Barack Obama

thank you congressman kennedi and carolin and senat kennedi for your word __PUNCT__ your support __PUNCT__ and the servic you render to thi countri __PUNCT__

i stand here todai with a great_deal of humil __PUNCT__

i know what your support mean __PUNCT__

i know the cherish place the kennedi famili hold in the heart of the american_peopl __PUNCT__

and that is as it should be __PUNCT__

becaus the kennedi famili __PUNCT__ more than ani other __PUNCT__ ha alwai stood for what best about the democrat_parti __PUNCT__ and about america __PUNCT__

that each of us can make a differ and all of us ought to try __PUNCT__

that no frontier is beyond our reach when we unit __PUNCT__ and not divid __PUNCT__

and that those of us who ar not content to settl for the world as it is __PUNCT__ can remak the world as it should be __PUNCT__ that togeth __PUNCT__ we __PUNCT__ can seek a newer world __PUNCT__

no on embodi thi proud legaci more than the peopl we just heard from __PUNCT__

for a woman who wa introduc to america in the spotlight __PUNCT__ carolin ha work out of public_view to bring about chang in our commun __PUNCT__

whether it her work with new york_citi public_school or the profil in courag award or through book on polit __PUNCT__ civil right and histori __PUNCT__ carolin ha been a quiet forc for chang in thi countri __PUNCT__

and it an honor to have her support __PUNCT__

it also an honor to have congressman kennedi support __PUNCT__

he been a real leader in the fight to make sure everi american ha equal access to the qualiti mental_health health_care thei need __PUNCT__

it on of the great civil right issu of our time __PUNCT__ and it an issu i proud to have work on with him __PUNCT__

he not just part of the next gener of kennedi leader __PUNCT__ he part of the next gener of democrat and american_leader __PUNCT__ and i look forward to fight by hi side in the month and year to come __PUNCT__

and it is a special honor and privileg to have the support of the congressman father __PUNCT__ senat kennedi __PUNCT__

in the year i wa born __PUNCT__ presid_kennedi let out word that the torch had been pass to a new gener of american __PUNCT__

he wa right __PUNCT__

it had __PUNCT__

it wa pass to hi youngest brother __PUNCT__

from the battl of the 1960 to the battl of todai __PUNCT__ he ha carri that torch __PUNCT__ light the wai for all who share hi american_ideal __PUNCT__

it a torch he carri as a champion for work_american __PUNCT__ a fierc propon of univers_health_care __PUNCT__ and a tireless advoc for give everi child in thi countri a qualiti_educ __PUNCT__

it a torch he carri as the lion of the senat __PUNCT__ a man whose masteri of the issu and command of the lever of govern __PUNCT__ whose determin leadership and deft polit_skill __PUNCT__ ar match onli by hi abil to tell a good stori __PUNCT__

ted_kennedi stand apart from the prevail wisdom in washington that ha reduc polit to a game of tactic and transact __PUNCT__ in which no principl is beyond sacrific __PUNCT__

and hi public_life is a testimoni to what can be achiev when you focu on lift our countri up __PUNCT__ rather than tear polit_oppon down __PUNCT__

few public_servant in our nation_histori have had such a profound influenc on the cours of our nation __PUNCT__

few leader in thi countri have more experi in how to bring about real chang __PUNCT__

and few have better judgment about where we head as a parti and a peopl __PUNCT__

todai isn't just about polit for me __PUNCT__

it person __PUNCT__

i wa too young to rememb john_kennedi and i wa just a child when robert_kennedi ran for presid __PUNCT__

but in the stori i heard grow up __PUNCT__ i saw how my grandpar and mother spoke about them __PUNCT__ and about that period in our nation_life __PUNCT__ as a time of great hope and achiev __PUNCT__

and i think my own sens of what possibl in thi countri come in part from what thei said america wa like in the dai of john and robert_kennedi __PUNCT__

i believ that true for million of american __PUNCT__

i seen it in offic in thi citi where portrait of john and robert hang on offic wall or collect of their speech sit on bookshelv __PUNCT__

and i seen it in my travel all across thi countri __PUNCT__

becaus no matter where i go __PUNCT__ or who i talk to __PUNCT__ on thing i can sai for certain is that the dream ha never di __PUNCT__

the dream live on in the older folk i meet who rememb what america onc wa __PUNCT__ and know what america can be onc again __PUNCT__

it live on in the young_peopl who onli seen john or robert_kennedi on tv __PUNCT__ but ar readi to answer their call __PUNCT__

it live on in those american who refus to be deter by the scale of the challeng we face __PUNCT__ who know __PUNCT__ as presid_kennedi said at thi univers __PUNCT__ that __PUNCT__ no problem of human destini is beyond human be __PUNCT__

and it live on in those american __PUNCT__ young and old __PUNCT__ rich and poor __PUNCT__ black and white __PUNCT__ latino and asian __PUNCT__ who ar tire of a polit that divid us and want to recaptur the sens of common_purpos that we had when john_kennedi wa presid __PUNCT__

that is the dream we hold in our heart __PUNCT__

that is the kind of leadership we need in thi countri __PUNCT__

and that is the kind of leadership i intend to offer as presid __PUNCT__

so make no mistak __PUNCT__ the choic in thi elect is not between region or religion or gender __PUNCT__

it not about rich versu poor __PUNCT__ young versu old __PUNCT__ and it is not about black versu white __PUNCT__

it about the past versu the futur __PUNCT__

it about whether we go to seiz thi moment to write the next great_american stori __PUNCT__

so somedai we can tell our children that thi wa the time when we heal our nation __PUNCT__

thi wa the time when we repair our world __PUNCT__

and thi wa the time when we renew the america that ha led gener of weari travel from all over the world to find opportun __PUNCT__ and liberti __PUNCT__ and hope on our doorstep __PUNCT__

on of these travel wa my father __PUNCT__

i bare knew him __PUNCT__ but when __PUNCT__ after hi death __PUNCT__ i final took my first trip to hi tini villag in kenya and ask my grandmoth if there wa anyth left from him __PUNCT__ she open a trunk and took out a stack of letter __PUNCT__ which she hand to me __PUNCT__

there were more than thirti of them __PUNCT__ all handwritten by my father __PUNCT__ all address to colleg and univers across america __PUNCT__ all fill with the hope of a young_man who dream of more for hi life __PUNCT__

and hi prayer wa answer when he wa brought over to studi in thi countri __PUNCT__

but what i learn much later is that part of what made it possibl for him to come here wa an effort by the young senat from massachusett at the time __PUNCT__ john f __PUNCT__ kennedi __PUNCT__ and by a grant from the kennedi foundat to help kenyan student pai for travel __PUNCT__

so it is partli becaus of their generos that my father came to thi countri __PUNCT__ and becaus he did __PUNCT__ i stand befor you todai __PUNCT__ inspir by america past __PUNCT__ fill with hope for america_futur __PUNCT__ and determin to do my part in write our next great chapter __PUNCT__

so i ask for your hand __PUNCT__

i ask for your help __PUNCT__

and i ask for your heart __PUNCT__

and if you will stand with me in the dai to come __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 these primari __PUNCT__ we will win thi elect __PUNCT__ we will chang the cours of histori __PUNCT__ and light a new torch for chang in thi countri __PUNCT__ and __PUNCT__ the glow from that fire can truli light the world __PUNCT__