Obama Ipsum

But I also get the sense that there's a hunger that's deeper than that - a hunger that goes beyond any single cause or issue. He was nominally a Muslim since there were a number of Muslims in the village where he was born. In a sense, what brought me to Chicago in the first place was a hunger for some sort of meaning in my life. They weren't simply a religious leader's effort to speak out against perceived injustice. This union may never be perfect, but generation after generation has shown that it can always be perfected. That is why we will honor our agreement with Iraq's democratically-elected government to remove combat troops from Iraqi cities by July, and to remove all our troops from Iraq by 2012.

We believe that everyone, everywhere should be loved, and given the chance to work, and raise a family. I'm hearing from progressives who understand that if we want to communicate our hopes and values to Americans, we can't abandon the field of religious discourse. In South Carolina, where the Confederate Flag still flies, we built a powerful coalition of African Americans and white Americans. If John McCain wants to have a debate about who has the temperament, and judgment, to serve as the next Commander-in-Chief, that's a debate I'm ready to have. As a boy, I spent several years in Indonesia and heard the call of the azaan at the break of dawn and the fall of dusk. This truth transcends nations and peoples - a belief that isn't new; that isn't black or white or brown; that isn't Christian, or Muslim or Jew.

This year, in this election, we are called to reaffirm our values and our commitments, to hold them against a hard reality and see how we are measuring up, to the legacy of our forbearers, and the promise of future generations. As such, Reverend Wright's comments were not only wrong but divisive, divisive at a time when we need unity; racially charged at a time when we need to come together to solve a set of monumental problems - two wars, a terrorist threat, a falling economy, a chronic health care crisis and potentially devastating climate change; problems that are neither black or white or Latino or Asian, but rather problems that confront us all. We all put our country first. I am honored to be in the timeless city of Cairo, and to be hosted by two remarkable institutions. Some are eager to stoke the flames of division, and to stand in the way of progress.

They would give me an African name, Barack, or "blessed," believing that in a tolerant America your name is no barrier to success. My father, who I didn't know, returned to Kenya when I was just two. To the love of my life, our next First Lady, Michelle Obama, and to Sasha and Malia - I love you so much, and I'm so proud of all of you. We are shaped by every culture, drawn from every end of the Earth, and dedicated to a simple concept: E pluribus unum: "Out of many, one." In Turkey, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia, we have seen Muslim-majority countries elect a woman to lead.

Hope in the face of uncertainty. Our daughters can contribute just as much to society as our sons, and our common prosperity will be advanced by allowing all humanity - men and women - to reach their full potential.

Thank you, God Bless you, and God Bless the United States of America.