Obama Rules the Night: Page 2

Obama Rules the Night: Page 2

Friday, August 29, 2008

"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."

Obama went on to counter John McCain, presenting the election as a choice between change and failure, criticizing McCain on Iraq and health care.

"I don't believe that Senator McCain doesn't care what's going on in the lives of Americans. I just think he doesn't know. Why else would he define middle-class as someone making under five million dollars a year? How else could he propose hundreds of billions in tax breaks for big corporations and oil companies but not one penny of tax relief to more than one hundred million Americans? How else could he offer a health care plan that would actually tax people's benefits, or an education plan that would do nothing to help families pay for college, or a plan that would privatize Social Security and gamble your retirement?

It's not because John McCain doesn't care. It's because John McCain doesn't get it."

Obama then addressed foreign policy, contending, "The Bush-McCain foreign policy has squandered the legacy that generations of Americans -- Democrats and Republicans -- have built." Obama also said: "As commander-in-chief, I will never hesitate to defend this nation, but I will only send our troops into harm's way with a clear mission and a sacred commitment to give them the equipment they need in battle and the care and benefits they deserve when they come home."

Regarding the war in Iraq, Obama also promised to "finish the fight against al-Qaida and the Taliban in Afghanistan."

"When John McCain said we could just 'muddle through' in Afghanistan, I argued for more resources and more troops to finish the fight against the terrorists who actually attacked us on 9/11, and made it clear that we must take out Osama bin Laden and his lieutenants if we have them in our sights," he said. "You know, John McCain likes to say he'll follow bin Laden to the gates of Hell -- but he won't even go to the cave where he lives."

He said he planned to undertake "direct diplomacy" with Iran to prevent it from securing nuclear weapons.

"I will restore our moral standing so that America is once more the last, best hope for all who are called to the cause of freedom, who long for lives of peace and who yearn for a better future," he said.

Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s presence was also strongly felt during a tribute to the civil rights leader earlier in the night. King's children paid respect to their father saying he would have been proud of the Democrats and the realization of his dream. Cameras caught civil rights advocates Rep. John Lewis and Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., and Oprah Winfrey hugging each other and crying.

But not everyone was impressed with Obama's speech. Go to PAGE 3.