2008 Presidential Election: Game Thread (user search)

John Edwards Press Conference, Seneca, South Carolina

Let me begin by saying thank you, to all of you who have traveled here today to hear what I have to say - thank you to my good friends Sam Nunn, Mark Warner, Chet Edwards, and Tim Kaine, and thank you to all y'all who are here. I get that it’s not exactly easy to get here, a little out-of-the-way town in upstate South Carolina. I’m here in Seneca, because Seneca is where people aren’t. Seneca is the town that’s ignored by the big city politicians. Seneca is the community whose voice isn’t heard in Washington. My friends, I'm here, and I'm listening. I'm listening to your concerns about the future of this country. You're fed up with this country as it is, because you know what it can be. You know that this country can be a great, united nation - you know that this country can be one America.

That's why I'm here today. But let me tell you how I came to end up here. As some of you know, this is my hometown. My family moved a lot, and I grew up up in Robbins, North Carolina, but this is the town where I was born. My dad worked in the textile mills, while my mom worked at the post office so we could have health care, and finished antiques on the roadside to help pay for my education. We didn't have a lot. Neither of my parents - nobody in my family before me - went to college. I didn't grow up expecting to get some Ivy League education, and it was remarkable that I, the son of a mill worker, even wound up going to college at all. I grew up with the men and women who worked with my father. Men and women who had lint in their hair, grease on their faces; men and women who worked hard and tried to put a little money away so their kids and their grand-kids could have a better life. They're just like the auto workers, the office workers, the teachers, and the small business owners here in Seneca and in small towns like this all across this country. I was blessed to be the first person in my family to go to college. I had to work my way through, and I've had a number of great opportunities in my life since.

The reason I'm here today is because I believe that all Americans, no matter where you live, no matter who your family is, no matter who you are, should have the exact same kind of opportunities that I had. That's the America I believe in. I've dedicated my life to fighting for people like the people here in Seneca. For two decades, I fought big insurance companies and HMOs to help out kids and families. When I got to the Senate, I fought those same fights against Washington lobbyists. I'm here to night ready to work with you to make America stronger. And that is why, here today in Seneca, a small town just like any other small town in America, that I stand before you today to announce my candidacy for President of the United States.

Tonight, we're celebrating here. But somewhere in America, a mother sits at the kitchen table. She can't sleep because she's worried she can't pay her bills. She's working hard, trying to pay the rent, trying to feed her kids, but it just doesn't add up for her. Her husband was called up in the Guard and has been in Iraq for over a year. They thought he was going to come home last month, but now he's got to stay longer. She thinks she's alone. I'm running for President to prove that she isn't. I'm running to let her know that I hear her. It's time to bring her opportunity, bring her an equal chance. It's time to have a strong America so she can get ahead. And it's time to make America respected in the world again, so that her husband can come home.

The message of this campaign is simple: hope is on the way. For the people who can't get ahead, who are spending their entire lives at the office: hope is on the way. For the people whose medicine's gone through the roof: hope is on the way. For the people who are working hard and want to go to college: hope is on the way. For the sons and daughters and husbands and wives serving this country heroically in Iraq: hope is on the way.

There will always be heartache and there will always be struggle, but America is a land of possibilities, a land of good and strong people. Tomorrow can be better than today, if we choose hope over despair, possibilities over problems, optimism over cynicism. This is a country that chooses to do what's right, that chooses to do better, because this is a country where everything is still possible.

I'm not running for President to look down on anybody, and I'm not running to tear anybody down. I believe in lifting people up. I believe in bringing people together. What I believe is that the family you're born into should never control your destiny in America. I'm here today to ask you to join me.

Let's make America stronger at home and more respected in the world. Let's ensure that once again, in America, tomorrow will always be better than today. Let's let people know: hope is on the way.

Thank you, God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.

	Welcome, Guest. Please login or register. May 19, 2024, 10:23:54 AM

News: Election Simulator 2.0 Released. Senate/Gubernatorial maps, proportional electoral votes, and more - Read more