Barack Obama

ten_month month_ago __PUNCT__ i stood on the step of the old state_capitol in springfield __PUNCT__ illinoi __PUNCT__ and began an unlik journei to chang america __PUNCT__

i did not run for the presid to fulfil some long __PUNCT__ held ambit or becaus i believ it wa somehow ow to me __PUNCT__

i chose to run in thi elect __PUNCT__ at thi moment __PUNCT__ becaus of what dr __PUNCT__ king call __PUNCT__ the fierc urgenc of now __PUNCT__

becaus we ar at a defin moment in our histori __PUNCT__

our nation is at war __PUNCT__

our planet is in peril __PUNCT__

our health_care_system is broken __PUNCT__ our economi is out of balanc __PUNCT__ our educ_system fail too mani of our children __PUNCT__ and our retir system is in tatter __PUNCT__

at thi defin moment __PUNCT__ we cannot wait ani longer for univers_health_care __PUNCT__

we cannot wait to fix our school __PUNCT__

we cannot wait for good_job __PUNCT__ and live_wage __PUNCT__ and pension we can count on __PUNCT__

we cannot wait to halt global_warm __PUNCT__ and we cannot wait to end thi war in iraq __PUNCT__

i chose to run becaus i believ that the size of these challeng had outgrown the capac of our broken and divid polit to solv them __PUNCT__ becaus i believ that american of everi polit stripe were hungri for a new kind of polit __PUNCT__ a polit that focus not just on how to win but why we should __PUNCT__ a polit that focus on those valu and ideal that we held in common as american __PUNCT__ a polit that favor common_sens over ideolog __PUNCT__ straight talk over spin __PUNCT__

most of all __PUNCT__ i believ in the power of the american_peopl to be the real agent of chang in thi countri __PUNCT__ becaus we ar not as divid as our polit suggest __PUNCT__ becaus we ar a decent __PUNCT__ gener peopl will to work_hard and sacrific for futur_gener __PUNCT__ and i wa certain that if we could just mobil our voic to challeng the special_interest that domin washington and challeng ourselv to reach for someth better __PUNCT__ there wa no problem we couldn't solv __PUNCT__ no destini we couldn't fulfil __PUNCT__

ten_month later __PUNCT__ iowa __PUNCT__ you have vindic that faith __PUNCT__

you come out in the blister heat and the bitter cold not just to cheer __PUNCT__ but to challeng __PUNCT__ to ask the tough_question __PUNCT__ to lift the hood and kick the tire __PUNCT__ to serv as on place in america where someon who hasn't spent their life in the washington spotlight can get a fair hear __PUNCT__

you earn the role you plai in our democraci becaus no on take it more serious __PUNCT__

and i believ that true thi year more than ever becaus __PUNCT__ like me __PUNCT__ you feel that same sens of urgenc __PUNCT__

all across thi state __PUNCT__ you share with me your stori __PUNCT__

and all too often thei been stori of struggl and hardship __PUNCT__

i heard from senior who were betrai by ceo who dump their pension while pocket bonus __PUNCT__ and from those who still can't afford their prescript becaus congress refus to negoti with the drug_compani for the cheapest avail price __PUNCT__

i met maytag worker who labor all their live onli to see their job ship oversea __PUNCT__ who now compet with their teenag for __MONEY__ job at wal __PUNCT__ mart __PUNCT__

i spoken with teacher who ar work at donut shop after school just to make end meet __PUNCT__ who ar still dig into their own pocket to pai for school_suppli __PUNCT__

just two week_ago __PUNCT__ i heard a young_woman in cedar rapid who told me she onli get three hour of sleep becaus she work the night shift after a full dai of colleg and still can't afford health_care for a sister with cerebr palsi __PUNCT__

she spoke not with self __PUNCT__ piti but with determin __PUNCT__ and wonder why the govern isn't do more to help her afford the educ that will allow her to live out her dream __PUNCT__

i spoken to veteran who talk with pride about what thei accomplish in afghanistan and iraq __PUNCT__ but who nevertheless think of those thei left behind and question the wisdom of our mission in iraq __PUNCT__ the mother weep in my arm over the memori of their son __PUNCT__ the disabl or homeless vet who wonder why their servic ha been forgotten __PUNCT__

and i spoken to american in everi corner of the state __PUNCT__ patriot all __PUNCT__ who wonder why we have allow our stand in the world to declin so badli __PUNCT__ so quickli __PUNCT__

thei know thi ha not made us safer __PUNCT__

thei know that we must never negoti out of fear __PUNCT__ but that we must never fear to negoti with our enemi as well as our friend __PUNCT__

thei ar asham of abu graib and guantanamo and warrantless wiretap and ambigu on tortur __PUNCT__

thei love their countri and want it cherish valu and ideal restor __PUNCT__

it is precis becaus you experi these frustrat __PUNCT__ and seen the cost of inact in your own live __PUNCT__ that you understand why we can't afford to settl for the same old polit __PUNCT__

you know that we can't afford to allow the insur lobbyist to kill health_care_reform on more time __PUNCT__ and the oil lobbyist to keep us addict to fossil_fuel becaus no on stood up and took their power awai when thei had the chanc __PUNCT__

you know that we can't afford four more year of the same divis food fight in washington that about score polit point instead of solv_problem __PUNCT__ that about tear your oppon down instead of lift thi countri up __PUNCT__

we can't afford the same polit of fear that tell democrat that the onli wai to look tough on nation_secur is to talk __PUNCT__ act __PUNCT__ and vote like georg_bush republican __PUNCT__ that invok 9/11 as a wai to scare up vote instead of a challeng that should unit all american to defeat our real enemi __PUNCT__

we can't afford to be so worri about lose the next elect that we lose the battl we ow to the next gener __PUNCT__

the real gambl in thi elect is plai the same washington game with the same washington player and expect a differ result __PUNCT__

and that a risk we can't take __PUNCT__

not thi year __PUNCT__

not when the stake ar thi high __PUNCT__

in thi elect __PUNCT__ it is time to turn the page __PUNCT__

in seven dai __PUNCT__ it is time to stand for chang __PUNCT__

thi ha been our messag sinc the begin of thi campaign __PUNCT__

it wa our messag when we were down __PUNCT__ and our messag when we were up __PUNCT__

and it must be catch on __PUNCT__ becaus in these last few week __PUNCT__ everyon is talk about chang __PUNCT__

but you can't at onc argu that you the master of a broken system in washington and offer yourself as the person to chang it __PUNCT__

you can't fall in line behind the convent think on issu as profound as war and offer yourself as the leader who is best prepar to chart a new and better cours for america __PUNCT__

the truth is __PUNCT__ you can have the right kind of experi and the wrong kind of experi __PUNCT__

mine is root in the real live of real_peopl and it will bring real result if we have the courag to chang __PUNCT__

i believ deepli in those word __PUNCT__

but thei ar not mine __PUNCT__

thei were bill_clinton in __NUM__ when washington insid question hi readi to lead __PUNCT__

my experi is root in the live of the men and women on the south_side of chicago who i fought for as an organ when the local steel plant_close __PUNCT__

it root in the live of the peopl i stood up for as a civil right lawyer when thei were deni opportun on the job or justic at the vote_booth becaus of what thei look like or where thei came from __PUNCT__

it root in an understand of how the world see america that i gain from live __PUNCT__ travel __PUNCT__ and have famili beyond our shore __PUNCT__ an understand that led me to oppos thi war in iraq from the start __PUNCT__

it experi root in the real live of real_peopl __PUNCT__ and it the kind of experi washington need right now __PUNCT__

there ar other in thi race who sai that thi kind of chang sound_good __PUNCT__ but that i not angri or confront enough to get it done __PUNCT__

well __PUNCT__ let me tell you someth __PUNCT__ iowa __PUNCT__

i don't need ani lectur on how to bring about chang __PUNCT__ becaus i haven't just talk about it on the campaign_trail __PUNCT__

i fought for chang all my life __PUNCT__

i walk awai from a job on wall_street to bring job_train to the jobless and after school program to kid on the street of chicago __PUNCT__

i turn down the big_monei law_firm to win justic for the powerless as a civil right lawyer __PUNCT__

i took on the lobbyist in illinoi and brought democrat and republican togeth to expand health_care to __NUM___peopl and pass the first major campaign_financ_reform in twenti __PUNCT__ five year __PUNCT__ and i did the same_thing in washington when we pass the toughest lobbi reform sinc waterg __PUNCT__

i the onli candid in thi race who hasn't just talk about take power awai from lobbyist __PUNCT__ i actual done it __PUNCT__

so if you want to know what kind of choic we make as presid __PUNCT__ you should take a look at the choic we made when we had the chanc to bring about chang that wasn't easi or conveni __PUNCT__

that the kind of chang that more than just rhetor __PUNCT__ that chang you can believ in __PUNCT__

it chang that won't just come from more anger at washington or turn up the heat on republican __PUNCT__

there no shortag of anger and bluster and bitter partisanship out there __PUNCT__

we don't need more heat __PUNCT__

we need more light __PUNCT__

i learn in my life that you can stand firm in your principl while still reach out to those who might not alwai agre with you __PUNCT__

and although the republican oper in washington might not be interest in hear what we have to sai __PUNCT__ i think republican and independ_voter outsid of washington ar __PUNCT__

that the onc __PUNCT__ in __PUNCT__ a __PUNCT__ gener opportun we have in thi elect __PUNCT__

for the first time in a long_time __PUNCT__ we have the chanc to build a new major of not just democrat __PUNCT__ but independ and republican who lost faith in their washington leader but want to believ again __PUNCT__ who desper want someth new __PUNCT__

we can chang the elector math that been all about divis and make it about addit __PUNCT__ about build a coalit for chang and progress that stretch through blue_state and red_state __PUNCT__

that how i won some of the reddest __PUNCT__ most republican counti in illinoi __PUNCT__

that why the poll_show that i do best against the republican run for presid __PUNCT__ becaus we attract more support from independ and republican than ani other candid __PUNCT__

that how we win in __DATE__ and that how we chang thi countri over the next four year __PUNCT__

in the end __PUNCT__ the argument we ar have between the candid in the last seven dai is not just about the mean of chang __PUNCT__

it about the mean of hope __PUNCT__

some of my oppon appear scorn of the word __PUNCT__ thei think it speak of naivet __PUNCT__ passiv __PUNCT__ and wish think __PUNCT__

but that not what hope is __PUNCT__

hope is not blind optim __PUNCT__

it not ignor the enorm of the task befor us or the roadblock that stand in our path __PUNCT__

ye __PUNCT__ the lobbyist will fight us __PUNCT__

ye __PUNCT__ the republican attack dog will go after us in the gener_elect __PUNCT__

ye __PUNCT__ the problem of poverti and climat chang and fail school will resist easi repair __PUNCT__

i know __PUNCT__ i been on the street __PUNCT__ i been in the court __PUNCT__

i watch legisl die becaus the power held swai and good_intent weren't fortifi by polit will __PUNCT__ and i watch a nation get mislead into war becaus no on had the judgment or the courag to ask the hard question befor we sent our troop to fight __PUNCT__

but i also know thi __PUNCT__

i know that hope ha been the guid forc behind the most improb chang thi countri ha ever made __PUNCT__

in the face of tyranni __PUNCT__ it what led a band of colonist to rise up against an empir __PUNCT__

in the face of slaveri __PUNCT__ it what fuel the resist of the slave and the abolitionist __PUNCT__ and what allow a presid to chart a treacher cours to ensur that the nation would not continu half slave and half free __PUNCT__

in the face of war and depress __PUNCT__ it what led the greatest of gener to free a contin and heal a nation __PUNCT__

in the face of oppress __PUNCT__ it what led young_men and women to sit at lunch_counter and brave fire hose and march through the street of selma and montgomeri for freedom caus __PUNCT__

that the power of hope __PUNCT__ to imagin __PUNCT__ and then work for __PUNCT__ what had seem imposs befor __PUNCT__

that the chang we seek __PUNCT__

and that the chang you can stand for in seven dai __PUNCT__

we alreadi beaten odd that the cynic said couldn't be beaten __PUNCT__

when we start ten_month month_ago __PUNCT__ thei said we couldn't run a differ kind of campaign __PUNCT__

thei said we couldn't compet without take monei from washington_lobbyist __PUNCT__

but you prove them wrong when we rais more small donat from more american than ani other campaign in histori __PUNCT__

thei said we couldn't be success if we didn't have the full support of the establish in washington __PUNCT__

but you prove them wrong when we built a grassroot movement that could forev chang the face of american_polit __PUNCT__

thei said we wouldn't have a chanc in thi campaign unless we resort to the same old neg attack __PUNCT__

but we resist __PUNCT__ even when we were written off __PUNCT__ and ran a posit campaign that point out real differ and reject the polit of slash and burn __PUNCT__

and now __PUNCT__ in seven dai __PUNCT__ you have a chanc onc again to prove the cynic wrong __PUNCT__

in seven dai __PUNCT__ what wa improb ha the chanc to beat what washington said wa inevit __PUNCT__

and that why in these last week __PUNCT__ washington is fight_back with everyth it ha __PUNCT__ with attack_ad and insult __PUNCT__ with distract and dishonesti __PUNCT__ with million of dollar from outsid group and undisclos donor to try and block our path __PUNCT__

we seen thi script mani time befor __PUNCT__

but i know that thi time can be differ __PUNCT__

becaus i know that when the american_peopl believ in someth __PUNCT__ it happen __PUNCT__

if you believ __PUNCT__ then we can tell the lobbyist that their dai of set the agenda in washington ar over __PUNCT__

if you believ __PUNCT__ then we can stop_make promis to america worker and start deliv __PUNCT__ job that pai __PUNCT__ health_care that afford __PUNCT__ pension you can count on __PUNCT__ and a tax_cut for work_american instead of the compani who send their job_oversea __PUNCT__

if you believ __PUNCT__ we can offer a world __PUNCT__ class educ to everi child __PUNCT__ and pai our teacher more __PUNCT__ and make colleg dream a realiti for everi american __PUNCT__

if you believ __PUNCT__ we can save thi planet and end our depend on foreign_oil __PUNCT__

if you believ __PUNCT__ we can end thi war __PUNCT__ close guantanamo __PUNCT__ restor our stand __PUNCT__ renew our diplomaci __PUNCT__ and onc again respect the constitut of the unit_state of america __PUNCT__

that the futur within our reach __PUNCT__

that what hope is __PUNCT__ that thing insid us that insist __PUNCT__ despit all evid to the contrari __PUNCT__ that someth better is wait for us around the corner __PUNCT__

but onli if we will to work for it and fight for it __PUNCT__

to shed our fear and our doubt and our cynic __PUNCT__

to glori in the task befor us of remak thi countri block by block __PUNCT__ precinct by precinct __PUNCT__ counti by counti __PUNCT__ state by state __PUNCT__

there is a moment in the life of everi gener when __PUNCT__ if we ar to make our mark on histori __PUNCT__ thi spirit must break through

thi is the moment __PUNCT__

thi is our time __PUNCT__

and if you will stand with me in seven dai __PUNCT__ if you will stand for chang so that our children have the same chanc that somebodi gave us __PUNCT__ if you stand to keep the american_dream aliv for those who still hunger for opportun and thirst for justic __PUNCT__ if you readi to stop settl for what the cynic tell you you must accept __PUNCT__ and final_reach for what you know is possibl __PUNCT__ then we will win thi caucu __PUNCT__ we will win thi elect __PUNCT__ we will chang the cours of histori __PUNCT__ and the real journei __PUNCT__ to heal a nation and repair the world __PUNCT__ will have truli begun __PUNCT__

thank you __PUNCT__