In this election, we cannot afford the same political games and
tactics that are being used to pit us against one another and make us
afraid of one another. The stakes are too high to divide us by class
and region and background; by who we are or what we believe.
Because despite what our opponents may claim, there are no real or
fake parts of this country. There is no city or town that is more
pro-America than anywhere else – we are one nation, all of us proud,
all of us patriots. There are patriots who supported this war in Iraq
and patriots who opposed it; patriots who believe in Democratic
policies and those who believe in Republican policies. The men and
women who serve in our battlefields may be Democrats and Republicans
and Independents, but they have fought together and bled together and
some died together under the same proud flag. They have not served a
Red America or a Blue America – they have served the United States of
America.
It won’t be easy, Ohio. It won’t be quick. But you and I know that
it is time to come together and change this country. Some of you may
be cynical and fed up with politics. A lot of you may be disappointed
and even angry with your leaders. You have every right to be. But
despite all of this, I ask of you what has been asked of Americans
throughout our history.
I ask you to believe – not just in my ability to bring about change, but in yours.
I know this change is possible. Because I have seen it over the
last twenty-one months. Because in this campaign, I have had the
privilege to witness what is best in America.
I’ve seen it in lines of voters that stretched around schools and
churches; in the young people who cast their ballot for the first time,
and those not so young folks who got involved again after a very long
time. I’ve seen it in the workers who would rather cut back their
hours than see their friends lose their jobs; in the neighbors who take
a stranger in when the floodwaters rise; in the soldiers who re-enlist
after losing a limb. I’ve seen it in the faces of the men and women
I’ve met at countless rallies and town halls across the country, men
and women who speak of their struggles but also of their hopes and
dreams.
I still remember the email that a woman named Robyn sent me after I
met her in Ft. Lauderdale. Sometime after our event, her son nearly
went into cardiac arrest, and was diagnosed with a heart condition that
could only be treated with a procedure that cost tens of thousands of
dollars. Her insurance company refused to pay, and their family just
didn’t have that kind of money.
In her email, Robyn wrote, "I ask only this of you – on the days
where you feel so tired you can’t think of uttering another word to the
people, think of us. When those who oppose you have you down, reach
deep and fight back harder."
Ohio, that’s what hope is – that thing inside us that insists,
despite all evidence to the contrary, that something better is waiting
around the bend; that insists there are better days ahead. If we’re
willing to work for it. If we’re willing to shed our fears and our
doubts. If we’re willing to reach deep down inside ourselves when
we’re tired and come back fighting harder.
Hope! That’s what kept some of our parents and grandparents going
when times were tough. What led them to say, "Maybe I can’t go to
college, but if I save a little bit each week my child can; maybe I
can’t have my own business but if I work really hard my child can open
one of her own." It’s what led immigrants from distant lands to come
to these shores against great odds and carve a new life for their
families in America; what led those who couldn’t vote to march and
organize and stand for freedom; that led them to cry out, "It may look
dark tonight, but if I hold on to hope, tomorrow will be brighter."
That’s what this election is about. That is the choice we face right now.
Don’t believe for a second this election is over. Don’t think for a
minute that power concedes. We have to work like our future depends on
it in this last week, because it does.
In one week, we can choose an economy that rewards work and creates new jobs and fuels prosperity from the bottom-up.
In one week, we can choose to invest in health care for our
families, and education for our kids, and renewable energy for our
future.
In one week, we can choose hope over fear, unity over division, the promise of change over the power of the status quo.
In one week, we can come together as one nation, and one people, and once more choose our better history.
That’s what’s at stake. That’s what we’re fighting for. And if in
this last week, you will knock on some doors for me, and make some
calls for me, and talk to your neighbors, and convince your friends; if
you will stand with me, and fight with me, and give me your vote, then
I promise you this – we will not just win Ohio, we will not just win
this election, but together, we will change this country and we will
change the world. Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless America.
Please, no matter who you vote for, vote.
