Obama at Boston Seaport 04/02/2008

Most of all it means deploying our military wisely and the war in Iraq was unwise. It distracted us, from our enemies in Afghanistan.

By the time this thing is over, I think it is safe to assume that it will be well over a trillion maybe closer to two. For that money we could have rebuild every road, every bridge, every hospital, every school in America. We could have completely overhauled our infrastructure, we could have put homeland security in place, we cold have sent our kids to school.

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Then, John McCain won’t be able to say to me: “Well you voted for that war too”, because I didn’t. He won’t be able to say, “well you went along with George Bush’s policy on Iran”, because I haven’t.

This was an unwise war and that is why I’ll bring this war to an end. And I’ll bring our troops home, in 2009. But I will not just end the war I want to end the mindset that got us into war.

Earlier in this campaign I said I would not just meet with our friends, I would meet with our enemies. Not just leaders we liked but leaders we despised. Strong countries and strong presidents talk to their adversaries and tell them where America stands.

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And that will allow us then to go before the world and say “America’s back!” We are ready to lead on those common threats of the 21^st century. Yes we will defeat terrorism, we will defeat those who would do us harm, we will lock down those nuclear weapons.

But also, we will deal with the genocide in Darfur, we will also deal with HIV Aids in Sub-Saharan Africa. We will deal with poverty and we will deal with disease.

If you believe, we can have a foreign policy that matches up with our values and our ideals and we will elect a president who has taught the constitution, who believes the constitution, who will obey the constitution of the United States of America, if you believe.

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They understand that the real risk,, the real roll on the dice would be to have the same old folks doing the same old things over and over again and somehow expecting a different result. They want something more fundamental than that they want real change thats what they are looking for. They are ready to reach a little higher.

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But towards the end of this campaign we’ve been having an argument not just about the nature of change but also about the nature of hope. See here is the thing, understand, particularly for you democrats, we have a choice right now.

It is not a choice between black and white, it is not a choice between male female, it is not a regional choice, it is a choice between the past and the future.

Nothing in this country worthwhile has ever happened except somebody, somewhere was willing to hope.

A red tagged band of patriots declaring independence challenged the mighty British empire. Nobody gave them a chance, but they had hope. Slaves and abolitionists resisting a wicked system, our greatest generation defeating Hitler, lifting itself up out of a great depression, pioneers heading west, immigrants traveling from distant shores, women winning the right to vote, workers winning the right to organize, young people traveling down south to march and sit-in and get beaten and go to jail and some died for freedom’s cause; thats what hope is.

That is what hope is; imagining and then fighting for and struggling for what did not seem possible before. That is the moment that we are in right now, that is the opportunity that lies before us.

There is a time in the life of every generation, where that spirit, that hope has to shine through. When we cast aside the fear and the doubt and the cynicism and we turn each other and we join hands and we remake this county block by block, county by county, state by state.

This is one of those moments, this our moment this is our time and if you are willing to join with me if you are willing to vote for me if you are willing to organize with me and mobilize with me if you are willing to reach for what you know is possible and not settle for what the cynics tell you have to accept. Then I promise you this, we will not just win the primary we will win the general election. And you and I together we will transform this county and we will transform the world.

God Bless you Boston, I love you.