2008 Presidential Campaign Blog

Mike Gravel At The DNC Winter Conference 2007

AMERICA’S LOST VISION

By Senator Mike Gravel
February 3, 2007
Winter Meeting, Democratic National Committee

Governor Dean. As a lifelong Democrat––proud when my party did great things and occasionally ashamed when it did the wrong things––I honor and commend your leadership in rebuilding the party in every corner of this nation. Even more, you have my respect for your earlier and outspoken opposition to the Iraq war in your own presidential candidacy.

I plan to speak truth to power today. You, the delegates, have the power to decide who will be the Democratic nominee. I also plan to speak truth to the American people, who have the power to choose the next President of the United State.

But first, I have one small favor to ask of all of you. Whenever anyone raises the question of my age in this campaign, please point out that Washington is in great need of adult supervision.

Permit me to introduce my wife Whitney, the love of my life, and my sister Marie. Between them with the iconic hat, is Granny “D,” Doris Haddock, my strongest supporter in New Hampshire. Other candidates may have large campaign bank accounts; I’ll take Granny “D” on my side.

Fairness. Freedom. Justice. Morality. Opportunity. Peace. All goals of our Founding Fathers and concepts central to the character of most Americans.

Our Founders envisioned the People and their political leaders working together to nurture these goals and to shape these concepts from generation to generation. Unfortunately, early on, in a compromise to perpetuate the evil institution of slavery in the Constitution, the People lost their power to amend the Constitution and make laws. The compromisers knew the People would not ratify a Constitution that legalized slavery and would outlaw it if they had lawmaking powers. The results of this moral compromise brought about the primacy of representative government and its monopoly on lawmaking power.

History teaches us that nations fail when leaders fail their people. The decision to invade Iraq without provocation and fraudulently sold to the American people, by a President consumed with messianic purpose, sadly confirms this lesson of history.

The Democrats controlled the Senate on October 11, 2002 and provided political cover for George Bush to invade Iraq. The Senate leadership could have refused to even take up the resolution, or a few Senators who opposed it could have mounted a filibuster.

But the fear of opposing a popular warrior President on the eve of a mid-term election prevailed. Political calculations trumped morality, and the Middle East was set ablaze. The Democrats lost in the election anyway, but the American people lost even more. It was Politics as Usual.

Given the extreme importance of any decision to go to war, and I am anguished to say this, it’s my opinion that anyone who voted for the war on October 11––based on what President Bush represented––is not qualified to hold the office of President.

Political leaders must bring two qualities to any public office:
political integrity and moral judgment.

If political calculations trump morality and occasion substantial loss of human life, it reveals the sense of moral responsibility these candidates are likely to bring to the office of President.

Saying “I would not have voted for the resolution if I had known the mess it would create”––or worse, saying “the decision was right but Bush botched the job”––is inadequate rationale for a person who may hold the most powerful political position in the world. Presidents have moral responsibility for the life and death of millions of people.

Politics as Usual is not acceptable for the presidency.

I feel I am entitled to raise this issue because when I served in the Senate, during the Vietnam War, I spoke truth to power.

I officially released the Pentagon Papers, and as a result, Richard Nixon sued me all the way to the Supreme Court.

I successfully filibustered to force an end to the military draft.

I filibustered alone and with others to end the appropriations for the Vietnam War. Those are my credentials. I’ve been there and know how hard it is to oppose the majority of your peers.

I ask that you hold other presidential candidates to the same standard. Political leaders who had the opportunity and the power to stop the Iraq war before it could get started and did nothing––allowed it to happen..

America's current political leadership must not continue to avoid the obvious: Our presence in Iraq exacerbates the problem. Eighty percent of Iraqis want American troops to leave their country, and 70% of Iraqis think it’s OK to kill American soldiers.

We made a grave mistake. We should have the courage to admit it. We must bring our troops home now––not 6 months from now, not a year from now––NOW! One more American death for “our vital interest” is not worth it. We all know “vital interest” is code for “oil.”

If we don’t bring our soldiers home now, what do we tell the families of those killed and maimed between now and some future arbitrary date? The sooner we get our military out of Iraq, the sooner we can turn to the international community to help with a diplomatic solution to bring an end to the sectarian civil war we caused.

The Democrats in control of Congress need to act resolutely––and I’m not talking about some mealy-mouthed, nonbinding resolutions. They need to precipitate a constitutional confrontation with George Bush.

Under the Constitution, the Congress is the only body that can declare war. Implicit in that power is the ability to end a war and make peace. Even a Commander-in-Chief executing a war is subservient to the Congress’s war powers. The Founding Fathers specifically created this constitutional check on executive authority and it was re-affirmed by the War Powers Act of 1973. Congress is the only hope we have, between now and January 20, 2009, to halt our continued involvement in the carnage and death George Bush has unleashed.

Our nation is in crisis. This crisis is greater than most people realize, and in some ways more significant than terrorism and the Iraq war.

We have become a nation ruled by fear. Since the end of the Second World War, various political leaders have fostered fear in the American people––fear of Communism, fear of terrorism, fear of immigrants, fear of people based on race and religion, fear of Gays and Lesbian in love who just want to get married, and fear of people who are somehow different. It is fear that allows political leaders to manipulate us all and distort our national priorities.

Fear has allowed our political leaders to spend more on military armaments than is spent collectively by all the other nations in the world.

Who are we afraid of? Are we that paranoid?

Despite the trillions of dollars we spent on defense, the Bush Pentagon sent our soldiers into harms way in Iraq without the proper body armor and with insufficiently armored Humvees.

And worse, the Bush Administration plays games with the problems of our veterans, in effect waging a budget war against the only Americans who made any sacrifices in George Bush’s oil war.

Shame on you, George Bush, for letting the profits of arms contractors trump the needs of our veterans.

President Eisenhower, upon leaving office, warned of the dangers to democracy posed by a military-industrial complex. Since his warning, we have seen a rise in the culture of militarism. His concern that our foreign policy might be dictated by the financial interests “of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry” has been fully realized.

We should remember a lesson of the First World War: the presence of excessive weaponry in the hands of nation-states by itself is sufficient to induce WAR.

The decision to wage preemptive war in Iraq raises the specter of a much deeper problem facing the global community––nuclear proliferation. On this issue, we should first look at ourselves. The U.S. has more deliverable nuclear devices than the rest of the world combined. Just one Trident nuclear submarine can hold the entire world hostage. Yet we continue to build more nuclear devices. Who in the world are we prepared to nuke?

We started an arms race in space a decade ago, without provocation. Now the Bush Administration is pressuring Eastern European countries to let us station anti-ballistic missiles on their soil. Most Americans are unaware that the Bush administration, under the cover of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, has been aggressively initiating a new arms race with Russia and China, whose defense budgets are a small fraction of our own. Our political leadership, controlled by military industrialists, insists on pursuing a Cold War strategy in a post-Cold War era.

American political leaders often boast of American exceptionalism, as you head from this dais. We are indeed a great nation, one that has made significant contributions to humanity. But our leaders are promoting delusional thinking when boasting that the United States and Americans are superior to the rest of the human race. We are no better and no worse.

Unfortunately, the United States is not number one with what counts.

There are only two industrialized nations in the world that do not provide health care for all their citizens: the United States and South Africa. Despite spending more per capita on health care than any other nation in the world, we rank 37th for overall health performance.

The United States ranks 49th in literacy. Time magazine reported last spring that 30% of our students don’t graduate from high school, condemning them to a diminished economic existence.

Of the Global Fortune 500 companies, only 50 are American. Wall Street and many corporate executives are awash in huge salaries and bonuses, yet the average American worker’s compensation grew only .1% in the last decade.

China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan hold 40% of our government debt. Any one of these countries could throw the U.S. into an economic tailspin.

America’s political leadership is in denial as to the gravity and scope of our problems, viewing them almost exclusively from a national perspective. In fact, the major problems we face are all global in nature––energy, the environment, terrorism, drugs, war, immigration, disease, economic and cultural globalization. These problems require global solutions that can only be addressed by concerted diplomacy and cooperation, not jingoism about America’s Super Power superiority.

Ask the current and former residents of the Gulf Coast to rank our national political leadership for effectiveness either now or during the 17 months following the ravages of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. These tragedies exposed to the world that large numbers of Americans subsist in what is closer to a “third world” economy.

They exposed how callous we are to the plight of the poor.

They exposed strains of racism we refuse to acknowledge.

But in the face of a painfully slow and ineffective government response, this tragedy has inspired many average Americans to volunteer and help rebuild not only homes, but a spirit of community.

Our political leadership must begin to tell the Americans the truth. So I’ll start right now:

Here are some of the areas where the United States is No 1.

We are number one in the production of weapons,
We are number one in consumer spending,
We are number one in government, commercial and personal debt,
We are number one in the number of people we have in prison,
We are number one in energy consumption, and
We are number one in the environmental pollution we produce.

Our Democratic Congressional leadership is attempting to address some of these problems, but there are serious limitations to the ability of even well-intentioned political leaders, in part because of the limitations inherent in representative government, and in part because of human nature.

Some skeptics might say that twisting truth for political ends is just Politics as Usual––and that Politics as Usual is in the nature of representative government. They accept as benign a system with 30,000 Washington lobbyists bundling campaign contributions for the election of politicians who then support and vote for the interests of the lobbyists’ clients.

But the system is not benign. The corruption is real and cannot be reformed by those who are enriched by the corruption. Only the People can correct these structural flaws of representative government––if they can become lawmakers, as envisioned by George Washington when he said, “The basis of our political system is the right of the people to make and to alter their constitutions of government.”

He was right to affirm the role of people as lawmakers on a par with their representative lawmakers in Congress.

We, the People are the fount of all political power. We have the right to propose and to enact the National Initiative for Democracy––a legislative package that includes a constitutional amendment and a federal statute that empowers Americans as lawmakers. A majority of Americans, about 60 million, will have to vote for it in order to become the law of the land. The National Initiative does not abolish representative government, but it adds another Check to our system of Checks and Balances––We, the People.

The National Initiative will provide a mechanism for us to finally have a government not just “of” and "for" the People, but, for the fist time in our history, a government “by” the People.

I believe that we can have laws and policies that are more moral and more reflective of the public interest if citizens can exercise their collective self-interest by voting on major issues that affect their lives. Twenty-four states and several hundred localities already permit citizens to make laws.

I hope you will visit the web site––NationalInitiative.us––to learn more and vote. Think about it. Do you agree or disagree that we need to reform our government’s structure by bringing people into the operations of government as lawmakers in a partnership with their elected officials.

I’m proud to announce that the Democratic Party has been responsible for a number of great social advances in the past. However, as one Senator pointed out, it now anguishes for a new identity. Let me suggest the National Initiative as an epoch-defining identity for the Democratic Party.

The National Initiative would provide an opportunity for the Democratic Party to reclaim its role in American history, with an advancement in human governance on a par with the nascent Republican Party’s role in ending slavery on American soil.

The Democratic Party has the opportunity to undertake a change in the paradigm of human governance and to champion the lost vision of our Founders, and help make We, the People lawmakers. The statements of our Founders cannot be clearer about their vision. They had faith in the American People.

Can we have any less faith in ourselves?

In this campaign you will hear from many who would be President. Judge us not on how much money we raise from those who buy influence. Rather judge us on what we have done. And judge us on the solutions we offer.

I have unreserved faith in the American People and my presidential candidacy will champion empowering We, the People with real power, the central power of all governments! lawmaking

Thank you

Joe Biden's Speech Democratic National Committee's Winter Meeting

Senator Joe Biden's Speech Democratic National Committee's Winter Meeting

**Remarks as Prepared for Delivery**

So, how was your week?

I want to say I truly regret that words I spoke offended people I admire.

I'm humbled that so many of these same people, as well as you in this room, viewed those words through the prism of my history and my heart. For that I'll be forever grateful.

This Administration has dug us into a very deep hole:

America is more isolated.

And Americans are more uncertain about their future than any time in the last half century.

The American people are looking for someone to guide us through the difficult decade ahead;

Who understands the problems and pressures facing the middle class.

They are looking for someone to help restore America's greatness.

In Iraq, the President took us to war unnecessarily.

Without letting the weapons inspectors finish their work...

Without enough troops.

Without the right equipment for the troops we sent or care for the veterans who returned...

And, most of all, without a plan -- any plan.

The price of that failure can be measured in the blood we have shed and the treasure we have lost.

3,067 dead.

More than 23,000 wounded.

And over $350 billion committed to a war with no end in sight.

My fellow Democrats, we must end this war.

To stop the sectarian cycle of revenge in Iraq, we must first separate the combatants and give them a political way forward.

I have a plan to do just that.

Give the factions breathing room in their own regions with control over their local police.

And over the fabric of their daily lives: education  -  marriage -- jobs.

Give the central government responsibility for borders, currency and the army.

Guarantee the Sunnis their fair share of oil revenues.

Draw down our troops -- don't escalate -- forcing Iraq's leaders to reach a political settlement.

And make Iraq the world's problem by having the U.N. convene a conference of the world's major powers to insist that Iraq's neighbors support that settlement.

Mr. President, your surge is not a solution --

It is a tragic mistake.

And I am doing everything in my power to stop it.

Mr.. President, the majority of Americans oppose you on Iraq. We are not emboldening the enemy.

That's the one mission you have accomplished.

At this moment in our history, Americans need a leader with a breadth and depth of experience in world affairs.

This president will leave the next one with no margin for error. The next president will have to end the war in Iraq and immediately turn to other simmering hot spots before they explode.

Here at home, it will not be enough for the next president to have the right plans.

The American people must believe that our nominee understands what they've been dealing with in their daily lives the last 6 years.

They know we need an energy policy to free us from the axis of oil and begin to reverse global warming.

But they don't believe that Washington understands just how hard it is to heat their home, or fill up their tank.

I understand because I remember. I remember being a kid and answering the door when the bill collector came to shut off the electricity and telling him my mother wasn't home.

Americans know we need national health care.

But they doubt Washington understands what it feels like to lie in bed, like 47 million Americans without health insurance, looking over at your pregnant wife, and wondering what happens if your baby is premature. Will I lose my home?

I understand because I remember being rolled into a operating room 20 years ago, after they told me that my chances weren't good, but thanking God that at least my family wouldn't be left in debt because I had insurance.

Americans know that a college degree is a ticket to the middle class.

But they wonder whether Washington understands what it feels like for a father or mother to look in the eyes of their child knowing there is no way to pay to help them get there.

I understand because I remember. I remember my father's face as he was refused a bank loan to send me to college.

I understand, like many of you in this room, these struggles and aspirations of the American people.

Because they are ours.

They represent our values.

America's values.

And I will fight with every fiber in my being to keep America focused on the values that unite us, rather than the wedge issues used to divide us.

The American people are ready. And so am I.

For not once in our history have the American people let their country down.

It has been the historic role of the Democratic Party...

From Jefferson to Jackson.

Roosevelt to Clinton.

To remind America of that legacy, to summon us to the moment, to make America, once again, the light of the world.

And, I pledge to you, as your President that will be what I do.

God Bless America.

And, God Bless our troops.

Tom Vilsack's Speech to the DNC Winter Meeting

Excerpts of Tom Vilsack's Speech to the DNC Winter Meeting, As Prepared for Delivery, February 3, 2007

WASHINGTON, DC -- In his speech to the Democratic National Committee Winter Meeting, Democratic candidate for President Tom Vilsack (D-IA) called on the United States Congress to fulfill their constitutional responsibility to stop funding Bush's failed policy in Iraq and get American troops out of harm's way.

Vilsack also distinguished himself from the rest of the Democratic field of presidential contenders by highlighting his successful leadership on priorities where Washington has failed and his success in transforming his home state of Iowa from a red state to a blue state with a Democratic governor and a Democratic majority in both legislatures.

Vilsack's strong record of effective leadership and political success make him the strong general election candidate in the Democratic field.

Also, during their winter meeting today, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) passed a resolution that calls for quick de-escalation of the war in Iraq. The DNC adopted the language of Democratic candidate for President Tom Vilsack's resolution on the issue.

Vilsack's personal background and outsider status:

"Vilsack is the name of my adoptive parents. I've never known the name of my birth mother or father. I was born in Pittsburgh, but I don't really know much more than that. You see, a few moments after I was born, my birth mother handed me over to nuns in an orphanage. Other people might talk about 'No Child Left Behind,' but I was that child left behind."

Vilsack's successful record on priorities where Washington, DC has failed:

"Disclosing earmarks and passing toothless budget resolutions isn't real change; it's staying the course. Taking the tough steps needed to actually balance the budget is real change. That's what Bill Clinton did. And that's what we did in Iowa - for eight years in a row, including during the Bush recession. And I'm the only candidate who can say that."

"Paying lip service to the need for renewable fuels isn't real change. unless you're a lifelong apologist for the oil industry. Providing the incentives, leadership, and backbone to actually build production plants when most people say it can't be done. that's real change. But that's what we did in Iowa, and as a result, not only are we're number one in ethanol production, which may not seem like a surprise, but we're also number one in biodiesel production and number three in wind energy. And I'm the only candidate who has done that."

"Giving people tax deductions to purchase health insurance isn't real change; it's the status quo. Guaranteeing every American access to quality, affordable health care. and creating a system whose primary goal is the prevention of illness and disease. is real change. That's what we did in Iowa when we were one of only two states to reduce the number of uninsured. And that's what we'll do in America."

Vilsack's Call for Congress to End Funding for Bush Failure in Iraq:

"And let's be honest, capping the number of American troops in Iraq is not real change; it's staying the course. Removing them from harm's way, and insisting that Iraqis take responsibility for their own future, that's real change. And that's what I will do as President."

"But we don't have time to wait. And there is no excuse for political calculation by this President - or by this Congress. American troops are dying at the rate of 1,000 a year."

"The military leadership, the Iraq Study Group, the American people: all of them have said the status quo is wrong. This President refuses to listen. So the question is: what will Congress do?"

"Congress has the constitutional responsibility and a moral duty to cut off funding for the status quo. Not a cap -- an end. Not eventually -- immediately."

"And when this Administration falsely claims - and we know they will - that cutting funding will hurt the troops, our answer is simple: President Bush, you will bear sole responsibility. Congress, hearing the will of the American people, is telling you to change course in Iraq and bring the troops home. Mr. President, our troops will only be in danger if you refuse to act."

Record of changing Iowa from "red to blue":

"You know, people talk a lot about red states and blue states. But what really matters is how we change red states to blue states. When I was elected in 1998, I became the first Democratic Governor of Iowa in 30 years. In 2002, I became the first Democratic Governor to be reelected in 38 years, and in 2006, we won the Iowa House, Senate, and Governorship for the first time in 42 years."

"I know how to change red to blue. I've done it, and I'm the only candidate who can say that. It all comes back to the courage to create change.. We turned Iowa from red to blue because we had courage -- the courage to create change.

Dodd Remarks to Democratic National Committee

Presidential Candidate Chris Dodd Addresses Democratic National Committee

“Mr. Chairman, none of us will forget the fuse you ignited with your speech at this meeting four years ago.  Under your leadership, the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party is now being felt in all 50 states of this great nation. 

About a year ago, President Bush’s approval rating stood at 40 percent, his Party was in revolt, and the Vice President had just shot somebody.  Thanks to you, President Bush is now referring to that time as the good old days.   

Thanks to your energy, diligence, leadership – and the efforts of great candidates and millions of volunteers who contributed, worked phone banks, knocked on doors, and stood out in the cold to get people to vote – the Democratic Party had great victories in state houses, governors races, and we now are the majority party in the House and Senate. 

Thanks to the hard work, last week it wasn’t Dennis Hastert sitting next to Dick Cheney and behind George Bush – but Nancy D’Ellasandro Pelosi, the first female speaker in American history. 

There were a number of issues that ignited the passions of the American people, but none as much as the war in Iraq. 

Because we Democrats are the majority party in both houses of Congress, we’ll finally have a debate about ending the war.

Now, it’s time to do for the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue what we did for the House and Senate in 2006. 

The last time I stood at this podium was to accept your nomination as the General Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, along with my great friend Don Fowler of South Carolina. 

It had been almost 60 years since we Democrats had re-elected someone to the White House. 

In 1996, with your help, Bill Clinton was the first Democrat to be re-elected as President since Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1936.

On January 20th, 2009, we will gather at the West Front of the Capitol to inaugurate the 44th President of the United States. 

I predict with certainty that if we listen to the American people; pay attention to the dreams and aspirations they have for their children and our country; and we propose bold solutions for the world we must lead – the 44th President will be a Democrat.

Today and over the coming 12 months I hope you will give me the chance to make a case for my candidacy for the Presidency in 2008;

Just as they did this past fall, Americans, I believe, will vote for change in 2008. 

No matter where you go in our country, people are tired and fed up with the Bush Administration, their enablers in Congress, and the greedy few who have enriched themselves – while millions of hardworking, middle class families have fallen further behind.

They are tired and fed up with the deceptions and incompetence of the Bush-Cheney Administration;

They are tired and fed up with a Bush-Cheney Administration who, in a 6,000 word State of the Union Address, couldn’t bring itself to utter the words “Katrina” or “New Orleans.” 

They are tired and fed up with a Bush-Cheney Administration that has presided over a crumbling primary and secondary education system;

skyrocketing higher education costs;

a health care system that today is more expensive and less available for millions of Americans than it was 6 years ago;

and an energy and environmental policy that is shameful. 

And they are tired and fed up with a Bush-Cheney Administration, which in the face of 3,000 American lives lost in Iraq, 22,000 Americans injured;

thousands more Iraqi dead, disfigured or permanently displaced,

and an America that is isolated from our allies with diminishing influence in the world, has the temerity to say “full speed ahead.”   

And they are tired of a Bush-Cheney Administration that tries to scare Americans into supporting policies that undermine our history, our values, and our Constitution. 

They’ve put a new twist on an old saying:  scare me once, shame on you.  Scare me twice, shame on me. 

In 2008, the American people are going to have an answer for the election-defrauding,

wire-tapping, Abu-Graihbing, debt-exploding, Exxon-loving,

Brownie-you’re-doing-a-heckuva-job crowd that has driven American into a ditch:  we are NOT going to take fear for an answer ever again. 

We won in 2006 largely because of what the other crowd has failed to do.  In 2008, that’s not going to be enough.

This is a moment of great urgency for America.  We’ve had leadership the past six years that has squandered so much of what has made our nation great. 

The more I travel around the country, the more I sense a hunger in America;

A hunger for our leaders to stand up for the values of equal justice, and equal opportunity.

A hunger for leadership that will keep us strong and safe.

A hunger for national leadership that will work harder for working families then they have for the Halliburtons and Exxon/Mobils of this world.

Let me tell who I am:  I am a Democrat.  In the words of Sam Rayburn, I am a Democrat without suffix, prefix, or apology. 

Now I believe it is important for there to be bipartisanship in this country. 

We cannot continue to survive as a nation divided as we are. 

But unlike some, I believe that before you can have bipartisanship, you must have leadership. 

Let me be very blunt. 

Bipartisanship to me does not mean getting Democrats to agree with Republican principles; it means getting Republicans to agree with Democratic principles.

Leadership insists on holding to a core set of values, a core set of principles, and a demonstrated ability to bring people together around those values and principles.  That’s what I did on the Family Medical Leave Act, childcare, in Central America, the FIRE Act, and that’s what I’ll do as President.

If we Democrats just spend the next 22 months of the Presidential campaign reciting a litany of what the Bush Administration and their Republican friends have done wrong, our national audience will grow smaller. 

As a candidate for the Presidency, I will remind people of the damage that Republican leaders have done to our country at home and around the world, but I intend to spend more time telling people what I want us to do together to make America great again.

I am an optimist.  I have great confidence in America.  As great and urgent as our problems are – I believe firmly that our capabilities are greater. 

Let me share with you a few of the issues I care deeply and passionately about.

People may not have paid much attention last fall to that vote in Congress to abandon habeus corpus and walk away from the Geneva Conventions. 

This issue has a personal dimension for me.  Six decades ago, my father was the number two prosecutor for the United States at the trial of Nazi war criminals in Nuremberg. 

The moral authority America earned at that trial set a high standard – of human rights and rule of law – every President from Truman to Reagan to Clinton honored and abided by them. 

It was the soft power of our moral authority that contributed to victory in the Cold War – and it will be the soft power of our moral authority that will contribute to winning the war on terror.   

I will make this promise to you today: 

One of the very first things I will do as President is send a bill to Congress that overturns that horrible torture bill the President signed into law last fall – to begin to restore America’s moral authority.

Here’s another thing I will do:  I will bring our troops out of Iraq.

Let me tell you a story:  about a month ago, once again, I was in Baghdad, where I met a bright young Army Captain, West Point graduate, named Brian Freeman. 

He said to me, “Senator, it’s nuts over here.  Soldiers are being asked to do work we’re not trained to do.  I’m doing work that the State Department people are far more trained to do in fostering diplomacy, but they’re not allowed to come off the bases because it’s too dangerous here.  It doesn’t make any sense.”   

When I came home, I spoke about Captain Brian Freeman in public forums.  We started an e-mail conversation, but then, I received a frantic call in our office from Brian’s wife.  A military vehicle had stopped by her home when she wasn’t there, and she was desperate to know why.

We found out the awful news:  two weeks ago tomorrow, Brian Freeman was killed in Iraq. 

If you want to see the human face of this war – the cost of this war – imagine the life of Brian Freeman’s widow, Charlotte, their two year old son, and 14 month old daughter. 

It is time for the government of Iraq and the people of Iraq to take responsibility for their own future.

Next week we will debate in the Senate a non-binding resolution on the war in Iraq. 

Frankly, I am disappointed that we can’t find a way to do more than send a meaningless message to the White House – a White House that has said it will ignore anything we say about the war in Iraq. 

The American people sent a message to us in November. 

The voters were clear – change our policy in Iraq. 

When over 60% of the Iraqi people think it is appropriate to attack our service men and women, then it’s time to get our troops out.  And I don’t believe spending a week debating non-binding resolutions is the change America voted for.  Last week, I proposed we send President Bush a real bill, with real teeth, and real accountability.  With all due respect, my colleagues, that’s not what we’re considering in the Senate.

It is time to say enough is enough.

America’s security – economic and otherwise – must not, cannot depend on the most politically fragile corner of the globe.

As President, I will lead America toward an energy policy that within a decade will eliminate our dependency on a line of tankers trying to squeeze through the 34 mile choke point at the Straights of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf. 

I will lead America to an economic policy that recognizes that America gets stronger when the middle class gets stronger and I will be a national leader that is as optimistic about their hopes and dreams for their children as they are. 

We Democrats won elections in the past because we were the party that kicked down doors and knocked over barriers to opportunity. 

We must show America we haven’t forgotten how to do that.

As President, I will commit that no one who finishes high school, who’s qualified to go on, and who is admitted to higher education, is denied that opportunity because of financial need. 

As President, I will fight to rebuild our manufacturing base. 

It is a dangerous notion that manufacturing should no longer be part of the American economy in the 21st century. 

We must not give up our industrial base – we have lost 3 million manufacturing jobs in the past 6 years. 

This hemorrhaging must stop.

I understand the value of trade, but it will be fair trade. 

In my Administration, we are going to make it at least as attractive for business to stay in America as this Administration has made it for them to leave America.

And as President, I am going to finish a job that Harry Truman started in 1948. 

When I raise my hand on January 20, 2009 to take that oath, I will also make an oath that by the time my Administration is over, we are going to bring health care to every man, woman, and child in America.

I believe that kind of America is possible, with the right kind of leadership. 

I believe the times demand leadership that knows how to build relationships, come up with answers, and deliver a vision that is realistic in the 21st Century. 

In 2008, I believe experience will matter more than ever.   

The last thing we need is four more years of on the job training in the Oval Office.  We need a candidate who is ready to lead from day one. 

In 2008, some say we need experience, others say we need idealism.  I say we need both.  And as your nominee, I will bring both. 

Let me tell you a story about why I’m doing this. 

GRACE STORY – WHAT KIND OF LIFE AM I GOING TO HAVE?

Now, the answer to that question becomes our responsibility.  Elections are not just about those of us in this room – they are even more about the people who are not in this room.

They are about the people who don’t wake up wondering if they are Democrat or Republican, conservative or liberal, red state or blue state.  They don’t have time for that – they are too worried about holding their jobs, concerned with their kids’ education and well-being, and anxious that an accident or illness could financially ruin them.

Theses people are less interested in our resumes than we think.  Yes, they want to know who we are – but far more importantly they want to know if we know who they are. 

They want to know if we are listening to them – do we have any idea what their lives are like, what they worry about, what are their dreams and hopes? 

When I first ran for Congress, someone told me a story about FDR that I have never forgotten. 

FDR STORY

If people say that about me at the end of my career, I will consider my public service a noble one. 

So, I ask you today:  give me a chance to be heard.  Give me a chance to make my case.   

The last thing Democrats across this country want is to be told who their nominee is going to be a year before the first primary or caucus. 

I am hopeful and optimistic about our future. 

I believe America can lead again, as we have in the past, if we have the right kind of leadership

Forty-five years ago last month, I stood on the East Front of the Capitol and heard John Kennedy’s inaugural address. 

I heard that call, and I took it to the rural hills of the Dominican Republic, where I worked as a Peace Corps volunteer.

When people wonder why I joined the Peace Corps, I have a simple answer:  because someone asked me to.

At a difficult moment in our nation’s history, somebody asked me and thousands of others in our generation to become part of something larger than ourselves.

I stand before you to make my case because I believe we need this kind of leadership again – a leadership that will call all Americans to be part of something larger than themselves. 

It is now our watch – our turn.

We have but one brief moment in time, you and I, to get this right. 

We are going to be judged, and very quickly, by a jury that’s coming along.

They are going to be my children and yours.  They’re going to want to know what you and I did to keep America strong and secure. 

They will want to know what we did to reverse global warming, to preserve our freedoms, to create a world with more friends than enemies – when we had the chance.

Let them one day say of us that at the beginning of the 21st Century, after an uncertain start, America returned to her heritage. 

Let them say that America preserved freedom and lived up to her highest ideals

And let them say that in a broken time, we dedicated ourselves to the cause of an America that stands confident and proud once again.

We started the job in 2006.  Now, let’s finish it in 2008.  I ask for your support. Thank you.”

Sen. Edwards DNC Winter Meeting Remarks

Senator John Edwards Remarks as Prepared for Delivery DNC Winter Meeting Washington, DC February 2, 2007

Thank you. 

We’re all here together – but why are we here?

Why are we here?

We are here because somewhere in America an eight-year old girl goes to sleep hungry, a little girl who ought to be drawing pictures and learning multiplication cries herself to sleep, praying that her father, who has been out of work for two years, will get a job again.  It doesn’t have to be that way.
 
We are here because somewhere in America, a hotel housekeeper walks a picket line with her union brothers and sisters fighting for decent health care benefits during the day and works the late-shift at a diner at night so that she and her family can live a decent life and so her boy can go to college and have choices she never had. And somewhere a young man folds a college acceptance letter and puts it in his drawer because even with his part-time job and his mother’s second job, he knows he cannot afford to go. It doesn’t have to be that way.

We are here because somewhere in America a mother wipes her hand on a dishcloth to go answer a knock on her door … and opens it to find an army chaplain and an officer standing there with solemn faces and her boy’s name – her patriotic son who enlisted after September 11 – on their lips.  It doesn’t have to be that way.

We are here because somewhere in the world, a 5-year old boy in a refugee camp is bending under the weight of his 2-year old sister.  His family massacred, he carries his remaining sister everywhere, and sleeps with his arms wrapped tightly around her, knowing that tomorrow he will have to do the same thing, and again the next day and the day after that because she is all the family he has now. It doesn’t have to be that way.

We are here because somewhere in America a father comes home from the second shift and feels a raging fever on the brow of his sleeping daughter as he kisses her goodnight. And now, bone-weary and worried, he cradles that child in his arms at the emergency room, because there is nowhere else for him to go.  It doesn’t have to be that way.

They are why we are here. Because everywhere in America, people are counting on us to stand up for them.

And so I ask you, will you stand up for that tired father forced into emergency rooms to get health care for his little girl?

Will you stand up for the brave young boy in the refugee camp?

Will you stand up for the working men and women in our labor movement who have to fight for decent working conditions and living wages?

Will you stand up for the young man who knows that education is his way out of the cycle of poverty and yet it seems beyond his grasp?

Will you stand up for that hungry eight-year old girl so she doesn’t give up on her life before it’s even begun?

Will you stand up for all the American families whose loved ones are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan?

Will you stand up?

Will you stand up for America?

Because if we don’t stand up, who will?

If we don’t speak out, who will?

Forty years ago, speaking in protest against the war in Vietnam on the eve of its escalation, the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King said there comes a time when silence is betrayal. Silence is betrayal.

That time has come again. We cannot stand silent.

They have to hear you. Can they hear you?

I believe it is a betrayal not to speak out against the escalation of the war our nation is engaged in today, in Iraq.

It is a betrayal for this President to send more troops into harm’s way when we know it will not succeed in bringing stability to the region. 

And it is not right by our silence to enable this President to escalate the war in Iraq. And we must not delude ourselves: our silence enables this President to escalate the war.

It is a betrayal not to stop the President’s plan when we have the responsibility, the power and the actual tools to prevent it.

Being satisfied with non-binding resolutions we know this President will ignore is a betrayal. And shutting down debate in the Senate on this issue is worse than a betrayal. It’s an outright denial of the people’s will.

And one more thing, while I’m at it. 

You described yourself as "the decider." I have news for you. The American people are the real "deciders," Mr. President. And they are saying, "You have had your chance."

Americans are speaking out. And our leaders must do no less. 

You must stand up now against George Bush’s escalation of the war in Iraq. George Bush is counting on us not to stand up, not to fight against this escalation with everything we have.  George Bush is counting on a Democratic Party that will not press for what we know is right. 

Silence is betrayal.

Opposing this escalation with all the vigor and tools we have is a test of our political courage.  And you’d better believe that George Bush, Dick Cheney and Karl Rove are betting that we don’t have that courage. 

They don’t think we have it in us.  They’re counting on their opponents to be weak, and political, and careful.

This is not the time for political calculation.  This is the time for political courage. Stand up.

Being honest and changing course in Iraq is the first step in restoring America’s ability to provide moral leadership throughout the world.  And make no mistake: America must lead.  We are the pre-eminent, stabilizing power in the world.  If we don’t stand up, who will?

This is the time for political courage – not only when it comes to speaking out against Iraq, but also about the challenges we face here at home.

Because, when it comes to 37 million Americans living in poverty, silence is betrayal. 

One in every five children – count them, one in every five American children – live in poverty, here on the richest nation on the planet. It doesn’t have to be that way.

The causes of poverty are complex, entrenched, and powerful. And our will to address them and restore the promises of equality and social justice must be just as strong. Are you strong enough? Will you stand up to end poverty in America? It means addressing education, jobs, health care, housing, predatory lending, and personal responsibility.  The fight will be long and it will not be easy. Are you ready? Will you use your voice against poverty, or will you stand silent? Stand up. Stand up to eradicate poverty in America.

When it comes to 47 million Americans without health care, silence is betrayal. 

The 47 million are silent victims of a health care system gone wrong, where policies are driven by profits not patient care. We have to stop letting the health insurance companies and the big pharmaceutical concerns decide our nation’s health care policy. We have to give the silent victims, who stand in line at free clinics and use the expired medicines of friends and neighbors, we have to give them the dignity of universal health care. 

And while we’re at it, we have to stop using words like “access to health care” when we know with certainty those words mean something less than universal care.  Who are you willing to leave behind without the care he needs? Which family? Which child?

We need a truly universal solution, and we need it now.

Will you stand up for universal health insurance in America?

And it’s time we stood up for an energy policy that’s not dictated by the profit margins of Big Oil -- and an environmental policy that’s not promoted by or regulated by polluters. Today, not tomorrow, or in the next decade or in the next generation. Today, our planet is at risk, and here, again, silence is betrayal. 

So, will you speak out?  Will you stand up?

These are the great moral imperatives of our time.  And by breaking the silence we are not breaking faith with our flag or our forefathers or our brave young men and women in uniform.  We are keeping faith with America. 

Because we are better than this. We are better than this.

We should be the bright light, the beacon for all the world.

We are not the country of the Superdome in New Orleans after Katrina;

We are not the country of Abu Ghraib or Guantanamo;

We are not the country of secret surveillance and government behind closed doors.

We are Americans, and we’re better than that.

And we are Democrats, the party of action – not reaction.  We are Democrats, the party of principle – not appeasement. The time for half-measures, empty promises, and sweet rhetoric is gone.  Now is the time for courage, decisiveness and moral leadership.

It’s time to stand up for the promise of America again -- and for the principle that every American matters, no matter where you come from, or what color your skin is, or how much money you have in your pocket.

Let’s stand up for the working people whose labor made this country great. America was built by men and women who worked with their hands. And organized labor has fought for and made better the lives of every working man and woman, by giving them a voice – labor never stands silent where wrongs need to be righted. Will you stand with them? It is time we acknowledged that it is organized labor, which has protected the American worker against mistreatment by corporate America. I am proud to stand beside organized labor? Will you stand with them, too?  Will you walk with them and march with them?

We know one thing for sure: it is time to be patriotic about something other than war.  It is time to do what you know is right and to speak out against what you know is wrong.

Not tomorrow. Now. Speak out now, take action now.

We don’t have to wait to see if someone keeps the promises of a 2008 campaign. In fact, the transformational change this country needs cannot wait until January 2009.

Tomorrow begins today.  And our obligation to act starts right here, right now.

Because somewhere in America, because everywhere in America, people are counting on us to stand by them and to fight alongside them for what we know in our hearts is right.

So let’s stand up together. We have always been the party of promise who stood with the working man and woman, the party of hope who stood with the needy, the party of compassion who stood with the young and the old and the frail. It is who we are.

In times like these, we don’t need to redefine the Democratic Party; we need to reclaim the Democratic Party. 

Thank you, God bless you and God bless this great country.

Real Clear Politics Speculates On A McCain-Pawlenty Ticket

McCain-Pawlenty in 2008?
Posted by TOM BEVAN

"Earlier this month Pawlenty signed on as national co-chair of McCain's presidential campaign, so whatever happens the Governor's star is firmly hitched to McCain's presidential wagon."

Real Clear Politics Blog

Social Conservative Leader Joins Team McCain In Iowa

SOCIAL CONSERVATIVE LEADER JOINS TEAM MCCAIN IN IOWA
Byerly Joins Growing List Of McCain Supporters

ARLINGTON, VA - U.S. Senator John McCain's exploratory committee today announced the addition of De Byerly, a key social conservative grassroots activist in Iowa. De has been an influential voice in Iowa Republican politics, and has worked for a wide variety of candidates and conservative causes.

"After fully researching Senator McCain's conservative credentials, I determined that he was the right person to lead our country at this critical time," Byerly said. "Grassroots Republicans will enthusiastically support Senator McCain because of his consistent commitment to life, traditional marriage, fiscal discipline, and a strong national defense."

Byerly served as grassroots coordinator for Bush-Cheney '04 in Iowa. Her past Iowa caucus experience includes work for both John Kasich and Steve Forbes' presidential campaigns.

"De is a tremendous addition to our growing Iowa grassroots organization," Senator McCain said. "I'm proud to be joined in this campaign by someone who has worked so hard to promote our shared conservative values."

Governor Mitt Romney Announces Support Of Kentucky U.S. House Members

GOVERNOR MITT ROMNEY ANNOUNCES SUPPORT OF KENTUCKY U.S. HOUSE MEMBERS

Boston, MA - Today, Governor Mitt Romney announced the support of the majority of the Republican U.S. House of Representatives members from Kentucky. Representatives Hal Rogers, Ron Lewis and Ed Whitfield will be joining the Romney for President Exploratory Committee as part of the Governor's Congressional team.

"I am proud to have the support of these Congressmen. They have all served with integrity and compiled records of accomplishment not only for the people of their state, but also the nation. Their many years of experience will be a great asset as we move forward," said Governor Romney. "Our country faces a new generation of challenges that require innovative, bold solutions. It will be an honor to work with these Members of Congress as we build a stronger and more prosperous America."

Members Of Kentucky House Delegation Supporting Governor Romney:

Representative Hal Rogers (R-KY)
Representative Ron Lewis (R-KY)
Representative Ed Whitfield (R-KY)

Mike Huckabee Hires John "Chip" Saltsman As Campaign Manager

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee Hires John "Chip" Saltsman as Campaign Manager

Little Rock, Ark -- Mike Huckabee today officially announced the hiring of John "Chip" Saltsman as campaign manager for his exploratory bid for the White House, effective immediately.

As Huckabee's campaign manager, Saltsman will oversee the political, fundraising, and communications aspect of the campaign as well as the day-to-day operations.

"Chip brings a distinguished career of political expertise to our effort," said Huckabee. "He'll be a strong and focused manager of our strategy and direction as we continue to build a competitive team for the challenges ahead."

Saltsman previously worked as senior political advisor for then-U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist's volunteer political action committee, Once Frist announced he did not plan to join the 2008 race for
president, Huckabee said he began talking to Saltsman about joining his team.

Saltsman is also a two-time Pioneer for President George W. Bush. One of his most notable achievements was in 2000, when he helped deliver former Vice President Al Gore's home state to Bush.

Saltsman said: "I have a great deal of respect for Governor Huckabee. He's a candidate who can rally the Republican base as well as reach out to centrists and independents."

"Chip's vast knowledge of the process and his principled commitment to a campaign with integrity is exactly what I've been looking for," said Huckabee.

The former Arkansas governor spent the past two days on a political tour of Iowa. On Monday, he filed paperwork to form a Presidential Exploratory committee with the Federal Election Commission.

Cuban-American Representatives Join Supporters Of McCain

CUBAN-AMERICAN REPRESENTATIVES JOIN SUPPORTERS OF MCCAIN
Rep. Ros-Lehtinen, Rep. L. Diaz-Balart & Rep. M. Diaz-Balart Align With Arizona Senator

ARLINGTON, VA - U.S. Senator John McCain's presidential exploratory committee today announced that Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL-18), Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart (FL-21), and Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (FL-25) will support the Arizona Senator should he decide to seek the presidency.

"Senator McCain is a strong supporter of the U.S. embargo on Cuba and understands that the Cuban people have been living under tyranny for far too long," said Rep. Ros-Lehtinen. "John has been working with us to help bring freedom and democracy to the enslaved island."

"I have known Senator McCain for many years and I know he is absolutely committed to freedom and democracy, particularly for oppressed people everywhere, including Cuba," said Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart. "I look forward to taking his reform message to Floridians."

"Senator McCain is a dedicated and experienced public servant who understands the importance of hardworking entrepreneurs," said Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart. "John is a common sense conservative who stands on principles, and nobody is more prepared for the times we are facing."

Senator McCain stated that he was honored to have the support of these key Republican leaders within the House conference. "Ileana, Lincoln, and Mario appreciate the value of freedom and exemplify the honest, hardworking tradition of the Cuban-American people," said Senator McCain. "I am proud to stand with these representatives and friends as we continue to work toward a free and democratic Cuba. It is a critical time for the Cuban people and we must remain steadfast in our commitment to support the current U.S. policies toward Cuba."