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His values - and his record - affirm what is best in us. We measure progress in the 23 million new jobs that were created when Bill Clinton was President - when the average American family saw its income go up $7,500 instead of down $2,000 like it has under George Bush. We measure the strength of our economy not by the number of billionaires we have or the profits of the Fortune 500, but by whether someone with a good idea can take a risk and start a new business, or whether the waitress who lives on tips can take a day off to look after a sick kid without losing her job - an economy that honors the dignity of work. The third source of tension is our shared interest in the rights and responsibilities of nations on nuclear weapons.
The fact that so many people are surprised to hear that anger in some of Reverend Wright's sermons simply reminds us of the old truism that the most segregated hour in American life occurs on Sunday morning. That anger is not always productive; indeed, all too often it distracts attention from solving real problems; it keeps us from squarely facing our own complicity in our condition, and prevents the African-American community from forging the alliances it needs to bring about real change.
They're looking to relieve a chronic loneliness. They are full of dancing, clapping, screaming and shouting that may seem jarring to the untrained ear. This cycle of suspicion and discord must end. It's a belief that pulsed in the cradle of civilization, and that still beats in the heart of billions.
But the anger is real; it is powerful; and to simply wish it away, to condemn it without understanding its roots, only serves to widen the chasm of misunderstanding that exists between the races. But what my former pastor too often failed to understand is that embarking on a program of self-help also requires a belief that society can change. As President, I will tap our natural gas reserves, invest in clean coal technology, and find ways to safely harness nuclear power. Trade can bring new wealth and opportunities, but also huge disruptions and changing communities.
The day after Pearl Harbor my grandfather signed up for duty; joined Patton's army, marched across Europe. And this restlessness - this search for meaning - is familiar to me. And it's around this time that some pastors I was working with came up to me and asked if I was a member of a church. You have shown what history teaches us - that at defining moments like this one, the change we need doesn't come from Washington. That experience guides my conviction that partnership between America and Islam must be based on what Islam is, not what it isn't.
Thank you. And may God's peace be upon you.