Video (15min 54sec): Former VP Al Gore's Speech to DNC. "One of the greatest gifts of our democracy is the opportunity it offers us every four years to change course. It's not a guarantee; it's only an
opportunity. The question facing us is, simply put, will we seize this
opportunity for change? That's why I came here tonight: to tell you why
I feel so strongly that we must seize this opportunity to elect Barack
Obama president of the United States.
Eight years ago, some said there was not much difference between the nominees of
the two major parties and it didn't really matter who became president.
Our nation was enjoying peace and prosperity. Some assumed we would
continue both, no matter the outcome. But here we all are in 2008, and
I doubt anyone would argue now that election didn't matter.
Take
it from me, if it had ended differently, we would not be bogged down in
Iraq; we would have pursued bin Laden until we captured him. We would
not be facing a self-inflicted economic crisis; we would be fighting
for middle-income families. We would not be showing contempt for the
Constitution; we'd be protecting the rights of every American
regardless of race, religion, disability, gender or sexual orientation.
And we would not be denying the climate crisis; we'd be solving it.
Today,
we face essentially the same choice we faced in 2000, though it may be
even more obvious now, because John McCain — a man who has
earned our respect on many levels — is now openly endorsing
the policies of the Bush-Cheney White House and promising to actually
continue them. The same policies all over again?
Hey,
I believe in recycling, but that's ridiculous. With John McCain's
support, President Bush and Vice President Cheney have led our nation
into one calamity after another because of their indifference to fact;
their readiness to sacrifice the long term to the short term,
subordinate the general good to the benefit of the few and
short-circuit the rule of law.
If you like the
Bush-Cheney approach, John McCain's your man. If you want change, then
vote for Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
Barack Obama is
telling us exactly what he will do: launch a bold new economic plan to
restore America's greatness; fight for smarter government that trusts
the market but protects us against its excesses; enact policies that
are pro-choice, pro-education and pro-family; establish a foreign
policy that is smart as well as strong; provide health care for all and
solutions for the climate crisis.
So why is this
election so close? Well, I know something about close elections, so let
me offer you my opinion. I believe this election is close today mainly
because the forces of the status quo are desperately afraid of the
change Barack Obama represents.
There is no better
example than the climate crisis. As I have said for many years
throughout this land, we're borrowing money from China to buy oil from
the Persian Gulf to burn it in ways that destroy the future of human
civilization. Every bit of that has to change. Oil company profits have
soared to record levels, gasoline prices have gone through the roof and
we are more dependent than ever on dirty and dangerous fossil fuels.
Many
scientists predict that the entire north polar ice cap may be
completely gone during summer months in the first term of the next
president. Sea levels are rising, fires are raging, storms are
stronger. Military experts warn us our national security is threatened
by massive waves of climate refugees destabilizing countries around the
world, and scientists tell us the very web of life is endangered by
unprecedented extinctions.
We are facing a planetary
emergency which, if not solved, would exceed anything we've ever
experienced in the history of humankind. In spite of John McCain's past
record of open-mindedness on the climate crisis, he has apparently now
allowed his party to browbeat him into abandoning his support of
mandatory caps on global warming pollution.
And it
just so happens that the climate crisis is intertwined with the other
two great challenges facing our nation: reviving our economy and
strengthening our national security. The solutions to all three require
us to end our dependence on carbon-based fuels.
Instead
of letting lobbyists and polluters control our destiny, we need to
invest in American innovation. Almost a hundred years ago, Thomas
Edison said, "I'd put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a
source of power! I hope we don't have to wait until oil and coal run
out before we tackle that." We already have everything we need to use
the sun, the wind, geothermal power, conservation and efficiency to
solve the climate crisis — everything, that is, except a
president who inspires us to believe, "Yes, we can."
So
how did this no-brainer become a brain-twister? Because the carbon
fuels industry — big oil and coal — have a 50-year
lease on the Republican Party, and they are drilling it for everything
it's worth. And this same industry has spent a half a billion dollars
this year alone trying to convince the public they are actually solving
the problem, when they are in fact making it worse every single day.
This
administration and the special interests who control it lock, stock and
barrel after barrel, have performed this same sleight of hand on issue
after issue. Some of the best marketers have the worst products; and
this is certainly true of today's Republican Party. The party itself
has on its rolls men and women of great quality. But the last eight
years demonstrate that the special interests who have come to control
the Republican Party are so powerful that serving them and serving the
national well-being are now irreconcilable choices.
So
what can we do about it? We can carry Barack Obama's message of hope
and change to every family in America. And pledge that we will be there
for Barack Obama — not only in the heat of this election but
in the aftermath as we put his agenda to work for our country.
We
can tell Republicans and independents, as well as Democrats, why our
nation needs a change from the approach of Bush, Cheney and McCain.
After they wrecked our economy, it is time for a change. After they
abandoned the search for the terrorists who attacked us and redeployed
the troops to invade a nation that did not attack us, it's time for a
change. After they abandoned the American principle first laid down by
Gen. George Washington, when he prohibited the torture of captives
because it would bring, in his words, "shame, disgrace and ruin" to our
nation, it's time for a change.
When as many as
three Supreme Court justices could be appointed in the first term of
the next president, and John McCain promises to appoint more Scalias
and Thomases and end a woman's right to choose, it's time for a change.
Many
people have been waiting for some sign that our country is ready for
such change. How will we know when it's beginning to take hold? I think
we might recognize it as a sign of such change, if we saw millions of
young people getting involved for the first time in the political
process. This election is actually not close at all among younger
voters — you are responding in unprecedented numbers to
Barack Obama's message of change and hope.
You
recognize that he represents a clean break from the politics of
partisanship and bitter division. You understand that the politics of
the past are exhausted, and you're tired of appeals based on fear. You
know that America is capable of better than what you have seen in
recent years. You are hungry for a new politics based on bipartisan
respect for the ageless principles embodied in the United States
Constitution.
There are times in the history of our
nation when our very way of life depends upon awakening to the
challenge of a present danger, shaking off complacency to rise,
clear-eyed and alert, to the necessity of embracing change.
A
century and a half ago, when America faced our greatest trial, the end
of one era gave way to the birth of another. The candidate who emerged
victorious in that election is now regarded by most historians as our
greatest president. Before he entered the White House, Abraham
Lincoln's experience in elective office consisted of eight years in his
state Legislature in Springfield, Illinois, and one term in Congress
— during which he showed the courage and wisdom to oppose the
invasion of another country that was popular when it started but later
condemned by history.
The experience Lincoln's
supporters valued most in that race was his powerful ability to inspire
hope in the future at a time of impasse. He was known chiefly as a
clear thinker and a great orator, with a passion for justice and a
determination to heal the deep divisions of our land. He insisted on
reaching past partisan and regional divides to exalt our common
humanity. In 2008, once again, we find ourselves at the end of an era
with a mandate from history to launch another new beginning. And once
again, we have a candidate whose experience perfectly matches an
extraordinary moment of transition.
Barack Obama had
the experience and wisdom to oppose a popular war based on faulty
premises. His leadership experience has given him a unique capacity to
inspire hope, in the promise of the American dream of a boundless
future. His experience has also given him genuine respect for different
views and humility, in the face of complex realities that cannot be
squeezed into the narrow compartments of ideology. His experience has
taught him something that career politicians often overlook: that
inconvenient truths must be acknowledged if we are to have wise
governance.
The extraordinary strength of his
personal character — and that of his wonderful wife, Michelle
— is grounded in the strengths of the American community. His
vision and his voice represent the best of America. His life experience
embodies the essence of our motto — e pluribus unum
— out of many, one. That is the linking identity at the other
end of all the hyphens that pervade our modern political culture. It is
that common American identity — which Barack Obama
exemplifies, heart and soul — that enables us as Americans to
speak with moral authority to all of the peoples of the world, to
inspire hope that we as human beings can transcend our limitations and
to redeem the promise of human freedom.
Late this
evening, our convention will end with a benediction. As we bow in
reverence, remember the words of the old proverb: "When you pray, move
your feet." Then let us leave here tonight and take the message of hope
from Denver to every corner of our land, and do everything we can to
serve our nation, our world — and most importantly, our
children and their future — by electing Barack Obama
president of the United States.
Full transcript of Al Gore's speech to the 2008 Democratic National Convention.
