BEndorsement Speech.docx

BEndorsement Speech.docx

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BEndorsementSpeech

B

HillaryRodhamClinton

WashingtonDC

June7,2008

Thankyousomuch.Thankyouall.

Well,thisisn'texactlythepartyI'dplanned,butIsurelikethecompany.

IwanttostarttodaybysayinghowgratefulIamtoallofyou-toeveryonewhopouredyourheartsandyourhopesintothiscampaign,whodroveformilesandlinedthestreetswavinghomemadesigns,whoscrimpedandsavedtoraisemoney,whoknockedondoorsandmadecalls,whotalkedandsometimesarguedwithyourfriendsandneighbors,whoemailedandcontributedonline,whoinvestedsomuchinourcommonenterprise,tothemomsanddadswhocametoourevents,wholiftedtheirlittlegirlsandlittleboysontheirshouldersandwhisperedintheirears,"See,youcanbeanythingyouwanttobe."

Totheyoungpeoplelike13year-oldAnnRiddlefromMayfield,OhiowhohadbeensavingfortwoyearstogotoDisneyWorld,anddecidedtousehersavingsinsteadtotraveltoPennsylvaniawithherMomandvolunteerthereaswell.Totheveteransandthechildhoodfriends,toNewYorkersandArkansanswhotraveledacrossthecountryandtellinganyonewhowouldlistenwhyyousupportedme.

Toallthosewomenintheir80sandtheir90sbornbeforewomencouldvotewhocasttheirvotesforourcampaign.I'vetoldyoubeforeaboutFlorenceSteenofSouthDakota,whowas88yearsold,andinsistedthatherdaughterbringanabsenteeballottoherhospicebedside.HerdaughterandafriendputanAmericanflagbehindherbedandhelpedherfillouttheballot.Shepassedawaysoonafter,andunderstatelaw,herballotdidn'tcount.Butherdaughterlatertoldareporter,"Mydad'sanorneryoldcowboy,andhedidn'tlikeitwhenheheardmom'svotewouldn'tbecounted.Idon'tthinkhehadvotedin20years.Buthevotedinplaceofmymom."

Toallthosewhovotedforme,andtowhomIpledgedmyutmost,mycommitmenttoyouandtotheprogressweseekisunyielding.Youhaveinspiredandtouchedmewiththestoriesofthejoysandsorrowsthatmakeupthefabricofourlivesandyouhavehumbledmewithyourcommitmenttoourcountry.

18millionofyoufromallwalksoflife-womenandmen,youngandold,LatinoandAsian,African-AmericanandCaucasian,rich,poorandmiddleclass,gayandstraight-youhavestoodstrongwithme.AndIwillcontinuetostandstrongwithyou,everytime,everyplace,andeverywaythatIcan.Thedreamsweshareareworthfightingfor.

Remember-wefoughtforthesinglemomwithayoungdaughter,jugglingworkandschool,whotoldme,"I'mdoingitalltobettermyselfforher."Wefoughtforthewomanwhograbbedmyhand,andaskedme,"WhatareyougoingtodotomakesureIhavehealthcare?

"andbegantocrybecauseeventhoughsheworksthreejobs,shecan'taffordinsurance.WefoughtfortheyoungmanintheMarineCorpst-shirtwhowaitedmonthsformedicalcareandsaid,"Takecareofmybuddiesoverthereandthen,willyoupleasehelptakecareofme?

"Wefoughtforallthosewho'velostjobsandhealthcare,whocan'taffordgasorgroceriesorcollege,whohavefeltinvisibletotheirpresidenttheselastsevenyears.

IenteredthisracebecauseIhaveanold-fashionedconviction:

thatpublicserviceisabouthelpingpeoplesolvetheirproblemsandlivetheirdreams.I'vehadeveryopportunityandblessinginmyownlife-andIwantthesameforallAmericans.Untilthatdaycomes,youwillalwaysfindmeonthefrontlinesofdemocracy-fightingforthefuture.

Thewaytocontinueourfightnow-toaccomplishthegoalsforwhichwestand-istotakeourenergy,ourpassion,ourstrengthanddoallwecantohelpelectBarackObamathenextPresidentoftheUnitedStates.

Today,asIsuspendmycampaign,Icongratulatehimonthevictoryhehaswonandtheextraordinaryracehehasrun.Iendorsehim,andthrowmyfullsupportbehindhim.AndIaskallofyoutojoinmeinworkingashardforBarackObamaasyouhaveforme.

IhaveservedintheSenatewithhimforfouryears.Ihavebeeninthiscampaignwithhimfor16months.Ihavestoodonthestageandgonetoe-to-toewithhimin22debates.Ihavehadafrontrowseattohiscandidacy,andIhaveseenhisstrengthanddetermination,hisgraceandhisgrit.

Inhisownlife,BarackObamahaslivedtheAmericanDream.Asacommunityorganizer,inthestatesenate,asaUnitedStatesSenator-hehasdedicatedhimselftoensuringthedreamisrealized.Andinthiscampaign,hehasinspiredsomanytobecomeinvolvedinthedemocraticprocessandinvestedinourcommonfuture.

NowwhenIstartedthisrace,IintendedtowinbacktheWhiteHouse,andmakesurewehaveapresidentwhoputsourcountrybackonthepathtopeace,prosperity,andprogress.Andthat'sexactlywhatwe'regoingtodobyensuringthatBarackObamawalksthroughthedoorsoftheOvalOfficeonJanuary20,2009.

Iunderstandthatweallknowthishasbeenatoughfight.TheDemocraticPartyisafamily,andit'snowtimetorestorethetiesthatbindustogetherandtocometogetheraroundtheidealsweshare,thevalueswecherish,andthecountrywelove.

Wemayhavestartedonseparatejourneys-buttoday,ourpathshavemerged.Andweareallheadingtowardthesamedestination,unitedandmorereadythanevertowininNovemberandtoturnourcountryaroundbecausesomuchisatstake.

WeallwantaneconomythatsustainstheAmericanDream,theopportunitytoworkhardandhavethatworkrewarded,tosaveforcollege,ahomeandretirement,toaffordthatgasandthosegroceriesandstillhavealittleleftoverattheendofthemonth.Aneconomythatliftsallofourpeopleandensuresthatourprosperityisbroadlydistributedandshared.

Weallwantahealthcaresystemthatisuniversal,highquality,andaffordablesothatparentsnolongerhavetochoosebetweencareforthemselvesortheirchildrenorbestuckindeadendjobssimplytokeeptheirinsurance.Thisisn'tjustanissueforme-itisapassionandacause-anditisafightIwillcontinueuntileverysingleAmericanisinsured-noexceptions,noexcuses.

WeallwantanAmericadefinedbydeepandmeaningfulequality-fromcivilrightstolaborrights,fromwomen'srightstogayrights,fromendingdiscriminationtopromotingunionizationtoprovidinghelpforthemostimportantjobthereis:

caringforourfamilies.

WeallwanttorestoreAmerica'sstandingintheworld,toendthewarinIraqandonceagainleadbythepowerofourvalues,andtojoinwithouralliestoconfrontoursharedchallengesfrompovertyandgenocidetoterrorismandglobalwarming.

Youknow,I'vebeeninvolvedinpoliticsandpubliclifeinonewayoranotherforfourdecades.Duringthosefortyyears,ourcountryhasvotedtentimesforPresident.Democratswononlythreeofthosetimes.Andthemanwhowontwoofthoseelectionsiswithustoday.

Wemadetremendousprogressduringthe90sunderaDemocraticPresident,withaflourishingeconomy,andourleadershipforpeaceandsecurityrespectedaroundtheworld.Justthinkhowmuchmoreprogresswecouldhavemadeoverthepast40yearsifwehadaDemocraticpresident.Thinkaboutthelostopportunitiesofthesepastsevenyears-ontheenvironmentandtheeconomy,onhealthcareandcivilrights,oneducation,foreignpolicyandtheSupremeCourt.Imaginehowfarwecould'vecome,howmuchwecould'veachievedifwehadjusthadaDemocratintheWhiteHouse.

Wecannotletthismomentslipaway.Wehavecometoofarandaccomplishedtoomuch.

Nowthejourneyaheadwillnotbeeasy.Somewillsaywecan'tdoit.Thatit'stoohard.Thatwe'rejustnotuptothetask.ButforaslongasAmericahasexisted,ithasbeentheAmericanwaytoreject"can'tdo"claims,andtochooseinsteadtostretchtheboundariesofthepossiblethroughhardwork,determination,andapioneeringspirit.

Itisthisbelief,thisoptimism,thatSenatorObamaandIshare,andthathasinspiredsomanymillionsofoursupporterstomaketheirvoicesheard.

Sotoday,IamstandingwithSenatorObamatosay:

Yeswecan.

Togetherwewillwork.We'llhavetoworkhardtogetuniversalhealthcare.ButonthedayweliveinanAmericawherenochild,noman,andnowomaniswithouthealthinsurance,wewillliveinastrongerAmerica.That'swhyweneedtohelpelectBarackObamaourPresident.

We'llhavetoworkhardtogetbacktofiscalresponsibilityandastrongmiddleclass.ButonthedayweliveinanAmericawhosemiddleclassisthrivingandgrowingagain,whereallAmericans,nomatterwheretheyliveorwheretheirancestorscamefrom,canearnadecentliving,wewillliveinastrongerAmericaandthatiswhywemustelectBarackObamaourPresident.

We'llhavetoworkhardtofostertheinnovationthatmakesusenergyindependentandliftthethreatofglobalwarmingfromourchildren'sfuture.ButonthedayweliveinanAmericafueledbyrenewableenergy,wewillliveinastrongerAmerica.That'swhywehavetohelpelectBarackObamaourPresident.

We'llhavetoworkhardtobringourtroopshomefromIraq,andgetthemthesupportthey'veearnedbytheirservice.ButonthedayweliveinanAmericathat'sasloyaltoourtroopsastheyhavebeentous,wewillliveinastrongerAmericaandthatiswhywemusthelpelectBarackObamaourPresident.

Thiselectionisaturningpointelectionanditiscriticalthatweallunderstandwhatourchoicereallyis.Willwegoforwardtogetherorwillwestallandslipbackwards.Thinkhowmuchprogresswehavealreadymade.Whenwefirststarted,peopleeverywhereaskedthesamequestions:

CouldawomanreallyserveasCommander-in-Chief?

Well,Ithinkweansweredthatone.

AndcouldanAfricanAmericanreallybeourPresident?

SenatorObamahasansweredtha