2008 Presidential Campaign Blog

Tom Harkin 1992 Announcement

Remarks Prepared for Delivery by Senator Tom Harkin at the Harkin Steak Fry on September 15, 1991.

"Are you ready?

Are you ready for a new direction in this country?

Are you ready for a president who will declare a peace dividend and turn Star Wars into Star Schools?

Are you ready for a president who will give the middle class a break instead of tax breaks to the rich?

Are you ready for a president who will make America our most favored nation and educated children our most important product?

If that's the kind of leader you want, let me introduce myself: I'm Tom Harkin. And I'm running for President.

I'm running for president because I believe the American people are hungry for a New Vision of America. A New Vision of America based on strong, fundamental, enduring values.

The values that my parents gave to me and your parents gave to you.

You know, the older I get, and the more I learn, the more I realize that all I ever needed to know I learned growing up in the small town of Cumming, Iowa -- population 151, up the dusty road about 20 miles north of here.

I believe there are people in every city and town who share that New Vision, who are ready to roll up their sleeves, put the axe to the grindstone, and make it happen.

If you're ready for that kind of America, then give me your support, and together, we'll put a good, common sense, progressive Democrat in the White House."

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George McGovern 1984 Announcement

Presidential Announcement Speech of George McGovern at George Washington University at 11 a.m. in Washington, DC on Tuesday, September 13, 1983.

"I have decided to seek the Presidency of the United States. I shall make that effort on a platform of realism and common sense. Fantasy may be good entertainment on the movie screen; it is not good policy for a great nation.

The new realism calls for a revival of the old common sense that has guided our greatest leaders since George Washington who gave this University its proud name.

American Democracy at its best has been undergirded by the spiritual insight of the Hebrew Prophets and the Christian Gospel.  Conversely, we have learned again in our time that politics devoid of a moral compass is a destructive enterprise.  It is still true that “where there is no vision the people perish.”

And now an exciting and what can be a victorious campaign lies before us.  No candidate can protect the public reaction to his appeal.  Indeed, as Emerson has written, “None but he knows what he can do, nor does he know until he has tried. “ I don’t know if I can win this campaign, but I do know that with all my heart and strength I am going to try. 

But let me remind you: the success of this campaign lies in your hands. Please, those of you at George Washington University and those who watch on television, if you will volunteer send your name, and if you can contribute send your dollars to the McGovern for President campaign. And let us now as Democrats and as Americans join hands around the table of common purpose and then go forward with a strong and active faith."

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Doug Wilder 1992 Announcement

Remarks made to the People of the Commonwealth at 12:30 P.M. on September 13, 1991 at the State Capitol in Richmond, Virginia by Governor L. Douglas Wilder.

"I want to talk to you today about the future .... your future; your children's future; Virginia's future; America's future; and --- yes --- my future. Perhaps most importantly, I want to talk about the future of those Americans and Virginians who have continued to wait to enjoy the opportunities of those basic freedoms enshrined in the Constitution.

After many months of deliberation and hours of private thought and reflection on my commitment to Virginia and my obligation to my country...

I have decided to run for President of the United States in 1992.

I ask for your patience, support and---above all---your prayers in this effort for Virginia and the nation.

The most wrenching and prayerful consideration in my decision has been my commitment and promise to Virginia.

Twenty months ago, I committed and promised Virginians that I would work to solve the pressing problems of Virginia and position Virginia for the future. I will not shirk from that commitment one iota, nor fall short on my promise one scintilla.

In seeking the Presidency, I recognize that I am the longest of long shots. I may not win. I may not get but a few votes.

But I would not be doing my job as Governor---indeed, I would not deserve to be who I am---if I failed to step forward at this critical juncture in our nation's history.

For if we fail to heal this nation in 1992, it may not be healed in my lifetime. If we fail to put this country on a sound fiscal posture in 1992, then order may not be restored in my lifetime.

If elected, I pledge to all of you that I will do everything in my power to heal the growing divisions among us; to restore economic vitality....so that more people can enter the middle class....and to secure peace around the world through American economic and military strength.

I want my legacy to be that I expanded the economic and political rights of all men and women;

.... and that --- as we enter the next century --- America will have secured peace and prosperity for those Americans who will work for it .... and for all countries who will join us in this quest.

May God bless you, the Commonwealth ... and may God bless America."

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Bill Bradley 2000 Announcement

Speech by Bill Bradley in Crystal City on September 8, 1999

"Today, I want to be as clear as that glass about who I am and why I am running for President of the United States.

I have come back to my hometown because for me, this is where the world of possibility and hope all began, a world I want to open for all Americans.

I believe America should be made whole, but I don't want to erase our differences. It's those differences that give us our uncommon energy and wonderful creativity. The beautiful paradox of America is this:

I still see an America of endless possibility. An America that is as generous as it is prosperous, that is as decent as it is strong. An America that is, as Abraham Lincoln said, "The last best hope of mankind."

We may be at the end of a millennium, at the end of two centuries of American history, but we still have it in our power, as Thomas Paine said, "To begin the world [all] over again."

The leadership that is called for at this moment goes beyond a presidency, and into every home and heart. The renewal of the American Dream has to shine so bright that we can dream dreams we never thought possible before.

I have confidence in this Dream because it is the theme of my life - because without a famous family name or great wealth, I was given the encouragement and love and the opportunity that enabled me to forge a path on my own.

I've never forgotten the people who were my support, many in this town to whom I will always be grateful. They were ordinary Americans who did extraordinary things for me.

Americans are like that - ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

They inspired me and gave me hope and confidence. And I want that hope, that encouragement, that sense of possibility to be a reality for everybody.

I want the American Dream for all of us - at last.

Ladies and gentlemen, it can happen.

Come with me.

Let us walk toward that dream together."

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George W. Bush 2004 Convention

In his Acceptance Speech on Thursday, September 02, 2004 , President Bush Shared His Plan for a Safer World & More Hopeful America at the Republican National Convention in New York, New York.

"Mr. Chairman, delegates, fellow citizens: I am honored by your support, and I accept your nomination for President of the United States.

When I said those words four years ago, none of us could have envisioned what these years would bring. In the heart of this great city, we saw tragedy arrive on a quiet morning. We saw the bravery of rescuers grow with danger. We learned of passengers on a doomed plane who died with a courage that frightened their killers. We have seen a shaken economy rise to its feet. And we have seen Americans in uniform storming mountain strongholds, and charging through sandstorms, and liberating millions, with acts of valor that would make the men of Normandy proud.

Since 2001, Americans have been given hills to climb, and found the strength to climb them. Now, because we have made the hard journey, we can see the valley below. Now, because we have faced challenges with resolve, we have historic goals within our reach, and greatness in our future. We will build a safer world and a more hopeful America -- and nothing will hold us back.

In the work we have done, and the work we will do, I am fortunate to have a superb Vice President. I have counted on Dick Cheney's calm and steady judgment in difficult days, and I am honored to have him at my side.

I am grateful to share my walk in life with Laura Bush. Americans have come to see the goodness and kindness and strength I first saw 26 years ago, and we love our First Lady.

I am a fortunate father of two spirited, intelligent, and lovely young women. I am blessed with a sister and brothers who are also my closest friends. And I will always be the proud and grateful son of George and Barbara Bush.

My father served eight years at the side of another great American -- Ronald Reagan. His spirit of optimism and goodwill and decency are in this hall, and in our hearts, and will always define our party.

Two months from today, voters will make a choice based on the records we have built, the convictions we hold, and the vision that guides us forward. A presidential election is a contest for the future. Tonight I will tell you where I stand, what I believe, and where I will lead this country in the next four years.

To everything we know there is a season -- a time for sadness, a time for struggle, a time for rebuilding. And now we have reached a time for hope. This young century will be liberty's century. By promoting liberty abroad, we will build a safer world. By encouraging liberty at home, we will build a more hopeful America. Like generations before us, we have a calling from beyond the stars to stand for freedom. This is the everlasting dream of America -- and tonight, in this place, that dream is renewed. Now we go forward -- grateful for our freedom, faithful to our cause, and confident in the future of the greatest nation on earth.

God bless you, and may God continue to bless America."

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John Kerry 2004 Announcement

John Kerry Presidential Announcement Tour, September 2, 2003

"This is no ordinary campaign because this is no ordinary time. We have lived through the most deadly attack on our people in American history, the greatest job loss since the Great Depression, and the greatest loss of wealth and savings ever recorded.  But every time our country has faced great challenges, we have come through --  and come out stronger --  because courageous Americans have done what’s right for America.

This is a time for the same kind of courage.

I learned something about service from two people I wish could be here today.  My father, who as a member of the Greatest Generation, enlisted in the Army Air Corps even before Pearl Harbor, and served in the State Department at the height of the Cold War.  And my mother, 50 years a Girl Scout leader, a community activist with a passion for the environment who took me into the woods as a young boy and simply said “listen.”

My wife Teresa reminds me of the ideals of America.  She is a naturalized citizen who came here from a dictatorship.  And she loves the freedom and optimism America has to offer. She is caring and strong, a leader on many causes, and she speaks the truth -- and I love her for that too.

Vanessa, Alex, and Christopher are here, and I thank them for taking time out of their lives.  For Teresa and me, all our children and now our first grandchild give us joy and pride everyday.

As I look around at my crewmates and the veterans here today, I am reminded that the best lessons I learned about being an American came in a place far away from America -- on a gunboat in the Mekong Delta with a small crew of volunteers.  Some of us had been to college; others were just out of high school.  But we grew up together on that tiny boat.  It was our sanctuary -- and a place for bridging distances between California and South Carolina, Iowa and Massachusetts.  We were no longer the kid from Arkansas or the kid from Illinois.  We were Americans -- together -- under the same flag -- giving ourselves to something bigger than each of us as individuals.

We arrived as strangers; we left as brothers. We didn’t think we were special.  We just tried to do what was right.

And when we came home, we had a simple saying: Every day is extra.  I used my extra days to join other veterans to end a war I believed was wrong.  I saw courage both in the Vietnam War and in the struggle to stop it.  I learned that patriotism includes protest, not just military service. But you don’t have to go half way around the world or march on Washington to learn about bravery or love of country. Again and again, in the causes that define our nation, we have seen the uncommon courage that is common to the American people.

Today, with confidence in the courage of our people to change what is wrong and do what is right, I come here to say why I am a candidate for President of the United States.

Your courage can make sure we do what’s right for our country.

Your courage can give America back its future, its strength and its soul.

I am honored to join you in this endeavor as a candidate for President of the United States.

Thank you and God bless you all."

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Hubert H. Humphrey 1968 Convention

THE ACCEPTANCE SPEECH OF VICE PRESIDENT HUBERT H. HUMPHREY AT THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION IN CHICAGO, ILLINOIS ON AUGUST 29, 1968.

A NEW DAY FOR AMERICA

"My fellow Americans, my fellow Democrats:

I proudly accept the nomination of our party.

This moment is one of personal pride and gratification. Yet one cannot help but reflect the deep sadness that we feel over the troubles and the violence which have erupted regrettably and tragically in the streets of this great city, and for the personal injuries which have occurred. Surely we have learned the lesson that violence breeds more violence and that it cannot be condoned --whatever the source.

I know that every delegate to this Convention shares tonight my sorrow and my distress for these incidents. And may we, for just one moment, in sober reflection, in serious purpose, may we just quietly and silently -- each in our own way -- pray for our country. And may we just share for a moment a few of those immortal words of the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi -- words which I think may help heal the wounds and lift our hearts. Listen to this immortal saint: “Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light."

Those are the words of a saint. And may those of us of less purity listen to them well. And may America tonight resolve that never, never again shall we see what we have seen.

Yes, I accept your nomination in this spirit that I have spoken, knowing that the months and the years ahead will severely test our America. And as this America is tested once again, we give our testament to America. And I do not think it is sentimental nor is it cheap -- that each and everyone of us in our own way should once again reaffirm to ourselves and our posterity -- that we love this nation -- we love America.

If America is to make a crucial judgment of leadership, in this coming election, then let that selection be made without either candidate hedging or equivocating. Winning the presidency for me is not worth the price of silence or evasion on the issue of human rights.

And winning the presidency, and listen well, winning the presidency is not worth a compact with extremism.

I choose not simply to run for President. I seek to lead a great nation. And either we achieve true justice in our land or we shall doom ourselves to a terrible exhaustion of body and spirit.

I base my entire candidacy on the belief which comes from the very depth of my soul, which comes from basic religious conviction that the American people will stand up, that they will stand up for justice and fair play, and that they will respond to the call of one citizenship, one citizenship open to all for all Americans.

So this is the message that I shall take to the people and I ask you to stand with me. And to all of my fellow Democrats now who have labored hard and openly this week at the difficult and sometimes frustrating work of democracy, I pledge myself to the task of leading the Democratic Party to victory in November.

And may I say to those who have differed with their neighbor or those who have differed with a fellow Democrat, that all of your goals, that all of your high hopes, that all of your dreams, all of them will come to naught if we lose this election. And many of them can be realized with a victory that can come to us.

And now a word to two good friends, and they are my friends, and they're your friends, and they're fellow Democrats. To my friend, Gene McCarthy and George McGovern, who have given new hope to a new generation of Americans that there can be greater meaning in their lives, that America can respond to men of moral concern, to these two good Americans I ask your help for our America. And I ask you to help me in the difficult campaign that lies ahead.

And now I appeal to those thousands, yes, millions of young Americans to join us not simply as campaigners but to continue as vocal, creative and even critical participants in the politics of our times. Never were you needed so much and never could you do so much if you were to help now.

Martin Luther King, Jr. had a dream. Robert F. Kennedy as you saw tonight had a great vision.

If America will respond to that dream and that vision, their deaths will not mark the moment when America lost its way, but it will mark the time when America found its conscience.

These men have given us inspiration and direction. And I pledge from this platform tonight we shall not abandon their purposes. We shall honor their dreams by our deeds, now and in the days to come.

I am keenly aware of the fears and frustrations of the world in which we live.

It is all too easy to play on these emotions. But I do not intend to do so.

I do not intend to appeal to fear, but rather to hope.

I do not intend to appeal to frustration, but rather to your faith.

I shall appeal to reason and to your good judgment."

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Lyndon B. Johnson 1964 Convention

President Lyndon B. Johnson's Remarks Before the National Convention Upon Accepting the Nomination on August 27, 1964.

"My fellow Americans:

I accept your nomination.

I accept the duty of leading this party to victory this year.

And I thank you, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for placing at my side the man that last night you so wisely selected to be the next Vice President of the United States.

I know I speak for each of you and all of you when I say he proved himself tonight in that great acceptance speech. And I speak for both of us when I tell you that from Monday on he is going to be available for such speeches in all 50 States!

We will try to lead you as we were led by that great champion of freedom, the man from Independence, Harry S. Truman.

But the gladness of this high occasion cannot mask the sorrow which shares our hearts. So let us here tonight, each of us, all of us, rededicate ourselves to keeping burning the golden torch of promise which John Fitzgerald Kennedy set aflame.

And let none of us stop to rest until we have written into the law of the land all the suggestions that made up the John Fitzgerald Kennedy program. And then let us continue to supplement that program with the kind of laws that he would have us write.

Tonight we offer ourselves--on our record and by our platform--as a party for all Americans, an all-American party for all Americans. This prosperous people, this land of reasonable men, has no place for petty partisanship or peevish prejudice. The needs of all can never be met by parties of the few. The needs of all cannot be met by a business party or a labor party, not by a war party or a peace party, not by a southern party or a northern party.

Our deeds will meet our needs only if we are served by a party which serves all our people.

We are members together of such a party, the Democratic Party of 1964."

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Richard Nixon 1972 Convention

Remarks on Accepting the Presidential Nomination of the Republican National Convention on August 23, 1972.

"Mr. Chairman, delegates to this convention, my fellow Americans:
Four years ago, standing in this very place, I proudly accepted your nomination for President of the United States.

With your help and with the votes of millions of Americans, we won a great victory in 1968.

Tonight, I again proudly accept your nomination for President of the United States.

Let us pledge ourselves to win an even greater victory this November, in 1972.

I congratulate Chairman Ford. I congratulate Chairman Dole, Anne Armstrong and the hundreds of others who have laid the foundation for that victory by their work at this great convention.

Representative Gerald R. Ford was permanent chairman of the 1972 Republican National Convention; Senator Robert Dole was chairman of the Republican National Committee; and Anne Armstrong was secretary of the convention.

Our platform is a dynamic program for progress for America and for peace in the world.

Speaking in a very personal sense, I express my deep gratitude to this convention for the tribute you have paid to the best campaigner in the Nixon family-my wife Pat. In honoring her, you have honored millions of women in America who have contributed in the past and will contribute in the future so very much to better government in this country.

Again, as I did last night when I was not at the convention, I express the appreciation of all of the delegates and of all America for letting us see young America at its best at our convention. As I express my appreciation to you, I want to say that you have inspired us with your enthusiasm, with your intelligence, with your dedication at this convention. You have made us realize that this is a year when we can prove the experts' predictions wrong, because we can set as our goal winning a majority of the new voters for our ticket this November.

I pledge to you, all of the new voters in America who are listening on television and listening here in this convention hall, that I will do everything that I can over these next 4 years to make your support be one that you can be proud of, because as I said to you last night, and I feel it very deeply in my heart: Years from now I want you to look back and be able to say that your first vote was one of the best votes you ever cast in your life.

Mr. Chairman, I congratulate the delegates to this convention for renominating as my running mate the man who has just so eloquently and graciously introduced me, Vice President Ted Agnew.

I thought he was the best man for the job 4 years ago.

I think he is the best man for the job today.

And I am not going to change my mind tomorrow.

I ask you, my fellow Americans, to join our new majority not just in the cause of winning an election, but in achieving a hope that mankind has had since the beginning of civilization. Let us build a peace that our children and all the children of the world can enjoy for generations to come."

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Ronald Reagan 1984 Convention

Ronald Reagan Remarks Accepting the Presidential Nomination Republican National Convention In Dallas, Texas On August 23, 1984.

"The President. Mr. Chairman, Mr. Vice President, delegates to this convention, and fellow citizens: In 75 days, I hope we enjoy a victory that is the size of the heart of Texas. Nancy and I extend our deep thanks to the Lone Star State and the ``Big D'' -- the city of Dallas -- for all their warmth and hospitality.

Tonight, with a full heart and deep gratitude for your trust, I accept your nomination for the Presidency of the United States. I will campaign on behalf of the principles of our party which lift America confidently into the future.

We cheered in Los Angeles as the flame was carried in and the giant Olympic torch burst into a billowing fire in front of the teams, the youth of 140 nations assembled on the floor of the Coliseum. And in that moment, maybe you were struck as I was with the uniqueness of what was taking place before a hundred thousand people in the stadium, most of them citizens of our country, and over a billion worldwide watching on television. There were athletes representing 140 countries here to compete in the one country in all the world whose people carry the bloodlines of all those 140 countries and more. Only in the United States is there such a rich mixture of races, creeds, and nationalities -- only in our melting pot.

And that brings to mind another torch, the one that greeted so many of our parents and grandparents. Just this past Fourth of July, the torch atop the Statue of Liberty was hoisted down for replacement. We can be forgiven for thinking that maybe it was just worn out from lighting the way to freedom for 17 million new Americans. So, now we'll put up a new one.

The poet called Miss Liberty's torch the ``lamp beside the golden door.'' Well, that was the entrance to America, and it still is. And now you really know why we're here tonight.

The glistening hope of that lamp is still ours. Every promise, every opportunity is still golden in this land. And through that golden door our children can walk into tomorrow with the knowledge that no one can be denied the promise that is America.

Her heart is full; her door is still golden, her future bright. She has arms big enough to comfort and strong enough to support, for the strength in her arms is the strength of her people. She will carry on in the eighties unafraid, unashamed, and unsurpassed.

In this springtime of hope, some lights seem eternal; America's is.

Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America."

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