Лингвистические маркеры гендерности в речах политических деятелей Хилари Клинтон и Барака Обамы

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.»

A merica, we cannot turn back. N ot with so much work to be done.

N ot with so many children to educate, and so many veterans to care for. N ot with an economy to fix and cities to rebuild and farms to save.

N ot with so many families to protect and so many lives to mend. A merica, we cannot turn back. W e cannot walk alone.

A t 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, and God Bless the United States of America.

Final Primary NightPresumptive Democratic Nominee SpeechSt. Paul, MinnesotaJune 3, 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.

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. 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.

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

There are those who say that this primary has somehow left us weaker and more divided. Well I say that because of this primary, there are millions of Americans who have cast their ballot for the very 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. 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.

A ll of you chose to support a candidate you believe in deeply. B ut 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. Y ou didn’t do that because of me or Senator Clinton or anyone else.

Y ou did it because you know in your hearts that at this moment — a moment that will define a generation — we cannot afford to keep doing what we’ve been doing. W e owe our children a better future. W e owe our country a better future. A nd 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.

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

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.

It’s not change when he offers four more years of Bush economic policies that have failed to create well-paying jobs, or insure our workers, or help Americans afford the skyrocketing cost of college — policies that have lowered the real incomes of the average American family, widened the gap between Wall Street and Main Street, and left our children with a mountain of debt.

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.

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.

Change is a foreign policy that doesn’t begin and end with a war that should’ve never been authorized and never been waged. 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 — especially at a time when our military is overstretched, our nation is isolated, and nearly every other threat to America is being ignored.

We must be as careful getting out of Iraq as we were careless getting in — but start leaving we must. It’s time for Iraqis to take responsibility for their future. It’s time to rebuild our military and give our veterans the care they need and the benefits they deserve when they come home. It’s time to refocus our efforts on al Qaeda’s leadership 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.

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

Change is building an economy that rewards not just wealth, but the work and workers who created it. 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, and investing in our crumbling infrastructure, and transforming how we use energy, and improving our schools, and renewing our commitment to science and innovation. It’s understanding that fiscal responsibility and shared prosperity can go hand-in-hand, as they did when Bill Clinton was President.

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.

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.

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. That man needs us to pass an energy policy that works with automakers to raise fuel standards, and makes corporations pay for their pollution, and oil companies invest their record profits in a clean energy future — an energy policy that will create millions of new jobs that pay well and can’t be outsourced. That’s the change we need.

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; 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; 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.

T he 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. I t is a debate the American people deserve. B ut what you don’t deserve is another election that’s governed by fear, and innuendo, and division. W hat you won’t hear from this campaign or this party is the kind of politics that uses religion as a wedge, and patriotism as a bludgeon — that sees our opponents not as competitors to challenge, but enemies to demonize.

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

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. 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

T he journey will be difficult. T he road will be long. I face this challenge with profound humility, and knowledge of my own limitations. B

ut I also face it with limitless faith in the capacity of the American people. B ecause 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 and good jobs to the jobless; this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal; this was the moment when we ended a war and secured our nation and restored our image as the last, best hope on Earth. T his 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.

Women’s Rights Are Human Rights Famous Speech by Hillary ClintonBeijing, China: 5 September 1995

Mrs. Mongella, Under Secretary Kittani, distinguished delegates and guests: I would like to thank the Secretary General of the United Nations for inviting me to be part of the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women. This is truly a celebration — a celebration of the contributions women make in every aspect of life: in the home, on the job, in their communities, as mothers, wives, sisters, daughters, learners, workers, citizens and leaders.

It is also a coming together, much the way women come together every day in every country.

We come together in fields and in factories. In village markets and supermarkets. In living rooms and board rooms.

Whether it is while playing with our children in the park, or washing clothes in a river, or taking a break at the office water cooler, we come together and talk about our aspirations and concerns. And time and again, our talk turns to our children and our families. However different we may be, there is far more that unites us than divides us. We share a common future. And we are here to find common ground so that we may help bring new dignity and respect to women and girls all over the world — and in so doing, bring new strength and stability to families as well.

By gathering in Beijing, we are focusing world attention on issues that matter most in the lives of women and their families: access to education, health care, jobs and credit, the chance to enjoy basic legal and human rights and participate fully in the political life of their countries.

T here are some who question the reason for this conference. L et them listen to the voices of women in their homes, neighborhoods, and workplaces. T here are some who wonder whether the lives of women and girls matter to economic and political progress around the globe. L

et them look at the women gathered here and at Huairou — the homemakers, nurses, teachers, lawyers, policymakers, and women who run their own businesses. I t is conferences like this that compel governments and people everywhere to listen, look and face the world’s most pressing problems. W asn’t it after the women’s conference in Nairobi ten years ago that the world focused for the first time on the crisis of domestic violence?

E arlier today, I participated in a World Health Organization forum, where government officials, NGOs, and individual citizens are working on ways to address the health problems of women and girls. T omorrow, I will attend a gathering of the United Nations Development Fund for Women. There, the discussion will focus on local — and highly successful — programs that give hard-working women access to credit so they can improve their own lives and the lives of their families.

W hat we are learning around the world is that if women are healthy and educated, their families will flourish. I f women are free from violence, their families will flourish. I f women have a chance to work and earn as full and equal partners in society, their families will flourish.

A nd when families flourish, communities and nations will flourish. T hat is why every woman, every man, every child, every family, and every nation on our planet has a stake in the discussion that takes place here.

O ver the past 25 years, I have worked persistently on issues relating to women, children and families. O ver the past two-and-a-half years, I have had the opportunity to learn more about the challenges facing women in my own country and around the world. I have met new mothers in Jojakarta, Indonesia, who come together regularly in their village to discuss nutrition, family planning, and baby care.

I have met working parents in Denmark who talk about the comfort they feel in knowing that their children can be cared for in creative, safe, and nurturing after-school centers. I have met women in South Africa who helped lead the struggle to end apartheid and are now helping build a new democracy.

I have met with the leading women of the Western Hemisphere who are working every day to promote literacy and better health care for the children of their countries. I have met women in India and Bangladesh who are taking out small loans to buy milk cows, rickshaws, thread and other materials to create a livelihood for themselves and their families.

I have met doctors and nurses in Belarus and Ukraine who are trying to keep children alive in the aftermath of Chernobyl. T he great challenge of this Conference is to give voice to women everywhere whose experiences go unnoticed, whose words go unheard.

W omen comprise more than half the world’s population. W omen are 70% percent of the world’s poor, and two-thirds of those who are not taught to read and write. W omen are the primary caretakers for most of the world’s children and elderly. Y

et much of the work we do is not valued — not by economists, not by historians, not by popular culture, not by government leaders. A t this very moment, as we sit here, women around the world are giving birth, raising children, cooking meals, washing clothes, cleaning houses, planting crops, working on assembly lines, running companies, and running countries. W omen also are dying from diseases that should have been prevented or treated; they are watching their children succumb to malnutrition caused by poverty and economic deprivation; they are being denied the right to go to school by their own fathers and brothers; they are being forced into prostitution, and they are being barred from the bank lending office and banned from the ballot box. T hose of us who have the opportunity to be here have the responsibility to speak for those who could not. A

s an American, I want to speak up for women in my own country — women who are raising children on the minimum wage, women who can’t afford health care or child care, women whose lives are threatened by violence, including violence in their own homes. I want to speak up for mothers who are fighting for good schools, safe neighborhoods, clean air and clean airwaves; for older women, some of them widows, who have raised their families and now find that their skills and life experiences are not valued in the workplace; for women who are working all night as nurses, hotel clerks, and fast food cooks so that they can be at home during the day with their kids; and for women everywhere who simply don’t have time to do everything they are called upon to do each day. S peaking to you today, I speak for them, just as each of us speaks for women around the world who are denied the chance to go to school, or see a doctor, or own property, or have a say about the direction of their lives, simply because they are women. T he truth is that most women around the world work both inside and outside the home, usually by necessity. W

e need to understand that there is no formula for how women should lead their lives. T hat is why we must respect the choices that each woman makes for herself and her family. E very woman deserves the chance to realize her God-given potential.

W e also must recognize that women will never gain full dignity until their human rights are respected and protected. O ur goals for this Conference, to strengthen families and societies by empowering women to take greater control over their own destinies, cannot be fully achieved unless all governments — here and around the world — accept their responsibility to protect and promote internationally recognized human rights.

T he international community has long acknowledged — and recently affirmed at Vienna — that both women and men are entitled to a range of protections and personal freedoms, from the right of personal security to the right to determine freely the number and spacing of the children they bear. N o one should be forced to remain silent for fear of religious or political persecution, arrest, abuse or torture. T ragically, women are most often the ones whose human rights are violated.

E ven in the late 20th century, the rape of women continues to be used as an instrument of armed conflict. W omen and children make up a large majority of the world’s refugees. W hen women are excluded from the political process, they become even more vulnerable to abuse. I believe that, on the eve of a new millennium, it is time to break our silence.

I t is time for us to say here in Beijing, and the world to hear, that it is no longer acceptable to discuss women’s rights as separate from human rights. T hese abuses have continued because, for too long, the history of women has been a history of silence. E ven today, there are those who are trying to silence our words.

T he voices of this conference and of the women at Huairou must be heard loud and clear: It is a violation of human rights when babies are denied food, or drowned, or suffocated, or their spines broken, simply because they are born girls. I t is a violation of human rights when women and girls are sold into the slavery of prostitution. I t is a violation of human rights when women are doused with gasoline, set on fire and burned to death because their marriage dowries are deemed too small. I

t is a violation of human rights when individual women are raped in their own communities and when thousands of women are subjected to rape as a tactic or prize of war. I t is a violation of human rights when a leading cause of death worldwide among women ages 14 to 44 is the violence they are subjected to in their own homes. I

t is a violation of human rights when young girls are brutalized by the painful and degrading practice of genital mutilation. I t is a violation of human rights when women are denied the right to plan their own families, and that includes being forced to have abortions or being sterilized against their will. I

f there is one message that echoes forth from this conference, it is that human rights are women’s rights — and women’s rights are human rights. L et us not forget that among those rights are the right to speak freely — and the right to be heard. W omen must enjoy the right to participate fully in the social and political lives of their countries if we want freedom and democracy to thrive and endure. I

t is indefensible that many women in nongovernmental organizations who wished to participate in this conference have not been able to attend — or have been prohibited from fully taking part. L et me be clear. F reedom means the right of people to assemble, organize, and debate openly. I t means respecting the views of those who may disagree with the views of their governments.

I t means not taking citizens away from their loved ones and jailing them, mistreating them, or denying them their freedom or dignity because of the peaceful expression of their ideas and opinions. I n my country, we recently celebrated the 75th anniversary of women’s suffrage. I

t took 150 years after the signing of our Declaration of Independence for women to win the right to vote. I t took 72 years of organized struggle on the part of many courageous women and men. I t was one of America’s most divisive philosophical wars. B ut it was also a bloodless war.

S uffrage was achieved without a shot being fired. W e have also been reminded, in V-1 Day observances last weekend, of the good that comes when men and women join together to combat the forces of tyranny and build a better world. W e have seen peace prevail in most places for a half century. W

e have avoided another world war. B ut we have not solved older, deeply-rooted problems that continue to diminish the potential of half the world’s population. N ow it is time to act on behalf of women everywhere. I f we take bold steps to better the lives of women, we will be taking bold steps to better the lives of children and families too. F

amilies rely on mothers and wives for emotional support and care; families rely on women for labor in the home; and increasingly, families rely on women for income needed to raise healthy children and care for other relatives. A s long as discrimination and inequities remain so commonplace around the world — as long as girls and women are valued less, fed less, fed last, overworked, underpaid, not schooled and subjected to violence in and out of their homes — the potential of the human family to create a peaceful, prosperous world will not be realized. L et this Conference be our — and the world’s — call to action. A nd let us heed the call so that we can create a world in which every woman is treated with respect and dignity, every boy and girl is loved and cared for equally, and every family has the hope of a strong and stable future. T

hank you very much. God’s blessings on you, your work and all who will benefit from it.

Address at the Democratic National Convention in Denver: «United We Can Build a Better America» August 26, 2008

I am honored to be here tonight. A proud mother. A proud Democrat. A proud American. And a proud supporter of Barack Obama.

My friends, it is time to take back the country we love.

Whether you voted for me, or voted for Barack, the time is now to unite as a single party with a single purpose. We are on the same team, and none of us can sit on the sidelines.

This is a fight for the future. And it’s a fight we must win.

I haven’t spent the past 35 years in the trenches advocating for children, campaigning for universal health care, helping parents balance work and family, and fighting for women’s rights at home and around the world. .. to see another Republican in the White House squander the promise of our country and the hopes of our people.

And you haven’t worked so hard over the last 18 months, or endured the last eight years, to suffer through more failed leadership.

No way. No how. No McCain.

Barack Obama is my candidate. And he must be our President.

Tonight we need to remember what a Presidential election is really about. When the polls have closed, and the ads are finally off the air, it comes down to you — the American people, your lives, and your children’s futures.

For me, it’s been a privilege to meet you in your homes, your workplaces, and your communities. Your stories reminded me everyday that America’s greatness is bound up in the lives of the American people — your hard work, your devotion to duty, your love for your children, and your determination to keep going, often in the face of enormous obstacles.

You taught me so much, you made me laugh, and. .. you even made me cry. You allowed me to become part of your lives. And you became part of mine.

I will always remember the single mom who had adopted two kids with autism, didn’t have health insurance and discovered she had cancer. But she greeted me with her bald head painted with my name on it and asked me to fight for health care.

I will always remember the young man in a Marine Corps t-shirt who waited months for medical care and said to me: «Take care of my buddies; a lot of them are still over there… and then will you please help take care of me?»

I will always remember the boy who told me his mom worked for the minimum wage and that her employer had cut her hours. He said he just didn’t know what his family was going to do.

I will always be grateful to everyone from all fifty states, Puerto Rico and the territories, who joined our campaign on behalf of all those people left out and left behind by the Bush Administrtation.

To my supporters, my champions — my sisterhood of the traveling pantsuits — from the bottom of my heart: Thank you.

You never gave in. You never gave up. And together we made history.

Along the way, America lost two great Democratic champions who would have been here with us tonight. One of our finest young leaders, Arkansas Democratic Party Chair, Bill Gwatney, who believed with all his heart that America and the South could be and should be Democratic from top to bottom.

And Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones, a dear friend to many of us, a loving mother and courageous leader who never gave up her quest to make America fairer and smarter, stronger and better. Steadfast in her beliefs, a fighter of uncommon grace, she was an inspiration to me and to us all.

Our heart goes out to Stephanie’s son, Mervyn, Jr, and Bill’s wife, Rebecca, who traveled to Denver to join us at our convention.

Bill and Stephanie knew that after eight years of George Bush, people are hurting at home, and our standing has eroded around the world. We have a lot of work ahead.

Jobs lost, houses gone, falling wages, rising prices. The Supreme Court in a right-wing headlock and our government in partisan gridlock. The biggest deficit in our nation’s history. Money borrowed from the Chinese to buy oil from the Saudis.

Putin and Georgia, Iraq and Iran.

I ran for President to renew the promise of America. To rebuild the middle class and sustain the American Dream, to provide the opportunity to work hard and have that work rewarded, to save for college, a home and retirement, to afford the gas and groceries and still have a little left over each month.

To promote a clean energy economy that will create millions of green collar jobs.

To create a health care system that is universal, high quality, and affordable so that parents no longer have to choose between care for themselves or their children or be stuck in dead end jobs simply to keep their insurance.

To create a world class education system and make college affordable again.

To fight for an America defined by deep and meaningful equality — from civil rights to labor rights, from women’s rights to gay rights, from ending discrimination to promoting unionization to providing help for the most important job there is: caring for our families. To help every child live up to his or her God-given potential.

To make America once again a nation of immigrants and a nation of laws.

To bring fiscal sanity back to Washington and make our government an instrument of the public good, not of private plunder.

To restore America’s standing in the world, to end the war in Iraq, bring our troops home and honor their service by caring for our veterans.

And to join with our allies to confront our shared challenges, from poverty and genocide to terrorism and global warming.

Most of all, I ran to stand up for all those who have been invisible to their government for eight long years.

Those are the reasons I ran for President. Those are the reasons I support Barack Obama. And those are the reasons you should too.

I want you to ask yourselves: Were you in this campaign just for me? Or were you in it for that young Marine and others like him? Were you in it for that mom struggling with cancer while raising her kids? Were you in it for that boy and his mom surviving on the minimum wage? Were you in it for all the people in this country who feel invisible?

We need leaders once again who can tap into that special blend of American confidence and optimism that has enabled generations before us to meet our toughest challenges. Leaders who can help us show ourselves and the world that with our ingenuity, creativity, and innovative spirit, there are no limits to what is possible in America.

This won’t be easy. Progress never is. But it will be impossible if we don’t fight to put a Democrat in the White House.

We need to elect Barack Obama because we need a President who understands that America can’t compete in a global economy by padding the pockets of energy speculators, while ignoring the workers whose jobs have been shipped overseas. We need a President who understands that we can’t solve the problems of global warming by giving windfall profits to the oil companies while ignoring opportunities to invest in new technologies that will build a green economy.

We need a President who understands that the genius of America has always depended on the strength and vitality of the middle class.

Barack Obama began his career fighting for workers displaced by the global economy. He built his campaign on a fundamental belief that change in this country must start from the ground up, not the top down. He knows government must be about «We the people» not «We the favored few.»

And when Barack Obama is in the White House, he’ll revitalize our economy, defend the working people of America, and meet the global challenges of our time. Democrats know how to do this. As I recall, President Clinton and the Democrats did it before. And President Obama and the Democrats will do it again.

He’ll transform our energy agenda by creating millions of green jobs and building a new, clean energy future. He’ll make sure that middle class families get the tax relief they deserve. And I can’t wait to watch Barack Obama sign a health care plan into law that covers every single American.

Barack Obama will end the war in Iraq responsibly and bring our troops home — a first step to repairing our alliances around the world.

And he will have with him a terrific partner in Michelle Obama. Anyone who saw Michelle’s speech last night knows she will be a great First Lady for America.

Americans are also fortunate that Joe Biden will be at Barack Obama’s side. He is a strong leader and a good man. He understands both the economic stresses here at home and the strategic challenges abroad. He is pragmatic, tough, and wise. And, of course, Joe will be supported by his wonderful wife, Jill.

They will be a great team for our country.

Now, John McCain is my colleague and my friend.

He has served our country with honor and courage.

But we don’t need four more years. .. of the last eight years.

More economic stagnation… and less affordable health care.

More high gas prices… and less alternative energy.

More jobs getting shipped overseas… and fewer jobs created here.

More skyrocketing debt… home foreclosures… and mounting bills that are crushing our middle class families.

More war. .. less diplomacy.

More of a government where the privileged come first… and everyone else comes last.

John McCain says the economy is fundamentally sound. John McCain doesn’t think that 47 million people without health insurance is a crisis. John McCain wants to privatize Social Security. And in 2008, he still thinks it’s okay when women don’t earn equal pay for equal work.

With an agenda like that, it makes sense that George Bush and John McCain will be together next week in the Twin Cities. Because these days they’re awfully hard to tell apart.

America is still around after 232 years because we have risen to the challenge of every new time, changing to be faithful to our values of equal opportunity for all and the common good.

And I know what that can mean for every man, woman, and child in America. I’m a United States Senator because in 1848 a group of courageous women and a few brave men gathered in Seneca Falls, New York, many traveling for days and nights, to participate in the first convention on women’s rights in our history.

And so dawned a struggle for the right to vote that would last 72 years, handed down by mother to daughter to granddaughter — and a few sons and grandsons along the way.

These women and men looked into their daughters' eyes, imagined a fairer and freer world, and found the strength to fight. To rally and picket. To endure ridicule and harassment. To brave violence and jail.

And after so many decades — 88 years ago on this very day — the 19th amendment guaranteeing women the right to vote would be forever enshrined in our Constitution.

My mother was born before women could vote. But in this election my daughter got to vote for her mother for President.

This is the story of America. Of women and men who defy the odds and never give up.

How do we give this country back to them?

By following the example of a brave New Yorker, a woman who risked her life to shepherd slaves along the Underground Railroad.

And on that path to freedom, Harriett Tubman had one piece of advice.

If you hear the dogs, keep going.

If you see the torches in the woods, keep going.

If they’re shouting after you, keep going.

Don’t ever stop. Keep going.

If you want a taste of freedom, keep going.

Even in the darkest of moments, ordinary Americans have found the faith to keep going.

I’ve seen it in you. I’ve seen it in our teachers and firefighters, nurses and police officers, small business owners and union workers, the men and women of our military — you always keep going.

We are Americans. We’re not big on quitting.

But remember, before we can keep going, we have to get going by electing Barack Obama president.

We don’t have a moment to lose or a vote to spare.

Nothing less than the fate of our nation and the future of our children hang in the balance.

I want you to think about your children and grandchildren come election day. And think about the choices your parents and grandparents made that had such a big impact on your life and on the life of our nation.

We’ve got to ensure that the choice we make in this election honors the sacrifices of all who came before us, and will fill the lives of our children with possibility and hope.

That is our duty, to build that bright future, and to teach our children that in America there is no chasm too deep, no barrier too great — and no ceiling too high — for all who work hard, never back down, always keep going, have faith in God, in our country, and in each other.

Thank you so much. God bless America and Godspeed to you all. Remarks Conceding the Democratic Presidential NominationJune 7, 2008

Thank you so much. Thank you all.

Well, this isn’t exactly the party I’d planned, but I sure like the company.

I want to start today by saying how grateful I am to all of you — to everyone who poured your hearts and your hopes into this campaign, who drove for miles and lined the streets waving homemade signs, who scrimped and saved to raise money, who knocked on doors and made calls, who talked and sometimes argued with your friends and neighbors, who emailed and contributed online, who invested so much in our common enterprise, to the moms and dads who came to our events, who lifted their little girls and little boys on their shoulders and whispered in their ears, «See, you can be anything you want to be.»

To the young people like 13 year-old Ann Riddle from Mayfield, Ohio who had been saving for two years to go to Disney World, and decided to use her savings instead to travel to Pennsylvania with her Mom and volunteer there as well. To the veterans and the childhood friends, to New Yorkers and Arkansans who traveled across the country and telling anyone who would listen why you supported me.

T o all those women in their 80s and their 90s born before women could vote who cast their votes for our campaign. I&# 39;ve told you before about Florence Steen of South Dakota, who was 88 years old, and insisted that her daughter bring an absentee ballot to her hospice bedside. H er daughter and a friend put an American flag behind her bed and helped her fill out the ballot.

S he passed away soon after, and under state law, her ballot didn’t count. B ut her daughter later told a reporter, «My dad’s an ornery old cowboy, and he didn’t like it when he heard mom’s vote wouldn’t be counted. I don’t think he had voted in 20 years. But he voted in place of my mom.»

To all those who voted for me, and to whom I pledged my utmost, my commitment to you and to the progress we seek is unyielding. You have inspired and touched me with the stories of the joys and sorrows that make up the fabric of our lives and you have humbled me with your commitment to our country.

18 million of you from all walks of life — women and men, young and old, Latino and Asian, African-American and Caucasian, rich, poor and middle class, gay and straight — you have stood strong with me. And I will continue to stand strong with you, every time, every place, and every way that I can. The dreams we share are worth fighting for.

Remember — we fought for the single mom with a young daughter, juggling work and school, who told me, «I'm doing it all to better myself for her.» We fought for the woman who grabbed my hand, and asked me, «What are you going to do to make sure I have health care?» and began to cry because even though she works three jobs, she can’t afford insurance. We fought for the young man in the Marine Corps t-shirt who waited months for medical care and said, «Take care of my buddies over there and then, will you please help take care of me?» We fought for all those who’ve lost jobs and health care, who can’t afford gas or groceries or college, who have felt invisible to their president these last seven years.

I entered this race because I have an old-fashioned conviction: that public service is about helping people solve their problems and live their dreams. I’ve had every opportunity and blessing in my own life — and I want the same for all Americans. Until that day comes, you will always find me on the front lines of democracy — fighting for the future.

The way to continue our fight now — to accomplish the goals for which we stand — is to take our energy, our passion, our strength and do all we can to help elect Barack Obama the next President of the United States.

Today, as I suspend my campaign, I congratulate him on the victory he has won and the extraordinary race he has run. I endorse him, and throw my full support behind him. And I ask all of you to join me in working as hard for Barack Obama as you have for me.

I have served in the Senate with him for four years. I have been in this campaign with him for 16 months. I have stood on the stage and gone toe-to-toe with him in 22 debates. I have had a front row seat to his candidacy, and I have seen his strength and determination, his grace and his grit.

In his own life, Barack Obama has lived the American Dream. As a community organizer, in the state senate, as a United States Senator — he has dedicated himself to ensuring the dream is realized. And in this campaign, he has inspired so many to become involved in the democratic process and invested in our common future.

Now when I started this race, I intended to win back the White House, and make sure we have a president who puts our country back on the path to peace, prosperity, and progress. And that’s exactly what we’re going to do by ensuring that Barack Obama walks through the doors of the Oval Office on January 20, 2009.

I understand that we all know this has been a tough fight. The Democratic Party is a family, and it’s now time to restore the ties that bind us together and to come together around the ideals we share, the values we cherish, and the country we love.

We may have started on separate journeys — but today, our paths have merged. And we are all heading toward the same destination, united and more ready than ever to win in November and to turn our country around because so much is at stake.

We all want an economy that sustains the American Dream, the opportunity to work hard and have that work rewarded, to save for college, a home and retirement, to afford that gas and those groceries and still have a little left over at the end of the month. An economy that lifts all of our people and ensures that our prosperity is broadly distributed and shared.

We all want a health care system that is universal, high quality, and affordable so that parents no longer have to choose between care for themselves or their children or be stuck in dead end jobs simply to keep their insurance. This isn’t just an issue for me — it is a passion and a cause — and it is a fight I will continue until every single American is insured — no exceptions, no excuses.

We all want an America defined by deep and meaningful equality — from civil rights to labor rights, from women’s rights to gay rights, from ending discrimination to promoting unionization to providing help for the most important job there is: caring for our families.

We all want to restore America’s standing in the world, to end the war in Iraq and once again lead by the power of our values, and to join with our allies to confront our shared challenges from poverty and genocide to terrorism and global warming.

You know, I’ve been involved in politics and public life in one way or another for four decades. During those forty years, our country has voted ten times for President. Democrats won only three of those times. And the man who won two of those elections is with us today.

We made tremendous progress during the 90s under a Democratic President, with a flourishing economy, and our leadership for peace and security respected around the world. Just think how much more progress we could have made over the past 40 years if we had a Democratic president. Think about the lost opportunities of these past seven years — on the environment and the economy, on health care and civil rights, on education, foreign policy and the Supreme Court. Imagine how far we could’ve come, how much we could’ve achieved if we had just had a Democrat in the White House.

We cannot let this moment slip away. We have come too far and accomplished too much.

Now the journey ahead will not be easy. Some will say we can’t do it. That it’s too hard. That we’re just not up to the task. But for as long as America has existed, it has been the American way to reject «can't do» claims, and to choose instead to stretch the boundaries of the possible through hard work, determination, and a pioneering spirit.

It is this belief, this optimism, that Senator Obama and I share, and that has inspired so many millions of our supporters to make their voices heard.

So today, I am standing with Senator Obama to say: Yes we can.

Together we will work. We’ll have to work hard to get universal health care. But on the day we live in an America where no child, no man, and no woman is without health insurance, we will live in a stronger America. That’s why we need to help elect Barack Obama our President.

We’ll have to work hard to get back to fiscal responsibility and a strong middle class. But on the day we live in an America whose middle class is thriving and growing again, where all Americans, no matter where they live or where their ancestors came from, can earn a decent living, we will live in a stronger America and that is why we must elect Barack Obama our President.

We’ll have to work hard to foster the innovation that makes us energy independent and lift the threat of global warming from our children’s future. But on the day we live in an America fueled by renewable energy, we will live in a stronger America. That’s why we have to help elect Barack Obama our President.

We’ll have to work hard to bring our troops home from Iraq, and get them the support they’ve earned by their service. But on the day we live in an America that’s as loyal to our troops as they have been to us, we will live in a stronger America and that is why we must help elect Barack Obama our President.

This election is a turning point election and it is critical that we all understand what our choice really is. Will we go forward together or will we stall and slip backwards. Think how much progress we have already made. When we first started, people everywhere asked the same questions:

Could a woman really serve as Commander-in-Chief? Well, I think we answered that one.

And could an African American really be our President? Senator Obama has answered that one.

Together Senator Obama and I achieved milestones essential to our progress as a nation, part of our perpetual duty to form a more perfect union.

Now, on a personal note — when I was asked what it means to be a woman running for President, I always gave the same answer: that I was proud to be running as a woman but I was running because I thought I’d be the best President. But I am a woman, and like millions of women, I know there are still barriers and biases out there, often unconscious.

I want to build an America that respects and embraces the potential of every last one of us.

I ran as a daughter who benefited from opportunities my mother never dreamed of. I ran as a mother who worries about my daughter’s future and a mother who wants to lead all children to brighter tomorrows. To build that future I see, we must make sure that women and men alike understand the struggles of their grandmothers and mothers, and that women enjoy equal opportunities, equal pay, and equal respect. Let us resolve and work toward achieving some very simple propositions: There are no acceptable limits and there are no acceptable prejudices in the twenty-first century.

You can be so proud that, from now on, it will be unremarkable for a woman to win primary state victories, unremarkable to have a woman in a close race to be our nominee, unremarkable to think that a woman can be the President of the United States. And that is truly remarkable.

To those who are disappointed that we couldn’t go all the way — especially the young people who put so much into this campaign — it would break my heart if, in falling short of my goal, I in any way discouraged any of you from pursuing yours. Always aim high, work hard, and care deeply about what you believe in. When you stumble, keep faith. When you’re knocked down, get right back up. And never listen to anyone who says you can’t or shouldn’t go on.

As we gather here today in this historic magnificent building, the 50th woman to leave this Earth is orbiting overhead. If we can blast 50 women into space, we will someday launch a woman into the White House.

Although we weren’t able to shatter that highest, hardest glass ceiling this time, thanks to you, it’s got about 18 million cracks in it. And the light is shining through like never before, filling us all with the hope and the sure knowledge that the path will be a little easier next time. That has always been the history of progress in America.

Think of the suffragists who gathered at Seneca Falls in 1848 and those who kept fighting until women could cast their votes. Think of the abolitionists who struggled and died to see the end of slavery. Think of the civil rights heroes and foot-soldiers who marched, protested and risked their lives to bring about the end to segregation and Jim Crow.

Because of them, I grew up taking for granted that women could vote. Because of them, my daughter grew up taking for granted that children of all colors could go to school together. Because of them, Barack Obama and I could wage a hard fought campaign for the Democratic nomination. Because of them, and because of you, children today will grow up taking for granted that an African American or a woman can yes, become President of the United States.

When that day arrives and a woman takes the oath of office as our President, we will all stand taller, proud of the values of our nation, proud that every little girl can dream and that her dreams can come true in America. And all of you will know that because of your passion and hard work you helped pave the way for that day.

So I want to say to my supporters, when you hear people saying — or think to yourself — «if only» or «what if,» I say, «please don’t go there.» Every moment wasted looking back keeps us from moving forward.

Life is too short, time is too precious, and the stakes are too high to dwell on what might have been. We have to work together for what still can be. And that is why I will work my heart out to make sure that Senator Obama is our next President and I hope and pray that all of you will join me in that effort.

T o my supporters and colleagues in Congress, to the governors and mayors, elected officials who stood with me, in good times and in bad, thank you for your strength and leadership. T o my friends in our labor unions who stood strong every step of the way — I thank you and pledge my support to you. T o my friends, from every stage of my life — your love and ongoing commitments sustain me every single day. T

o my family — especially Bill and Chelsea and my mother, you mean the world to me and I thank you for all you have done. A nd to my extraordinary staff, volunteers and supporters, thank you for working those long, hard hours. T hank you for dropping everything — leaving work or school — traveling to places you’d never been, sometimes for months on end. And thanks to your families as well because your sacrifice was theirs too.

A ll of you were there for me every step of the way. B eing human, we are imperfect.

T hat’s why we need each other. T o catch each other when we falter. T o encourage each other when we lose heart.

S ome may lead; others may follow; but none of us can go it alone. T he changes we’re working for are changes that we can only accomplish together. L

ife, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are rights that belong to each of us as individuals. But our lives, our freedom, our happiness, are best enjoyed, best protected, and best advanced when we do work together.

That is what we will do now as we join forces with Senator Obama and his campaign. We will make history together as we write the next chapter in America’s story. We will stand united for the values we hold dear, for the vision of progress we share, and for the country we love. There is nothing more American than that.

And looking out at you today, I have never felt so blessed. The challenges that I have faced in this campaign are nothing compared to those that millions of Americans face every day in their own lives. So today, I’m going to count my blessings and keep on going. I’m going to keep doing what I was doing long before the cameras ever showed up and what I’ll be doing long after they’re gone: Working to give every American the same opportunities I had, and working to ensure that every child has the chance to grow up and achieve his or her God-given potential.

I will do it with a heart filled with gratitude, with a deep and abiding love for our country- and with nothing but optimism and confidence for the days ahead. This is now our time to do all that we can to make sure that in this election we add another Democratic president to that very small list of the last 40 years and that we take back our country and once again move with progress and commitment to the future.

Thank you all and God bless you and God bless America.

Speech at Dillard University in New OrleansMay 19, 2007

G ood Morning, what a great day this is in so many ways. A nd I am deeply honored to be here today and to have been asked to be your commencement speaker.

I want to thank President Hughes, and the faculty of this great university, the alumni, the class of 1957 and all the family and friends who are gathered here. I want especially to congratulate my fellow honorees, Dr. F

rank Mason, a long time friend and real hero of mine, Dr. R oberta Flack. I am hopeful that the feeling you all have today as you walk through those majestic oaks will stay with you as you leave this university and enter into the world you have been prepared to lead and serve.

P resident Hughes, I’m not sure if words exist to express the gratitude this assembly feels for you today. C ertainly you and your trustees led by Trustee Roche face a challenge that rarely ever has had to be confronted by any university. A

nd to think that you just arrived at Dillard, you were just unpacking you bags, you had only been here for two months, when you found yourself at the helm of a university that was under water. B ut true leaders are those who rise to whatever challenge confronts them. A nd no one has risen higher than your President. To the entire Dillard community, I thank you for you leadership and your example.

And to the members of the class of 2007, I am very proud to be here to congratulate you on this milestone moment. The day you know that all your hard work was worthwhile, the nights you spent studying, the days you spent in class, the hours you worked to earn your tuition money.

And that’s all in addition to the months you spent coping with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. As I walked between you, you were holding the flags of the colleges and universities you attended during the time that Dillard was so grievously struck. And I was glancing at the names that were literally all over the country. I know it wasn’t easy, and I know that none of you did it alone. As your valedictorian pointed out, you were in this together, you found strength from each other, you may never have known before.

Y ou had friends and family, teachers and preachers, administrators and staff who believed in you and sacrificed for you. T hey held you up when you were struggling. T

hey would not let you give in to your fears and doubts. Y ou are here because of them, and because as it is written in the scriptures, of their work of faith and labor of love, and steadfastness of hope. A s I look out on these graduates, I see that you are the work, the glorious result of faith, love, and hope. T oday, let us give thanks to all the family and friends and others that helped you along the way.

Some are only here in spirit, but they are with you, they have guided you and I know that you are grateful to them.

Just think of that dark day nearly two years ago, you boarded those buses for destinations unknown, you may have wondered whether you would ever see this moment. Whether you would join all of the Dillard alumni who had marched down that Avenue of the Oaks. Whether you would ever be reunited with your faculty members that you have depended upon and learned so much from.

But while you may have been scared and uncertain, you did take a deep breath — probably many deep breaths — and you showed this country exactly what that Dillard University motto means: you were the living, breathing embodiment of the confidence that comes from faith.

Lifted by the kindness of strangers, sustained by the communities you found you learned what I hope was one of many lessons throughout your life about the amazing grace that brought you safe and finally leads you home.

Back here in New Orleans, President Hughes was doing everything she could to provide that home. Dillard’s campus may have been uninhabitable, but that didn’t stop your President. She worked around the clock, making calls, making plans, making sure all of you were OK.

And when the Spring Semester came, because of her perseverance, Dillard University had a new home — in a Hilton Hotel.

Now, President Hughes and the faculty and the trustees and the stuff did not know whether you would come back. Whether you would be willing to pursue your studies in a temporary campus in a struggling city. She thought maybe 400 or 500 of you would return. But by the time those doors opened in January of 2006, 1,200 of you were ready to walk through. You came back.

You came because you refused to abandon this great American university and this great American city. You came back because you refused to leave behind the friends, the professors, and so many who had become your extended family. You came back because you knew that Dillard is more than the beautiful buildings and the lush green lawns and the majestic oaks — you knew that what makes Dillard special is something no storm, no flood, or fire can ever destroy.

And because you came back, Dillard University came back as well.

Y ou did your jobs — you learned you taught you devoted long hours to serving your community. P eople and institutions in New Orleans — and across America — they did their jobs too. T he non-profits provided desperately-needed services in terrible conditions. T

he churches reached out to those most in need. O rdinary citizens volunteered donated money opened up their homes and hearts. B

ut unfortunately, the federal government did not do its job. It didn’t hold up its end of the bargain.

Now federal officials did find time to track down students and demand recoupment of money they gave you to survive the storm, but in everything else from emergency response to rebuilding public works to restoring essential services, the federal government failed.

A nd today, nearly two years later, we still don’t have a reliable hurricane protection system. W e still haven’t rebuilt schools, hospitals, firehouses or parks.

T here are more than 80,000 households living in trailers. A nd New Orleans is caught in a vicious cycle. B ecause so many people have left, neighborhoods haven’t recovered. And because neighborhoods haven’t recovered, many people simply cannot come back.

In short, a natural disaster became a national disgrace — and an international embarrassment.

L et me say that again — this is a national disgrace. A nyone who thinks this is a local or regional crisis — anyone who thinks this is about «them,» and not «us» — is sorely mistaken. T hink about how all Americans benefit from the commerce that goes through this city’s port. H ow all of us benefit from the oil and gas produced off your shores.

A ll of us have been enriched by the culture and legacy of this city. A nd when our fellow citizens hurt — all of us hurt. Whether in Oklahoma City or New York City or New Orleans — when Americans our fellow citizens suffer — all of us suffer.

Today, I want to be very clear: rebuilding this city is not a New Orleans obligation or a Louisiana obligation — it is an American obligation. And I want to spend a few minutes with you today talking about that obligation. And how we finally begin to fulfill it.

Now, as a Senator from New York after September 11, I know what it’s like to stand in the aftermath of destruction so great, you can barely comprehend it, and to wonder where to even begin and whether you’ll ever fully recover. But I also know about the kind of love for a city that makes you determined to not just restore what you’ve lost — but to create something stronger, more beautiful, and more lasting.

I also know a thing or two about what you don’t need as you try to move forward. You don’t need more empty promises. You don’t need more talk. You don’t need more bureaucracy. If talk and bureaucracy and promises were enough, we’d have rebuilt New Orleans three times over by now.

What we do need is action. Action supported by our federal government, but driven right here in New Orleans and in the surrounding parishes. by the people who understand the reality on the ground. Action that leads to real, measurable improvements. Not six months from now, or a year from now — but right now.

T he question is, where do we begin? H ow do we stop talking the talk and start walking the walk? W

ell, I think we need a comprehensive approach — one where the federal government responds to what our state and local leaders and residents are telling them from the point of living and working in the area. I want to commend groups like women of the storm, and by the way, I fully support their proposal to hold a debate right here in New Orleans in the fall of 2007. M y good friend and colleague, Mary Landrieu, has been a passionate voice and an effective leader for Louisiana, and I have learned a great deal from her during this time. I support her coastal restoration plan. My proposals in this area build on her work, and the work of other leaders from this state and region.

My approach starts with putting one person, one accountable person in charge of recovery efforts and giving that person the authority he or she needs to do that job. Right now, the federal government’s Gulf Coast rebuilding office is buried in bureaucracy at the Department of Homeland Security. Instead, there should be a Federal Recovery Director who sits in the West Wing and reports directly to the President every single week about what is happening to the people who are still suffering. And the Director’s first order of business should be to reach out to every community affected and figure out exactly what they need and how the federal government can help. I don’t think that communities should have to go to the federal government to beg for help — the federal government should come to them.

S econd, let’s get federal money where it’s needed right now. E nough with the red tape.

E nough with the paperwork. R ight now, communities are required to match a percentage of the funds they receive from FEMA. B ut we know that many simply can’t afford it. When you hear people in Washington talking about all the money that’s been appropriated for Louisiana, stop and ask yourself how much of that money has actually been delivered to the people of Louisiana.

S o let’s do for New Orleans and the surrounding parishes what was done for New York after 9/11. W aive the rule requiring matching funds to get federal money for infrastructure improvements. A nd, let’s create a user-friendly, flexible, streamlined process to get funding for public works projects. H ere’s one of the things that drives people crazy, they’re trying to get flood money through a program called a program called Community Development Block Grant to service the mass to get the money from FEMA, you have to get the environmental assessment.

T rying to get the money from FEMA, you need to have an environmental assessment. D on’t you think they could talk together and one single environmental assessment, instead of requiring people to spend 40 and 50 thousand dollars to get two assessments? T his is the kind bureaucratic nonsense that has stood in the way of rebuilding. And once a community has applied for funds, let’s provide a small amount of money upfront, so you can get started on their project while they’re waiting for approval.

A nd let’s come together and finally find a way to make the «Road Home» program actually work for the people of Louisiana. I was in the Broadmoor neighborhood yesterday, I met with Mrs. J ohnson, a widow, raised six children in her home. U nfortunately she paid fifty thousand dollars to a contractor who turned out to be unscrupulous.

A nd the work done on her home does not meet the standards of the city. S o, she is still living in one of the trailers. H ow many of you have been in one of the FEMA trailers?

S o, you know how difficult it is. A nd across the street, Mr.

W ashington is paralyzed on one side, a retired gentleman trying to save his home. W ondering when he is going to get the help to do the work that he needs to do. I t is heartbreaking to see people who are decent hardworking Americans neglected by their government.

One of the things we need is more people to help.

Third, let’s create a Gulf Coast Corps of dedicated men and women who would work fulltime to help our communities rebuild. Congressmen Bennie Thompson of Mississippi and other Members of the Congressional Black Caucus are working on a similar idea. I would envision the Corps having two separate parts, one that would provide financial incentives to skilled professionals — teachers, doctors, nurses and others to serve high-need areas.

The other working hand-in-hand with the building trades union would consist of workers and apprentices who would complete priority projects. Many would be local — and many would be able to return to get jobs that paid well,. And you could work with local communities to help restore our fire stations, the hospitals, sewers and so much else.

Fourth, let’s make sure we finally build a reliable hurricane protection system for the city of New Orleans. That starts with a stem-to-stern review of the Army Corps of Engineers' plans and progress so far in building the levee and pump system. Once we’re certain we’re on the right track, let’s fully fund the construction of this system — and let’s set a deadline so we actually get it done. We also need the Corps initiate a wetlands restoration plan, because we if we don’t build up the wetlands we know we won’t be able to protect the city.

Fifth, let’s expand affordable housing. We know we need to provide more housing. The president showed me the housing she’s already built here on campus, it looks a lot better than trailers. We also need to address the skyrocketing cost of insurance and provide more rental housing.

Next, let’s deal with the rising crime rate, put more police back on the street, fund them with federal dollars. We need to make sure we have 21st century schools for New Orleans. We know there were serious problems before Katrina, and let’s set the goal of making New Orleans schools the best in the country.

Eighth, let’s revitalize the health care system in this city. Reopen hospitals, and let’s rebuild charity hospitals, and make it simple for healthcare patients. We need to address the growing mental health crisis in the city and the area. Let’s promote smart development, clean efficient energy use, «green»: buildings and so much else, so New Orleans is sustainable.

Finally, we have to overhaul our nation’s disaster response system. Lets start by making FEMA independent again, giving it cabinet-level position, where it reports directly to the President. Let's create a Katrina and Rita Commission modeled on the 9/11 Commission to figure out what went wrong so it will never happen again.

When all is said and done, I know how hard it is to move forward after a tragedy of this magnitude. In a tribute read at a remembrance service for British citizens lost on September 11, Queen Elizabeth wrote that «Grief is the price we pay for love.» I know that today, many still grieve for those we loved and lost. For the homes and business destroyed. For the memories and heritage and history swept away in that storm.

Class of 2007, at a very young age, you have learned the hard truth that there are moments in our lifetime on this earth when, after extraordinary loss, we have no choice but to begin history anew.

I have confidence that we will choose to move forward, choose to rebuild, choose to create a new life and a new life for this great city. And I hope that one day, years from now, you’ll bring your children and grandchildren here, to this city and this campus, you’ll tell them about what you did in facing the great flood, and you will tell them that you love this school too much to leave it behind. I believe that is what we have to tell the people of this country about the people of New Orleans. That we need to love this city too much to not leave it behind.

And that while our government has stumbled, we ultimately found our way. And that out of the sludge and ashes and destruction of this storm, we rebuilt this city — stronger, prouder, more lovely and lasting than ever before. Graduates, on this day, that is my wish for you. That you will live lives that reflect the courage and heroism, the bravery and determination that you have exhibited thus far in your lives. And that is also my hope for Dillard and for New Orleans.

With your talent, your dedication and your hard work, I have every confidence those hopes will be realized. Congratulations again on all you have achieved. You have made your families and all of us so very proud.

Thank you and God speed.

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