Remarks of Senator Barack Obama: Final Primary Night -- with my comments

[J. Wagner B]

Remarks of Senator Barack Obama: Final Primary Night -- with my comments
St. Paul, MN | June 03, 2008
Tonight, after fifty-four hard-fought contests, our primary season has finally come to an end.

Sixteen months have passed since we first stood together on the steps of the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Illinois. Thousands of miles have been traveled. Millions of voices have been heard. And because of what you said – because you decided that change must come to Washington; because you believed that this year must be different than all the rest; because you chose to listen not to your doubts or your fears but to your greatest hopes and highest aspirations, tonight we mark the end of one historic journey with the beginning of another – a journey that will bring a new and better day to America. Tonight, I can stand before you and say that I will be the Democratic nominee for President of the United States.

Platitudes and garbage, saying much signifying nothing. No depth. No character. I have doubts about your judgment and lack of political character. Like so many on the left you ask us to judge you only by your good intentions and to disregard your lack of accomplishment or experience. Granted you are giving a speech to your lemmings. In the long run America would survive your one term presidency, so there is nothing to fear. It would be President Carter's second term. You will weaken our country economically and our national security through your naive ideas about foreign policy will also be weakened. If you win the presidency it will bring back the misery index.

I want to thank every American who stood with us over the course of this campaign – through the good days and the bad; from the snows of Cedar Rapids to the sunshine of Sioux Falls. And tonight I also want to thank the men and woman who took this journey with me as fellow candidates for President.

At this defining moment for our nation, we should be proud that our party put forth one of the most talented, qualified field of individuals ever to run for this office.

And the least qualified won.

I have not just competed with them as rivals, I have learned from them as friends, as public servants, and as patriots who love America and are willing to work tirelessly to make this country better. They are leaders of this party, and leaders that America will turn to for years to come.

That is particularly true for the candidate who has traveled further on this journey than anyone else. Senator Hillary Clinton has made history in this campaign not just because she's a woman who has done what no woman has done before, but because she's a leader who inspires millions of Americans with her strength, her courage, and her commitment to the causes that brought us here tonight.

Hillary is only slightly more qualified than you Mr. Obama. The least qualified, the least worthy ended and won the race.

We've certainly had our differences over the last sixteen months. But as someone who's shared a stage with her many times, I can tell you that what gets Hillary Clinton up in the morning – even in the face of tough odds – is exactly what sent her and Bill Clinton to sign up for their first campaign in Texas all those years ago; what sent her to work at the Children's Defense Fund and made her fight for health care as First Lady; what led her to the United States Senate and fueled her barrier-breaking campaign for the presidency – an unyielding desire to improve the lives of ordinary Americans, no matter how difficult the fight may be.

What gets her up in the morning is her will to power.

And you can rest assured that when we finally win the battle for universal health care in this country, she will be central to that victory.

Which would ruin the American healthcare system, especially if it is a single-payer system.

When we transform our energy policy and lift our children out of poverty, it will be because she worked to help make it happen.

Your energy policies will transform our economy, but not for the better. And not one liberal policy has helped lift any child out of poverty. The liberal welfare programs helped to destroy the African-American family and created a dependency class.

Our party and our country are better off because of her, and I am a better candidate for having had the honor to compete with Hillary Rodham Clinton.

False to the first, true for the latter.

There are those who say that this primary has somehow left us weaker and more divided.

And I would agree with that. Considering the numbers. You won this primary with 48% of the popular vote (Hillary lost with 47%), while not winning one of the big states that will make a difference in the general election. That is a divided party by definition.

Well I say that because of this primary, there are millions of Americans who have cast their ballot for the very first time.

With every primary there are millions of Americans who cast their ballot for the first time.

There are Independents and Republicans who understand that this election isn't just about the party in charge of Washington, it's about the need to change Washington.

The question is what kind of change?

There are young people, and African-Americans, and Latinos, and women of all ages who have voted in numbers that have broken records and inspired a nation.

Not for you Mr. Obama. Latinos, women of all ages, and older Americans voted for Hillary in far greater numbers than for you.

All of you chose to support a candidate you believe in deeply. But at the end of the day, we aren't the reason you came out and waited in lines that stretched block after block to make your voice heard. You didn't do that because of me or Senator Clinton or anyone else. You did it because you know in your hearts that at this moment – a moment that will define a generation –

If they vote for you in the general election it will be for image and rhetoric, not for substance, depth of experience, or for character.

we cannot afford to keep doing what we've been doing.

That is true. We cannot afford to keep doing what we've been doing, but neither can we follow what you want to do. That is if we ...

We owe our children a better future. We owe our country a better future.

want a better future for our children or our country.

And for all those who dream of that future tonight, I say – let us begin the work together. Let us unite in common effort to chart a new course for America.

If we follow the course you want to chart it will lead to a weaker economy (can we say recession) a weaker foreign policy which will lead to greater threats to national security.

In just a few short months, the Republican Party will arrive in St. Paul with a very different agenda. They will come here to nominate John McCain, a man who has served this country heroically. I honor that service, and I respect his many accomplishments, even if he chooses to deny mine.

False. McCain has acknowledged your accomplishments. The sad fact is you have accomplished very little politically. Your only accomplishments have been personal and your experience is very shallow.

My differences with him are not personal; they are with the policies he has proposed in this campaign.

And if enough Americans are blind enough to vote for you come this November the policies you propose will lead use in the wrong direction.

Because while John McCain can legitimately tout moments of independence from his party in the past, such independence has not been the hallmark of his presidential campaign.

It's not change when John McCain decided to stand with George Bush ninety-five percent of the time, as he did in the Senate last year.

Empty rhetoric. McCain's independence is the hallmark of his career in politics. Unlike you, he has actively crossed the party line to promote key legislation. I know of no case where you joined forces with Republicans on any substantive legislation.

It's not change when he offers four more years of Bush economic policies that have failed to create well-paying jobs,

False

or insure our workers,

False

or help Americans afford the skyrocketing cost of college

False.

– policies that have lowered the real incomes of the average American family,

False

widened the gap between Wall Street and Main Street,

False

and left our children with a mountain of debt.

False. Your proposed tax policy along with your spending proposals will increase the size of the debt. It will make the mountain into a mountain range. McCain did not support the Bush tax cuts. He has come to support them because they have proved to be the right thing to do. The only reason we are not in a recession is because of the Bush tax cuts.

And it's not change when he promises to continue a policy in Iraq that asks everything of our brave men and women in uniform and nothing of Iraqi politicians – a policy where all we look for are reasons to stay in Iraq, while we spend billions of dollars a month on a war that isn't making the American people any safer.

We are winning in Iraq because of the "surge." If we had followed your advice regarding Iraq, the 'awakening' would have been put to sleep, Al Qaeda would be winning, and we would be running away from a failure.

So I'll say this – there are many words to describe John McCain's attempt to pass off his embrace of George Bush's policies as bipartisan and new. But change is not one of them.

McCain has never ever supported an earmark in his whole career in Congress. How many earmarks have you supported? The reason he did not support the Bush tax cuts when they were up for the vote was because he wanted it to be paired with spending cuts. Change is an empty word that means nothing. Change from what to what?

Change is a foreign policy that doesn't begin and end with a war that should've never been authorized and never been waged.

One, false, and two that does not matter. We cannot change yesterday.

I won't stand here and pretend that there are many good options left in Iraq, but what's not an option is leaving our troops in that country for the next hundred years –

The same old mischaracterization and taking out of context of McCain's words you have been using to attempt to make a meaningless point. Every time you make this hundred years comment you lie. McCain never ever said that we should be fighting in Iraq a hundred years from now.

especially at a time when our military is overstretched, our nation is isolated, and nearly every other threat to America is being ignored.

Yes, our military is overstretched. Can you name a major war when our military was not overstretched? Panama and Grenada were not major wars. No, our nation is not isolated. Look around. Italy, France, Germany, and Canada have elected conservative governments that much more strongly support our efforts in the war on terror. What 'other threats' is America ignoring?

We must be as careful getting out of Iraq as we were careless getting in -- but start leaving we must.

False premise. 'Getting in' was not when/where we were careless. Actually carelessness was not our mistake. Leaving, with a date certain, would be careless and stupid.

It's time for Iraqis to take responsibility for their future.

They are taking responsibility and they have been taking responsibility. Mr. Obama PLEASE sit down with our commanders in the field and ask them about the conditions in Iraq rather than your radical leftist advisors.

It's time to rebuild our military and give our veterans the care they need and the benefits they deserve when they come home.

Considering the lack of respect you have shown our military you are not the person to lead the rebuilding of our military. We owe our veterans more than we could ever give them or their families. You can give all the lip service you want, but the US military deserves a commander-in-chef worthy of the role.

It's time to refocus our efforts on al Qaeda's leadership

The Al Qaeda leadership has stated clearly and repeatedly that Iraq is the central front of their efforts against America. If we leave Iraq as you propose Al Qaeda will claim that they defeated the US military, Iran will celebrate, and our standing in the region will be severely damaged.

and Afghanistan, and rally the world against the common threats of the 21st century – terrorism and nuclear weapons; climate change and poverty; genocide and disease. That's what change is.

That is not change. It is a list of issues. Your proposals for addressing those issues will not help us solve those issues.

Change is realizing that meeting today's threats requires not just our firepower, but the power of our diplomacy – tough, direct diplomacy where the President of the United States isn't afraid to let any petty dictator know where America stands and what we stand for.

More empty rhetoric. Please show me one place or time when/where the US President showed fear in letting any petty dictator know where America stands or what we stand for? Please explain how or why you believe that John McCain would be afraid to engage in 'tough talk' directed at any petty dictator?

We must once again have the courage and conviction to lead the free world.

It really is sad that you don't recognize the courage and conviction that America is exhibiting to the free world.

That is the legacy of Roosevelt, and Truman, and Kennedy. That's what the American people want. That's what change is.

You are not worthy to wash the underwear of any of the above. You lack their experience, you lack their knowledge, and it is obvious that you lack their 'good' judgment.

Change is building an economy that rewards not just wealth, but the work and workers who created it.

Empty leftist rhetoric.

It's understanding that the struggles facing working families can't be solved by spending billions of dollars on more tax breaks for big corporations and wealthy CEOs, but by giving a the middle-class a tax break,

That statement shows the usual ignorant bias of liberal politicians. A tax cut is not a 'spending' of dollars (billions or however much), it is allowing Americans to keep more of their own money. The Bush tax cuts affected everyone who pays taxes and it helped the middle-class and lower-class more than the big corporations and wealthy CEOs you wish to demonize. The top 50% of wage earns pay the lion share of our taxes.

and investing in our crumbling infrastructure,

The government already has billions of dollars that can be used for rebuilding our infrastructure. It does not need more money, it needs to stop wasting money.

and transforming how we use energy,

Higher taxes will not help us transform how we use energy. Building nuclear power plants, opening up new areas for oil drilling, allowing new refineries to be built, dropping regulations that restrict the use of clean coal technology would help us transform how we use energy.

and improving our schools,

Tell the teacher unions that we will begin paying all teachers based on merit, make vouchers available for all who want them, cut the expenditures for the administrations of all school districts, and stop giving federal monies to our colleges. Both Harvard and Yale have endowment funds worth billions of dollars. They could pay for every student attending their schools from the interest of those funds alone with millions left over. Harvard and Yale are not the only schools which are so well off.

and renewing our commitment to science and innovation.

If you really want innovation lift the regulations and lower the taxes that restrict innovation.

It's understanding that fiscal responsibility and shared prosperity can go hand-in-hand, as they did when Bill Clinton was President.

Can we say, 'tech bubble?' Let's not forget the Clinton recession Bush inherited.

John McCain has spent a lot of time talking about trips to Iraq in the last few weeks, but maybe if he spent some time taking trips to the cities and towns that have been hardest hit by this economy – cities in Michigan, and Ohio, and right here in Minnesota – he'd understand the kind of change that people are looking for.

McCain has been to those cities and towns. If you want to see what happens when you raise taxes during an economic downturn, what happens when you follow liberal economic policy -- look at Democrat controlled Michigan.

Maybe if he went to Iowa and met the student who works the night shift after a full day of class and still can't pay the medical bills for a sister who's ill, he'd understand that she can't afford four more years of a health care plan that only takes care of the healthy and wealthy. She needs us to pass health care plan that guarantees insurance to every American who wants it and brings down premiums for every family who needs it. That's the change we need.

If you want guaranteed higher taxes; an economic recession; socialized healthcare with waiting lists and bureaucrats (not doctors) deciding what test and procedures will be available to you Obama's the way to go.

Maybe if he went to Pennsylvania and met the man who lost his job but can't even afford the gas to drive around and look for a new one, he'd understand that we can't afford four more years of our addiction to oil from dictators.

If the oil companies were allowed to drill in America and build oil refineries here in America perhaps the oil from dictators would not be so valuable?

That man needs us to pass an energy policy that works with automakers to raise fuel standards,

That would not be a 'working with,' it would be adding to the regulations US automakers already face, which would increase the costs to Americans.

and makes corporations pay for their pollution,

They already pay for 'their pollution.'

and oil companies invest their record profits in a clean energy future

The average profit margin of oil companies is 9 cents on the dollar. What profit margin is fair? They are constantly investing in innovation. They must to remain profitable.

– an energy policy that will create millions of new jobs that pay well and can't be outsourced. That's the change we need.

If you really want to help create millions of new jobs that can't be outsourced -- open up federal lands for drilling (oil), mining (coal), and drop the regulations that restricts the building of nuclear power plants.

And maybe if he spent some time in the schools of South Carolina or St. Paul or where he spoke tonight in New Orleans, he'd understand that we can't afford to leave the money behind for No Child Left Behind;

No Child Left Behind was written by Ted Kennedy. I support the intentions of No Child Left Behind, but as is usually the case, I don't like how it was implemented.

that we owe it to our children to invest in early childhood education; to recruit an army of new teachers and give them better pay and more support;

Platitudes and empty rhetoric.

to finally decide that in this global economy, the chance to get a college education should not be a privilege for the wealthy few, but the birthright of every American. That's the change we need in America. That's why I'm running for President.

No, a college education is not a 'right' protected under the US Constitution. Neither is it a privilege for only the wealthy few. Anyone in America who wants a college education can get a college education. Of course, you will have to work for it.

The other side will come here in September and offer a very different set of policies and positions, and that is a debate I look forward to. It is a debate the American people deserve.

Yes, we do deserve that kind of debate.

But what you don't deserve is another election that's governed by fear, and innuendo, and division.

Which means you Mr. Obama will need to revamp your campaign style.

What you won't hear from this campaign or this party is the kind of politics that uses religion as a wedge,

That's right. The Democrat Party uses race as a wedge,

and patriotism as a bludgeon

for Democrats patriotism as an excuse for anti-American rhetoric,

– that sees our opponents not as competitors to challenge, but enemies to demonize.

LAUGH OUT LOUD. How many times have Democrats demonized Bush? (Lying us into war; Bush lied people died; Bush, the stupidest President ever.) How many times have Democrats demonized the American military? (Comparing the US military to Pol Pot, Nazis, and those running Gulags, Abu Ghrab, open under new management.) How many times have Democrats demonized anyone criticizing you Mr. Obama as a racist. (Clinging to our guns, our race, and our religion out of fear.)

Because we may call ourselves Democrats and Republicans, but we are Americans first. We are always Americans first.

Its too bad that too many forget that too often. I have yet to see or hear of one pundit on the right wishing to see Ted Kennedy suffer or die from his brain tumor. On the left I have heard people state that Cheney's death would be better for America and the world, that Tony Snow deserves to die of cancer for supporting Bush, and that Clarence Thomas hopefully would get heart disease and die. I have never heard any Republican make those kinds of comments.

Despite what the good Senator from Arizona said tonight, I have seen people of differing views and opinions find common cause many times during my two decades in public life, and I have brought many together myself.

Who of different views in the Senate have you brought together on anything of substance?

I've walked arm-in-arm with community leaders on the South Side of Chicago and watched tensions fade as black, white, and Latino fought together for good jobs and good schools. I've sat across the table from law enforcement and civil rights advocates to reform a criminal justice system that sent thirteen innocent people to death row. And I've worked with friends in the other party to provide more children with health insurance and more working families with a tax break; to curb the spread of nuclear weapons and ensure that the American people know where their tax dollars are being spent; and to reduce the influence of lobbyists who have all too often set the agenda in Washington.

That's all very nice, but can you be a little more specific? What legislation (title and number) did you actually cross the party line and initiated?

In our country, I have found that this cooperation happens not because we agree on everything, but because behind all the labels and false divisions and categories that define us; beyond all the petty bickering and point-scoring in Washington, Americans are a decent, generous, compassionate people, united by common challenges and common hopes. And every so often, there are moments which call on that fundamental goodness to make this country great again.

Sorry, but with comments about Americans clinging to their guns and their religion, the lack of patriotic pride expressed by your wife, the out right racism and anti-Americanism expressed by your spiritual mentors -- I don't believe you.

So it was for that band of patriots who declared in a Philadelphia hall the formation of a more perfect union; and for all those who gave on the fields of Gettysburg and Antietam their last full measure of devotion to save that same union.

THIS COUNTRY IS GREAT WITH OR WITHOUT YOU. YOUR ELECTION AS PRESIDENT WILL NOT REDEEM AMERICA. AMERICA DOES NOT NEED REDEMPTION.

So it was for the Greatest Generation that conquered fear itself, and liberated a continent from tyranny, and made this country home to untold opportunity and prosperity.

Here comes the big finish with nothing of substance, empty rhetoric structured to get the lemmings following your cult of personality to jump.

So it was for the workers who stood out on the picket lines; the women who shattered glass ceilings; the children who braved a Selma bridge for freedom's cause.

So it has been for every generation that faced down the greatest challenges and the most improbable odds to leave their children a world that's better, and kinder, and more just.

And so it must be for us.

America, this is our moment. This is our time. Our time to turn the page on the policies of the past. Our time to bring new energy and new ideas to the challenges we face. Our time to offer a new direction for the country we love.

The journey will be difficult. The road will be long. I face this challenge with profound humility, and knowledge of my own limitations. But I also face it with limitless faith in the capacity of the American people. Because if we are willing to work for it, and fight for it, and believe in it, then I am absolutely certain that generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick

'When we began'? So when I spent three years 24/7 caring for my grandmother with Alzheimer's (15 years ago) that did not happen and no American had ever care for the sick in the past?

and good jobs to the jobless;

What is the unemployment rate here in America? What has been the average unemployment rate during the Bush administration? Before you say it -- no those jobs have not been only low wage jobs.

this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal;

There has been no rise in sea levels. The global warming trend stopped ten years ago. This year the average global temperature dropped by 1 degree.

this was the moment when we ended a war and secured our nation and restored our image as the last, best hope on Earth. This was the moment – this was the time – when we came together to remake this great nation so that it may always reflect our very best selves, and our highest ideals. Thank you, God Bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.

America does not need you Mr. Obama to redeem itself. It is already the best hope on Earth. It already reflects our better selves and our highest ideals. Those who want to 'change' back to the failed policies of higher taxes and big government will vote for you. Those who don't want that kind of 'change' will look elsewhere.

tashi deleks,

J. Wagner B.