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EDWARDS LAUNCHES 2004 PRESIDENTIAL EXPLORATORY COMMITTEE
Pledges to be a Champion for Regular People
RALEIGH, NC - U.S. Senator John Edwards, D-NC, announced Thursday the formation of a committee to explore a bid for the Democratic nomination for President. Edwards informed friends and supporters of his plans at his North Carolina home on Wednesday.
"I believe I can be a champion for regular people," explained Edwards. "My own life experience allows me to see things through their eyes. They are the people I grew up with, the people who worked with my father in the mill, the people I fought for as a lawyer. My vision for the country comes from them. They're not the insiders, they don't have lobbyists, but they're the heart and soul of this country and their voices should be heard."
Edwards began outlining his positive agenda for the country in several policy addresses delivered during Fall 2002.
"I have laid out ideas about how to make the American people safer, make the economy stronger, make our schools better and to open the doors of college to all who want to go," Edwards said. "That's not going to stop now. I am going to continue to lay out my ideas - and I am happy to have the American people judge me on them."
Edwards' exploratory campaign committee will be headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. The required paperwork will be filed today with the Federal Elections Commission.
Edwards will discuss education ideas with schoolchildren and teachers on Friday in Raleigh, North Carolina. On Saturday, he will kick off a series of fundraisers with an event in downtown Raleigh at Greenshields. The Greenshields event will be open to the press.
John Edwards was born in Seneca, South Carolina and raised in Robbins, North Carolina. The son of a mill worker, he was the first in his family to go to college. After graduating from law school, Edwards spent nearly twenty years representing children and families across North Carolina. He was elected to the Senate in 1998. Edwards has been married to his wife, Elizabeth, for 25 years. They have had four children.
A biography of Senator Edwards is attached. A website with more information will be available later this week at http://www.johnedwards2004.com/.
A Message From Senator Edwards
Welcome to my Web site. I hope you'll take some time to explore it and learn more about my campaign.
We are living in an exciting and challenging time - a pivotal period in our history. We have a chance to offer a vision for America anchored in our enduring values and energized with new ideas. We should be proud of what we believe and steadfast in our principles, and we must remember that Americans ask their leaders to tell it like they see it and offer real solutions.
We need to come together around a commitment to restore the promise of America for the people who make this country what it is - the people who build and deliver our products, who heal and teach our kids, who grow and prepare our food, who protect our streets and homes, and those who fight our wars. They should not have to choose between personal security and economic opportunity. They deserve both.
In America, we do not have to choose between making our world safer and making our country better.
We need to set a higher standard for national leadership - one that says to this President: ignoring your responsibilities at home because you are focused on our responsibilities abroad isn't good enough for America. Doing two things at once is part of the job description.
We need leadership with the strength to take on the tough fights and the courage to make the tough choices. We need to challenge ourselves; we need to match what is best in our history and reach for what is best in our future. We need leadership with the vision of Franklin Roosevelt, who summoned America to stand for freedom around the world and rallied the support of nations across the globe.
We need leadership with the courage of John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson, who fought for civil rights and voting rights even when they knew it would cost them dearly. We need leadership with the resolve of Bill Clinton, who made the hard decisions in 1993 to tackle a deficit problem that no one thought could be solved and put this country back on the road to prosperity.
We need leadership for the real America. That's where I come from. And that's where you come from. We come from the place where parents have no idea how they're ever going to afford to send their three-year-old twins to college. We come from the place where people worry about how they're going to pay the bills if their mother gets sick. We come from the place where people cannot understand how 30 years of retirement savings could be wiped out in a matter of months.
President Bush and his administration come from a different place; they don't see the world the same way. They don't even see the problem, let alone try to solve it. They've lost touch with the real America.
People everywhere in the real America don't care about Republicans, or Democrats, or the politics of Washington, D.C. They don't ask much from government, but what they ask for matters. They want their leaders to honor their values, have the courage of their convictions, keep their country safe and strong, be smart with their money, and give them a chance to make the most of their future.
That's the basic promise of what we call the American Dream - if you work hard and play by the rules, America will give you the opportunity to reach higher, to build a better future. Americans dream that their children's lives will be better than their own. Americans dream that hard work deserves a real return. Americans dream that their future can be greater than their present.
The President loves to say since 9/11 that the American spirit has never been stronger.
I seek the Presidency so that we will be able to say the same about the American Dream.
I invite you to join me online as I continue to outline a vision for our future. Stay in touch and get involved from your computer. Look to this Web site - and be sure to sign up for my e-mail newsletter - to share your own new ideas.
A Message From Senator Edwards
Welcome to my Web site. I hope you'll take some time to explore it and learn more about my campaign.
We are living in an exciting and challenging time - a pivotal period in our history. We have a chance to offer a vision for America anchored in our enduring values and energized with new ideas. We should be proud of what we believe and steadfast in our principles, and we must remember that Americans ask their leaders to tell it like they see it and offer real solutions.
We need to come together around a commitment to restore the promise of America for the people who make this country what it is - the people who build and deliver our products, who heal and teach our kids, who grow and prepare our food, who protect our streets and homes, and those who fight our wars. They should not have to choose between personal security and economic opportunity. They deserve both.
In America, we do not have to choose between making our world safer and making our country better.
We need to set a higher standard for national leadership - one that says to this President: ignoring your responsibilities at home because you are focused on our responsibilities abroad isn't good enough for America. Doing two things at once is part of the job description.
We need leadership with the strength to take on the tough fights and the courage to make the tough choices. We need to challenge ourselves; we need to match what is best in our history and reach for what is best in our future. We need leadership with the vision of Franklin Roosevelt, who summoned America to stand for freedom around the world and rallied the support of nations across the globe.
We need leadership with the courage of John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson, who fought for civil rights and voting rights even when they knew it would cost them dearly. We need leadership with the resolve of Bill Clinton, who made the hard decisions in 1993 to tackle a deficit problem that no one thought could be solved and put this country back on the road to prosperity.
We need leadership for the real America. That's where I come from. And that's where you come from. We come from the place where parents have no idea how they're ever going to afford to send their three-year-old twins to college. We come from the place where people worry about how they're going to pay the bills if their mother gets sick. We come from the place where people cannot understand how 30 years of retirement savings could be wiped out in a matter of months.
President Bush and his administration come from a different place; they don't see the world the same way. They don't even see the problem, let alone try to solve it. They've lost touch with the real America.
People everywhere in the real America don't care about Republicans, or Democrats, or the politics of Washington, D.C. They don't ask much from government, but what they ask for matters. They want their leaders to honor their values, have the courage of their convictions, keep their country safe and strong, be smart with their money, and give them a chance to make the most of their future.
That's the basic promise of what we call the American Dream - if you work hard and play by the rules, America will give you the opportunity to reach higher, to build a better future. Americans dream that their children's lives will be better than their own. Americans dream that hard work deserves a real return. Americans dream that their future can be greater than their present.
The President loves to say since 9/11 that the American spirit has never been stronger.
I seek the Presidency so that we will be able to say the same about the American Dream.
I invite you to join me online as I continue to outline a vision for our future. Stay in touch and get involved from your computer. Look to this Web site - and be sure to sign up for my e-mail newsletter - to share your own new ideas.
John Edwards Presidential Announcement Address
Edwards Launches Campaign To Bring Opportunity To All Americans
Remarks As Prepared for Delivery
Robbins, North Carolina
September 16, 2003
Good morning.
Welcome to my hometown, Robbins, North Carolina.
It's great to be home with my family, my parents, my wife Elizabeth, and my children, and with my dearest friends. Thank you for the life you've given me and the example you've set for me. And thank all of you for being here today.
I have come home to stand in the shadow of the mill where my father worked, where I worked and where I learned the value of a hard day's work. We're not far from the post office where my mother worked, the church where we went each week, and the high school where I played football and hoped to be the first in my family to go to college.
I grew up in an American town, and I grew up with America's dream. I owe everything I have to the America I grew up in.
This is where I learned that a job is about more than a paycheck, it is about dignity, responsibility and self-respect.
This is where I learned that credibility is the currency of good people.
This is where I learned that the simple promise of America is the enduring greatness of America: a better life for all who work for it.
And so this is where - today - to make opportunity the birthright of every American, I declare myself a candidate for President of the United States.
America deserves a president who understands the people of this country, works for the people of this country, and will stop at nothing to create opportunity for all the people of this country.
That's the great promise of America -- a fair shake for all, a free ride for none.
We want to live in a country where the promise of America is always kept and never broken. We want the America we believe in to be the America our children grow up in, where all children have the same opportunity that I had - the chance to live out their dreams and make the most of the talents God gave them. We want to live in an America that works for all of us.
I have spent my life fighting my heart out for the kind of people I grew up with. As a lawyer for two decades, I stood with families and children against HMOs and insurance companies, standing up for folks who play by the rules against those who don't. We fought them and we won. And I promise to fight for you with the same passion and energy I fought for them.
I haven't spent most of my life in politics, but I've spent enough time in Washington to know how much we need to change it. You know, folks from Robbins don't have lobbyists fighting for them in Washington. They count on their government to protect their interests, and they deserve a President who goes to work every day thinking about them, fighting for them. I've never taken a dime from special interest PACs or Washington lobbyists. I have spent my life working for people against those special interests. I know this fight. I am ready for this fight. And we will win this fight!
We deserve a President who is close to our people, not the lobbyists. Who listens to our people because he knows them, he works for them. A president who hears them even when they cannot speak because they've lost their jobs, because they're caring for a child, or just because the simple struggle to make ends meet leaves them no time for anything else.
George Bush's guiding principle is a twisted reflection of the American bargain: Instead of “opportunity for all, special privileges for none,” he's given us “opportunity for all the special interests.”
I will put our government and our economy back in line with our values. Instead of helping HMOs to block the Patients Bill of Rights - when I'm President, we'll put medical decisions back in the hands of families and their doctors.
Instead of helping prescription drug companies to stop the sale of less expensive medicine - when I'm President, we'll make sure all our people can afford the medicine they need.
Instead of turning a blind eye to CEOs who give themselves massive raises while cutting jobs - when I'm President, we'll stand up for the people who do the work.
This President, who gives free rein to his friends at the expense of the country, will not get a free ride in 2004! We will challenge him in every single state, in small towns and large: in every place where there is a plant that closed, or an after-school program that turned away kids, or a retirement account that is no longer enough to live on. We will force him to defend his failed policies in the East and the West, in the North, and right here in the South!
I will be a champion for regular people every day. I will fight my heart out to bring back America's Dream. And together, we will take the power in our democracy out of the hands of that handful of insiders who are running our country right now, and give it back to you, give it back to the American people!
We need a different kind of politics that gives people solutions, not empty promises.
Americans know politicians can fight with each other. Now they need to know that someone will fight for them!
This campaign is built on new ideas and old values: work...responsibility... a fair shake for all and a free ride for none. We'll never get anywhere in this country if we keep offering America the same tired choices from those who say: we can have security or liberty, but not both; power or respect in the world, but not both; a strong defense or a strong economy, but not both. When I'm President of the United States, we will have both!
The opportunities of this country should be open to everyone willing to work. That's why I've offered the most specific, detailed plan out there, based on one simple idea: America works best when it works for all of us.
Make no mistake: President Bush has a war on work - you see it in everything he does. He wants to eliminate every penny of tax on wealth, and shift the whole burden to people who work for a living. So people won't pay any taxes at all when they make money from selling stocks, when they get big dividends every year, or when they inherit a massive estate.
But if you work at a restaurant earning the minimum wage - you'll pay more. If you're a teacher, already earning less than you deserve - you'll pay more. If you're a policeman working overtime - that's right, you'll pay more. I think that's wrong. It's wrong to tax millionaires less for playing the market than we tax soldiers for keeping America safe
It is time to put an end to this administration's war on work!
Working people have been shut out by this President because he values only one thing: wealth. He wants to make sure that those who have it -- keep it. That they belong to an exclusive club - that the barriers are up, the doors closed and no one else ever gets in. I don't want to build barriers, I want to knock them down. I don't want to close doors, I want to open them. I want to give opportunities to more Americans!
One of my first jobs was at the trailer plant not far from here. The men in that plant worked so their children could get ahead. It was a promise America made to them, and it is a promise I am going to keep. Just as prosperity is good for the people this President grew up with, it's also good for the people we grew up with.
And the price of opportunity or security can't be higher taxes for the middle class. I grew up in a family that struggled to make ends meet, just like millions of families today.
We should get rid of tax cuts for the very wealthiest Americans, ask them to pay their fair share, and use the money to reward hard, American work. Under my plan, we give tax cuts to help working families buy a home, save for college or retirement, and own a piece of the rock. Under my plan, we won't explode the deficit by giving tax cuts to people who don't need them. We'll get the economy going again by getting middle-class incomes growing again.
Let's give every American the chance to build a better life by doing more to keep jobs right here in America! This is what the Washington crowd will tell you. They'll put you in a job retraining program. Retraining to do what? For what job? Instead of giving tax breaks to companies that move jobs overseas, let's give tax breaks to companies that keep those jobs here... and bring jobs back to America.
I am a father, and I take my responsibilities as a father seriously. As President, I will take our responsibilities to all our children seriously. For the first time in history, we'll provide health care for every child in America, and we'll do it the only way we can: by making it the law of the land!
Let's end the shame of two public schools systems in America where the quality of your education too often depends on the affluence of your neighborhood. And let's provide every person the chance to go to college by making the first year tuition free if they're willing to work for it. I worked my way through college, and it didn't hurt me a bit. One of my jobs was unloading tractor trailers, and let me tell you, you spend a summer night in North Carolina unloading tractor trailers and you will get up and study in the morning.
And let's keep our children - and our country -- safe and secure by leading in a way that brings others to us, instead of driving them away. We must work with the world to win the war on terrorism and to finish the job in Iraq. The defeat of Saddam is a good thing for the freedom of the Iraqi people and the security of the world. We must not fail.
But we need a President who will unite the world -- in the war on terror and in the fight for security. Because we are all in this together. When I am President, we will lead in a way that always defends our people and always respects our friends. Our children will be safer growing up in a world where the United States of America is looked up to and respected.
And we need to reward our soldiers for their service and keep our promise to veterans!
I take a back seat to no one when it comes to keeping our country safe. Two years have passed since September 11th, and we have not done enough to defend our nation against another terrorist attack.
We need to give our firefighters and police officers the resources and equipment they need to protect us. We need to secure our ports and borders, our chemical plants and nuclear power plants. And we need a new domestic intelligence agency. But we cannot, in the name of the war on terrorism, let people like John Ashcroft take away our rights, take away our liberties, and take away our freedom!
And let me say something that is very personal to me. Like many of you, I grew up in the South in the 50s and 60s. I grew up with segregation all around me, and it had an effect on me that will be with me forever. Those of us from the South - we have a special responsibility when it comes to civil rights. We cannot follow - we must lead on civil rights. I talk about this everywhere I go - because this is not an African American issue. This is not an Asian American issue. This is not a Latino American issue. This is an American issue. It is about who we are, what we believe, what our values are.
This election is about a lot of issues. But in the end, it's about something bigger. It's about what kind of America we are, what kind of America we want to be. The America I believe in is a country where work is rewarded, opportunity is equal, and faith and family fill our souls.
That's the kind of town I grew up in. It's the kind of place most of us grew up in, from the backstreets of our biggest cities to the side streets of our suburbs to the Main Streets of our small towns. And everywhere, the promise is the same.
Work hard, do the right thing, and build the life you dream.
I believe in an America where the family you're born into never controls your destiny.
I believe in that America because I've lived it. It's the reason I'm standing here today. I owe everything I am to the America I grew up in.
Everything I believe about our country - every value I learned in this town, every person I have fought for in my life, every idea I have learned along the way, has brought me here.
I am running for president because I have lived in the bright light of the blessing of America. I am running for President because the great gift of an equal chance is the greatest gift I know. I am running for President, because the greatness of America that has come before is nothing compared to the greatness of America that lies ahead.
It's right in front of us. I've seen it in the promise of every city and town I visit. I hear it in the voices of every man and woman I talk to.
Together, we can make their voices heard!!!
Together, we can make opportunity the birthright we all share!!!
Together, we can restore the promise of America!!!
God bless you. God bless the United States of America.
Source: Edwards for President Inc.
John Edwards Presidential Announcement Address
Edwards Launches Campaign To Bring Opportunity To All Americans
Remarks As Prepared for Delivery
Robbins, North Carolina
September 16, 2003
Good morning.
Welcome to my hometown, Robbins, North Carolina.
It's great to be home with my family, my parents, my wife Elizabeth, and my children, and with my dearest friends. Thank you for the life you've given me and the example you've set for me. And thank all of you for being here today.
I have come home to stand in the shadow of the mill where my father worked, where I worked and where I learned the value of a hard day's work. We're not far from the post office where my mother worked, the church where we went each week, and the high school where I played football and hoped to be the first in my family to go to college.
I grew up in an American town, and I grew up with America's dream. I owe everything I have to the America I grew up in.
This is where I learned that a job is about more than a paycheck, it is about dignity, responsibility and self-respect.
This is where I learned that credibility is the currency of good people.
This is where I learned that the simple promise of America is the enduring greatness of America: a better life for all who work for it.
And so this is where - today - to make opportunity the birthright of every American, I declare myself a candidate for President of the United States.
America deserves a president who understands the people of this country, works for the people of this country, and will stop at nothing to create opportunity for all the people of this country.
That's the great promise of America -- a fair shake for all, a free ride for none.
We want to live in a country where the promise of America is always kept and never broken. We want the America we believe in to be the America our children grow up in, where all children have the same opportunity that I had - the chance to live out their dreams and make the most of the talents God gave them. We want to live in an America that works for all of us.
I have spent my life fighting my heart out for the kind of people I grew up with. As a lawyer for two decades, I stood with families and children against HMOs and insurance companies, standing up for folks who play by the rules against those who don't. We fought them and we won. And I promise to fight for you with the same passion and energy I fought for them.
I haven't spent most of my life in politics, but I've spent enough time in Washington to know how much we need to change it. You know, folks from Robbins don't have lobbyists fighting for them in Washington. They count on their government to protect their interests, and they deserve a President who goes to work every day thinking about them, fighting for them. I've never taken a dime from special interest PACs or Washington lobbyists. I have spent my life working for people against those special interests. I know this fight. I am ready for this fight. And we will win this fight!
We deserve a President who is close to our people, not the lobbyists. Who listens to our people because he knows them, he works for them. A president who hears them even when they cannot speak because they've lost their jobs, because they're caring for a child, or just because the simple struggle to make ends meet leaves them no time for anything else.
George Bush's guiding principle is a twisted reflection of the American bargain: Instead of “opportunity for all, special privileges for none,” he's given us “opportunity for all the special interests.”
I will put our government and our economy back in line with our values. Instead of helping HMOs to block the Patients Bill of Rights - when I'm President, we'll put medical decisions back in the hands of families and their doctors.
Instead of helping prescription drug companies to stop the sale of less expensive medicine - when I'm President, we'll make sure all our people can afford the medicine they need.
Instead of turning a blind eye to CEOs who give themselves massive raises while cutting jobs - when I'm President, we'll stand up for the people who do the work.
This President, who gives free rein to his friends at the expense of the country, will not get a free ride in 2004! We will challenge him in every single state, in small towns and large: in every place where there is a plant that closed, or an after-school program that turned away kids, or a retirement account that is no longer enough to live on. We will force him to defend his failed policies in the East and the West, in the North, and right here in the South!
I will be a champion for regular people every day. I will fight my heart out to bring back America's Dream. And together, we will take the power in our democracy out of the hands of that handful of insiders who are running our country right now, and give it back to you, give it back to the American people!
We need a different kind of politics that gives people solutions, not empty promises.
Americans know politicians can fight with each other. Now they need to know that someone will fight for them!
This campaign is built on new ideas and old values: work...responsibility... a fair shake for all and a free ride for none. We'll never get anywhere in this country if we keep offering America the same tired choices from those who say: we can have security or liberty, but not both; power or respect in the world, but not both; a strong defense or a strong economy, but not both. When I'm President of the United States, we will have both!
The opportunities of this country should be open to everyone willing to work. That's why I've offered the most specific, detailed plan out there, based on one simple idea: America works best when it works for all of us.
Make no mistake: President Bush has a war on work - you see it in everything he does. He wants to eliminate every penny of tax on wealth, and shift the whole burden to people who work for a living. So people won't pay any taxes at all when they make money from selling stocks, when they get big dividends every year, or when they inherit a massive estate.
But if you work at a restaurant earning the minimum wage - you'll pay more. If you're a teacher, already earning less than you deserve - you'll pay more. If you're a policeman working overtime - that's right, you'll pay more. I think that's wrong. It's wrong to tax millionaires less for playing the market than we tax soldiers for keeping America safe
It is time to put an end to this administration's war on work!
Working people have been shut out by this President because he values only one thing: wealth. He wants to make sure that those who have it -- keep it. That they belong to an exclusive club - that the barriers are up, the doors closed and no one else ever gets in. I don't want to build barriers, I want to knock them down. I don't want to close doors, I want to open them. I want to give opportunities to more Americans!
One of my first jobs was at the trailer plant not far from here. The men in that plant worked so their children could get ahead. It was a promise America made to them, and it is a promise I am going to keep. Just as prosperity is good for the people this President grew up with, it's also good for the people we grew up with.
And the price of opportunity or security can't be higher taxes for the middle class. I grew up in a family that struggled to make ends meet, just like millions of families today.
We should get rid of tax cuts for the very wealthiest Americans, ask them to pay their fair share, and use the money to reward hard, American work. Under my plan, we give tax cuts to help working families buy a home, save for college or retirement, and own a piece of the rock. Under my plan, we won't explode the deficit by giving tax cuts to people who don't need them. We'll get the economy going again by getting middle-class incomes growing again.
Let's give every American the chance to build a better life by doing more to keep jobs right here in America! This is what the Washington crowd will tell you. They'll put you in a job retraining program. Retraining to do what? For what job? Instead of giving tax breaks to companies that move jobs overseas, let's give tax breaks to companies that keep those jobs here... and bring jobs back to America.
I am a father, and I take my responsibilities as a father seriously. As President, I will take our responsibilities to all our children seriously. For the first time in history, we'll provide health care for every child in America, and we'll do it the only way we can: by making it the law of the land!
Let's end the shame of two public schools systems in America where the quality of your education too often depends on the affluence of your neighborhood. And let's provide every person the chance to go to college by making the first year tuition free if they're willing to work for it. I worked my way through college, and it didn't hurt me a bit. One of my jobs was unloading tractor trailers, and let me tell you, you spend a summer night in North Carolina unloading tractor trailers and you will get up and study in the morning.
And let's keep our children - and our country -- safe and secure by leading in a way that brings others to us, instead of driving them away. We must work with the world to win the war on terrorism and to finish the job in Iraq. The defeat of Saddam is a good thing for the freedom of the Iraqi people and the security of the world. We must not fail.
But we need a President who will unite the world -- in the war on terror and in the fight for security. Because we are all in this together. When I am President, we will lead in a way that always defends our people and always respects our friends. Our children will be safer growing up in a world where the United States of America is looked up to and respected.
And we need to reward our soldiers for their service and keep our promise to veterans!
I take a back seat to no one when it comes to keeping our country safe. Two years have passed since September 11th, and we have not done enough to defend our nation against another terrorist attack.
We need to give our firefighters and police officers the resources and equipment they need to protect us. We need to secure our ports and borders, our chemical plants and nuclear power plants. And we need a new domestic intelligence agency. But we cannot, in the name of the war on terrorism, let people like John Ashcroft take away our rights, take away our liberties, and take away our freedom!
And let me say something that is very personal to me. Like many of you, I grew up in the South in the 50s and 60s. I grew up with segregation all around me, and it had an effect on me that will be with me forever. Those of us from the South - we have a special responsibility when it comes to civil rights. We cannot follow - we must lead on civil rights. I talk about this everywhere I go - because this is not an African American issue. This is not an Asian American issue. This is not a Latino American issue. This is an American issue. It is about who we are, what we believe, what our values are.
This election is about a lot of issues. But in the end, it's about something bigger. It's about what kind of America we are, what kind of America we want to be. The America I believe in is a country where work is rewarded, opportunity is equal, and faith and family fill our souls.
That's the kind of town I grew up in. It's the kind of place most of us grew up in, from the backstreets of our biggest cities to the side streets of our suburbs to the Main Streets of our small towns. And everywhere, the promise is the same.
Work hard, do the right thing, and build the life you dream.
I believe in an America where the family you're born into never controls your destiny.
I believe in that America because I've lived it. It's the reason I'm standing here today. I owe everything I am to the America I grew up in.
Everything I believe about our country - every value I learned in this town, every person I have fought for in my life, every idea I have learned along the way, has brought me here.
I am running for president because I have lived in the bright light of the blessing of America. I am running for President because the great gift of an equal chance is the greatest gift I know. I am running for President, because the greatness of America that has come before is nothing compared to the greatness of America that lies ahead.
It's right in front of us. I've seen it in the promise of every city and town I visit. I hear it in the voices of every man and woman I talk to.
Together, we can make their voices heard!!!
Together, we can make opportunity the birthright we all share!!!
Together, we can restore the promise of America!!!
God bless you. God bless the United States of America.
Source: Edwards for President Inc.
Wednesday, March 3, 2004
Text Of Senator John Edwards' Address At Broughton High School
Broughton High School
Raleigh, N.C.
It's good to be home!
Thank you all so much for being here. I have never loved my country more than I do today. You know, the truth is, all my life, America has smiled at me and today I am smiling right back!
More than anything, I love the American people. The people I have listened to; the people I have embraced, the people who made me laugh, inspired me, inspired you. People who made me think. People who have made me reach.
And today, I see their faces. I see the faces of the men and women who worked in the mill in Robbins, North Carolina—the mill my father worked in, the mill I worked in. I can picture their faces as clear as they are in front of me right now, lint in their hair an grease on their faces, men and women who represent the best of what America is.
They went to work day after day, decade after decade in the mill because they believed that if they worked hard and did what was right, they could build a better life for themselves and their families.
I see the faces of the workers at Tower Automotive in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They are wondering where do they go after the doors to their factory close? What do they do? Have they not done the right things in America? Have they not worked hard, been responsible, raised their kids? Where do they go now and will they have a president and an administration who understands their lives and who will stand up for them?
I see the faces of the young men and women that I met in Afghanistan, at night. They are proud of their country, proud of serving their country, but worried about their families back home. They are worried about what would happen when they went back.
I see the men and women at Page Belting in Concord, New Hampshire who wonder if anyone understands the struggles that they face and most Americans face every day in their lives.
And I also see the earnest, young, wise faces from central high school in Des Moines to Pomona College in California. Young people, looking desperately for inspiration—looking for someone who will lift them up, make them believe again that in our America, with their help, with their energy, and their enthusiasm, everything is possible.
Most of all I see all these faces, turning from skepticism and despair to inspiration and hope, because they believe in this country. They believe in themselves and they know that you and I together are going to change this country, and build one America that works for all of us.
It has been my greatest honor to have walked with you. From the beginning, this has never been my campaign. This has been your campaign. And I am blessed to have been a part of it. And I'm also blessed to be back here at Broughton High School with so many friends and family, members of my community.
Today I've decided to suspend my campaign for the presidency of the United States.
But I want to say a word about a man who is a friend of mine, somebody who I believe has great strength and great courage, my friend Senator John Kerry. He has fought for and will continue to fight for the things that all of us believe in: more jobs, better health care, cleaner air, cleaner water, a safer world. The truth is these are the causes of our party, the Democratic Party. They are the causes of America. And they are the reasons we will prevail, come November, and take back this country.
You know, it wasn't very long ago that all the pundits and pollsters said, by the time we get to “Super Tuesday,” there won't be a John even competing much less fighting for the nomination. And we proved those pundits and pollsters wrong and we are going to prove them all wrong come November when we take back this country.
And I want to say a personal word about my friend John Kerry, who I know very well. This is a man who from the time he served this country courageously in Vietnam, and all the way through this campaign, is a man who is a fighter. I know him. I saw what we went through in November, December, and back in the summer when everyone said he didn't have a chance. But he showed the strength, resilience, and courage that he has shown his entire life when he fought for us and for our country in Vietnam. He has fought just as hard throughout this campaign.
The truth of the matter is that John Kerry has what it takes, right here in his heart, to be president of the United States. And I for one, intend to do everything in my power to make him the next president of the United States, and I ask you to join me in this cause. For our country, for our America!
Somewhere in America a little boy or little girl plays on a sandy lot. It might be in a mill village like where I played. It might be in a barrio, or on a farm, or it might be a vacant lot on a city. We want that child to have big dreams about what he or she can do, where he or she can go.
In this great country, all things should be possible for that child-- as they have been for me.
As I leave this stage today, I leave it to you to make certain that in our American, our children can prosper and dream. This cause, this challenge to change America, belongs to you. You should not step back. You should step up.
It is up to you to make certain that in our American, our children can prosper and reach and dream.
It is up to you to choose a president who will end our two Americas so that every child can have the same chance I had.
It is up to you to make sure that the 35 million Americans living in poverty are never ignored again.
It is up to you to make this generation the generation that grows up in an America that is no longer divided by race.
It is up to you to demand a campaign that is about attacking people’s problems, not politicians attacking one another.
Those of you who cast your votes for me cast your votes for a new kind of politics. You wanted a positive campaign and you got one for a change.
I couldn’t ask for better company today. With the love of my life by my side. To have your life blessed with four beautiful children, and family and friends, you couldn’t ask for anything more.
To my staff and my supporters, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I will never forget all of your hard work and all that you did to help change your country. To everyone who gave their time, their heart, and their soul to this campaign, thank you. You deserve nothing short of a huge round of applause!
Like most Americans, in my life, I have learned two great lessons: one that there will always be heartache and struggle, and two, that people of strong will can make a difference. One lesson is sad, and the other is inspiring. And what makes us Americans is that we choose to be inspired
We can change America so that the America I love, the America you love can be again that bright, shining star, that beacon that stirs our hearts when we hear our anthem or see our flag. We can make it so. We are greater and stronger than anything that stands between us and that destiny.
We should never settle for less than our highest aspirations in our leaders and for our country. Because we are America - where all things are possible.
And our message today is this: we want to change America and we will!
Last modified on 3/3/2004 8:10:40 PM