[Vision2020] Transcript of Barack Obama's Speech

[Vote Barack Obama in 2012]

Transcript of Barack Obama's speech
July 27, 2004

The following is a transcript of a speech by Barack Obama at the Democratic 
National Convention on Tuesday, July 27, 2004:

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, let's 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.

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 
which stood as a beacon of freedom and opportunity to so many who had come 
before. 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 he signed up for 
duty, joined Patton's army and marched across Europe. Back home, my grandmother 
raised their 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 moved west 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 weren't rich, because in a generous America you 
don't have to be rich to achieve your potential. They are both passed away now. 
Yet, I know that, on this night, they look down on me with pride.

I stand here today, grateful for the diversity of my heritage, aware that my 
parents' dreams live on in my 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. 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 self-
evident, 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 in the simple dreams of its people, 
the insistence on small miracles. That we can tuck in our children at night and 
know 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 or hiring 
somebody's son. 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 
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 to do for the workers I met in 
Galesburg, Illinois, who are losing their union jobs at the Maytag plant that's 
moving to Mexico, and now are 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 choking back tears, wondering how he would pay $4,500 a 
month for the drugs his son needs without the health benefits he counted on. 
More to do for the young woman in East St. Louis, and thousands more like her, 
who has the grades, has the drive, has the will, but doesn't have the money to 
go to college.

Don't get me wrong. The people I meet in small towns and big cities, in diners 
and office parks, they don't expect government to solve all 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 don't want their 
tax money wasted by a welfare agency or the Pentagon. Go into any inner city 
neighborhood, and folks will tell you that government alone can't teach kids to 
learn. They know that parents have to parent, that children can't 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. No, 
people don't expect government to solve all their problems. But they sense, 
deep in their bones, that with just a 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.

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. That man is John Kerry. John 
Kerry understands the ideals of community, faith, and sacrifice, because 
they've defined his life. From his heroic service in Vietnam to his years as 
prosecutor and lieutenant governor, through two decades in the United States 
Senate, he has devoted himself to this country. Again and again, we've seen him 
make tough choices when easier ones were available. His values and his record 
affirm what is best in us.

John Kerry believes in an America where hard work is rewarded. So instead of 
offering tax breaks to companies shipping jobs overseas, he'll offer them to 
companies creating jobs here at home. John Kerry believes in an America where 
all Americans can afford the same health coverage our politicians in Washington 
have for themselves. John Kerry believes in energy independence, so we aren't 
held hostage to the profits of oil companies or the sabotage of foreign oil 
fields. John Kerry believes in the constitutional freedoms that have made our 
country the envy of the world, and he will never sacrifice our basic liberties 
nor use faith as a wedge to divide us. And John Kerry believes that in a 
dangerous world, war must be an option, but it should never be the first option.
A while back, I met a young man named Shamus at the VFW Hall in East Moline, 
Illinois. He was a good-looking kid, six-two or six-three, clear eyed, with an 
easy smile. He told me he'd joined the Marines and was heading to Iraq the 
following week. As I listened to him explain why he'd enlisted, his absolute 
faith in our country and its leaders, his devotion to duty and service, I 
thought this young man was all any of us might hope for in a child. But then I 
asked myself: Are we serving Shamus as well as he was serving us? I thought of 
more than 900 service men and women, sons and daughters, husbands and wives, 
friends and neighbors, who will not be returning to their hometowns. I thought 
of families I had met who were struggling to get by without a loved one's full 
income, or whose loved ones had returned with a limb missing or with nerves 
shattered, but who still lacked long-term health benefits because they were 
reservists. When we send our young men and women into harm's way, we have a 
solemn obligation not to fudge the numbers or shade the truth about why they're 
going, to care for their families while they're gone, to tend to the soldiers 
upon their return, and to never ever go to war without enough troops to win the 
war, secure the peace, and earn the respect of the world.

Now let me be clear. We have real enemies in the world. These enemies must be 
found. They must be pursued and they must be defeated. John Kerry knows this. 
And just as Lieutenant Kerry did not hesitate to risk his life to protect the 
men who served with him in Vietnam, President Kerry will not hesitate one 
moment to use our military might to keep America safe and secure. John Kerry 
believes in America. And he knows it's not enough for just some of us to 
prosper. For alongside our famous individualism, there's another ingredient in 
the American saga.

A belief that we are connected as one people. If there's a child on the south 
side of Chicago who can't read, that matters to me, even if it's not my child. 
If there's a senior citizen somewhere who can't pay for her prescription and 
has to choose between medicine and the rent, that makes my life poorer, even if 
it's not my grandmother. If there's an Arab American family being rounded up 
without benefit of an attorney or due process, that threatens my civil 
liberties. It's that fundamental belief -- I am my brother's keeper, I am my 
sisters' keeper -- that makes this country work. It's what allows us to pursue 
our individual dreams, yet still come together as a single American family. "E 
pluribus unum." Out of many, one.

Yet 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, there's not a liberal America and a conservative 
America -- there's the United States of America. There's not a black America 
and white America and Latino America and Asian America; there's 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 I've got news for them, too. We worship an awesome God in the Blue States, 
and we don't like federal agents poking around our libraries in the Red States. 
We coach Little League in the Blue States and have gay friends in the Red 
States. There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq and patriots who 
supported it. 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, that's what this election is about. Do we participate in a politics 
of cynicism or a politics of hope? John Kerry calls on us to hope. John Edwards 
calls on us to hope. I'm not talking about blind optimism here -- the almost 
willful ignorance that thinks unemployment will go away if we just don't talk 
about it, or the health care crisis will solve itself if we just ignore it. No, 
I'm talking about something more substantial. It's 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 millworker's 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. The audacity of hope!

In the end, that is God's greatest gift to us, the bedrock of this nation; the 
belief in things not seen; the belief that there are better days ahead. I 
believe we can give our middle class relief and provide working families with a 
road to opportunity. I believe we can provide jobs to the jobless, homes to the 
homeless, and reclaim young people in cities across America from violence and 
despair. I believe 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 I do, the same urgency I do, the same 
passion I do, the same hopefulness 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. Thank you and God bless you.


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