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America! Tonight, if you feel the same energy that I do, if you feel the same urgency that I do, if you feel the same passion I do, if you feel the same hopefulness that I do - if we do what we must do, then I have no doubts that all across the country, from Florida to Oregon, from Washington to Maine, the people will rise up in November, and John Kerry will be sworn in as president, and John Edwards will be sworn in as vice president, and this country will reclaim its promise, and out of this long political darkness a brighter day will come. When violent extremists operate in one stretch of mountains, people are endangered across an ocean.
On one end of the spectrum, we've heard the implication that my candidacy is somehow an exercise in affirmative action; that it's based solely on the desire of wide-eyed liberals to purchase racial reconciliation on the cheap. But race is an issue that I believe this nation cannot afford to ignore right now. But we must also admit that programs alone can't replace parents; that government can't turn off the television and make a child do her homework; that fathers must take more responsibility for providing the love and guidance their children need. That is not how moral authority is claimed; that is how it is surrendered.
And yet, it has only been in the last couple of weeks that the discussion of race in this campaign has taken a particularly divisive turn. I suppose the politically safe thing would be to move on from this episode and just hope that it fades into the woodwork. Even for those blacks who did make it, questions of race, and racism, continue to define their worldview in fundamental ways. And occasionally it finds voice in the church on Sunday morning, in the pulpit and in the pews.
And nothing will change. They have not served a Red America or a Blue America - they have served the United States of America.
And there's another issue we must confront as well. I am also proud to carry with me the goodwill of the American people, and a greeting of peace from Muslim communities in my country: assalaamu alaykum. I know, too, that Islam has always been a part of America's story. They have affiliates in many countries and are trying to expand their reach. Some suggest that it isn't worth the effort - that we are fated to disagree, and civilizations are doomed to clash.
Thank you.