Obama Ipsum

I have a plan that would have already begun redeploying our troops with the goal of bringing all our combat brigades home by March 31st of next year. Not just with words, but with deeds - by investing in our schools and our communities; by enforcing our civil rights laws and ensuring fairness in our criminal justice system; by providing this generation with ladders of opportunity that were unavailable for previous generations. I would not be running for President if I didn't believe with all my heart that this is what the vast majority of Americans want for this country. Four years ago, I stood before you and told you my story - of the brief union between a young man from Kenya and a young woman from Kansas who weren't well-off or well-known, but shared a belief that in America, their son could achieve whatever he put his mind to. These things we share. And finally, just as America can never tolerate violence by extremists, we must never alter our principles.

But she didn't. Likewise, it is important for Western countries to avoid impeding Muslim citizens from practicing religion as they see fit - for instance, by dictating what clothes a Muslim woman should wear.

It came about as a choice, and not an epiphany. It was Islam - at places like Al-Azhar University - that carried the light of learning through so many centuries, paving the way for Europe's Renaissance and Enlightenment. Although I believe that the Iraqi people are ultimately better off without the tyranny of Saddam Hussein, I also believe that events in Iraq have reminded America of the need to use diplomacy and build international consensus to resolve our problems whenever possible. This is important because no development strategy can be based only upon what comes out of the ground, nor can it be sustained while young people are out of work. And while America in the past has focused on oil and gas in this part of the world, we now seek a broader engagement.

Each of us in our own lives needs to do what we can to help the poor. We can play Reverend Wright's sermons on every channel, every day and talk about them from now until the election, and make the only question in this campaign whether or not the American people think that I somehow believe or sympathize with his most offensive words. We can do that. The men and women who serve in our battlefields may be Democrats and Republicans and Independents, but they have fought together and bled together and some died together under the same proud flag. When Washington doesn't work, all its promises seem empty. People in every country should be free to choose and live their faith based upon the persuasion of the mind, heart, and soul.

I understand you switched venues at considerable expense and inconvenience because of unfair labor practices at the place you were going to be having this synod. It wasn't until after college, when I went to Chicago to work as a community organizer for a group of Christian churches, that I confronted my own spiritual dilemma. They work hard and give back and keep going without complaint. They have not served a Red America or a Blue America - they have served the United States of America. Many more are simply skeptical that real change can occur.

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