BLUEPRINT FOR CHANGE: OBAMA AND BIDEN'S PLAN FOR AMERICA

http://www.barackobama.com/pdf/ObamaBlueprintForChange.pdf

Please check out the link above! This is a "must read" and "must share" for each and every one of us. I am so exicted about tomorrow. Wow! Make sure you get out and vote! HOPE=that's what it's all about. HOPE=my mantra from now til tomorrow nite. HOPE=without it, then what!

"We also need to change a system that is stacked against women. Forty percent of working women do not have a single paid sick day. More and more women are denied jobs or promotions because they’ve got kids at home. As the son of a single mother, that is not the America that I believe in. I’ll be a president who stands up for working parents. We’ll require employers to provide seven paid sick days each year. We’ll enforce laws that prohibit caregiver discrimination. And we’ll encourage flexible work schedules to better balance work and parenting for mothers and fathers. That’s the change that working families need."
–Barack Obama, Speech in Bettendorf, Iowa, November 7, 2007

"We have an obligation to protect Social Security and ensure that it’s a safety net the American people can count on today, tomorrow and forever. Social Security is the cornerstone of the social compact in this country…Coming together to meet this challenge won’t be easy…It will take restoring a sense of shared purpose in Washington and across this country. But if you put your trust in me — if you give me ‘your hand and your heart’ — then that’s exactly what I intend to do as your next President."
–Barack Obama, Speech in Des Moines, IA, October 27, 2007

"We now face an opportunity — and an obligation — to turn the page on the failed politics of yesterday’s health care debates... My plan begins by covering every American. If you already have health insurance, the only thing that will change for you under this plan is the amount of money you will spend on premiums. That will be less. If you are one of the 45 million Americans who don’t have health insurance, you will have it after this plan becomes law. No one will be turned away because of a preexisting condition or illness."
- Barack Obama, Speech in Iowa City, IA, May 29, 2007


"We need a new vision for a 21st century education — one where we aren’t just supporting existing schools, but spurring innovation; where we’re not just investing more money, but demanding more reform; where parents take responsibility for their children’s success; where our schools and government are accountable for results; where we’re recruiting, retaining, and rewarding an army of new teachers, and students are excited to learn because they’re attending schools of the future; and where we expect all our children not only to graduate high school, but to graduate college and get a good paying job."
- Barack Obama, Speech in Dayton, OH, September 9, 2008


"I’ve fought successfully in the Senate to increase our investment in renewable fuels…I reached across the aisle to come up with a plan to raise our fuel standards… And I didn’t just give a speech about it in front of some environmental audience in California. I went to Detroit, I stood in front of a group of automakers, and I told them that when I am president, there will be no more excuses — we will help them retool their factories, but they will have to make cars that use less oil."
–Barack Obama, Speech in Des Moines, IA, October 14, 2007


"We are at that critical and urgent moment. If Washington continues policies that work against America’s family farmers, our rural communities will fall further behind — and so will America. But if we reject the politics that has shut ordinary folks out, we can create a new story for rural America… The dreams of rural Americans are familiar to all Americans — to make a good living, to raise a healthy and secure family, and to leave our children a future of opportunity. It’s time for real leadership for rural America to extend that American dream. That’s the dream of opportunity that I’ve spent my life fighting for. And that’s what our rural agenda will do."
– Barack Obama, Speech in Fairfax, IA, October 16, 2007


"The time to fix our broken immigration system is now…We need stronger enforcement on the border and at the workplace…But for reform to work, we also must respond to what pulls people to America…Where we can reunite families, we should. Where we can bring in more foreign-born workers with the skills our economy needs, we should."
–Barack Obama, Statement on U.S. Senate Floor, May 23, 2007


"Your own story and the American story are not separate — they are shared. And they will both be enriched if we stand up together, and answer a new call to service to meet the challenges of our new century… I won’t just ask for your vote as a candidate; I will ask for your service and your active citizenship when I am president of the United States. This will not be a call issued in one speech or program; this will be a cause of my presidency. "
– Barack Obama, Speech in Mt. Vernon, Iowa, December 5, 2007


"The teenagers and college students who left their homes to march in the streets of Birmingham and Montgomery; the mothers who walked instead of taking the bus after a long day of doing somebody else’s laundry and cleaning somebody else’s kitchen — they didn’t brave fire hoses and Billy clubs so that their grandchildren and their great grandchildren would still wonder at the beginning of the 21st century whether their vote would be counted; whether their civil rights would be protected by their government; whether justice would be equal and opportunity would be theirs…We have more work to do."
- Barack Obama Speech at Howard University, September 28, 2007


"I am running for President of the United States to lead this country in a new direction… Instead of being distracted from the most pressing threats that we face, I want to overcome them. Instead of pushing the entire burden of our foreign policy on to the brave men and women of our military, I want to use all elements of American power to keep us safe, and prosperous, and free. Instead of alienating ourselves from the world, I want America — once again — to lead…
This must be the moment when we answer the call of history. For eight years, we have paid the price for a foreign policy that lectures without listening; that divides us from one another — and from the world — instead of calling us to a common purpose; that focuses on our tactics in fighting a war without end in Iraq instead of forging a new strategy to face down the true threats that we face. We cannot afford four more years of a strategy that is out of balance and out of step with this defining moment."
– Barack Obama, Speech in Washington, D.C., July 15, 2008


"There are some who believe that we must try to turn back the clock on this new world; that the only chance to maintain our living standards is to build a fortress around America; to stop trading with other countries, shut down immigration, and rely on old industries. I disagree. Not only is it impossible to turn back the tide of globalization, but efforts to do so can make us worse off. Rather than fear the future, we must embrace it. I have no doubt that America can compete — and succeed — in the 21st century. And I know as well that more than anything else, success will depend not on our government, but on the dynamism, determination, and innovation of the American people."
- Barack Obama, Speech in Flint, Michigan, June 16, 2008