Michelle Obama’s Speech - Here

Senator Edward Kennedy’s Speech - Here

Senator Claire McCaskill, Missouri

It is an honor to stand before you tonight representing the great state of Missouri. Missouri is in the middle of our great country. We have a nice view. From the middle, we see America. As you look around my state, you see the best of our nation—rich land, beautiful forests, shimmering lakes, wondrous cities and, most of all, the people of Missouri, hard-working, God-loving, family-centered, blessed with an abundance of common sense and with a tough streak of Harry Truman-style independence.

We don’t call it the “Show Me State” for nothing. Missouri is a place where our country comes together. We are not a red state or a blue state. We are proud to be a part of the United States. And this November, I am confident that Missouri will help make Barack Obama the next president of this country we love.

Barack Obama knows that what unites us as Americans is a belief in the common dream that in America anyone can accomplish anything. He believes in our stories—American stories. It’s the story of a woman who grew up of modest means in a small Missouri town. Her dad’s family had the feed mill; her mom’s, the corner drug store. She worked her way through college and law school waiting tables and went into public service. She now works for families of modest means as a U.S. senator. That is my story, and it is an American story.

It’s the story of a man who was brought up by a single mom and his grandparents. He put himself through school with odd jobs, scholarships and student loans. He took a pass on big money, went to work helping families devastated by steel plant closings and dedicated his life to bringing people together through public service. Barack Obama’s story is an American story. In America, all of us come from different places, but we come together because we want that dream of opportunity for all Americans. That’s why it’s not just your dream or my dream. It’s the American dream.

For eight years we have watched our government take care of the powerful, the few and the extremely wealthy. We have seen our dream put at risk by George Bush’s Washington.  John McCain is running for four more years of the same old politics and exact same failed policies that we had under George Bush. They did tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, they’re doing everything Big Oil asks for, and look where we are.

Come on, America. Let’s call on our common sense and stay focused on what’s important. We cannot choose that path again. That’s a risk the American people cannot afford to take. I have seen Barack Obama in the Senate, and I’ve been by his side on the campaign trail. I know he will bring the change we need in Washington.

I saw him take on both parties to help pass the farthest-reaching ethics reform since Watergate. That’s the change we need. I saw him run a campaign that hasn’t taken a dime from federal lobbyists and PACs. That’s the change we need. I know that this son of a single mom will stand up for the dreams of our daughters. And I know that John McCain won’t.

There is only one candidate in this race who has fought for equal pay for equal work by America’s women. That candidate is Barack Obama. There is only one candidate offering real tax relief for the middle class, health care that is affordable and accessible and protection of Social Security today, tomorrow and forever. That candidate is Barack Obama.

It all depends on how clearly you see America—how clearly you see the best of America. John McCain has been in Washington for almost 30 years. Maybe that’s why he has a campaign run by Washington lobbyists and thinks the fundamentals of the economy are strong. In Missouri we have a ringside seat to the real America, and I can assure you it looks much different.

It’s time for someone who understands the real America: the waitresses, small businessmen, single moms and truck drivers fighting to live their dreams. That’s the America that Barack Obama sees. He knows our stories, because he has lived the American dream. And from where I sit in the middle of America, I see a leader who knows that the American dream is not for a special few. It is for all of us, each and every one of us.

You know, a week ago I walked into my 80-year-old mother’s room to find my two daughters there. The three of them were huddled around the computer. My mother turned and said with a proud smile, “We are G‑chatting with Obama volunteers from all over the state.”  Don’t tell me this campaign is not special.

I have seen Barack Obama bring people together—Democrats, Republicans and independent, young and old. He makes us believe, once more, in the very best of America. Barack Obama is going to be one great president for one great nation—this great nation under God, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you and good night.

Craig Robinson - Brother of Michelle Obama

Good evening. I’m Craig Robinson, and Michelle Obama is my little sister.

Tonight I don’t want to just introduce my sister. I want to introduce you to my sister. The girl I grew up with. The poised young woman I saw her grow into. The compassionate mother, aunt and sister-in-law she is. The passionate voice for women and children she has become. And the type of first lady she will be.

Sometimes, when I look at the woman you are about to hear from, it’s funny to think that this is the same person who used to wake me up early, and I mean early, on Christmas morning, because we both had to be up at the same time in order to open our presents.

This is the person who would play the piano to calm me down before all of my big games in high school. This is the person who, even though we were allowed only one hour of television a night, somehow managed to commit to memory every single episode of “The Brady Bunch.”

But when I really think back, I can also see how the person she is today was formed in the experiences we shared growing up: working hard, studying hard, having parents who wanted more for us than what they had, and always being reminded that in this country, of all countries, those things were possible.

Neither of our parents went to college. My father went to work right out of high school to help pay for his brother’s college tuition. He worked at the water filtration plant for 30 years. We lost my father in 1991. And I know he’s looking down on us tonight, so proud of his daughter, not because of whom she married, though he was a big fan of Barack, but because of the hard-working, brilliant woman she is, what she’s accomplished in her own right, the mother she’s become, and the values she’s instilled in her daughters.

My mother Marian is here tonight. She remains our family’s anchor, and the sole reason Michelle was willing to campaign at all was because she knows that Mom is there to help take care of the girls.

When we were young kids, our parents divided the bedroom we shared so we could each have our own room. Many nights we would talk when we were supposed to be sleeping. My sister always talked about who was getting picked on at school or who was having a tough time at home. I didn’t realize it then, but I realize it now: Those were the people she was going to dedicate her life to, the people who were struggling with life’s challenges.

She has continued to follow that passion. She gave up a job in a big law firm to work in her community. With a group called Public Allies, she trained a new generation of community leaders. She developed the University of Chicago’s community service center, connecting the university to the neighborhood that was blocks away—but often worlds away—from its gates.

And when I wasn’t happy doing what I was doing—investment banking—she was the one who encouraged me to go back to my first love, teaching and coaching. And today I’m proud to be the coach of the Oregon State men’s basketball team. Go Beavs!

But she did take something away from that first big law firm job: a young lawyer by the name of Barack Obama.

My sister had grown up hearing my father and me talk about how to judge a person’s character by what type of sportsman they are, so she asked me to take Barack to play basketball. If you’re looking for a political analysis based on his playing, here it is: He’s confident but not cocky, he’ll take the shot if he’s open, he’s a team player who improves the people around him, and he won’t back down from any challenge.

Together, I’ve watched Barack and Michelle strengthen each other. I’ve watched them create a home filled with love and grounded in faith. During challenging times I’ve watched Michelle and Barack stand by each other. And I know they’ll stand by you, the American people, now and in the future.

So please join me in welcoming an impassioned public servant, a loving daughter, wife and mother, my little sister and our nation’s next first lady, Michele Obama.

Caroline Kennedy - daughter of John F. Kennedy

I am here tonight to pay tribute to two men who have changed my life and the life of this country: Barack Obama and Edward M. Kennedy. Their stories are very different, but they share a commitment to the timeless American ideals of justice and fairness, service and sacrifice, faith and family.

Leaders like them come along rarely. But once or twice in a lifetime, they come along just when we need them the most. This is one of those moments. As our nation faces a fundamental choice between moving forward or falling further behind, Senator Obama offers the change we need.

Everywhere I go in this country, people tell me that Barack Obama is making them feel hopeful the way they did when my father was president. It’s partly the words he uses—words that remind us that we are all in this together and that we each have something to contribute to this country that has given us so much. But it’s the life he has led that is the true source of this inspiration—a life spent fighting for ordinary people in neighborhoods and courts, in the state senate and the United States Senate.

I have never had someone inspire me the way people tell me my father inspired them, but I do now, Barack Obama. And I know someone else who’s been inspired all over again by Senator Obama. In our family, he’s known as Uncle Teddy. More than any senator of his generation, or perhaps any generation, Teddy has made life better for people in this country and around the world.

For 46 years, he has been so much more than just a senator for the people of Massachusetts. He’s been a senator for all who believe in a dream that’s never died. If you’re no longer being denied a job because of your race, gender or disability, or if you’ve seen a rise in the minimum wage you’re being paid, Teddy is your senator too.

If your children are receiving health care thanks to the Children’s Health Insurance Program, if you see a nurse at a community health center or if you’re benefiting from the Medicare program that he fought to create, and that just last month he returned to the Senate to save, Teddy is your senator too. If your child is getting an early boost in life through Head Start, or attending a better school or can go to college because a Pell grant has made it more affordable, Teddy is your senator too. And if you’re an 18-year-old who’s going to vote for the first time—and I bet it’ll be for Barack Obama—Teddy is your senator too.

Not only has Teddy helped put the American dream within reach for so many families, he’s been a powerful force around the world for human rights and human dignity, for refugees and the dispossessed. He helped end apartheid in South Africa and bring peace to Northern Ireland. He’s been a leader on nuclear arms control. And he took a strong, early and courageous stand against the war in Iraq.

He is a man who always insists that America live up to her highest ideals, who always fights for what he knows is right and who is always there for others. I’ve seen it in my own life. No matter how busy he is, he never fails to find time for those in pain, those in grief or those who just need a hug. In our family, he has never missed a first communion, a graduation, or a chance to walk one of his nieces down the aisle.

He has a special relationship with each of us. And his 60 great nieces and nephews all know that the best cookies and the best laughs are always found at Uncle Teddy’s. Whether he is teaching us about sailing, about the Senate or about life, he has shown us how to chart our course, take the helm and sail against the wind. And this summer, as he faced yet another challenge, he and Vicki have taught us all about dignity, courage and the power of love.

In this campaign, Barack Obama has no greater champion. When he is president, he will have no stronger partner in the United States Senate. Now, it is my honor to introduce a tribute to Senator Edward M. Kennedy.

Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., IL

I’m sure Dr. King is looking down on us here in Denver, noting that this is the first political convention in history to take place within sight of his mountaintop.

On the day President Johnson submitted the Voting Rights Act to Congress, he said, “At times, history and fate meet at a single time in a single place to shape a turning point in man’s unending search for freedom.”

So it was at Lexington and Concord. So it was at Appomattox. So it was in Selma, Alabama. Tonight, I would like to add: and so it shall be in Denver, Colorado, with the nomination of Barack Obama to be President of the United States.

What a remarkable thing it is that the man who came to this convention four years ago as the keynote speaker is returning this year as our party’s nominee. But for those of us who’ve known Barack over his decade in public office in Illinois the yearning for change, the hunger for unity that he’s tapped into across the country has a familiar ring.

I remember when Barack first decided to run for the United States Senate. He’d had a remarkable career in the state Senate, reaching across the aisle to put a tax cut into the pockets of working families, to expand health care for more children and parents and to take on the lobbyists who had so much influence in Springfield.

But despite this record, most in Springfield didn’t take his candidacy all that seriously. The party establishment was skeptical of this young leader from the South Side. They didn’t know what to make of a man like Barack, with a father from Kenya, a mother from Kansas and a funny name that few could pronounce. They didn’t see how this former community organizer could possibly defeat candidates with more money, more name recognition and more backing from “all the right people.”

But here’s the thing: that race wasn’t going to be decided in the halls of power in Springfield or the high rises on the lakefront. It was not going to be decided by the power brokers or opinion shapers. It was going to be decided by the people of Illinois. Illinois is America. It’s great cities and small towns, it’s old factories and new industries, it’s timeless Midwestern values of faith, family and hard work. And it’s black and white and Latino all living together, as one Illinois family, as one America. And the people of Illinois were hungry for change. From the old factory towns of our industrial north to the farms of our agrarian south, families had been struggling to meet the challenges of our global economy. And more often than not, they’d been harmed, rather than helped, by economic policies that failed to them get ahead and reach for their dreams.

But what they heard from Barack as he traveled across the state was a message of hope. Whether he was upstate or downstate; whether he was talking with folks who’d been laid off and seen their jobs shipped overseas or families struggling to keep up with rising costs; whether he was talking with recent immigrants who wanted to know that America had a place for them too, or African Americans who were falling further and further behind, Barack spoke of the same powerful idea. The idea that’s at the heart of who Barack is. The idea that’s at the heart of who we are as Americans. And the idea that’s at the heart of this campaign. That we all have a stake in each other; that the well-being of the “we” depends on the well-being of the “he” and “she”; and that in this country we rise and fall together as one people, as one nation.

And what I saw in that campaign is what I’m seeing today: ordinary men and women of all races, all religions, all walks of life coming together to demand a government in Washington that’s as honest and decent, as purposeful and responsible as the American people.

Fellow Democrats, this is an historic moment. I know. I grew up with the lessons of another generation, my father’s generation. I know his stories of struggle and sacrifice, of fear and division. I know America is still a place where dreams are too often deferred and opportunities too often denied.

But here’s what I also know. I know that while America may not be perfect, our union can always be perfected. I know what we can achieve when good people with strong convictions come together around a common purpose. And I know what a great leader can do to help us find common ground. America, we need such a leader today, a leader who can heal the wounds of the last eight years, a leader who knows that what unites us is greater than what divides us and that America is at its strongest when hard work is rewarded and all of our dreams are within reach.

I know Barack Obama. I’ve seen his leadership at work. I’ve seen the difference he’s made in the lives of people across Illinois. And that is why I know that for the sake of our children, our families, and the future we hold in common, he is the leader America needs right now. Forty-five years to the day after a young preacher called out, “Let freedom ring,” let history show in this fourth week of August in this Mile-High City, freedom in America has never rung from a higher mountaintop than it does here today.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

Good evening, Democrats.  Good evening, California.  Good evening, Maryland.  Welcome to the convention that will nominate Barack Obama and Joe Biden to be the next President and Vice President of the United States.

This week is the culmination of an historic race that has brought millions of voters to the polls—many voting for the first time.  All Democrats salute Senator Hillary Clinton for her excellent campaign. Our party and our country are strengthened by her candidacy.

We meet today at a defining moment in our history.  America stands at a crossroads, with an historic choice between two paths for our country.  One is a path of renewing opportunity and promoting innovation here at home, and of greater security and respect around the world.  It is the path that renews our democracy by bringing us together as one nation under God.  But there is another path—it leads us to the same broken promises and failed policies that have diminished the American dream and weakened the security of our nation.

We call this convention to order tonight to put America on the path begun by our founders—a path that renews America’s promise for a new century.  We call this convention to order to nominate a new leader for our time—Barack Obama—the next President of the United States. Two years ago, the American people set our nation in a new direction—electing a new Democratic majority in Congress committed to real change.

I am very proud of the Democrats in Congress.  Working with Majority Leader Harry Reid in the Senate, here are some of our accomplishments:
·        After years of inaction by Republicans, in our very first act, we passed the 9/11 Commission recommendations to protect the American people. That was just the beginning.
·        We helped rebuild the Gulf Coast for the survivors of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
·        We put recovery rebates into the hands of more than 130 million families.
·        We passed legislation to keep hard-working American families in their homes and to keep toxic toys out of the hands of our children.
·        We increased the minimum wage for the first time in ten years.
·        We improved fuel efficiency for the first time in 32 years.
·        We passed the largest college aid expansion since the G.I. Bill 64 years ago.
·        We passed the largest veterans’ health care funding in the 77 year history of the Veterans Administration.
·        And, we enacted a new G.I. Bill to thank our veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan by sending them to college.

Every chance we get, we must honor our veterans and our men and women in uniform for their courage, patriotism, and the sacrifice they and their families are willing to make.  Because of them, America is the land of the free and the home of the brave.

The American people gave Democrats their confidence, and we have started to reclaim the American dream for all Americans.  But our journey to take our nation in a new direction cannot be complete without new leadership in the White House.  Democrats know we can’t afford any more of the same failed Republican path.  Democrats stand for the change America needs.  We stand for Barack Obama for President of the United States.

Republicans say John McCain has experience. We say John McCain has the experience of being wrong. On the failed Bush policies that have weakened our economy and taken us from the Clinton surplus to reckless Bush deficits and on raising the minimum wage for millions of American workers, Barack Obama is right and John McCain is wrong.  On health care for 10 million American children and on protecting Medicare—a bill so crucial that Senator Ted Kennedy left his own medical treatment to cast the decisive vote—Barack Obama is right and John McCain is wrong. On a future of American energy independence, investment in renewable clean energy, and millions of good-paying green jobs here at home, Barack Obama is right and John McCain is wrong. And on the most important foreign policy decision of our time, the war in Iraq—a catastrophic mistake that has cost thousands of lives of our men and women in uniform and trillions of dollars, as well as has weakened our standing in the world and our capability to protect the American people, Barack Obama is right and John McCain is wrong. Very, very wrong.

America needs a president who knows that health care is a right, not a privilege, and that quality education is the key to our future.  America needs a president who knows our democracy depends on a strong middle class and who will create millions of good-paying jobs right here at home. America needs a president who will once and for all end our dangerous dependence on foreign oil and invest in renewable, clean energy.

To make America stronger, America needs a president who will honor our troops and responsibly end the war in Iraq. For our children and grandchildren, America needs President Barack Obama.

The night before I was sworn in as Speaker, we had a celebration dinner at the Italian Embassy. In addition to being the first woman Speaker of the House, I am proud to be the first Italian-American Speaker of the House. My little grandson Ryan, who lives in Texas and, at the time was five years old, was playing under the table. At one point, he came out from under the table, looked up, saw Senator Obama and said, “Barack Obama! I must be dreaming!”

Barack Obama’s dream is the American dream.  He gives us renewed faith in a vision of the future that is free of the constraints of the tired policies of the past—a vision that is new and bold and calls forth the best in the American people.

Barack Obama’s change is the change America needs.  Whether in Illinois or in Washington, Barack Obama has bridged partisanship to bring about significant reform.  Barack Obama knew that to change policy in Washington you had to change how Washington works.

That means restoring integrity to government by reducing the influence of special interests.  I saw firsthand his strong leadership on one of the toughest issues: enacting the toughest ethics reform legislation in the history of Congress.  This was only possible with Barack Obama’s leadership.

Barack Obama’s values are enduring American values:
·        A belief in personal responsibility, community, and hard work that brought him to the struggling neighborhoods of Chicago;
·        A faith in God that gives him strength;
·        A patriotic love of America that gives him courage;
·        And his wife Michelle and his entire loving family, inspiring him every day to strengthen and renew this great country.

One hundred and fifteen years ago, a young woman named Katharine Lee Bates visited Denver.  From the top of Pike’s Peak, she looked across Colorado—to the bountiful golden prairies to the east and to the majestic mountains to the west. That night she returned to her hotel room, opened her notebook, and the words of “America the Beautiful” spilled from her pen. My favorite verse is the fourth: O beautiful, for patriot dream, that sees beyond the years…

Today, Barack Obama is a 21st century patriot who sees beyond the years.  As president, Barack Obama will renew the American dream; Barack Obama is the leader for America’s future.

Inspired by that same vision of “America the Beautiful,” Democrats will leave this Denver convention, unified, organized, and stronger than ever to take America in a new direction with Barack Obama and Joe Biden as President and Vice President of the United States!

God bless you and God bless America.

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