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obama | That reality is why we've invested in the Iron Dome system to save countless lives -- because those children deserve to sleep better at night. That's why we've made it clear, time and again, that Israel cannot accept rocket attacks from Gaza, and we have stood up for Israel's right to defend itself. And that's why Israel has a right to expect Hamas to renounce violence and recognize Israel's right to exist. | speech |
obama | This is the story of Israel. This is the work that has brought the dreams of so many generations to life. And every step of the way, Israel has built unbreakable bonds of friendship with my country, the United States of America. | speech |
obama | Of course, even as we draw strength from the story of God's will and His gift of freedom expressed on Passover, we also know that here on Earth we must bear our responsibilities in an imperfect world. That means accepting our measure of sacrifice and struggle, just like previous generations. It means us working through generation after generation on behalf of that ideal of freedom. | speech |
obama | And as the President of a country that you can count on as your greatest friend I am confident that you can help us find the promise in the days that lie ahead. And as a man who's been inspired in my own life by that timeless calling within the Jewish experience -- tikkun olam I am hopeful that we can draw upon what's best in ourselves to meet the challenges that will come; to win the battles for peace in the wake of so much war; and to do the work of repairing this world. That's your job. That's my job. That's the task of all of us. | speech |
obama | Look to a future in which Jews and Muslims and Christians can all live in peace and greater prosperity in this Holy Land. Believe in that. And most of all, look to the future that you want for your own children -- a future in which a Jewish, democratic, vibrant state is protected and accepted for this time and for all time. | speech |
obama | One of the great ironies of what's happening in the broader region is that so much of what people are yearning for -- education, entrepreneurship, the ability to start a business without paying a bribe, the ability to connect to the global economy -- those are things that can be found here in Israel. This should be a hub for thriving regional trade, and an engine for opportunity. | speech |
obama | As Ariel Sharon said -- I'm quoting him -- "It is impossible to have a Jewish democratic state, at the same time to control all of Eretz Israel. If we insist on fulfilling the dream in its entirety, we are liable to lose it all." Or, from a different perspective, I think of what the novelist David Grossman said shortly after losing his son, as he described the necessity of peace -- "A peace of no choice" he said, "must be approached with the same determination and creativity as one approaches a war of no choice." | speech |
obama | And let me say this as a politician -- I can promise you this, political leaders will never take risks if the people do not push them to take some risks. You must create the change that you want to see. Ordinary people can accomplish extraordinary things. | speech |
obama | Just a few days from now, Jews here in Israel and around the world will sit with family and friends at the Seder table, and celebrate with songs, wine and symbolic foods. After enjoying Seders with family and friends in Chicago and on the campaign trail, I'm proud that I've now brought this tradition into the White House. I did so because I wanted my daughters to experience the Haggadah, and the story at the center of Passover that makes this time of year so powerful. | speech |
obama | What makes us special -- a lot of times we talk about American exceptionalism and how much we love this country, and there are so many wonderful things about our country. But what makes us the envy of the world has not just been our ability to generate incredible wealth for a few people; it's the fact that we've given everybody a chance to pursue their own true measure of happiness. That's who we are. | speech |
obama | I've just come from Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, where I gave a pretty long speech on the economy. I will not repeat the whole thing here. But what I did want to talk about today is what I've talked about when I gave my first big speech as a senator eight years ago, and that's where we as a country need to go to give every American a chance to get ahead in the 21st century. And UCM understands how important that is. | speech |
obama | Now, that is exactly the kind of innovation we need when it comes to college costs. That's what's happening right here in Warrensburg. And I want the entire country to notice it, and I want other colleges to take a look at what's being done here. And I've asked my team to shake the trees all across the country for some of the best ideas out there for keeping college costs down, so that as students prepare to go back to school, I'm in a position to lay out what's going to be an aggressive strategy to shake up the system to make sure that middle-class students, working-class students, poor kids who have the drive and the wherewithal and want to get a good college education, they can get it without basically mortgaging their entire future. We can make this happen but this is an example of the kind of thing we've got to focus on instead of a bunch of distractions in Washington. | speech |
obama | We haven't just wanted success for ourselves; we want it for our neighbors. We want it for our neighborhoods. That's why we don't call it Bob's dream or Barbara's dream or Barack's dream -- we call it the American Dream. It's one that we share. That's who we are -- the idea that no matter who you are, what you look like, where you come from, who you love, you can make it here in America if you're trying hard. | speech |
obama | Now, three years ago, I worked with Democrats to reform the student loan system so that taxpayer dollars weren't going to pad the pockets of big banks, and instead were going to help students get a college education. So millions of students were helped by that. We took action to cap loan repayments at 10 percent of monthly incomes for responsible borrowers. A lot of young people don't know this, but if you've taken out federal loans, then if you choose a job, let's say, that doesn't pay as much as you'd like or you deserve, if you're a teacher or some other profession, you only have to pay 10 percent of your income, which means that you can afford to go to college and know that you're not going to be broke when you graduate -- which is important. And not enough young people are using this. | speech |
obama | Tackling college costs, creating more good jobs, establishing a better bargain for middle-class families and everybody trying to work to join into it, an economy that grows not from the top down but from the middle out -- that's not just what I'm going to focus on for the next few months, that's what I'm going to be focused on for the remainder of my presidency. And I'm going to take these plans all across the country, and I'm going to ask folks for help because, frankly, sometimes I just can't wait for Congress. It just takes them a long time to decide on stuff. | speech |
obama | Putting people back to work, making sure the economy is working for everybody, building the middle class, making sure they're secure -- that's my highest priority. That's what I'm interested in. Because when the economy is working for middle-class families, it solves an awful lot of other problems. Now the poor start having ladders of opportunity they can climb into if they work hard. A lot of the social tensions are reduced, because everybody is feeling pretty good. | speech |
obama | So I welcome ideas from anybody across the political spectrum. But I'm not going to allow gridlock or inaction or willful indifference to get in this country's way. We've got to get moving. | speech |
obama | We've got to rethink our high schools so that our kids graduate with the real-world skills that this new age demands. We've got to reward the schools that forge partnerships with local colleges and businesses, and that focus on the fields of the future like science and technology and math and engineering. | speech |
obama | I want to thank all the students who came out on a summer afternoon. I know that summer is -- especially a day as pretty as today, it's tempting to be outside. I know classes don't start for a few more weeks. You could be over on Pine Street beating the heat. Now that I think about it, it may be good that you're here instead of getting into trouble. | speech |
obama | So here at Central Missouri, you are a laboratory for this kind of innovation. I had a great discussion with not only the president of this university but also the superintendent of schools here, the head of the community colleges. What's happened at UCM is you've partnered with the Lee's Summit School District, with the Metropolitan Community College, with local health care, engineering, energy, and infrastructure firms -- all industries that are going to drive job growth in the future -- and everybody is now working together to equip students with better skills, allow them to graduate faster with less debt, and with the certainty of being able to get a job at the other end. That's a recipe for success over the long term. | speech |
obama | We've got a growing number of Republican senators who are trying to get things done with their Democratic counterparts -- just passed an immigration bill that economists say is going to boost our economy by more than a trillion dollars. But so far, at least, there's a faction of House Republicans who won't let the bill go to the floor for a vote. And if you ask them, well, okay, what's your economic agenda for the middle class, how are we going to grow our economy so everybody prospers, they'll start talking about out-of-control government spending -- although, as I said, government spending has actually gone down and deficits are going down -- or they'll talk about Obamacare, the whole idea that somehow if we don't provide health insurance to 50 million Americans that's going to improve the economy. Never mind the fact that our jobs growth is a lot faster now than it was during the last recovery when Obamacare wasn't around. | speech |
obama | And what we need what we need is not a three-month plan, or even a three-year plan -- we need a long-term plan based on steady, persistent effort to reverse the forces that have conspired against middle-class families for decades. And I am confident -- I know -- there are members of both parties who understand what's at stake. | speech |
obama | And I've got a hundred -- I've got 1,267 days left in my presidency. And I'm going to spend every minute, every second, as long as I have the privilege of being in this office, making sure that I am doing every single thing that I can so that middle-class families, working families, people who are out there struggling every single day -- that they know that that work can lead them to a better place. And we're going to make sure that that American Dream is available for everybody, not just now, but in the future. | speech |
obama | Now, unfortunately, over the past couple of years in particular, Washington hasn't just ignored this problem -- they've actually made it worse. And I am interested in working with everybody, and there are a bunch of not just Democrats, but also Republicans who recognize that Washington is not working. But we've also seen a group of folks, particularly in the House, a group of Republicans in Congress that -- they suggested they wouldn't vote to pay the bills that Congress had already run up. And that fiasco harmed a fragile recovery back in 2011. | speech |
obama | So where I can act on my own, I'm going to. I'm not going to wait for Congress. Because the choices that we make now aren't just going to determine what happens to the young people here at this school, it's going to determine what happens to your kids and your grandkids. So one thing I really want to focus on here, because UCM is doing some extraordinary things, I want to focus on just briefly that second cornerstone -- an education that prepares our kids and our workers for the global competition that you'll face. That is why I wanted to highlight what's happening here at the University of Central Missouri, because you guys are doing some things right. | speech |
obama | We're working to redesign high schools and partner them with colleges and employers that offer the real-world education and hands-on training that can lead directly to a job and career. We're shaking up our system of higher education to give parents more information, and colleges more incentives to offer better value, so that no middle-class kid is priced out of a college education. We're offering millions the opportunity to cap their monthly student loan payments to ten percent of their income, and I want to work with Congress to see how we can help even more Americans who feel trapped by student loan debt. And I'm reaching out to some of America's leading foundations and corporations on a new initiativeto help more young men of color facing tough odds stay on track and reach their full potential. | speech |
obama | Cory is here tonight. And like the Army he loves, like the America he serves, Sergeant First Class Cory Remsburg never gives up, and he does not quit. | speech |
obama | Even now, Cory is still blind in one eye. He still struggles on his left side. But slowly, steadily, with the support of caregivers like his dad Craig, and the community around him, Cory has grown stronger. Day by day, he's learned to speak again and stand again and walk again - and he's working toward the day when he can serve his country again. | speech |
obama | Last year, I also pledged to connect 99 percent of our students to high-speed broadband over the next four years. Tonight, I can announce that with the support of the FCC and companies like Apple, Microsoft, Sprint, and Verizon, we've got a down payment to start connecting more than 15,000 schools and twenty million students over the next two years, without adding a dime to the deficit. | speech |
obama | One last point on financial security. For decades, few things exposed hard-working families to economic hardship more than a broken health care system. And in case you haven't heard, we're in the process of fixing that. | speech |
obama | A farmer prepared for the spring after the strongest five-year stretch of farm exports in our history. A rural doctor gave a young child the first prescription to treat asthma that his mother could afford. A man took the bus home from the graveyard shift, bone-tired but dreaming big dreams for his son. And in tight-knit communities across America, fathers and mothers will tuck in their kids, put an arm around their spouse, remember fallen comrades, and give thanks for being home from a war that, after twelve long years, is finally coming to an end. | speech |
obama | I first met Cory Remsburg, a proud Army Ranger, at Omaha Beach on the 65th anniversary of D-Day. Along with some of his fellow Rangers, he walked me through the program - a strong, impressive young man, with an easy manner, sharp as a tack. We joked around, and took pictures, and I told him to stay in touch. | speech |
obama | Now, women hold a majority of lower-wage jobs - but they're not the only ones stifled by stagnant wages. Americans understand that some people will earn more than others, and we don't resent those who, by virtue of their efforts, achieve incredible success. But Americans overwhelmingly agree that no one who works full time should ever have to raise a family in poverty. | speech |
obama | Let's face it: that belief has suffered some serious blows. Over more than three decades, even before the Great Recession hit, massive shifts in technology and global competition had eliminated a lot of good, middle-class jobs, and weakened the economic foundations that families depend on. | speech |
obama | Congress, give these hardworking, responsible Americans that chance. They need our help, but more important, this country needs them in the game. That's why I've been asking CEOs to give more long-term unemployed workers a fair shot at that new job and new chance to support their families; this week, many will come to the White House to make that commitment real. Tonight, I ask every business leader in America to join us and to do the same - because we are stronger when America fields a full team. | speech |
obama | And if you want to know the real impact this law is having, just talk to Governor Steve Beshear of Kentucky, who's here tonight. Kentucky's not the most liberal part of the country, but he's like a man possessed when it comes to covering his commonwealth's families. "They are our friends and neighbors," he said. "They are people we shop and go to church with...farmers out on the tractors...grocery clerks...they are people who go to work every morning praying they don't get sick. No one deserves to live that way." | speech |
obama | My fellow Americans, no other country in the world does what we do. On every issue, the world turns to us, not simply because of the size of our economy or our military might - but because of the ideals we stand for, and the burdens we bear to advance them. | speech |
obama | Opportunity is who we are. And the defining project of our generation is to restore that promise. | speech |
obama | The ideas I've outlined so far can speed up growth and create more jobs. But in this rapidly-changing economy, we have to make sure that every American has the skills to fill those jobs. | speech |
obama | So, even as we aggressively pursue terrorist networks - through more targeted efforts and by building the capacity of our foreign partners - America must move off a permanent war footing. That's why I've imposed prudent limits on the use of drones - for we will not be safer if people abroad believe we strike within their countries without regard for the consequence. That's why, working with this Congress, I will reform our surveillance programs - because the vital work of our intelligence community depends on public confidence, here and abroad, that the privacy of ordinary people is not being violated. And with the Afghan war ending, this needs to be the year Congress lifts the remaining restrictions on detainee transfers and we close the prison at Guantanamo Bay - because we counter terrorism not just through intelligence and military action, but by remaining true to our Constitutional ideals, and setting an example for the rest of the world. | speech |
obama | Estiven Rodriguez couldn't speak a word of English when he moved to New York City at age nine. But last month, thanks to the support of great teachers and an innovative tutoring program, he led a march of his classmates - through a crowd of cheering parents and neighbors - from their high school to the post office, where they mailed off their college applications. And this son of a factory worker just found out he's going to college this fall. | speech |
obama | That's why I believe this can be a breakthrough year for America. After five years of grit and determined effort, the United States is better-positioned for the 21st century than any other nation on Earth. | speech |
obama | In the coming months, let's see where else we can make progress together. Let's make this a year of action. That's what most Americans want - for all of us in this chamber to focus on their lives, their hopes, their aspirations. And what I believe unites the people of this nation, regardless of race or region or party, young or old, rich or poor, is the simple, profound belief in opportunity for all - the notion that if you work hard and take responsibility, you can get ahead. | speech |
obama | "My recovery has not been easy," he says. "Nothing in life that's worth anything is easy." | speech |
obama | The sanctions that we put in place helped make this opportunity possible. But let me be clear: if this Congress sends me a new sanctions bill now that threatens to derail these talks, I will veto it. For the sake of our national security, we must give diplomacy a chance to succeed. If Iran's leaders do not seize this opportunity, then I will be the first to call for more sanctions, and stand ready to exercise all options to make sure Iran does not build a nuclear weapon. But if Iran's leaders do seize the chance, then Iran could take an important step to rejoin the community of nations, and we will have resolved one of the leading security challenges of our time without the risks of war. | speech |
obama | After 2014, we will support a unified Afghanistan as it takes responsibility for its own future. If the Afghan government signs a security agreement that we have negotiated, a small force of Americans could remain in Afghanistan with NATO allies to carry out two narrow missions: training and assisting Afghan forces, and counterterrorism operations to pursue any remnants of al Qaeda. For while our relationship with Afghanistan will change, one thing will not: our resolve that terrorists do not launch attacks against our country. | speech |
obama | Citizenship means standing up for everyone's right to vote. Last year, part of the Voting Rights Act was weakened. But conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats are working together to strengthen it; and the bipartisan commission I appointed last year has offered reforms so that no one has to wait more than a half hour to vote. Let's support these efforts. It should be the power of our vote, not the size of our bank account, that drives our democracy. | speech |
obama | Now, one of the biggest factors in bringing more jobs back is our commitment to American energy. The all-of-the-above energy strategy I announced a few years ago is working, and today, America is closer to energy independence than we've been in decades. | speech |
obama | Citizenship means standing up for the lives that gun violence steals from us each day. I have seen the courage of parents, students, pastors, and police officers all over this country who say "we are not afraid," and I intend to keep trying, with or without Congress, to help stop more tragedies from visiting innocent Americans in our movie theaters, shopping malls, or schools like Sandy Hook. | speech |
obama | The problem is we're still not reaching enough kids, and we're not reaching them in time. That has to change. | speech |
obama | We know where to start: the best measure of opportunity is access to a good job. With the economy picking up speed, companies say they intend to hire more people this year. And over half of big manufacturers say they're thinking of insourcing jobs from abroad. | speech |
obama | Moreover, we can take the money we save with this transition to tax reform to create jobs rebuilding our roads, upgrading our ports, unclogging our commutes - because in today's global economy, first-class jobs gravitate to first-class infrastructure. We'll need Congress to protect more than three million jobs by finishing transportation and waterways bills this summer. But I will act on my own to slash bureaucracy and streamline the permitting process for key projects, so we can get more construction workers on the job as fast as possible. | speech |
obama | We also have the chance, right now, to beat other countries in the race for the next wave of high-tech manufacturing jobs. My administration has launched two hubs for high-tech manufacturing in Raleigh and Youngstown, where we've connected businesses to research universities that can help America lead the world in advanced technologies. Tonight, I'm announcing we'll launch six more this year. Bipartisan bills in both houses could double the number of these hubs and the jobs they create. So get those bills to my desk and put more Americans back to work. | speech |
obama | In the year since I asked this Congress to raise the minimum wage, five states have passed laws to raise theirs. Many businesses have done it on their own. Nick Chute is here tonight with his boss, John Soranno. John's an owner of Punch Pizza in Minneapolis, and Nick helps make the dough. Only now he makes more of it: John just gave his employees a raise, to ten bucks an hour - a decision that eased their financial stress and boosted their morale. | speech |
obama | We know that the nation that goes all-in on innovation today will own the global economy tomorrow. This is an edge America cannot surrender. Federally-funded research helped lead to the ideas and inventions behind Google and smartphones. That's why Congress should undo the damage done by last year's cuts to basic research so we can unleash the next great American discovery - whether it's vaccines that stay ahead of drug-resistant bacteria, or paper-thin material that's stronger than steel. And let's pass a patent reform bill that allows our businesses to stay focused on innovation, not costly, needless litigation. | speech |
obama | What Andra and her employees experienced is how it should be for every employer - and every job seeker. So tonight, I've asked Vice President Biden to lead an across-the-board reform of America's training programs to make sure they have one mission: train Americans with the skills employers need, and match them to good jobs that need to be filled right now. That means more on-the-job training, and more apprenticeships that set a young worker on an upward trajectory for life. It means connecting companies to community colleges that can help design training to fill their specific needs. And if Congress wants to help, you can concentrate funding on proven programs that connect more ready-to-work Americans with ready-to-be-filled jobs. | speech |
obama | As President, I'm committed to making Washington work better, and rebuilding the trust of the people who sent us here. I believe most of you are, too. Last month, thanks to the work of Democrats and Republicans, this Congress finally produced a budget that undoes some of last year's severe cuts to priorities like education. Nobody got everything they wanted, and we can still do more to invest in this country's future while bringing down our deficit in a balanced way. But the budget compromise should leave us freer to focus on creating new jobs, not creating new crises. | speech |
obama | It's not just oil and natural gas production that's booming; we're becoming a global leader in solar, too. Every four minutes, another American home or business goes solar; every panel pounded into place by a worker whose job can't be outsourced. Let's continue that progress with a smarter tax policy that stops giving $4 billion a year to fossil fuel industries that don't need it, so that we can invest more in fuels of the future that do. | speech |
obama | You see, in a world of complex threats, our security and leadership depends on all elements of our power - including strong and principled diplomacy. American diplomacy has rallied more than fifty countries to prevent nuclear materials from falling into the wrong hands, and allowed us to reduce our own reliance on Cold War stockpiles. American diplomacy, backed by the threat of force, is why Syria's chemical weapons are being eliminated, and we will continue to work with the international community to usher in the future the Syrian people deserve - a future free of dictatorship, terror and fear. As we speak, American diplomacy is supporting Israelis and Palestinians as they engage in difficult but necessary talks to end the conflict there; to achieve dignity and an independent state for Palestinians, and lasting peace and security for the State of Israel - a Jewish state that knows America will always be at their side. | speech |
obama | Part of what makes this issue difficult is most of us do have health insurance, we still do. And so -- and so we kind of feel like, well, I don't know, it's kind of working for me; I'm not worrying too much. But what we have to understand is that what's happened to Natoma, there but for the grace of God go any one of us. Anybody here, if you lost your job right now and after the COBRA ran out -- | speech |
obama | And what my proposal says is if you still can't afford the insurance in this new marketplace, then we're going to offer you tax credits to do so. And that will add up to the largest middle-class tax cut for health care in history. That's what we're going to do. | speech |
obama | With this reform package, all new insurance plans would be required to offer free preventive care to their customers starting this year -- so free check-ups to catch preventable diseases on the front end. That's a smart thing to do. Starting this year, if you buy a new plan, there won't be lifetime or restrictive annual limits on the amount of care you receive from your insurance companies, so you won't be surprised by the fine print that says suddenly they've stopped paying and you now suddenly are $50,000 or $100,000 or $200,000 out of pocket. That won't -- that will not happen if this becomes law this year. | speech |
obama | Yes, that kid Turner looks pretty good. You guys are doing all right. | speech |
obama | Did you hear that, Dennis? Go ahead, say that again. | speech |
obama | So the bottom line is this: The status quo on health care is simply unsustainable. We can't have -- we can't have a system that works better for the insurance companies than it does for the American people. | speech |
obama | So let's just think about -- think about if you lost your job right now. How many people here might have had a preexisting condition that would mean it'd be very hard to get health insurance on the individual market? Think about if you wanted to change jobs. Think about if you wanted to start your own business but you suddenly had to give up your health insurance on your job. Think about what happens if a child of yours, heaven forbid, got diagnosed with something that made it hard for them to insure. | speech |
obama | I want to thank Connie -- I want to thank Connie, who introduced me. I want to thank her and her family for being here on behalf of her sister, Natoma. I don't know if everybody understood that Natoma is in the hospital right now, so Connie was filling in. It's not easy to share such a personal story, when your sister who you love so much is sick. And so I appreciate Connie being willing to do so here today, and and I want everybody to understand that Connie and her sister are the reason that I'm here today. | speech |
obama | A study came out just yesterday -- this is a nonpartisan study -- it's found that without reform, premiums could more than double for individuals and families over the next decade. Family policies could go to an average of $25,000 or more. Can you afford that? | speech |
obama | Hello, Ohio! It is good to be here in the Buckeye State. Congratulations on winning the Big Ten Championship. I'm filling out my brackets now. And it's even better to be out of Washington for a little while. | speech |
obama | Somebody asked what's our plan. Let me describe exactly what we're doing, because we've ended up with a proposal that incorporates the best ideas from Democrats and Republicans, even though Republicans don't give us any credit. That's all right. | speech |
obama | I love you back. I do. | speech |
obama | So is your terrific United States Senator Sherrod Brown. Love Sherrod Brown. Your own congressman, who is tireless on behalf of working people, Dennis Kucinich. | speech |
obama | So number one -- number one is insurance reform. The second thing that this plan would change about the current system is this: For the first time, uninsured individuals, small businesses, they'd have the same kind of choice of private health insurance that members of Congress get for themselves. Understand if this reform becomes law, members of Congress, they'll be getting their insurance from the same place that the uninsured get theirs, because if it's good enough for the American people, it's good enough for the people who send us to Washington. | speech |
obama | See, Connie felt it was important that her sister's story be told. But I want to just repeat what happened here. Last month, I got a letter from Connie's sister, Natoma. She's self-employed, she's trying to make ends meet, and for years she's done the responsible thing, just like most of you have. She bought insurance -- she didn't have a big employer who provided her insurance, so she bought her health insurance through the individual market. | speech |
obama | Couple of people I just want to make sure I give special mention to. First of all, you already saw him, Governor Ted Strickland in the house. Ted is fighting every day to bring jobs and economic development to Ohio. | speech |
obama | So January was her last month of being insured. Like so many responsible Americans -- folks who work hard every day, who try to do the right thing -- she was forced to hang her fortunes on chance. To take a chance, that's all she could do. She hoped against hope that she would stay healthy. She feared terribly that she might not stay healthy. | speech |
obama | I see -- I see some young people in the audience. If you're an uninsured young adult, you will be able to stay on your parents' policy until you're 26 years old under this law. | speech |
obama | That was the letter that I read to the insurance companies, including the person responsible for raising her rates. Now, I understand Natoma was pretty surprised when she found out that I had read it to these CEOs. But I thought it was important for them to understand the human dimensions of this problem. Her rates have been hiked more than 40 percent. | speech |
obama | So with this plan, we're going to make sure the dollars we make -- the dollars that we spend on health care are going to make insurance more affordable and more secure. And we're going to eliminate wasteful taxpayer subsidies that currently go to insurance company. Insurance companies are making billions of dollars on subsidies from you, the taxpayer. And if we take those subsidies away, we can use them to help folks like Natoma get health insurance so she doesn't lose her house. | speech |
obama | Your employer can't sustain that. So what's going to happen is, they're basically -- more and more of them are just going to say, you know what? You're on your own on this. | speech |
obama | I know there are those who dismiss such beliefs as happy talk. They claim that our insistence on something larger, something firmer and more honest in our public life is just a Trojan Horse for higher taxes and the abandonment of traditional values. And that's to be expected. Because if you don't have any fresh ideas, then you use stale tactics to scare the voters. If you don't have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run from. | speech |
obama | America, we are better than these last eight years. We are a better country than this. | speech |
obama | And Democrats, we must also admit that fulfilling America's promise will require more than just money. It will require a renewed sense of responsibility from each of us to recover what John F. Kennedy called our "intellectual and moral strength." Yes, government must lead on energy independence, but each of us must do our part to make our homes and businesses more efficient. Yes, we must provide more ladders to success for young men who fall into lives of crime and despair. But we must also admit that programs alone can't replace parents; that government can't turn off the television and make a child do her homework; that fathers must take more responsibility for providing the love and guidance their children need. | speech |
obama | We measure progress by how many people can find a job that pays the mortgage; whether you can put a little extra money away at the end of each month so you can someday watch your child receive her college diploma. We measure progress in the 23 million new jobs that were created when Bill Clinton was President - when the average American family saw its income go up $7,500 instead of down $2,000 like it has under George Bush. | speech |
obama | The men and women who gathered there could've heard many things. They could've heard words of anger and discord. They could've been told to succumb to the fear and frustration of so many dreams deferred. | speech |
obama | "We cannot walk alone," the preacher cried. "And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back." | speech |
obama | And just as we keep our keep our promise to the next generation here at home, so must we keep America's promise abroad. If John McCain wants to have a debate about who has the temperament, and judgment, to serve as the next Commander-in-Chief, that's a debate I'm ready to have. | speech |
obama | But I stand before you tonight because all across America something is stirring. What the nay-sayers don't understand is that this election has never been about me. It's been about you. | speech |
obama | And I've seen it in this campaign. In the young people who voted for the first time, and in those who got involved again after a very long time. In the Republicans who never thought they'd pick up a Democratic ballot, but did. I've seen it in the workers who would rather cut their hours back a day than see their friends lose their jobs, in the soldiers who re-enlist after losing a limb, in the good neighbors who take a stranger in when a hurricane strikes and the floodwaters rise. | speech |
obama | But what I will not do is suggest that the Senator takes his positions for political purposes. Because one of the things that we have to change in our politics is the idea that people cannot disagree without challenging each other's character and patriotism. | speech |
obama | Now, I don't believe that Senator McCain doesn't care what's going on in the lives of Americans. I just think he doesn't know. Why else would he define middle-class as someone making under five million dollars a year? How else could he propose hundreds of billions in tax breaks for big corporations and oil companies but not one penny of tax relief to more than one hundred million Americans? How else could he offer a health care plan that would actually tax people's benefits, or an education plan that would do nothing to help families pay for college, or a plan that would privatize Social Security and gamble your retirement? | speech |
obama | For eighteen long months, you have stood up, one by one, and said enough to the politics of the past. You understand that in this election, the greatest risk we can take is to try the same old politics with the same old players and expect a different result. You have shown what history teaches us - that at defining moments like this one, the change we need doesn't come from Washington. Change comes to Washington. Change happens because the American people demand it - because they rise up and insist on new ideas and new leadership, a new politics for a new time. | speech |
obama | Now is the time to finally keep the promise of affordable, accessible health care for every single American. If you have health care, my plan will lower your premiums. If you don't, you'll be able to get the same kind of coverage that members of Congress give themselves. And as someone who watched my mother argue with insurance companies while she lay in bed dying of cancer, I will make certain those companies stop discriminating against those who are sick and need care the most. | speech |
obama | These challenges are not all of government's making. But the failure to respond is a direct result of a broken politics in Washington and the failed policies of George W. Bush. | speech |
obama | The times are too serious, the stakes are too high for this same partisan playbook. So let us agree that patriotism has no party. I love this country, and so do you, and so does John McCain. The men and women who serve in our battlefields may be Democrats and Republicans and Independents, but they have fought together and bled together and some died together under the same proud flag. They have not served a Red America or a Blue America - they have served the United States of America. | speech |
obama | I believe that as hard as it will be, the change we need is coming. Because I've seen it. Because I've lived it. I've seen it in Illinois, when we provided health care to more children and moved more families from welfare to work. I've seen it in Washington, when we worked across party lines to open up government and hold lobbyists more accountable, to give better care for our veterans and keep nuclear weapons out of terrorist hands. | speech |
obama | But what the people heard instead - people of every creed and color, from every walk of life - is that in America, our destiny is inextricably linked. That together, our dreams can be one. | speech |
obama | And when I hear a woman talk about the difficulties of starting her own business, I think about my grandmother, who worked her way up from the secretarial pool to middle-management, despite years of being passed over for promotions because she was a woman. She's the one who taught me about hard work. She's the one who put off buying a new car or a new dress for herself so that I could have a better life. She poured everything she had into me. And although she can no longer travel, I know that she's watching tonight, and that tonight is her night as well. | speech |
obama | As President, I will tap our natural gas reserves, invest in clean coal technology, and find ways to safely harness nuclear power. I'll help our auto companies re-tool, so that the fuel-efficient cars of the future are built right here in America. I'll make it easier for the American people to afford these new cars. And I'll invest 150 billion dollars over the next decade in affordable, renewable sources of energy - wind power and solar power and the next generation of biofuels; an investment that will lead to new industries and five million new jobs that pay well and can't ever be outsourced. | speech |
obama | You don't defeat a terrorist network that operates in eighty countries by occupying Iraq. You don't protect Israel and deter Iran just by talking tough in Washington. You can't truly stand up for Georgia when you've strained our oldest alliances. If John McCain wants to follow George Bush with more tough talk and bad strategy, that is his choice - but it is not the change we need. | speech |