Paul E. Tsongas Announcement Speech in Lowell, Massachusetts on April 30, 1991
Two hundred years ago, our Founding Fathers gave us a democracy. It was based upon the simple, yet noble, idea that government derives its validity from the consent of the governed. That consent must be constantly renewed. And it can only be renewed by a full and vigorous debate on the issues that confront our nation.
Today that search for renewal begins. Today that search for consent proceeds as the Constitution has provided. Today the national debate will commence.
You are Americans. You love this country. Together we are entrusted with the principles that represent mankind's greatest political and social achievement.
America is hope. It is compassion. It is excellence. It is valor.
We must return to the glory of our forebearers by unleashing the greatness of our people. We need leadership that calls upon the best of what we are. We need leadership that embraces a higher vision.
Today that leadership is not in Washington. That leadership is here and across America. It is in the hearts and minds and souls of the American people. I want to deploy the leadership to meet the challenges that face us and to restore America's greatness.
That is why I declare today my candidacy for the President of the United States."
