[Ovation]
[Applausing]
[Screaming]
[Barack Obama:]
4 years ago... I stood before you and told you my story...
Of the brief union... between a young man from Kenya...
And a young woman from Kansas, who weren't well-off... or well-known,..
But shared a belief that in America, their son...
Could achieve whatever he put his mind to!
It is that promise... that's always set this country apart.
That through hard work and sacrifice... each of US...
Can pursue our individual dreams, but...
Still come together as one American family...
To ensure that the next generation!
Can pursue their dreams, as well.
That's why I stand here tonight!
Because for four-hundred-and-thirty-two years...
At each moment when that promise was in jeopardy... ordinary men and women:
Students and soldiers, farmers and teachers, nurses... and janitors...
Found the courage... to keep it alive!
We meet at one of those defining moments.
A moment when our nation is at war... OUR... economy is in turmoil, and the American promise...
Has been threatened once more!
Tonight, more Americans are out of work...
And more are working harder for less!
More of you have lost your homes...
And even more... are watching... your home values plummet!
More of you have cars you can't afford to drive,..
Credit cards, bills you can't afford to pay, and... tuition that's beyond your reach!
These challenges are not all of government's making!
But the failure to respond...
Is a DIRECT RESULT of a broken politics in Washington...
And the failed policies of George W. Bush! [ovation] [applausing] [screaming]