Michelle, I love you. The other night, I think
the entire country saw just how lucky I am. Malia and Sasha, you make me so
proud ... but don't get any ideas, you're still going to class tomorrow. And
Joe Biden, thank you for being the best vice-president I could ever hope for.
Madam chairwoman, delegates, I accept your
nomination for president of the United States.
The first time I addressed this convention in
2004, I was a younger man; a Senate candidate from Illinois who spoke about
hope - not blind optimism or wishful thinking, but hope in the face of
difficulty; hope in the face of uncertainty; that dogged faith in the future
which has pushed this nation forward, even when the odds are great; even when
the road is long.
Eight years later, that hope has been tested -
by the cost of war; by one of the worst economic crises in history; and by
political gridlock that's left us wondering whether it's still possible to
tackle the challenges of our time.
I know that campaigns can seem small, and even
silly. Trivial things become big distractions. Serious issues become sound
bites. And the truth gets buried under an avalanche of money and advertising.
If you're sick of hearing me approve this message, believe me - so am I.
But when all is said and done - when you pick
up that ballot to vote - you will face the clearest choice of any time in a
generation. Over the next few years, big decisions will be made in Washington,
on jobs and the economy; taxes and deficits; energy and education; war and
peace - decisions that will have a huge impact on our lives and our children's
lives for decades to come.
On every issue, the choice you face won't be
just between two candidates or two parties.
It will be a choice between two different
paths for America.
A choice between two fundamentally different
visions for the future.
Ours is a fight to restore the values that
built the largest middle class and the strongest economy the world has ever
known; the values my grandfather defended as a soldier in Patton's Army; the
values that drove my grandmother to work on a bomber assembly line while he was
gone.
They knew they were part of something larger -
a nation that triumphed over fascism and depression; a nation where the most
innovative businesses turned out the world's best products and everyone shared in
the pride and success - from the corner office to the factory floor. My
grandparents were given the chance to go to college, buy their first home, and
fulfil the basic bargain at the heart of America's story: the promise 'that
hard work will pay off; that responsibility will be rewarded; that everyone
gets a fair shot, and everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the
same rules - from Main Street to Wall Street to Washington, DC.
I ran for president because I saw that basic
bargain slipping away. I began my career helping people in the shadow of a
shuttered steel mill, at a time when too many good jobs were starting to move
overseas.
And by 2008, we had seen nearly a decade in
which families struggled with costs that kept rising but paychecks that didn't;
racking up more and more debt just to make the mortgage or pay tuition; to put
gas in the car or food on the table. And when the house of cards collapsed in
the Great Recession, millions of innocent Americans lost their jobs, their
homes, and their life savings - a tragedy from which we are still fighting to
recover.
Now, our friends at the Republican convention
were more than happy to talk about everything they think is wrong with America,
but they didn't have much to say about how they'd make it right. They want your
vote, but they don't want you to know their plan. And that's because all they
have to offer is the same prescription they've had for the last thirty years:
"Have a surplus? Try a tax cut."
"Deficit too high? Try another."
"Feel a cold coming on? Take two tax
cuts, roll back some regulations, and call us in the morning!"
Now, I've cut taxes for those who need it -
middle-class families and small businesses. But I don't believe that another
round of tax breaks for millionaires will bring good jobs to our shores, or pay
down our deficit.
I don't believe that firing teachers or
kicking students off financial aid will grow the economy, or help us compete
with the scientists and engineers coming out of China. After all that we've
been through, I don't believe that rolling back regulations on Wall Street will
help the small businesswoman expand, or the laid- off construction worker keeps
his home. We've been there, we've tried that, and we're not going back. We're
moving forward.
I won't pretend the path I'm offering is quick
or easy. I never have. You didn't elect me to tell you what you wanted to hear.
You elected me to tell you the truth. And the truth is, it will take more than
a few years for us to solve challenges that have built up over decades. It will
require common effort, shared responsibility, and the kind of bold, persistent
experimentation that Franklin Roosevelt pursued during the only crisis worse
than this one. And by the way - those of us who carryon his party's legacy
should remember that not every problem can be remedied with another government
programme or dictate from Washington.
But know this, America: Our problems can be
solved. Our challenges can be met. The path we offer may be harder, but it leads
to a better place. And I'm asking you to choose that future. I'm asking you to
rally around a set of goals for your country - goals in manufacturing, energy,
education, national security, and the deficit; a real, achievable plan that
will lead to new jobs, more opportunity, and rebuild this economy on a stronger
foundation. That's what we can do in the next four years, and that's why I'm
running for a second term as president of the United States.
We can choose a future where we export more
products and outsource fewer jobs. After a decade that was defined by what we
bought and borrowed, we're getting back to basics, and doing what America has
always done best:
We're making: 1g things again.
I've met workers in Detroit and Toledo who
feared they'd never build another American car. Today, they can't build them
fast enough, because we reinvented a dying auto industry that's back on top of
the world.
I've worked with business leaders who are
bringing jobs back to America - not because our workers make less pay, but
because we make better products. Because we work harder and smarter than anyone
else.
I've signed trade agreements that are helping
our companies sell more goods to millions of new customers -goods that are
stamped with three proud words: Made in America.
After a decade of decline, this country
created over half a million manufacturing jobs in the last two and a half
years. And now you have a choice: we can give more tax breaks to corporations
that ship jobs overseas, or we can start rewarding companies that open new
plants and train new workers and create new jobs here, in the United States of
America. We can help big factories and' small businesses double their exports,
and if we choose this path, we can create a million new manufacturing jobs in
the next four years. You can make that happen. You can choose that future.
You can choose the path where we control more
of our own energy. After 30 years of inaction, we raised fuel standards so that
by the middle of the next decade, cars and trucks will go twice as far on a
gallon of gas. We've doubled our use of renewable energy, and thousands of
Americans have jobs today building wind turbines and long-lasting batteries. In
the last year alone, we cut oil imports by 1 m barrels a day - more than any
administration in recent history. And today, the United States of America is
less dependent on foreign oil than at any time in nearly two decades.
Now you have a choice - between a strategy
that reverses this progress, or one that builds on it. We've opened millions of
new acres for oil and gas exploration in the last three years, and we'll open
more. But unlike my opponent, I will not let oil companies write this country's
energy plan, or endanger our coastlines, or collect another $4bn in corporate
welfare from our taxpayers.
We're offering a better path - a future where
we keep investing in wind and solar and clean coal; where farmers and
scientists harness new biofuels to power our cars and trucks; where
construction workers build homes and factories that waste less energy; where we
develop a hundred year supply of natural gas that's right beneath our feet. If
you choose this path, we can cut our oil imports in half by 2020 and support
more than 600,000 new jobs in natural gas alone.
And yes, my plan will continue to reduce the
carbon pollution that is heating our planet - because climate change is not a
hoax. More droughts and floods and wildfires are not a joke. They're a threat
to our children's future. And in this election, you can do something about it.
You can choose a future where more Americans
have the chance to gain the skills they need to compete, no matter how old they
are or how much money they have. Education was the gateway to opportunity for
me. It was the gateway for Michelle. And now more than ever, it is the gateway
to a middle-class life.
For the first time in a generation, nearly
every state has answered our call to raise their standards for teaching and
learning. Some of the worst schools in the country have made real gains in math
and reading. Millions of students are paying less for college today because we
finally took on a system that wasted billions of taxpayer dollars on banks and
lenders.
And now you have a choice - we can gut
education, or we can decide that in the United States of America, no child
should have her dreams deferred because of a crowded classroom or a crumbling
school. No family should have to set aside a college acceptance letter because
they don't have the money. No company should have to look for workers in China
because they couldn't find any with the right skills here at home.
Government has a role in this. But teachers
must inspire; principals must lead; parents must instil a thirst for learning,
and students, you've got to do the work. And together, I promise you - we can
out-educate and outcompete any country on Earth. Help me recruit 100,000 math
and science teachers in the next ten years, and improve early childhood
education. Help give 2m workers the chance to learn skills at their community
college that will lead directly to a job. Help us work with colleges and
universities to cut in half the growth of tuition costs over the next ten
years. We can meet that goal together. You can choose that future for America.
In a world of new threats and new challenges,
you can choose leadership that has been tested and proven. Four years ago, I
promised to end the war in Iraq. We did. I promised to refocus on the
terrorists who actually attacked us on 9/11. We have. We've blunted the
Taliban's momentum in Afghanistan, and in 2014, our longest war will be over. A
new tower rises above the New York skyline, al-Qaeda is on the path to defeat,
and Osama bin Laden is dead.
Tonight, we pay tribute to the Americans who
still serve in harm's way. We are forever in debt to a generation whose
sacrifice has made this country safer and more respected. We will never forget
you. And so long as I'm Commander-in-Chief, we will sustain the strongest
military the world has ever known. When you take off the uniform, we will serve
you as well as you've served us - because no one who fights for this country
should have to fight for a job, or a roof over their head, or the care that
they need when they come home.
Around the world, we've strengthened old
alliances and forged new coalitions to stop the spread of nuclear weapons.
We've reasserted our power across the Pacific and stood up to China on behalf
of our workers. From Burma to Libya to South Sudan, we have advanced the rights
and dignity of all human beings - men and women; Christians and Muslims and
Jews.
But for all the progress we've made,
challenges remain. Terrorist plots must be disrupted. Europe's crisis must be
contained. Our commitment to Israel's security must not waver, and neither must
our pursuit of peace. The Iranian government must face a world that stays
united against its nuclear ambitions. The historic change sweeping across the
Arab World must be defined not by the iron fist of a dictator or the hate of
extremists, but by the hopes and aspirations of ordinary people who are
reaching for the same rights that we celebrate today.
So now we face a choice. My opponent and his
running mate are new to foreign policy, but from all that we've seen and heard,
they want to take us back to an era of blustering and blundering that cost
America so dearly.
After all, you don't call Russia our number
one enemy - and not al-Qaeda - unless you're still stuck in a cold war time
warp. You might not be ready for diplomacy with Beijing if you can't visit the
Olympics without insulting our closest ally. My opponent said it was
"tragic" to end the war in Iraq, and he won't tell us how he'll end
the· war in Afghanistan. I have, and I will. And while my opponent would spend
more money on military hardware that our Joint Chiefs don't even want, I'll use
the money we're no longer spending on war to pay down our debt and put more
people back to work - rebuilding roads and bridges; schools and runways After
two wars that have cost us thousands of lives and over a trillion dollars, it's
time to do some nation-building right here at home.
You can choose a future where we reduce our
deficit without wrecking our middle class. Independent analysis shows that my
plan would cut our deficits by $4tn. Last summer, I worked with Republicans in
Congress to cut $1tn in spending - because those of us who believe government
can be a force for good should work harder than anyone to reform it, so that
it's leaner, more efficient, and more responsive to the American people.
I want to reform the tax code so that it's
simple, fair, and asks the wealthiest households to pay higher taxes on incomes
over $250,000 - the same rate we had when Bill Clinton was president; the same
rate we had when our economy created nearly 23m new jobs, the biggest surplus
in history, and a lot of millionaires to boot.
Now, I'm still eager to reach an agreement
based on the principles of my bipartisan debt commission. No party has a
monopoly on wisdom. No democracy works without compromise. But when Governor
Romney and his allies in Congress tell us we can somehow lower our deficit by
spending trillions more on new tax breaks for the wealthy - well, you do the
math. I refuse to go along with that. And as long as I'm president, I never
will.
I refuse to ask middle class families to give
up their deductions for owning a home or raising their kids just to pay for
another millionaire's tax cut. I refuse to ask students to pay more for
college; or kick children out of Head Start programs, or eliminate health
insurance for millions of Americans who are poor, elderly, or disabled - all so
those with the most can pay less.
And I will never turn Medicare into a voucher
No American should ever have to spend their golden years at the mercy of insurance
companies. They should retire with the care and dignity they have earned. Yes,
we will reform and strengthen Medicare for the long haul, but we'll do it by
reducing the cost of healthcare - not by asking seniors to pay thousands of
dollars more. And we will keep the promise of Social Security by taking the
responsible steps to strengthen it - not by turning it over to Wall Street.
This is the choice we now face. This is what
the election comes down to. Over and over, we have been told by our opponents
that bigger tax cuts and fewer regulations are the only way; that since
government can't do everything, it should do almost nothing. If you can't
afford health insurance, hope that you don't get sick. If a company releases
toxic pollution into the air your children breathe, well, that's just the price
of progress. If you can't afford to start a business or go to college, take my
opponent's advice and "borrow money from your parents."
You know what? That's not who we are. That's
not what this country's about. As Americans, we believe we are endowed by our
creator with certain inalienable rights - rights that no man or government can
take away. We insist on personal responsibility and we celebrate individual
initiative. We're not entitled to success. We have to earn it. We honour the
strivers, the dreamers, the risk-takers who have always been the driving force
behind our free enterprise system - the greatest engine of growth and
prosperity the world has ever known.
But we also' believe in something called
citizenship - a word at the very heart of our founding, at the very essence of
our democracy; the idea that this country only works when we accept certain
Obligations to one another, and to future generations.
We believe that when a CEO pays his
autoworkers enough to buy the cars that they build, the whole company does
better.
We believe that when a family can no longer be
tricked into signing a mortgage they can't afford, that family is protected,
but so is the value of other people's homes, and so is the entire economy.
We believe that a little girl who's offered an
escape from poverty by a great teacher or a grant for college could become the
founder of the next Google, or the scientist who cures cancer, or the president
of the United States - and it's in our power to give her that chance.
We know that churches and charities can often
make more of a difference than a poverty program alone. We don't want handouts
for people who refuse to help themselves, and we don't want bailouts for banks
that break the rules. We don't think government can solve all our problems. But
we don't think that government is the source of all our problems - any more
than are welfare recipients, or corporations, or unions, or immigrants, or
gays, or any other group we're told to blame for our troubles.
Because we understand that this democracy is
ours.
We, the people, recognise that we have
responsibilities as well as rights; that our destinies are bound together; that
a freedom which only asks what's in it for me, a freedom without a commitment
to others, a freedom without love or charity or duty or patriotism, is unworthy
of our founding ideals, and those who died in their defence.
As citizens, we understand that America is not
about what can be done for us. It's about what can be done by us, together,
through the hard and frustrating but necessary work of self-government.
So you see; the election four years ago wasn't
about me. It was about you. My fellow citizens - you were the change.
You're the reason there's a little girl with a
heart disorder in Phoenix who'll get the surgery she needs because an insurance
company can't limit her coverage. You did that.
You're the reason a young man in Colorado who
never thought he'd be ab!e to afford his dream of earning a medical degree is
about to get that chance. You made that possible.
You're the reason a young immigrant who grew
up here and went to school here and pledged allegiance to our flag will no
longer be deported from the only country she's ever called home; why selfless
soldiers won't be kicked out of the military because of who they are or who
they love; why thousands of families have finally been able to say to the loved
ones who served us so bravely: "Welcome home."
If you turn away now Co. if you buy into the
cynicism that the change we fought for isn't possible ... well, change will not
happen. If you give up on the idea that your voice can make a difference, then
other voices will fill the void: lobbyists and special interests; the people
with the $1 Om checks who are trying to buy this election and those who are
making it harder for you to vote; Washington politicians who want to decide who
you can marry, or control healthcare choices that women should make for themselves.
Only you can make sure that doesn't happen.
Only you have the power to move us forward.
I recognise that times have changed since I
first spoke to this convention. The times have changed - and so have I.
I'm no longer just a candidate. I'm the
president. I know what it means to send young Americans into battle, for I have
held in my arms the mothers and fathers of those who didn't return. I've shared
the pain of families who've lost their homes, and the frustration of workers
who've lost their jobs. If the critics are right that I've made al! my
decisions based on polls, then I must not be very good at reading them. And
while I'm proud of what we've achieved together, I'm far more mindful of my own
failings, knowing exactly what Lincoln meant when he said, "I have been
driven to my knees many times by the overwhelming conviction that I had no
place else to go."
But as I stand here tonight, I have never been
more hopeful about America. Not because I think I have all the answers. Not
because I'm naive about the magnitude of our challenges.
I'm hopeful because of you.
The young woman I met at a science fair who
won national recognition for her biology research while living with her family
at a homeless shelter - she gives me hope.
The auto worker who won the lottery after his
plant almost closed, but kept coming to work every day, and bought flags for
his whole town and one of the cars that he built to surprise his wife - he
gives me hope.
The family business in Warroad, Minnesota that
didn't layoff a single one of their four thousand employees during this
recession, even when their competitors shut down dozens of plants, even when it
meant the owners gave up some perks and pay - because they understood their
biggest asset was the community and the workers who helped build that business
- they give me hope.
And I think about the young sailor I met at
Walter Reed hospital, still recovering from a grenade attack that would cause
him to have his leg amputated above the knee. Six months ago, I would watch him
walk into a White House dinner honouring those who served in Iraq, tall and
twenty pounds heavier, dashing in his uniform, with a big grin on his face;
sturdy on his new leg. And I remember how a few months after that I would watch
him on a bicycle, racing with his fellow wounded warriors on a sparkling spring
day, inspiring other heroes who had just begun the hard path he had travelled.
He gives me hope.
I don't know what party these men and women
belong to. I don't know if they'll vote for me. But I know that their spirit
defines us They remind me, in the words of Scripture, that ours is a
"future filled with hope."
And if you share that faith with me - if you
share that hope with me - I ask you tonight for your vote.
If you reject the notion that this nation's
promise is reserved for the few, your voice must be heard in this election.
If you reject the notion that our government
is forever beholden to the highest bidder, you need to stand up in this
election.
If you believe that new plants and factories
can dot our landscape; that new energy can power our future; that new schools
can provide ladders of opportunity to this nation of dreamers; if you believe
in a country where everyone gets a fair shot, and everyone does their fair
share, and everyone plays by the same rules, then I need you to vote this
November.
America, I never said this journey would be
easy, and I won't promise that now. Yes, our path is harder - but it leads to a
better place. Yes our road is longer - but we travel it together. We don't turn
back. We leave no one behind. We pull each other up. We draw strength from our
victories, and we learn from our mistakes, but we keep our eyes fixed on that
distant horizon, knowing that Providence is with us, and that we are surely
blessed to be citizens of the greatest nation on Earth.
Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless
the United State of America.
