

2008 National Urban League Annual Conference
Orlando, Florida

Thank you, Marc, for the introduction. I appreciate your kind invitation and this warm welcome to Orlando and to the Urban League. Through all the business cycles and political cycles of almost a century, this organization has championed an agenda of economic growth and opportunity. You've never lost your sense of mission, or your commitment to bettering the lives of African Americans and of all citizens. I'm honored to be with the men and women of the Urban League.

You'll hear from my opponent, Senator Obama, tomorrow, and if there's one thing he always delivers it's a great speech. But I hope you'll listen carefully, because his ideas are not always as impressive as his rhetoric. And this is especially true in the case of the Urban League's agenda of opportunity. Your Opportunity Compact speaks of the urgent need to reform our public schools, create jobs, and help small businesses grow. You understand that persistent problems of failing schools and economic stagnation cannot be solved with the same tired ideas and pandering to special interests that have failed us time and again. And you know how much the challenges have changed for those who champion the cause of equal opportunity in America.

Equal access to public education has been gained. But what is the value of access to a failing school? Equal employment opportunity is set firmly down in law. But with jobs becoming scarcer -- and more than 400,000 Americans t hrown out of work just this year -- that can amount to an equal share of diminished opportunity. For years, business ownership by African Americans has been growing rapidly. This is all to the good, but that hopeful trend is threatened in a struggling economy -- with the cost of energy, health care, and just about everything else rising sharply.

As in other challenges African Americans have overcome, these problems require clarity of purpose. They require the solidarity of groups like the Urban League. And, at times, they also require a willingness to break from conventional thinking.

Nowhere are the limitations of conventional thinking any more apparent than in education policy. After decades of hearing the same big promises from the public education establishment, and se eing the same poor results, it is surely time to shake off old ways and to demand new reforms. That isn't just my opinion; it is the conviction of parents in poor neighborhoods across this nation who want better lives for their children.

Just ask the families in New Orleans who will soon have the chance to remove their sons and daughters from failing schools, and enroll them instead in a school-choice scholarship program. That program in Louisiana was proposed by Democratic state legislators and signed into law by Governor Bobby Jindal. Just three years after Katrina, they are bringing real hope to poor neighborhoods, and showing how much can be achieved when both parties work together for real reform. Or ask parents in the disadvantaged neighborhoods of Washington, D.C. whether they want more choices in education. The District's Opportunity Scholarship program serves more than 1,900 boys and girls from families with an average income of 23,000 dollars a year. And more than 7,000 more families have applied for that program. What they all have in common is the desire to get their kids into a better school.

Democrats in Congress, including my opponent, oppose the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship program. In remarks to the American Federation of Teachers last month, Senator Obama dismissed public support for private school vouchers for low-income Americans as, "tired rhetoric about vouchers and school choice." All of that went over well with the teachers union, but where does it leave families and their children who are stuck in failing schools?

Over the years, Americans have heard a lot of "tired rhetoric" about education. We've heard it in the endless excuses of people who seem more concerned about their own position than about our children. We've heard it from politicians who accept the status quo rather than stand up for real change in our public schools. Parents ask only for schools that are safe, teachers who are competent, and diplomas that open doors of opportunity. When a public school fails, repeatedly, to meet these minimal objectives, parents ask only for a choice in the education of their children. Some parents may choose a better public school. Some may choose a private school. Many will choose a charter school. No entrenched bureaucracy or union should deny parents that choice and children that opportunity.

We should also offer more choices to those who wish to become teachers. Many thousands of highly qualified men and women have great knowledge, wisdom, and experience to offer public school students. But a monopoly on teacher certification prevents them from getting that chance. You can be a Nobel Laureate and not qualify to teach in most public schools today because they don't have all the proper credits in educational "theory" or "methodology." All they have is learning and the desire and ability to share it. If we're putting the interests of students first, then those qualifications should be enough.

If I am elected president, school choice for all who want it, an expansion of Opportunity Scholarships, and alternative certification for teachers will all be part of a serious agenda of education reform. I will target funding to recruit teachers who graduate in the top 25 percent of their class, or who participate in an alternative teacher recruitment program such as Teach for America, the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence, and the New Teacher Project.

We will pay bonuses to teachers who take on the challenge of working in our most troubled schools -- because we need their fine minds and good hearts to help turn those schools around. We will award bonuses as well to our highest-achieving teachers. And no longer will we measure teacher achievement by conformity to process. We will measure it by the success of their students.

Moreover, the funds for these bonuses will not be controlled by faraway officials -- in Washington, in a state capital, or even in a district office. Under my reforms, we will put the money and the responsibilities where they belong -- in the office of the school principal. One reason charter schools are so successful, and so sought after by parents, is that principals have spending discretion. And I intend to give that same discretion to public school principals. No longer will money be spent on rigid and often meaningless formulas. Relying on the good judgment and first-hand knowledge of school principals, education money will be spent in service to public school students.

Under my reforms, parents will exercise freedom of choice in obtaining extra help for children who are falling behind. As it is, federal aid to parents for tutoring for their children has to go through another bureaucracy. They can't purchase the tutoring directly, without dealing with the same education establishment that failed their children in the first place. These needless restrictions will be removed. If a student needs extra help, parents will be able to sign them up to get it, with direct public support.

Some of these reforms, and others, are contained in a Statement of Principles drafted by a group dedicated to finally changing the status quo in our education system. The Education Equality Project has brought together leaders from all across the political spectrum, including school Chancellor Joel Klein and Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City. Chancellor Klein is a strong supporter of charter schools, because he understands that fundamental reform is needed. As he puts it, "in large urban areas the culture of public education is broken. If you don't fix this culture, then you are not going to be able to make the kind of changes that are needed." Among others who share this conviction are Mayor Cory Booker of Newark, Chancellor Michelle Rhee of Washington, and Harold Ford, Junior. You know that a reform movement is truly bipartisan when J.C. Watts and Al Sharpton are both members. And today I am proud to add my name as well to the list of those who support the aims and principles of the Education Equality Project.

But one name is still missing, Senator Obama's. My opponent talks a great deal about hope and change, and education is as good a test as any of his seriousness. The Education Equality Project is a practical plan for delivering change and restoring hope for children and parents who need a lot of both. And if Senator Obama continues to defer to the teachers unions, instead of committing to real reform, then he should start looking for new slogans.

Over the years, the Urban League has brought enormous good into the life of our country -- by broadening the reach of economic opportunity. There was a time when economists took little if any notice at all of the poverty of black communities. Even in times of general economic growth, many lived in a per petual recession, and the jobs available didn't promise much upward mobility. Our country still has a lot of progress to make on this score. But with 1.2 million businesses today owned and operated by African Americans, more and more are no longer just spectators on the prosperity of our country. They are stakeholders. As much as anyone else, they count on their government to help create the conditions of economic growth -- and, as president, I intend to do just that.

Senator Obama and I have fundamental differences on economic policy, and many of them concern tax rates. He supports proposals to raise top marginal rates paid by small business and families, to raise tax rates on those with taxable incomes of more than 32,000 dollars, raise capital gains taxes, raise taxes on dividends, raise payroll taxes and raise estate taxes. That's a whole lot of raising, and for million s of families, individuals, and small businesses it will mean a lot less money to spend, save and invest as they see fit.

For my part, I believe that in a troubled economy, when folks are struggling to afford the necessities of life, higher taxes are the last thing we need. The economy isn't hurting because workers and businesses are under-taxed. Raising taxes eliminates jobs, hurts small businesses, and delays economic recovery.

Under my plan, we will preserve the current low rates as they are, so businesses large and small can hire more people. We will double the personal exemption from $3,500 to $7,000 for every dependent, in every family in America. We will offer every individual and family a large tax credit to buy their health care, so employers can spend more on wages, and wo rkers don't lose their coverage when they change jobs. We will lower the business tax rate, so American companies open new plants and create more jobs in this country.

There are honest differences as well about the growth of government. But surely we can find common ground in the principle that government cannot go on forever spending recklessly and incurring debt. Government has grown by 60 percent in the last eight years, because the Congress and this administration have failed to meet their responsibilities. And next year, total federal expenditures are predicted to reach over three trillion dollars. That is an awful lot for us to be spending when this nation is already more than nine trillion dollars in debt or more than thirty thousand dollars in debt for every citizen. That's a debt our government plans to leave for your children and mine to bear. And that is a failure n ot only of financial foresight, but of moral obligation.

There will come a day when the road reaches a dead-end. And it won't be today's politicians who suffer the consequences. It will be American workers and their children who are left with worthless promises and trillion-dollar debts. We cannot let that happen. As President, I'll work with every member of Congress -- Republican, Democrat, and Independent -- who shares my commitment to reforming government and controlling spending. I'll order a top-to-bottom review of every federal program, department, and agency. We're going to demand accountability. We're going to make sure failed programs are not rewarded ... and that discretionary spending is going where it belongs -- to essential priorities like job training, the security of our citizens, and the care of our veterans.

To get our economy running at full strength again, we need to stay focused on creating jobs for our people, and protecting paychecks from the rising costs of food, gasoline, and most everything else. Above all, we need to get a handle on the cost of oil and gasoline, and to regain energy independence for America.

All across our country, people are hurting. Small farmers, truckers, and taxi drivers are unable to cover their costs. Small business owners are struggling to meet their payrolls. The cost of living is rising, and the value of paychecks is falling. Yet even now, with the price of gasoline still around four dollars per gallon, the Congress has done exactly nothing.

Most Americans understand that producing more of something will lower its price. And if I am elected president, this nation will move quickly to increase our own energy production. Last month, the President finally lifted the executive ban on offshore oil and gas exploration, and called on Congress to lift its ban as well. Lifting that ban could seriously lower the price of oil -- and Congress should get it done immediately. We need to drill more, drill now, and pay less at the pump.

Under my energy plan, the Lexington Project, we will also make use of America's vast coal reserves. As president, I will commit this nation to a concerted effort to make clean coal a reality and create jobs in hard-pressed regions. And America will pursue the goal of building 45 nuclear power plants before 2030, which will generate not only much-needed electricity but some 700,000 jobs as well. We will also accelerate the development of wind and solar power and other renewable technologies, and we will help automakers design and sell cars that don't depend on gasoline. Production of hybrid, flex-fuel, and electric cars will bring America closer to energy independence. And it will bring jobs to auto plants, parts manufacturers, and the communities that support them.

Regaining control over the cost and supply of energy in America will not be easy, and it will not happen quickly. But no challenge to our economy is more urgent. And you have my pledge that if I am president, we're going to get it done.

Our country is passing through a very tough time. But Americans have been through worse, and beaten longer odds. The men and women of the Urban League know more than most about facing long odds, and overcoming adversity. For 98 years, this organization has been at the center of the great and honorable cause of equal opportunity for every American. I'm here today as an admirer and a fellow American, an association that means more to me than any other. I am a candidate for president who seeks your vote and hopes to earn it. But whether or not I win your support, I need your goodwill and counsel. And should I succeed, I'll need it all the more. I have always believed in this country, in a good America, a great America. But I have always known we can build a better America, where no place or person is left without hope or opportunity by the sins of injustice or indifference. It would be among the great privileges of my life to work with you in that cause. Thank you all very much.

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http://www.bransonedge.com
http://www.bransonmissouri.blogspot.com

Political Links RCP

Real Clear Politics

An Unstable Presidential Campaign - Michael Barone, US News & World Rpt
Low Road Hurts McCain, But It's His Best Chance - J. Heilemann, NY Mag
When Is McCain Going to Get Serious? - Dick Morris & Eileen McGann, Fox
Dems Anxious for Obama to Widen Lead - Edward Luce, Financial Times
Pollsters Try to Navigate Tricky Race Issue - Ellen Gamerman, WSJ
Running While Black - Bob Herbert, New York Times
McCain's Rewards of Wisdom - Matthew Continetti, Weekly Standard
Obama Thinks, McCain Feels - Richard Reeves, RealClearPolitics
A GOP Choice: Tom Coburn or Ted Stevens - John Fund, Wall Street Journal
In Senate, GOP Bracing For Cold November - Jennifer Duffy, National Jrnl
Behind the Indian Embassy Bombing - Robert Kaplan, The Atlantic
How the US Can Get Its Groove Back - John Shattuck, Boston Globe
Don't Weep For Doha - Daniel Ikenson, The Australian
Making Capitalism More Creative - Bill Gates, Time Magazine
40 Years After Selling of a President - Richard Byrne, American Prospect
1864: One of History's Most Consequential Elections - Ken Walsh, US News
The Price of Saying Sorry - Christopher Caldwell, Financial Times
'08 Videos: Plouffe Hits 'Gutter' Campaign | McCain Ad Mocks 'The One'
National Tracking Polls: Gallup: Tied | Rasmussen: Obama +1

Editorials

Will McCain's Negative Blitz Do Him Any Good? - The Economist
Anthrax: Still No Answers - New York Post
Time For Real Fuel Economy - New York Times
Obama's Phony 'Emergency' - Investor's Business Daily

Political News & Analysis

Obama Softens Stance on Drilling - St. Petersburg Times
McCain Talks Drilling, Vouchers at Urban League - Miami Herald
Race Proves to Be Persistent Issue - Washington Post
House GOP Revolts Over Gas Prices - The Politico

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http://www.bransonmissouri.blogspot.com

Barrack Obama in Springfield Missouri (Video)

Obama's Speech in Germany July 2008

Sen. Barack Obama's world tour continued today with a speech in Germany. The text of that speech follows:

Thank you to the citizens of Berlin and to the people of Germany. Let me thank Chancellor Merkel and Foreign Minister Steinmeier for welcoming me earlier today. Thank you Mayor Wowereit, the Berlin Senate, the police, and most of all thank you for this welcome.

I come to Berlin as so many of my countrymen have come before. Tonight, I speak to you not as a candidate for President, but as a citizen - a proud citizen of the United States, and a fellow citizen of the world.

I know that I don't look like the Americans who've previously spoken in this great city. The journey that led me here is improbable. My mother was born in the heartland of America, but my father grew up herding goats in Kenya. His father - my grandfather - was a cook, a domestic servant to the British.

At the height of the Cold War, my father decided, like so many others in the forgotten corners of the world, that his yearning - his dream - required the freedom and opportunity promised by the West. And so he wrote letter after letter to universities all across America until somebody, somewhere answered his prayer for a better life.

That is why I'm here. And you are here because you too know that yearning. This city, of all cities, knows the dream of freedom. And you know that the only reason we stand here tonight is because men and women from both of our nations came together to work, and struggle, and sacrifice for that better life.

Ours is a partnership that truly began sixty years ago this summer, on the day when the first American plane touched down at Templehof.

On that day, much of this continent still lay in ruin. The rubble of this city had yet to be built into a wall. The Soviet shadow had swept across Eastern Europe, while in the West, America, Britain, and France took stock of their losses, and pondered how the world might be remade.

This is where the two sides met. And on the twenty-fourth of June, 1948, the Communists chose to blockade the western part of the city. They cut off food and supplies to more than two million Germans in an effort to extinguish the last flame of freedom in Berlin.

The size of our forces was no match for the much larger Soviet Army. And yet retreat would have allowed Communism to march across Europe. Where the last war had ended, another World War could have easily begun. All that stood in the way was Berlin.

And that's when the airlift began - when the largest and most unlikely rescue in history brought food and hope to the people of this city.

The odds were stacked against success. In the winter, a heavy fog filled the sky above, and many planes were forced to turn back without dropping off the needed supplies. The streets where we stand were filled with hungry families who had no comfort from the cold.

But in the darkest hours, the people of Berlin kept the flame of hope burning. The people of Berlin refused to give up. And on one fall day, hundreds of thousands of Berliners came here, to the Tiergarten, and heard the city's mayor implore the world not to give up on freedom. "There is only one possibility," he said. "For us to stand together united until this battle is won...The people of Berlin have spoken. We have done our duty, and we will keep on doing our duty. People of the world: now do your duty...People of the world, look at Berlin!"

People of the world - look at Berlin!

Look at Berlin, where Germans and Americans learned to work together and trust each other less than three years after facing each other on the field of battle.

Look at Berlin, where the determination of a people met the generosity of the Marshall Plan and created a German miracle; where a victory over tyranny gave rise to NATO, the greatest alliance ever formed to defend our common security.

Look at Berlin, where the bullet holes in the buildings and the somber stones and pillars near the Brandenburg Gate insist that we never forget our common humanity.

People of the world - look at Berlin, where a wall came down, a continent came together, and history proved that there is no challenge too great for a world that stands as one.

Sixty years after the airlift, we are called upon again. History has led us to a new crossroad, with new promise and new peril. When you, the German people, tore down that wall - a wall that divided East and West; freedom and tyranny; fear and hope - walls came tumbling down around the world. From Kiev to Cape Town, prison camps were closed, and the doors of democracy were opened. Markets opened too, and the spread of information and technology reduced barriers to opportunity and prosperity. While the 20th century taught us that we share a common destiny, the 21st has revealed a world more intertwined than at any time in human history.

The fall of the Berlin Wall brought new hope. But that very closeness has given rise to new dangers - dangers that cannot be contained within the borders of a country or by the distance of an ocean.

The terrorists of September 11th plotted in Hamburg and trained in Kandahar and Karachi before killing thousands from all over the globe on American soil.

As we speak, cars in Boston and factories in Beijing are melting the ice caps in the Arctic, shrinking coastlines in the Atlantic, and bringing drought to farms from Kansas to Kenya.

Poorly secured nuclear material in the former Soviet Union, or secrets from a scientist in Pakistan could help build a bomb that detonates in Paris. The poppies in Afghanistan become the heroin in Berlin. The poverty and violence in Somalia breeds the terror of tomorrow. The genocide in Darfur shames the conscience of us all.

In this new world, such dangerous currents have swept along faster than our efforts to contain them. That is why we cannot afford to be divided. No one nation, no matter how large or powerful, can defeat such challenges alone. None of us can deny these threats, or escape responsibility in meeting them. Yet, in the absence of Soviet tanks and a terrible wall, it has become easy to forget this truth. And if we're honest with each other, we know that sometimes, on both sides of the Atlantic, we have drifted apart, and forgotten our shared destiny.

In Europe, the view that America is part of what has gone wrong in our world, rather than a force to help make it right, has become all too common. In America, there are voices that deride and deny the importance of Europe's role in our security and our future. Both views miss the truth - that Europeans today are bearing new burdens and taking more responsibility in critical parts of the world; and that just as American bases built in the last century still help to defend the security of this continent, so does our country still sacrifice greatly for freedom around the globe.

Yes, there have been differences between America and Europe. No doubt, there will be differences in the future. But the burdens of global citizenship continue to bind us together. A change of leadership in Washington will not lift this burden. In this new century, Americans and Europeans alike will be required to do more - not less. Partnership and cooperation among nations is not a choice; it is the one way, the only way, to protect our common security and advance our common humanity.

That is why the greatest danger of all is to allow new walls to divide us from one another.

The walls between old allies on either side of the Atlantic cannot stand. The walls between the countries with the most and those with the least cannot stand. The walls between races and tribes; natives and immigrants; Christian and Muslim and Jew cannot stand. These now are the walls we must tear down.

We know they have fallen before. After centuries of strife, the people of Europe have formed a Union of promise and prosperity. Here, at the base of a column built to mark victory in war, we meet in the center of a Europe at peace. Not only have walls come down in Berlin, but they have come down in Belfast, where Protestant and Catholic found a way to live together; in the Balkans, where our Atlantic alliance ended wars and brought savage war criminals to justice; and in South Africa, where the struggle of a courageous people defeated apartheid.

So history reminds us that walls can be torn down. But the task is never easy. True partnership and true progress requires constant work and sustained sacrifice. They require sharing the burdens of development and diplomacy; of progress and peace. They require allies who will listen to each other, learn from each other and, most of all, trust each other.

That is why America cannot turn inward. That is why Europe cannot turn inward. America has no better partner than Europe. Now is the time to build new bridges across the globe as strong as the one that bound us across the Atlantic. Now is the time to join together, through constant cooperation, strong institutions, shared sacrifice, and a global commitment to progress, to meet the challenges of the 21st century. It was this spirit that led airlift planes to appear in the sky above our heads, and people to assemble where we stand today. And this is the moment when our nations - and all nations - must summon that spirit anew.

This is the moment when we must defeat terror and dry up the well of extremism that supports it. This threat is real and we cannot shrink from our responsibility to combat it. If we could create NATO to face down the Soviet Union, we can join in a new and global partnership to dismantle the networks that have struck in Madrid and Amman; in London and Bali; in Washington and New York. If we could win a battle of ideas against the communists, we can stand with the vast majority of Muslims who reject the extremism that leads to hate instead of hope.

This is the moment when we must renew our resolve to rout the terrorists who threaten our security in Afghanistan, and the traffickers who sell drugs on your streets. No one welcomes war. I recognize the enormous difficulties in Afghanistan. But my country and yours have a stake in seeing that NATO's first mission beyond Europe's borders is a success. For the people of Afghanistan, and for our shared security, the work must be done. America cannot do this alone. The Afghan people need our troops and your troops; our support and your support to defeat the Taliban and al Qaeda, to develop their economy, and to help them rebuild their nation. We have too much at stake to turn back now.

This is the moment when we must renew the goal of a world without nuclear weapons. The two superpowers that faced each other across the wall of this city came too close too often to destroying all we have built and all that we love. With that wall gone, we need not stand idly by and watch the further spread of the deadly atom. It is time to secure all loose nuclear materials; to stop the spread of nuclear weapons; and to reduce the arsenals from another era. This is the moment to begin the work of seeking the peace of a world without nuclear weapons.

This is the moment when every nation in Europe must have the chance to choose its own tomorrow free from the shadows of yesterday. In this century, we need a strong European Union that deepens the security and prosperity of this continent, while extending a hand abroad. In this century - in this city of all cities - we must reject the Cold War mind-set of the past, and resolve to work with Russia when we can, to stand up for our values when we must, and to seek a partnership that extends across this entire continent.

This is the moment when we must build on the wealth that open markets have created, and share its benefits more equitably. Trade has been a cornerstone of our growth and global development. But we will not be able to sustain this growth if it favors the few, and not the many. Together, we must forge trade that truly rewards the work that creates wealth, with meaningful protections for our people and our planet. This is the moment for trade that is free and fair for all.

This is the moment we must help answer the call for a new dawn in the Middle East. My country must stand with yours and with Europe in sending a direct message to Iran that it must abandon its nuclear ambitions. We must support the Lebanese who have marched and bled for democracy, and the Israelis and Palestinians who seek a secure and lasting peace. And despite past differences, this is the moment when the world should support the millions of Iraqis who seek to rebuild their lives, even as we pass responsibility to the Iraqi government and finally bring this war to a close.

This is the moment when we must come together to save this planet. Let us resolve that we will not leave our children a world where the oceans rise and famine spreads and terrible storms devastate our lands. Let us resolve that all nations - including my own - will act with the same seriousness of purpose as has your nation, and reduce the carbon we send into our atmosphere. This is the moment to give our children back their future. This is the moment to stand as one.

And this is the moment when we must give hope to those left behind in a globalized world. We must remember that the Cold War born in this city was not a battle for land or treasure. Sixty years ago, the planes that flew over Berlin did not drop bombs; instead they delivered food, and coal, and candy to grateful children. And in that show of solidarity, those pilots won more than a military victory. They won hearts and minds; love and loyalty and trust - not just from the people in this city, but from all those who heard the story of what they did here.

Now the world will watch and remember what we do here - what we do with this moment. Will we extend our hand to the people in the forgotten corners of this world who yearn for lives marked by dignity and opportunity; by security and justice? Will we lift the child in Bangladesh from poverty, shelter the refugee in Chad, and banish the scourge of AIDS in our time?

Will we stand for the human rights of the dissident in Burma, the blogger in Iran, or the voter in Zimbabwe? Will we give meaning to the words "never again" in Darfur?

Will we acknowledge that there is no more powerful example than the one each of our nations projects to the world? Will we reject torture and stand for the rule of law? Will we welcome immigrants from different lands, and shun discrimination against those who don't look like us or worship like we do, and keep the promise of equality and opportunity for all of our people?

People of Berlin - people of the world - this is our moment. This is our time.

I know my country has not perfected itself. At times, we've struggled to keep the promise of liberty and equality for all of our people. We've made our share of mistakes, and there are times when our actions around the world have not lived up to our best intentions.

But I also know how much I love America. I know that for more than two centuries, we have strived - at great cost and great sacrifice - to form a more perfect union; to seek, with other nations, a more hopeful world. Our allegiance has never been to any particular tribe or kingdom - indeed, every language is spoken in our country; every culture has left its imprint on ours; every point of view is expressed in our public squares. What has always united us - what has always driven our people; what drew my father to America's shores - is a set of ideals that speak to aspirations shared by all people: that we can live free from fear and free from want; that we can speak our minds and assemble with whomever we choose and worship as we please.

Those are the aspirations that joined the fates of all nations in this city. Those aspirations are bigger than anything that drives us apart. It is because of those aspirations that the airlift began. It is because of those aspirations that all free people - everywhere - became citizens of Berlin. It is in pursuit of those aspirations that a new generation - our generation - must make our mark on history.

People of Berlin - and people of the world - the scale of our challenge is great. The road ahead will be long. But I come before you to say that we are heirs to a struggle for freedom. We are a people of improbable hope. Let us build on our common history, and seize our common destiny, and once again engage in that noble struggle to bring justice and peace to our world.

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Obama says media response to Iraq remarks overblown - Jennifer Loven

By JENNIFER LOVEN/The Associated Press

July 5, 2008 | 2:47 p.m. CST

ST. LOUIS — Barack Obama said Saturday that he was surprised at how the media has "finely calibrated" his recent words on Iraq, and denied that he intends to do anything but end the war if he is elected.

"I was a little puzzled by the frenzy that I set off by what I thought was a pretty innocuous statement," the expected Democratic presidential nominee told reporters flying with him to Missouri from Montana. "I am absolutely committed to ending the war."

On Thursday in North Dakota, Obama said that "I'll ... continue to refine my policy" on Iraq after an upcoming trip there. With a promise to end the war the central premise of his candidacy, the Obama campaign has struggled over the past two days to push back against Republicans and others who say his recent statement could be a softening.

In two news conferences on Thursday, Obama said any refinement of his position on Iraq wouldn't be related to his promise to remove combat forces within 16 months of taking office, but rather to the number of troops needed to train Iraqis and fight al-Qaida. But he also acknowledged that the 16-month timeline could indeed slip if removing troops risked their safety or Iraqi stability.

"What's important is to understand the difference between strategy and tactics," he told reporters. "The tactics of how we ensure our troops are safe as we pull out, how we execute the withdrawal, those are things that are all based on facts and conditions. I am not somebody — unlike George Bush — who is willing to ignore facts on the basis of my preconceived notions."

Noting that "we want to build on" the lessening of violence in Iraq, he added: "It doesn't change my strategic view that we have to bring our occupation to a close."

He said he didn't misspeak in his comments earlier in the week and suggested the media and critics read unintended significance into the remarks.

"I was surprised by how finely calibrated every single word was measured," Obama said. "I wasn't saying anything that I hadn't said before."

Obama has always said his promise to end the war would require consultations with military commanders and, possibly, flexibility.

The Illinois senator also said he and rival-turned-ally Hillary Rodham Clinton plan to help each other raise money in a series of fundraisers in New York next week.

Two events are scheduled for Wednesday night — one to raise money for his general election campaign and one to help Clinton pay off debts from her primary campaign. A third fundraiser, for Obama, is a breakfast Thursday morning with women donors that Clinton, a New York senator, will attend.

The fundraisers will be the first joint appearances by the former foes since their lovefest in Unity, N.H., on June 27.

The events were put together to showcase his campaign's commitment to helping Clinton retire her debt and her commitment to helping him get elected, Obama told reporters.

The candidate said his aides and those to former President Clinton are still arranging their first campaign appearances together. What role Bill Clinton will play in Obama's campaign has been a glaring question mark ever since the former president made comments earlier this year that Obama's supporters said injected race into the nomination contest.

"I'm looking forward to his advice and counsel and participation in the race ahead," Obama said.

Earlier Saturday, Obama took a swipe at Republican rival John McCain, saying that for "someone who has been in Washington for 30 years he's got a pretty slim record on education and when he has taken a stand it has been the wrong one."

McCain has voted against increasing funding for the No Child Left Behind law, increasing funding for Pell grants and hiring 100,000 new teachers, Obama told a Washington conference of the National Education Association that was beamed via satellite from Butte, Mont.

"He even applauded the idea of abolishing the Department of Education," Obama told the teachers' union. "In fact, the only proposal of his seems to be recycling the tired rhetoric about vouchers and school choice."

McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds responded in a statement: "Improving America's schools will take bipartisan leadership and a commitment to the issue, but Barack Obama has never spearheaded education reforms while in the U.S. Senate and has no record of working across the aisle for change."

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Roy Blunt Endorses Hulshof in Branson - Video

Rep. Roy Blunt endorses Kenny Hulshof for Missouri Governor in Branson.
Hulshof is running against Missouri Treasurer Sarah Steelman for the Republican Gubernatorial spot.