be affecting his capability of service. though thomas eagleton had absences for up to six weeks to be treated for depression with electroshock therapy, he was still an extraordinaryily affect the perks aren't -- effective public servant. there was no reason in their thinking to really pursue the story beyond the mere rumors. in 1968, time magazine sent a reporter out to collect information on the senate race there. the reporter actually picked up on the shock treatments, put it in a

someone with then the campaign center theneagleton has received shock treatment. time magazine was on the case, but in missouri, he was considered effective. beyond 1972 -- this is a story of political resilience. eagleton was elected to another two terms. retired, 1986, on his own volition. beyond being dropped from his ticket, this shows there is a second or third chance. >> let's get back to the phones. date is calling from calling-- nate is calling from charlotte,

north carolina. >> i met mcgovern a couple of years ago. he is not in and likable person. why go with shriver as his running mate? he was a watered down candid. he had more administrative experience and eagleton. was it reluctance on his side? >> when eagleton steps down, the offer was made to sergeant driver. -- schriver. guest: someone with in the kennedy circle called schriver. he was considered that final day of the convention. he was out on business in

moscow. los no way he'd be able to get to miami beach in time to accept the nomination. it was the logistics' that prevented him from being selected instead of ted kennedy. host: before we continue our conversation about the eagleton choice to be the vice- candidates, we will take a look at what eagleton had to say, saying he was a distraction. >> i thought i would fadeaway this month of august. they would be tired of asking me about my health. it would run its course. an argument can be made that i was wrong. i am not here to say who is right or wrong.

mcgovern could not happen finer to me. i believe in him as much as i did in miami. i will work for him doubly hard. quote he said he was stepping down. it was a distraction. you never mentioned this to mcgovern when he offered him the number two spot on the ticket. correct? >> he did not mention it. he was asked to be the nominee and accepted the nomination before any abetting questions were asked. eagleton have talked about it with his wife. if i am selected, should i bring up my past? their calculations were -- if this came out, they would

get over it. he gets the call to be the nominee 15 minutes before deadline. directors political gets on the line -- are their skeletons in your closet? eagleton sesno. he is a static. to vent something in your past that to have kept secret at this time of great euphoria. with all of those in the room, the word was out that -- because others -- there was a reporter in the room. the word would have gotten out. this was not an environment conducive to disclosure at the time. it would have taken extraordinary courage. the logistics of the made it

difficult. >> ann arbor, michigan is where we get our next call. john, independent. the author of "the 18-day running mate." caller: i remember seeing a photograph of nixon. the caption read, here is nixon watching eagleton being nominated. he had a look of glee on his face. but he was behind -- beside himself with joy. it made me think that nixon knew about eagleton. they were doing spying on the democratic national committee. they had a lot of intelligence activities going on with their opponents. i wondered about whether he is the one the dropped the hammer on the sky. from what you are saying, there

was a secret call that went to the campaign. are you familiar with this photograph? guest: not familiar with the photograph. i am familiar with the nixon white house to recordings. the reaction was that nixon wanted eagleton selected. their reactions after the revelations. the nixon team had known about all of this. the letters that come in from people in st. louis. they have the sheets outlining some of the ridge to the hospital say she -- hospital stay sheet outlining some of the treatment. i cannot place the blame directly on nixon. the caller purported to be a

mother of run support your. it is conceivable that the call was a big sony and dirty trick -- nixonian dirty trick. host: we have a call from denver colorado. she says she worked on the mcgovern campaign. what kind of work did you on the campaign. caller: i had a regular job. i worked nights calling people on the phone banks and things like that. guest: you were in colorado? host: know, but i graduated from high school in kansas city. my husband -- when he came back from the vietnam war, we came back there because our families

live there. we moved out here after the election. host: what was the initial reaction from the people working in the mcgovern campaign about his choice of senator tom eagleton to be his running mate in their reaction 18 days later when eagleton pulls himself of the ticket. caller: it was such crew the times -- crazy times, especially in politics. collation. thomas eagleton. i remember when mcgovern 00 mcgovern had huge -- mcgovern had huge you support. i almost thought it would have been a [unintelligible] you have all of these young people.

the older democrats were outraged about the whole thing. that is the thing i wanted to say. guest: eagleton bridge the gap between the new and old elements of the party. he was antiwar, incredibly antiwar. he was well connected within the labor movement and the most establishment party politicians. it will son was something that bridge the gap. elatio nin missouri. missouri was proud of eagleton. they supported him. among mcgovern supporters, and his campaign workers for years to get him elected, there was outrage. there was extrapolation the

seems to destroy all of their hard work. after the bulletin's revelations, everyone thought this would destroy the campaign. eagleton was perceived as the newcomer who had been a supporter through the primary. he destroyed all that hard work. there was an understandable outrage and frustration. all sides are understandable. there is eagleton, who believes he had moved beyond his past mental illness. there are the mcgovern supporters, who see eagleton as someone who had destroyed with the had worked hard to obtain, which was the democratic presidential nomination. and eagleton preventing them from getting that alternate presidency. host: we have a tweet from victoria, who wants to know what inspired mr. glasser to read and release the book now? is there some relevance or point

he is trying to make? connection? what? you are a graduate magna laude the from and hearse -- amhearts college, eagleton's, modern. what inspired you? was there blow back from the people at amherst or the eagles and family? >> not blow back at and hers, only pride and support. -- at amherst, only pride in support. this began as my senior thesis. i began being interested in 2008 when a wilson died. i noticed his of the jury in "the new york times." i was fascinated. here was someone who was a tremendous public servants and a will die. nice, kind guy who found himself in the midst of a

scandal, unlike any other in presidential history. i wanted to learn more about why him a thousand%, and decided to drop. i love politics. i love journalism. this stuck in my mind as the story i wanted to learn more about. there was that and first element. -- amherst element. as for a groveton's family, they were not entirely -- as for eagleton's family. they were not entirely cooperative. they had access to papers. the family reasons that this is what senator eagleton is the member for beyond -- remembered for beyond missouri.

his 18 days as a vice- presidential nominee. that is the first line on his obituary. i see the book as a way to see eagleton beyond those 18 days as well. >> i want to try to squeeze one more question in from teddy, on our line for democrats in greenbelt. make it short and sweet. caller: do you think it's a candid presented himself with a similar problem today it would be looked upon differently? where was george bush at the convention that he was the former president of the united states. he was the reason why the situation we are in today. they did not want him around. host: could that happen today? someone with equal tends

background get this far in the nomination process? >> someone with his background would be treated differently. he would not have shock therapy necessarily. he would be treated with psychotropic drugs that are not available at that time. it is hard to say what the calculus would be. illnessgleton's mental is asked about specifically during the vetting porcess, it depends on a case by case basis. by paul lord two this order is different for different people. >> we will have to leave it there. we have been talking with joshua glasser, the author of a "the 18 day running mate." that is the book there on the screen.

thank you for being on the washington journal. >> tomorrow barack christiansen, chief -- rob christiansen. davis and policy -- a professor from north carolina. democratic delegate ryan fowler. live at 7:00 a.m. eastern on c- span. watch coverage of the democratic convention from charlotte north carolina. live on c-span. speeches from past democratic national conventions. john f. kennedy, lyndon johnson, bill clinton, harry

truman. >> on c-span, a lot of the shows that i like watching our book tv. anything live. things that are court rulings. you want rock and unfiltered. it is unfiltered. >> c-span, created by america's cable companies in 1979. brought to you as a public service by your television provider. >> and john f. kennedy except in the nomination for the nomination for pretty -- president. he won the nomination on the first ballot. his speech is a box 25 minutes.

[applause] it was my great honor at the 1956 democratic convention and i am delighted to have his support

and his a vice in the coming months ahead. let me say first that i accept the nomination of the democratic party. i accept it without reservation. and with only one obligation -- to devote every effort of my mind and spirit to lead our party back to victory and our nation to greatness. i am grateful too that you have provided us with such a strong platform to stand on and to run on. [applause]

the rights of man, civil and economic rights essential to the human dignity of all men are at our goal and our first principle. this is a platform on which i can run with enthusiasm and conviction. i am grateful that i can rely in the coming months on many others, on a distinguished running mate who brings unity and strength to our platform and our ticket, lyndon johnson. [applause] on one of the most articulate spokesman of modern times, adelaide stevenson.

on a great factor for our needs as a nation as a people, stewart simonton. on my traveling companion in wisconsin and west virginia, senator humphrey. on our devoted and courageous chairman, paul butler. and on that fighting campaigner whose support i now welcome, president truman. i feel a lot safer with all of them on my side. and i am proud of the contrast of our republican competitors. not one challenger has dared to put his head up in the last 12 months. [applause]

i am fully aware of the fact that the democratic party by nominating someone of my faith has taken on what many regard as a new and hazardous. democratic party is once again placed its confidence in the american people and their ability to render a free and fair judgment and my ability to render a free and fair judgment. [applause] to uphold the constitution in my oath of office, to reject any kind of religious pressure or obligation that might directly or indirectly interfere with my concept of the presidency in the national interest.

my record of 14 years in supporting public education, supporting a complete separation of church and state, and resisting pressure from forces of any kind should be clear by now to everyone. [applause] i hope that no american considering the really critical issues facing this country will waste his vote by voting either for me or against me because of my religious affiliation. it is not relevant. [applause]

i am telling you what you are entitled to know. as i come before you seeking your support for the most powerful office in the free world. i am saying to you that my decision and every public policy will be my own. as an american, as a democrat, and as a free man. [applause] i mention all of this only because this country faces so many serious challenges, so many great opportunities, so many burdensome responsibilities that i hope we can address ourselves in the coming months. if this statement of mine makes it easier to concentrate on our nation's problems, i am glad

that i made it. [applause] under any circumstances, the victory we seek in november will not be easy. we know that in our hearts. we know our opponents will invoke the name of abraham lincoln on behalf of their candidate, despite the fact that his political career has often seemed to show charity towards none and malice for all. we know it will not be easy to campaign against the man who spoke and voted on every side of every issue. mr. nixon may feel that it is here and now after the new deal and the fair deal but before he deals, someone is going to cut the cards. [applause]

that someone may be the millions of americans who voted for president eisenhower and electing his successor. but just as historians tell us that richard the first was not fit to fill the shoes of the old henry ii and that record was not fit to wear the mantle of his uncle, they might add that nixon did not measure up to the footsteps of the right eisenhower.

the policies of nixon and goldwater -- this nation cannot afford such a luxury. perhaps because the ford -- we could afford [inaudible] after buchanan, this nation needed lincoln. after hoover, we needed franklin roosevelt. we are not merely running against mr. nixon. our past is not merely one of itemizing republican failure. the families forced from the farm do not need us to tell them of their plights. the miners and textile workers know the decision is before them in november.

the old people without medical care, the families without a decent home, the parents of children without a decent school. they all know that it is time for change. [applause] we are not here to curse the darkness. we are here to light a candle. as winston churchill said, on taking office some 20 years ago, if we open between the present and past, we shall be in danger of losing the future. our concern must be with the future. the world is changing. the old era is ending. the old way will not do.

a broad the ballots -- although the balance of power is shifting, new and more terrible weapons are coming into use. one-third of the world may be free but one-third is the victim of a cruel repression and the other third is rocked by poverty and hunger and disease. communist influence has penetrated into asia, it stands in the middle east and festers some 90 miles off the coast of florida. as our keynote address reminded us, the president who began his career by going to korea attended by staying away from japan. the world has been close to war before but a man who survived all previous threats to its existence has taken into his hands the power to exterminate this species seven times over. here at home, the future is

equally revolutionary. the new deal and the fair deal are old measures for their generation but now this is a new generation. a technological outpoint an explosion on the bomb has led to an output explosion. an urban population regulation has overcrowded our schools and flooded our cities. a peaceful revolution for human rights demanding an end to racial discrimination in all parts of our community life, imposed by executive leadership. [applause] it is time for a new generation of leadership. all over the world.

particularly in newer nations. young men are coming to power. men who are knocked down by the traditions of the past. men who are not blinded by the old fears and hate and rivalry. young men who can cast off the old slogans and the old illusions. the republican nominee is a young man. but his approach is as old as mckinley. [applause] his party is the party of the past. the party of memory. his speeches are generalities on the almanac. their platform made up of old

left over democratic plans have the courage of our old convictions. their plants -- plan is for the status quo and today there is no status quo. i stand here tonight facing what was once the large frontier. from milan that stretched 3,000 miles behind us, the pioneers david per se, comfort and sometimes their lives to build our new west. they were not the captives of their own doubts were the prisoners of their own [inaudible] they were determined to make the new world strong and free, an example to the world to overcome its hazards. some would say it those troubles are all over. but -- that all the horizons have been explored. all the battles have been won. that there is no longer an american frontier.

i trust that no one would agree with that sentiment. for the problems are not all soft. and the battles are not all won. we stand today on the edge of a new frontier. the frontier of the 1960's. the frontier of unknown opportunities and perils. the frontier of unfilled hopes. woodrow wilson's new freedom promised our nation a new political and economic framework. franklin roosevelt's new deal offered help to those in need. the new frontier i see is not a set of promises.

it is a set of challenges. it sums up not what i intend to offer to the american people what i intend to ask of them. it appeals to their pride. [applause] it appeals to our pride. not our security. a new frontier is here whether we seek it or not. beyond that frontier are uncharted areas of science and space, unsolved problems of peace and war. problems of ignorance and prejudice. unanswered questions of poverty. it would be easier to shrink from the new frontier to look to the same mediocrity of the past, to be lulled by good intentions and high rhetoric and those who

prefer that clause should not vote for me are the democratic party. but i believe that the times require imagination and courage and perseverance. i am asking each of you to be pioneers towards that new frontier. my call is to the young at heart. regardless of age, for the spirit regardless of party, to all respond to the call -- be strong and of good courage. be not afraid. neither be dismayed. courage not complacency is our need today. leadership, not salesmanship. and the only valid test of leadership is the ability to lead and lead vigorously.

entire nation -- a tired nation is a tory nation and the united states cannot afford to be either tired or tory. [applause] there may be those who wish to hear more, more promises to this group or that. more harsh rhetoric about the men [inaudible]. but my promises are in the platform. that you have adopted. this will not be won by credit. we can have faith in the future only if we have faith in ourselves. the harsh facts of the matter are that we stand at this frontier at a turning point in history.

we must prove all over again to a watching world as we stand on the most conspicuous stage whether this nation can -- a range of alternatives can compete with a single-minded advance of the communist system. can a nation and government such as ours do it? that is the real question. have we the will, tammy carry through in an age where we will witness not only knew great tools in weapons of destruction but the inside of men's minds.

that is the question of the new frontier. that is the choice hours -- our nation must make. a choice not lodged between two parties but between the public interest and private comfort, between national greatness and national decline. between the fresh air or progress and the failed atmosphere of normalcy. between dedication or mediocrity. all men can waits upon our decision. a whole world looks to see what we shall do it. and we cannot fail that trust and we cannot fail the times. it has been a long road. now begins another long journey, taking me into your cities and homes across the united states.

give me your help. and your hand. and your voice. [applause] recall with me the words of isaiah -- they shall renew their strength, mount up with wings as eagles. as we face the coming great challenge, we too shall wait upon the lord and ask that he renew our strength. then shall we be up to the past. then we shall not be weary. then we shall prevail. [applause] ♪ [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012]

>> now the 1964 acceptance speech from president lyndon johnson. it took place less than a year after the assassination of president kennedy. president johnson did not face a serious challenge for the nomination but civil-rights played a major role in the campaign with george wallace's running on a segregationist clot form. johnson's speech to delegates is about 40 minutes. >> he appreciates at this tremendous reception and has a message to give to you and the american people.

[no audio] [applause] -- [applause] >> chairman mccormick, my fellow americans. i accept your nomination. [applause] i accept the duty of leading this party to victory this year.

[applause] i thank you from the bottom of my heart for placing at my side the man that last night you so wisely selected to be the next vice president of the united states. i know i speak for each and all of you when i say he proved himself tonight in that great acceptance speech. [applause]

and i speak for both of us when i tell you that on monday on, he is going to be available for such speeches in all 50 states. we will try to lead you as we were lead by that great freedom, the man from independents, harry truman. but the gladness of this high occasion cannot mask the sorrow that shares our hearts. let us hear tonight each of us, all of us, rededicate ourselves to keeping burning the golden torch of promise which john fitzgerald kennedy set aflame.

[applause] and let none of us stop to rest until we have written into the law of the land all the suggestions and then let us continue to supplement the program with the kind of laws that he would have us write. [applause]

tonight we offer ourselves on our record and by our platform as a party for all americans.

and all american parties are all american. [applause] this land of reasonable men has no place for any partisanship or previous prejudice. [applause] the need of all can never be met by a party of the few. the needs of all cannot be met by a business party. or a labor party. not by a war party or a peace party. not by a southern party or another in -- or a northern party.

our needs will meet our needs only if we are served by a party that serves all our people. [applause] we are members together of such a party. the democratic party of 1964. we have written a proud record of accomplishments for all americans. if any ask what we have done, just let them look at what we promised to do. [applause]

those promises have become our deeds. and the promises of tonight, i can assure you will become the deeds of tomorrow. [applause] we are in the midst of the largest and the longest period of peace time prosperity in our history.

and almost every american listening to us tonight has seen the results in his own life. but prosperity for most has not brought prosperity to all. and those who have received the bounty of this land, who sit tonight secure in affluence and safe in power, must not now turn from the needs of their neighbors. [applause] our party and our nation will continue to extend the hand of compassion. and extend the hand of affection and love to the old and the sick and the hungry. [applause] for who among us dare betray the command though shall open thy hand to thy brother and thy needy in thy land. the need that we seek to fill, the hopes that we speak to realize. but our needs are not our hopes alone. they are the needs and hopes of most of the people. most americans want medical care for older citizens and so do i. [applause] most americans want fair and stable prices and decent income for our farmers. and so do i.

most americans want a decent home and a decent neighborhood for all. and so do i. most americans want an education for every child to the limit of his ability and so do i. most americans want a job for every man who wants to work and so do i. most americans want victory in our war against poverty and so do i. most americans want continually expanding and growing prosperity and so why -- and so do i.

these are your goals, these are our goals. these are the goals and will be the achievements of the democratic party. these are the goals of this great, rich nation. these are the goals toward which i will lead if the american people choose to follow. [applause] for 30 years, year by year, step by step, vote by vote, men of both parties have built a solid foundation for our present prosperity.

too many have worked too long and too hard to see this threatened now by policies which promised to undo all that we have done together over all these years. [applause] i believe most of the men and women in this hall tonight and i believe most americans understand that to reach our goal in our own land, we must work for peace among all lands. america's cause is still the cause of all mankind.

over the last four years, the world has begun to respond to a simple american belief -- the belief that strength and courage and responsibility are the keys. since 1961 under the leadership of that great president john f. kennedy, we have carried out national strength of any nation in any time in the history of the world. [applause]

and our report tonight that we have spent $30 billion more on preparing this nation in the four years of the kennedy administration them would have been spent if we had followed the appropriations of the last year of the previous administration. our report tonight as president of the united states and commander in chief of the armed forces, on the strength of your country and i tell you that is greater than in the adversary. i assure you that it is greater than the combined might of all the nations in all wars and in all the history of this planet. our report hours a party -- our superiority is growing. weapons do not make peace. men and make peace.

and peace comes not through strength alone but through wisdom and patience. and these qualities under the leadership of president kennedy brought a treaty banning nuclear tests in the atmosphere and 100 other nations in the world

joined us. other agreements were reached and other steps were taken gary and a single guy was to lessen the danger to men. their single purpose was peace in the world. and as a result of these policies, the world tonight

knows where we stand and our allies know where we stand, too. and our adversaries have learned that we will never waver in the defense of freedom. did true courage of this nuclear age -- the true courage of this nuclear age lies in the search of peace.

there is no place in today's world for weakness but there is also no place for recklessness. we cannot act rationally with the nuclear weapons that could destroy us all. the only course is to press with all our mind and all our will to make sure that these weapons are never really used at all. this is a dangerous and difficult world in which we live.

i promise no easy answers but i do promise this -- i pledge the firmness to defend freedom, the strength to support the firmness and the constant, patient effort to move the world towards peace instead of war. [applause] and here at home one of our greatest responsibilities is to assure fair play for all of our people. every american have the right to be treated as a person.

he should be able to find a job. [applause] he should be able to educate his children, he should be able to vote in elections. and he should be judged on his merits as a person. well, this is the fixed policy and determination of the democratic party and united states of america.

so long as i am your president, i intend to carry out what the constitution demands and justice requires. equal justice under law for all americans. we cannot and we will not allow this great purpose to be endangered by reckless acts of violence. but those who break the law, those who create disorder weather in the north or the south must be caught and must be brought to justice.

and i believe that every man and woman in this room tonight joins me in saying every part of this country -- in every part of this country, the law must be respected and violence must be stopped.

and wherever a local all -- local law officers seek help, our federal law is broken. i have pledged and i will use the full resources of the federal government. let no one tell you that he can hold back progress and at the same time keep the peace. this is a false and empty promise. to stand in the way of orderly progress is to encourage of profit -- to encourage violence. [applause]

i say tonight to those who wish us well and to those who wish us ill, the growing forces in this country are the forces of common human decency and not the forces of bigotry and your and -- and fear and smear. our problems are many and great. but our opportunities are even greater. let me make this clear -- i ask the american people for a mandate, not to preside over a finished program, not just to

keep things going -- i ask the american people for a mandate to begin. this nation, this generation in this hour has man's first chance to build a great society, a place with the meaning of man's life matches the marvels of man's labor. [applause] we seek a nation where every man

can find reward in work and satisfaction in the use of his talents. we seek a nation where every man can seek knowledge and touch beauty and rejoice in the closeness of family and community. [applause] we seek a nation where every man can follow the pursuit of happiness. not just security but achievement and excellence and fulfillment of the spirit. so let us join together in this

great path. will you join me tonight in starting -- [applause] in rebuilding our cities to make them a decent place for our children to live in. will you join me tonight in starting a program that will protect the beauty of our land and the air that we breathe?

won't you join me in starting a program that will give every child education of the highest quality that he can take? [applause] let us join together in giving every american the fullest life which he can hope for. the ultimate test of our civilization, of our faithfulness to our past is not in our goods or guns. it is in the quality of our people's lives and in the men and women that we produce.

this goal can be ours. we have the resources. we have the knowledge. but tonight we must seek the courage. [applause] because tonight the contest is one we have faced in every turning point in history. it is not between liberals and conservatives, it is not between parties and party or platform and platform. it is between courage and humility. [applause]

it is between those who have a vision and those who see what can be and those who want only to maintain the status quo. it is between those who welcome the future and those who turn away from its promise.

this is the true cause of freedom. the man who is hungry and cannot find work or educate his children who is vowed by wants. that man is not fully free. for more than 30 years from social security to the war against poverty, we have diligently worked to enlarge the freedom of man and as a result, americans tonight are freer to live as they want to live. to pursue their ambitions, to meet their desires, to raise their families than in any time in all of our glorious history. [applause] and every american knows in his heart that this is right.

i am determined in all the time that is mine to use all the talents that i have or bring this great loveable land together in greater unity in pursuit of this common purpose.

i truly believe that we someday will see an america that knows no north or south, nor east or west. [applause] an america that is undivided by creed or color and untorn by suspicion or threat. [applause] the founding fathers and dream the america before it was. the pioneers dream of great cities on the wilderness that they crossed.

our tomorrow is on its way. it can be a ship of darkness or a thing of beauty. the choice is ours, is yours. for it will be the dream that we dare to dream. [applause] i know what kind of a dream franklin results -- franklin roosevelt and harry truman and john f. kennedy would dream if they were here tonight. and i think that i know what kind of a dream you want to dream.

tonight we of the democratic party confidently go before the people offering answers, not retreat. offering unity, not division. offering hope, not fear or smear. we do offer the people a choice. a choice of continuing on the courageous and compassionate course that has made this nation the strongest and the freest and the most prosperous and the most peaceful nation in the history of mankind. to those who have sought to divide us, they have only help

to unite us. to those who would provoke us, we have turned the other cheek. let us be on our way. [applause] ♪

>> this week and preparations are under way at the time water -- time warner arena. the democrats will begin their three day convention. on the thursday, we will hear from michelle obama. wednesday, former president bill clinton. thursday, speeches by vice- president in and vice president -- and president obama. it is live on c-span. arkansas or governor bill clinton accepting the democratic nomination in 1992. this is the first campaign at the the persian gulf war in 1990. he a merchant against jerry brown, tom harkin, bob carry and former senator. his speech is a little under one hour. [applause]

[chanting usa]

governor richards, chairman brown, mayor dinkins, you have been a great host. delegates, and myellow fellow americans, i am so proud of al gore. he said he came here tonight because he always wanted to warm up for elvis. i ran for president this year for one reason -- i wanted to come back to this convention and

finish up that speech i started four years ago. [applause] well, last night, mario taught us how a real nominating speech should be given. [applause] he also made it clear why we have to steer our sister stayed on a new course. tonight, i want to talk to you about my hope for the future, my faith in the american people, and my vision for the kind of country we can build together. i salute the good men who were by campaign companions on the campaign trail. tom harkins./

[applause] kerry. doug wilder. gary brown. [applause] and paul. [applause] 1 cents in the platform we built says it all -- one sentence says it all, the most important family policy, urban policy, minority policy, and policy of -- foreign policy american can have is and expanding entrepreneurial policy of high skilled jobs. -- high-skilled jobs.

so, in the name of all those who do the work and pay the taxes and raise the children and play by the rules. in the name of the hard-working americans that make up our forgotten middle class, i proudly accept your nomination for president of the united states. [applause] i am a product of that middle- class. when i am president you will be forgotten no more. [applause] we meet at a special moment in

history, you and i. the cold war is over. soviet communism has collapsed. our values, freedom, and democracy, individual rights, they have rights all around the world. as we have won the cold war brought, we are losing the battle for economic opportunities and social justice here at home. [applause] now that we have changed the world, it is time to change america. [applause] i have news for the forces of greed and the defenders of the status quo, your time has come and gone. it is time for a change in america.

tonight, 10 million of our fellow americans are out of work. tens of millions more work harder for lower pay. the incumbent president says unemployment always go up a little before ever cover me -- recovery begins. it only has to go up by one more person -- but it only has to go up by one more person before a real recovery can begin. mr. president, you are that man. this election is about putting power back in your hands and

putting the government back on your side. it was about putting people first. [applause] i have said that all across the country. whenever i do, someone says back at me, as someone dead at a town meeting in the lower east side of manhattan -- he said, that sounds good, but you are a politician. why should i trust you? tonight, as plainly as i can, i want to tell you who i am, what i believe, and where i want to lead america. [applause] i never met my father. he was killed in a car wreck on a rainy world -- road three

months before i was born to see my mother. after that, my mother had to support us. we live with my grandparents while she went back to louisiana to study nursing. [applause] i can still see her clearly tonight through the eyes of a 3- year-old, kneeling at the railroad station and weeping as she put me back on the train back to arkansas with my grandmother. she endured that because she knew her sacrifice was the only way she could support me and give me a better life. my mother taught me. she taught me about family and hard work and sacrifice. she held -- -- she held steady after tragedies. she held my family together through tough times.

as a child, i watched her go off to work each day when it was not always easy to be a working mother. as an adult, i have watched her fight off breast cancer. she has taught me a lesson in coverage. always, she taught me to fight. that is why i will fight to create high-paying jobs so parents can afford to raise the children today. that is why i am so committed to make sure every american gets the health care that saved my mother's life. [applause] and that women's health care gets the same attention as a men's. [applause]

that is why i will fight to make sure women received respect and dignity, whether they work in the home, out of the home, or both. [applause] do you want to know where i get my fighting spirit? it all started with my mother. thank you, mother. i love you. [applause] when i think about opportunity for all americans, i think about my grandfather. he ran a country store in our little town of hope. there were no food stamps back there. when his customers, white or black, who worked hard and did

the best they could came in with no money, he gave them food anywhere. he just made a note of it. so died. before i was been enough to see over the counter i learned to look up to people other people looked down on. my grandfather just had a high- school education. in that country store, he taught me more about equality in the eyes of the lord than all of my professors at georgetown. what about the intrinsic worth of every one and all of the philosophers -- and all of the philosophers at oxford. equal justice under the law and then all of the people at yale. if you want to know where i get the commitment to bringing

people together without regards to race, it started with my grandfather. [applause] i learned a lot from another person, too. a person who for more than 20 years has worked hard to help of her children, paying the price of time to make sure our schools to not fail them. traveled our state learning for a year, going to pta meetings, school board meetings, a town hall meetings. putting together a package of school reforms recognized around the nation while building a distinguished legal career and being a wonderful mother. that person is my wife. [applause]

hillary taught me that all children can learn. each of us has a duty to help them do it. if you want to know why i care so much about our children and our future, it all started with hillary. i love you. [applause] i am fed up with politicians in washington lecturing the rest of us about family values. [applause] our families have values, but our government does not. [applause]

i want an america where family values limit our act -- live in our actions, not just in our speeches. that includes every family, every traditional family and every extended family. every two-parent parent, every -- every two-parent family, every single parent family, every foster family. every family. [applause] i do want to say something to the fathers in this country who have chosen to abandon their children by neglecting their child support. take responsibility for your children, or we will force you to do so.

[applause] governments do not raise children. parents do. you should. [applause] i want to say something to every child in america tonight who is out there trying to grow up without a father or a mother. i know how you feel. you are special, too. you matter to america. do not ever let anyone tell you you cannot become whatever you want to be. [applause] if other politicians make you

feel like you are not a part of their family, come on, and be part of ours. [applause] [chanting] [we once bill] bill] [we want bill] the thing that makes me angry is about what has gone wrong in the last 12 years is that our government has lost touch with our values while our politicians continue to shout about them. i am tired of it. [applause]

i was raised to believe the american dream was built on rewarding hard work. we have seen the people in washington turn the american ethic on its head. those who play by the rules and keep the face -- faith have gotten the shaft. those who cut corners and deals have been rewarded. people are working harder, spending less time with their children. working nights and weekends at their jobs instead of going to pta or little league. their incomes are still going down. [applause] their taxes are still going up. the cost of health care, housing, and education are going through the roof. [applause]

more of our best people are falling into poverty even though they work 40 hours a week. our people are pleading for change. but the government is in the way. it has been hijacked by privileged private interests. it has forgotten who pays the bills around here. it has taken more of your money and giving you less in return. have got to go beyond the brain- dead politics in washington and give our people the kind of government they deserve, a kind that works for them. [applause] [we want bill] a president should be a powerful

force for progress. right now, i know how president lincoln felt when general mcclellan would not attack in the civil war. he asked him, "if you are not going to use your army, may i bar it?" [laughter] george bush, if you will not use your power to help america, step aside. i will. [applause] >> we want bill.

we want bill. we want to build. we want bill. [applause] our country is falling behind. the president is caught in the grip of a failed economic theory. we have gone from first to 13th in the world from wages since reagan and bush have been in office. four years ago, candidate bush said, "america is a special place, not just another country on the u.n. roll call between albania and zimbabwe. " now, under president bush, america has an unpleasant economy, stuck somewhere between

germany and tree long, -- zri lanka. for worse -- for most americans, life is a lot less kind and a lot less gentle than it was before your administration. [applause] [chanting]

our country has fallen so far so fast that just a few months ago, the japanese prime minister actually said he felt sympathy for the united states. [booing] sympathy. when i am your president, -- [applause] the rest of the world will not look down on us with pity but up to west with respect again. what is george bush doing about our economic problem? four years ago, he promised 15 million new jobs by this time. he is over 14 million short.

[laughter] al gore and i can do better. [applause] he has raised taxes on the people driving pickup trucks and lowered taxes on the people riding in limousines. he promised to balance the budget, but he has not even tried. the budget he has submitted to congress nearly double the debt. he wasted billions and reduced our investment in education and jobs. we can do better. [applause] if you are sick and tired of a government that does not work to create jobs. if you are tired of a tax season -- tax code that is against you,

exploding debt and reduced investments in our future. if like the great civil-rights leader said, you are plain old sick and tired -- sick and tired of being sick and tired. [applause] join us, work with us, win with us and we can make our country the country it was meant to be. [applause] george bush talked a good game. he had no game plan to rebuild america from the city, to the suburbs, to the countryside so

we can compete and win in global economy. i do. he will not take on the big insurance companies that the bureaucracies to control health costs and give us affordable health care for all of america. i will. [applause] he will not implement the recommendation of his own commission on aids. i will. he will streamline the federal government and change the way it works. put a hundred thousand bureaucrats and a hundred thousand new police offices on the streets of american cities. i will.

[applause] he has never balanced a government of a -- budget, but i have 11 times. he will not drink the hold special interests have on -- he will not break the hold special interest and the lobbyists have on our government, but i well. ill. he will not give mothers and fathers a chance to take some time off of work when a baby is born or a parent is sick, but i will. [applause] we are losing our farms at a rapid rate. he has no commitment to take

family farms in the family, but i do. to he has talked a lot about drugs, but he has not helped way to the war on drugs and crime. i will. [applause] he will not take the lead in protecting the environment and creating new jobs in environmental technologies for the 21st century, but i will [applause] do you know what else? he does not have out for, and i do. [applause]

just in case you did not notice, that is gore with an e on the end. [applause] george bush will not guarantee a woman's right to choose. i will. [applause]

hear me now. i am not pro-abortion. i am pro-choice. i believe the difficult and painful decision should be left to the women of america. i hope the right to privacy can be protected. we will never have to discuss this issue on political platforms. [applause] i am old enough to remember what it was like before roe v wade,

and i do not want to return to the time when we make criminals of women and their doctors. jobs, education, health care -- these are not just commitments from my lips. they are the work of my life. [applause] our priorities must be clear. we will put our people first again. [applause] but priorities without a clear plan of action are just into words. to turn our rhetoric into

reality we have to turn away -- change the way government does business fundamentally. until we do, we will pour billions of dollars down the drain. the republicans have campaigned against the government for a generation. they have run this big government for a generation. [applause] they have not changed a thing. they do not want to fix government. they still want to campaign against it. that is all. [applause] my fellow democrats, it is time for us to realize that we have some changing to do, too. there is not a program in government for every problem. if we want to use government to help people, we have got to make it work again. [applause]

because we are committed in this convention and in this platform to making these changes, we are as democrats in the world's beas revitalized democratic par. i am lawyer that those millions of people who rallied to ross perot's cost wanted to be in an army of patriots for change. tonight i say to them, join us, and together, we will revitalize america.

[applause] i do not have all the answers. i do know that the old ways do not work. trickle-down economics has failed. big bureaucracies private and public bills, too. that is why we need a new approach to government, that offers more empowerment and less entitlement. more choices for young people in the schools they attend, and the public schools they attend. [applause] and more choices for the elderly and people with disabilities and a long-term care they receive.

[applause] a government that is leaner, not meaner. a government that expands opportunities, not proper seas. that understands jobs must come from growth in a vibrant system of free enterprise. i call this approach a new covenant. a solemn agreement between the people and their government, based not simply on what each of us can take, but what all of us must get to our nation. [applause] we offer our people a new choice, based on values. we offer opportunity. we demand responsibility. we will build an american community again. the choice we offer is not conservative or liberal.

in many ways it is not republican or democratic. it is different, new, and it will work. [applause] it will work because it is rooted in the vision and the values of the american people. of all of the things george bush has ever said that i disagree with, the things that bothers me most is how he degrades the american tradition of seeing and seeking a better future. .e mocks it as a visi remember what the scriptures says -- where there is no

vision, the people perish. [applause] i hope nobody in this hall or country has to go through tomorrow without a vision. i hope no one tries to raise a child without a vision. i hope no one starts a business or plant a crop in the ground without a vision. where there is no vision, the people perish. [applause] we have so many children in so much trouble, in so many places in this nation because they have seen so little opportunity, so little responsibility.

so little loving, carry -- caring community that they cannot and imagine the life we are calling them to lead. so, i say again, where there is no vision, america were parish. what is the vision of our new covenant? an american -- an america with new jobs and industries moving confidently toward the 23rd century -- 21st century. we will give you more incentives than ever before to develop the skills of a workers and create american jobs and american wealth in the new, global economy. you must do your part.

american companies must act like american companies again. exporting products, not jobs. [applause] that is what this new covenant is all about, and america in which the doors of politics are open to the sons and daughters of stenographers and still workers. we will say everyone can borrow money to go to college, but you must do your part. you must pay it back. [applause] from your paycheck, or better yet, by going back home and showing your current -- by serving your communities. [applause]

just think of it. think of it. millions of energetic young men and women serving their country by policing the streets or teaching the children or caring for the sec were working with the elderly and people with disabilities or helping young people to stay off drugs and out of gangs. giving us a sense of new hope and limitless possibilities. that is what this new covenant is all about. [no audio] [applause] [applause] in america in which health care is a bright, not a privilege. [applause] in which we say to all of all or government has the courage to take on the

health care profiteers and make health care affordable for every family. [applause]

[applause] as i've said many times before, we could have an american president who does not govern with negativism and fear of the future, but with bigger vision and aggressive leadership, a president who's not isolated from the people, but who feels your pain and shares your

dreams and takes his strength and his wisdom and his courage from you. i see it, america. on the move again. united, but diverse and vital and tolerant nation. entering our third century with pride and confidence, an american that lives up to the majesty of our constitution and a simple decency of our people. this is the america we want. this is the america that we will have.

[applause] we will go forward from this convention with some differences of opinion perhaps, but nevertheless, united and a calm determination to make our country large and driving and generous in spirit once again, ready to embark on great national deeds, and once again, as brothers and sisters, our hearts will swell with pride to call ourselves americans. thank you very much.

[applause] [applause] >> now illinois senator barack obama's acceptance speech at the 2008 dome i can convention. senator obama won the nomination over new york senator hillary clinton. the race was so close that senator clinton did not suspend

her campaign and endorse senator obama until june of 2008. the democratic nominees' remarks are about 50 minutes. [applause] [applause]

>> thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you so much. thank you. thank you so much. thank you. thank you so much. thank you. thank you. thank you so much. thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you so much. thank you. thank you very much. thank you.

thank you. thank you so much, everybody. thank you. thank you so much. thank you, everybody. thank you so much. thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you so much. thank you very much. thank you, everybody. >> yes, we can! yes, we can! yes, we can! >> to chairman dean and my great friend, dick durbin, and

to all my fellow citizens of this great nation, with profound gratitude and great humility, i accept your nomination for presidency of the unit states. [applause] let me express my thanks to the historic slate of candidates who accompanied me on this journey, and especially the one who traveled the farthest - a champion for working americans and an inspiration to my daughters and to yours --

hillary rodham clinton. to president clinton, who last night made the case for change as only he can make it. to ted kennedy, who embodies the spirit of service. and to the next vice president of the united states, joe biden, i thank you. i am grateful to finish this

journey with one of the finest statesmen of our time, a man at ease with everyone from world leaders to the conductors on the amtrak train he still takes home every night. to the love of my life, our next first lady, michelle obama. and to malia and sasha, i love you so much, and i am so proud of you. four years ago, i stood before you and told you my story, of

the brief union between a young man from kenya and a young woman from kansas, who weren't well off or well known, but shared a belief that in america their son could achieve whatever he put his mind to. it is that promise that has always set this country apart - that through hard work and sacrifice, each of us can pursue our individual dreams but still come together as one american family, to ensure that the next generation can pursue their dreams as well. that's why i stand here tonight. because for two hundred and thirty two years, at each moment when that promise was in jeopardy, ordinary men and women - students and soldiers, farmers and teachers, nurses and janitors -- found the courage to keep it alive. we meet at one of those defining moments - a moment when our nation is at war, our

economy is in turmoil, and the american promise has been threatened once more. tonight, more americans are out of work and more are working harder for less. more of you have lost your homes and even more are watching your home values plummet. more of you have cars you can't afford to drive, credit card bills you can't afford to pay, and tuition that's beyond your reach. 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. america, we are better than these last eight years. we are a better country than this.

this country is more decent than one where a woman in ohio, on the brink of retirement, finds herself one illness away from disaster after a lifetime of hard work. we're a better country than where a man in indiana has to pack up the equipment he worked on in 20 years and watch as it's shipped off to china, and then chokes up how he felt like a failure when he went home to tell his family the news. we are more compassionate than a government that lets veterans sleep on our streets and families slide into poverty; that sits on its hands while a major american city drowns before our eyes. tonight, i say to the american people, to democrats and republicans and independents

across this great land - enough! this moment, this moment, this election, is our chance to keep , in the 21st century, the american promise alive. because next week, in minnesota, the same party that brought you two terms of george bush and dick cheney will ask his country for a third. and we are here because we love this country too much to let the next four years look like the last eight. on november 4th, we must stand up and say: "eight is enough.

[applause] now let there be no doubt. the republican nominee, john mccain, has worn the uniform of our country with bravery and distinction, and for that we owe him our gratitude and respect. and next week, we'll also hear about those occasions when he's broken with his party as evidence that he can deliver the change that we need. but the record's clear: john mccain has voted with george bush ninety percent of the

time. senator mccain likes to talk about judgment, but really, what does it say about your judgment when you think george bush has been right more than ninety percent of the time? i don't know about you, but i'm not ready to take a ten percent chance on change. the truth is, on issue after issue that would make a difference in your lives - on health care and education and the economy - senator mccain has been anything but independent. he said that our economy has made "great progress" under this president. he said that the fundamentals of the economy are strong. and when one of his chief

advisors - the man who wrote his economic plan - was talking about the anxiety americans are feeling, he said that we were just suffering from a "mental recession," and that we've become, and i quote, "a nation of whiners. a nation of whiners? tell that to the proud auto workers at a michigan plant who, after they found out it was closing, kept showing up every day and working as hard as ever, because they knew there were people who counted on the brakes that they made. tell that to the military families who shoulder their burdens silently as they watch their loved ones leave for their third or fourth or fifth tour of duty. these are not whiners. they work hard and give back and keep going without complaint. these are the americans that i know.

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?

it's not because john mccain doesn't care. it's because john mccain doesn't get it. for over two decades, he's subscribed to that old, discredited republican philosophy - give more and more to those with the most and hope that prosperity trickles down to everyone else. in washington, they call this the ownership society, but what it really means is - you're on your own. out of work? tough luck. you're on your own. no health care? the market will fix it. you're on your own. born into poverty? pull yourself up by your own bootstraps - even if you don't have boots. you're on your own. well it's time for them to own

their failure. it's time for us to change america. you see, we democrats have a very different measure of what constitutes progress in this country. 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.

we measure the strength of our economy not by the number of billionaires we have or the profits of the fortune 500, but by whether someone with a good idea can take a risk and start a new business, or whether the waitress who lives on tips can take a day off to look after a sick kid without losing her job - an economy that honors the dignity of work. the fundamentals we use to measure economic strength are whether we are living up to that fundamental promise that has made this country great - a promise that is the only reason i am standing here tonight. because in the faces of those young veterans who come back from iraq and afghanistan, i see my grandfather, who signed

up after pearl harbor, marched in patton's army, and was rewarded by a grateful nation with the chance to go to college on the gi bill. in the face of that young student who sleeps just three hours before working the night shift, i think about my mom, who raised my sister and me on her own while she worked and earned her degree; who once turned to food stamps but was still able to send us to the best schools in the country with the help of student loans and scholarships. when i listen to another worker tell me that his factory has shut down, i remember all those men and women on the south side of chicago who i stood by and fought for two decades ago after the local steel plant closed. 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. [applause] i don't know what kind of lives john mccain thinks that celebrities lead, but this has been mine. these are my heroes. theirs are the stories that shaped me. and it is on their behalf that i intend to win this election and keep our promise alive as president of the united states. [applause]

what is that promise? it's a promise that says each of us has the freedom to make of our own lives what we will, but that we also have the obligation to treat each other with dignity and respect. it's a promise that says the market should reward drive and innovation and generate growth, but that businesses should live up to their responsibilities to create american jobs, look out for american workers, and play by the rules of the road. ours is a promise that says government cannot solve all our problems, but what it should do is that which we cannot do for ourselves - protect us from harm and provide every child a decent education; keep our water clean and our toys safe; invest in new schools and new roads and new science and technology. our government should work for us, not against us.

it should help us, not hurt us. it should ensure opportunity not just for those with the most money and influence, but for every american who's willing to work. that's the promise of america - the idea that we are responsible for ourselves, but that we also rise or fall as one nation; the fundamental belief that i am my brother's keeper; i am my sister's keeper. that's the promise we need to keep. that's the change we need right now. so let me spell out exactly what that change would mean if i am president. change means a tax code that doesn't reward the lobbyists who wrote it, but the american workers and small businesses who deserve it.

unlike john mccain, i will stop giving tax breaks to corporations that ship jobs overseas, and i will start giving them to companies that create good jobs right here in america. i will eliminate capital gains taxes for the small businesses and the start-ups that will create the high-wage, high-tech jobs of tomorrow. i will cut taxes - cut taxes - for 95% of all working families. because in an economy like this, the last thing we should

do is raise taxes on the middle-class. and for the sake of our economy, our security, and the future of our planet, i will set a clear goal as president: in ten years, we will finally end our dependence on oil from the middle east. [applause] we will do this. washington's been talking about our oil addiction for the last thirty years, and john mccain has been there for twenty-six of them. in that time, he's said no to higher fuel-efficiency standards for cars, no to investments in renewable energy, no to renewable fuels. and today, we import triple the amount of oil as the day that senator mccain took office. now is the time to end this addiction, and to understand

that drilling is a stop-gap measure, not a long-term solution. not even close. 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. america, now is not the time for small plans. now is the time to finally meet our moral obligation to provide every child a world-class education, because it will take nothing less to compete in the global economy. michelle and i are only here tonight because we were given a chance at an education. and i will not settle for an america where some kids don't have that chance. i'll invest in early childhood education. i'll recruit an army of new teachers, and pay them higher salaries and give them more support.

and in exchange, i'll ask for higher standards and more accountability. and we will keep our promise to every young american - if you commit to serving your community or your country, we will make sure you can afford a college education. now is the time to finally keep the promise of affordable, accessible health care for every single american.if you hay 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. now is the time to help families with paid sick days and better family leave, because nobody in america should have to choose between keeping their jobs and caring for a sick child or ailing parent. now is the time to change our bankruptcy laws, so that your pensions are protected ahead of ceo bonuses; and the time to protect social security for future generations. and now is the time to keep the promise of equal pay for an equal day's work, because i want my daughters to have exactly the same opportunities as your sons.

now, many of these plans will cost money, which is why i've laid out how i'll pay for every dime - by closing corporate loopholes and tax havens that don't help america grow. but i will also go through the federal budget, line by line, eliminating programs that no longer work and making the ones we do need work better and cost less - because we cannot meet twenty-first century challenges with a twentieth century bureaucracy. 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. individual responsibility and mutual responsibility - that's the essence of america's

promise. 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. for while senator mccain was turning his sights to iraq just days after 9/11, i stood up and opposed this war, knowing that it would distract us from the real threats we face. when john mccain said we could

just "muddle through" in afghanistan, i argued for more resources and more troops to finish the fight against the terrorists who actually attacked us on 9/11, and made clear that we must take out osama bin laden and his lieutenants if we have them in our sights. john mccain likes to say that he'll follow bin laden to the gates of hell - but he won't even go to the cave where he lives. and today, as my call for a time frame to remove our troops from iraq has been echoed by the iraqi government and even the bush administration, even after we learned that iraq has a $79 billion surplus while we're

wallowing in deficits, john mccain stands alone in his stubborn refusal to end a misguided war. that's not the judgment we need. that won't keep america safe. we need a president who can face the threats of the future, not keep grasping at the ideas of the past. 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. we are the party of roosevelt. we are the party of kennedy. so don't tell me that democrats won't defend this country. don't tell me that democrats won't keep us safe. the bush-mccain foreign policy has squandered the legacy that generations of americans -- democrats and republicans - have built, and we are here to restore that legacy.

as commander-in-chief, i will never hesitate to defend this nation, but i will only send our troops into harm's way with a clear mission and a sacred commitment to give them the equipment they need in battle and the care and benefits they deserve when they come home. i will end this war in iraq responsibly, and finish the fight against al qaeda and the taliban in afghanistan. i will rebuild our military to meet future conflicts. but i will also renew the tough, direct diplomacy that can prevent iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and curb russian aggression. i will build new partnerships to defeat the threats of the 21st century: terrorism and nuclear proliferation; poverty and genocide; climate change and disease. and i will restore our moral standing, so that america is

once again that last, best hope for all who are called to the cause of freedom, who long for lives of peace, and who yearn for a better future. these are the policies i will pursue. and in the weeks ahead, i look forward to debating them with john mccain. 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.

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.

so i've got news for you, john mccain. we all put our country first. america, our work will not be easy. the challenges we face require tough choices, and democrats as well as republicans will need to cast off the worn-out ideas and politics of the past. for part of what has been lost these past eight years can't just be measured by lost wages or bigger trade deficits. what has also been lost is our sense of common purpose - our sense of higher purpose. and that's what we have to restore. we may not agree on abortion,

but surely we can agree on reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies in this country. the reality of gun ownership may be different for hunters in rural ohio than for those plagued by gang-violence in cleveland, but don't tell me we can't uphold the second amendment while keeping ak-47s out of the hands of criminals. i know there are differences on same-sex marriage, but surely we can agree that our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters deserve to visit the person they love in the hospital and to live lives free of discrimination. passions fly on immigration, but i don't know anyone who benefits when a mother is separated from her infant child or an employer undercuts american wages by hiring illegal

workers. this too is part of america's promise - the promise of a democracy where we can find the strength and grace to bridge divides and unite in common effort. 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. you make a big election about small things. and you know what - it's worked before.

because it feeds into the cynicism we all have about government. when washington doesn't work, all its promises seem empty. if your hopes have been dashed again and again, then it's best to stop hoping, and settle for what you already know. i get it. i realize that i am not the likeliest candidate for this office. i don't fit the typical pedigree, and i haven't spent my career in the halls of washington. 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. 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. america, this is one of those moments. 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. 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. this country of ours has more wealth than any nation, but that's not what makes us rich. we have the most powerful military on earth, but that's not what makes us strong. our universities and our culture are the envy of the world, but that's not what keeps the world coming to our shores. instead, it is that american spirit - that american promise - that pushes us forward even when the path is uncertain; that binds us together in spite of our differences; that makes us fix our eye not on what is seen, but what is unseen, that better place around the bend. that promise is our greatest inheritance. it's a promise i make to my daughters when i tuck them in at night, and a promise that you make to yours - a promise that

has led immigrants to cross oceans and pioneers to travel west; a promise that led workers to picket lines, and women to reach for the ballot. and it is that promise that forty five years ago today, brought americans from every corner of this land to stand together on a mall in washington, before lincoln's memorial, and hear a young preacher from georgia speak of his dream. 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. 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. "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." america, we cannot turn back. not with so much work to be done. not with so many children to educate, and so many veterans to care for. not with an economy to fix and cities to rebuild and farms to save. not with so many families to protect and so many lives to mend. america, we cannot turn back. we cannot walk alone. at this moment, in this election, we must pledge once more to march into the future. let us keep that promise - that american promise - and in the words of scripture hold firmly,

without wavering, to the hope that we confess. thank you, god bless you, and god bless the united states of america. ♪

["only in america" by brooks & dunn] only in america where we dream as big as we want to we all get a chance everybody gets to dance only in america sun going down on an la freeway

newlyweds in the back of a limousine a welder's son and a banker's daugther all they want is everything she came out here to be an actress he was the singer in a band they just might go back to oklahoma ♪

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chairman of the democratic national convention previews the convention that begins tuesday and talks about the presidential tickets and campaign issues. "news makers," today at 10:00 and 6:00 on c-span. now, republican presidential candidate mitt romney in the battleground state of ohio for a campaign rally in cincinnati. hear from ohio stadium rob portman, house speaker john boehner, and ann romney. the half-hour event was held at

the city's union terminal, a national historic landmark. >> wow, i want to try out thank you josh, folks. we need something and send it there. what a terrific crowd. so cincinnati, what about those red wings? the team that won the most games in baseball won again with a home run by jay bruce. i see a world series title coming to cincinnati, folks.