Η ομιλία του Barack Obama

Αποσπάσματα της ομιλίας αποδοχής της υποψηφιότητας για Πρόεδρος των ΗΠΑ του Barack Obama από το Συνέδριο των Δημοκρατικών στο Denver.
Τα αποσπάσματα έχουν σκοπό να φωτίσουν το πρόγραμμα του υποψήφιου. Προσπάθησα να μην περιλαμβάνονται "επιθέσεις" στον αντίπαλό του και τους Ρεπουμπλικάνους.
Ολόκληρη η ομιλία, όπως πραγματικά δόθηκε εδώ.

Υπογραμμίσεις δικές μου, με έντονα μαύρα τα σημαντικά σημεία.

Αυτό που έχει αξία, εκτός από τα θέματα που θίγονται, είναι η γλώσσα που χρησιμοποιείται. Και γι' αυτό το λόγο κρατάω τη πρωτότυπη αμετάφραστη.
The truth is, on issue after issue that would make a difference in your lives -- on health care, and education, and the economy
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Why else would he define middle-class as someone making under $5 million a year?
How else could he propose hundreds of billions in tax breaks for big corporations and oil companies, but not one penny of tax relief to more than 100 million Americans?
How else could he offer a health care plan that would actually tax people's benefits, or an education plan that would do nothing to help families pay for college, or a plan that would privatize Social Security and gamble your retirement?
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For over two decades -- for over two decades, he's subscribed to that old, discredited Republican philosophy: Give more and more to those with the most and hope that prosperity trickles down to everyone else.
In Washington, they call this the "Ownership Society," but what it really means is that you're on your own. Out of work? Tough luck, you're on your own. No health care? The market will fix it. You're on your own. Born into poverty? Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps, even if you don't have boots. You are on your own.
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You see, you see, we Democrats have a very different measure of what constitutes progress in this country.
We measure progress by how many people can find a job that pays the mortgage, whether you can put a little extra money away at the end of each month so you can someday watch your child receive her college diploma.
We measure progress in the 23 million new jobs that were created when Bill Clinton was president when the average American family saw its income go up $7,500 instead of go down $2,000, like it has under George Bush.
We measure the strength of our economy not by the number of billionaires we have or the profits of the Fortune 500, but by whether someone with a good idea can take a risk and start a new business, or whether the waitress who lives on tips can take a day off and look after a sick kid without losing her job, an economy that honors the dignity of work.
The fundamentals we use to measure economic strength are whether we are living up to that fundamental promise that has made this country great, a promise that is the only reason I am standing here tonight.
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What -- what is that American promise? It's a promise that says each of us has the freedom to make of our own lives what we will, but that we also have obligations to treat each other with dignity and respect.
It's a promise that says the market should reward drive and innovation and generate growth, but that businesses should live up to their responsibilities to create American jobs, to look out for American workers, and play by the rules of the road. Ours -- ours is a promise that says government cannot solve all our problems, but what it should do is that which we cannot do for ourselves: protect us from harm and provide every child a decent education; keep our water clean and our toys safe; invest in new schools, and new roads, and science, and technology.
Our government should work for us, not against us. It should help us, not hurt us. It should ensure opportunity not just for those with the most money and influence, but for every American who's willing to work.
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So -- so let me -- let me spell out exactly what that change would mean if I am president.
Change means a tax code that doesn't reward the lobbyists who wrote it, but the American workers and small businesses who deserve it.
You know, unlike John McCain, I will stop giving tax breaks to companies that ship jobs overseas, and I will start giving them to companies that create good jobs right here in America.
I'll eliminate capital gains taxes for the small businesses and start-ups that will create the high-wage, high-tech jobs of tomorrow.
I will -- listen now -- I will cut taxes -- cut taxes -- for 95 percent of all working families, because, in an economy like this, the last thing we should do is raise taxes on the middle class.
And for the sake of our economy, our security, and the future of our planet, I will set a clear goal as president: In 10 years, we will finally end our dependence on oil from the Middle East.
We will do this. Washington -- Washington has been talking about our oil addiction for the last 30 years. And, by the way, John McCain has been there for 26 of them.
And in that time, he has said no to higher fuel-efficiency standards for cars, no to investments in renewable energy, no to renewable fuels. And today, we import triple the amount of oil than we had on the day that Senator McCain took office.
Now is the time to end this addiction and to understand that drilling is a stop-gap measure, not a long-term solution, not even close.
As president, as president, I will tap our natural gas reserves, invest in clean coal technology, and find ways to safely harness nuclear power. I'll help our auto companies re-tool, so that the fuel-efficient cars of the future are built right here in America.
I'll make it easier for the American people to afford these new cars.
And I'll invest $150 billion over the next decade in affordable, renewable sources of energy -- wind power, and solar power, and the next generation of biofuels -- an investment that will lead to new industries and 5 million new jobs that pay well and can't be outsourced.
America, now is not the time for small plans. Now is the time to finally meet our moral obligation to provide every child a world-class education, because it will take nothing less to compete in the global economy.
You know, Michelle and I are only here tonight because we were given a chance at an education. And I will not settle for an America where some kids don't have that chance.
I'll invest in early childhood education. I'll recruit an army of new teachers, and pay them higher salaries, and give them more support. And in exchange, I'll ask for higher standards and more accountability.
And we will keep our promise to every young American: If you commit to serving your community or our country, we will make sure you can afford a college education.
Now -- now is the time to finally keep the promise of affordable, accessible health care for every single American.
If you have health care -- if you have health care, my plan will lower your premiums. If you don't, you'll be able to get the same kind of coverage that members of Congress give themselves.
And -- and as someone who watched my mother argue with insurance companies while she lay in bed dying of cancer, I will make certain those companies stop discriminating against those who are sick and need care the most.
Now is the time to help families with paid sick days and better family leave, because nobody in America should have to choose between keeping their job and caring for a sick child or an ailing parent.
Now is the time to change our bankruptcy laws, so that your pensions are protected ahead of CEO bonuses, and the time to protect Social Security for future generations.
And now is the time to keep the promise of equal pay for an equal day's work, because I want my daughters to have the exact same opportunities as your sons.
Now, many of these plans will cost money, which is why I've laid out how I'll pay for every dime: by closing corporate loopholes and tax havens that don't help America grow.
But I will also go through the federal budget line by line, eliminating programs that no longer work and making the ones we do need work better and cost less, because we cannot meet 21st-century challenges with a 20th-century bureaucracy.
And, Democrats, Democrats, we must also admit that fulfilling America's promise will require more than just money. It will require a renewed sense of responsibility from each of us to recover what John F. Kennedy called our intellectual and moral strength.
Yes, government must lead on energy independence, but each of us must do our part to make our homes and businesses more efficient.
Yes, we must provide more ladders to success for young men who fall into lives of crime and despair. But we must also admit that programs alone can't replace parents, that government can't turn off the television and make a child do her homework, that fathers must take more responsibility to provide love and guidance to their children.
Individual responsibility and mutual responsibility, that's the essence of America's promise. And just as we keep our promise to the next generation here at home, so must we keep America's promise abroad.
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And today, today, as my call for a timeframe to remove our troops from Iraq has been echoed by the Iraqi government and even the Bush administration, even after we learned that Iraq has $79 billion in surplus while we are wallowing in deficit, John McCain stands alone in his stubborn refusal to end a misguided war.
That's not the judgment we need; that won't keep America safe. We need a president who can face the threats of the future, not keep grasping at the ideas of the past.
You don't defeat -- you don't defeat a terrorist network that operates in 80 countries by occupying Iraq. You don't protect Israel and deter Iran just by talking tough in Washington. You can't truly stand up for Georgia when you've strained our oldest alliances.
We are the party of Roosevelt. We are the party of Kennedy. So don't tell me that Democrats won't defend this country. Don't tell me that Democrats won't keep us safe.
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I will build new partnerships to defeat the threats of the 21st century: terrorism and nuclear proliferation, poverty and genocide, climate change and disease.
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We may not agree on abortion, but surely we can agree on reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies in this country.
The -- the reality of gun ownership may be different for hunters in rural Ohio than they are for those plagued by gang violence in Cleveland, but don't tell me we can't uphold the Second Amendment while keeping AK-47s out of the hands of criminals.
I know there are differences on same-sex marriage, but surely we can agree that our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters deserve to visit the person they love in a hospital and to live lives free of discrimination.
You know, passions may fly on immigration, but I don't know anyone who benefits when a mother is separated from her infant child or an employer undercuts American wages by hiring illegal workers.
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I get it. I realize that I am not the likeliest candidate for this office. I don't fit the typical pedigree, and I haven't spent my career in the halls of Washington.

Ο λόγος του δεν ξεφεύγει από κλασσικά πολιτικά κλισέ.
Όμως προσεγγίζει περισσότερο τη πραγματικότητα και δείχνει ότι τοποθετεί τα προβλήματα των ανθρώπων στο επίκεντρο. Και γνωρίζει ότι "οι αγορές" δεν είναι σε θέση να λύσουν αυτά τα προβλήματα: το κράτος σε συνδυασμό με τους πολίτες του, σε ένα πλαίσιο υπευθυνότητας τόσο ατομικής όσο και συλλογικής, όμως είναι.
Θίγει κυρίως τα εσωτερικά θέματα: Κονωνική Ασφάλιση - Εκπαίδευση - Οικονομία.
Αλλά και πράγματα που δεν μας είναι κατανοητά, όπως η οπλοκατοχή. Ενώ, προσπαθεί να μιλήσει και για τη μετανάστευση, χωρίς όμως να προσδιορίζει τι ακριβώς θέλει να πετύχει. Μιλάει και για την "ασφάλεια", πάλι χωρις να γίνεται ιδιαίτερα κατανοητός.
Εστιάζει επίσης στην ενέργεια: εξοικονόμηση χρήσης πετρελαίου, ανανεώσιμες πηγές ενέργειας, βιοκαύσιμα κλπ.
Στα εξωτερικά θέματα, εμμένει σε χρονοδιάγραμμα αποχώρησης από το Ιράκ και, πάλι χωρίς να εξωτερικεύει, θέωρεί ότι η καταπολεμηση της τρομοκρατίας δεν επιτυγχάνεται με τον τρόπο που χρησιμοποιεί η παρούσα Κυβέρνηση.

Στέκομαι όμως στο πως θα χρηματοδοτηθούν οι αλλαγές τόσο στα τρία σημαντικότερα θέματα (καλύτερη και φθηνότερη για τους πολίτες κοινωνική ασφάλιση, καλύτερη και μεγαλύτερη σε διάρκεια και ποιότητα εκπάιδευση καθώς και φοροαπαλλαγές για τους μικρούς και τους μεσαίους, περισσότερες καλοπληρωμένες θέσεις εργασίας) όσο και γενικά του προγράμματος του:
Κατάργηση των φοροαπαλλαγών των πλουσίων, επιδοτήσεις και φορο-απαλλαγές μόνο σε εταιρείες που δημιουργούν νέες θέσεις εργασίας εντός των ΗΠΑ, κατάρηγηση σε "παραθυράκια" φοροαπαλλαγών και σε "φορολογικούς παράδεισους", επανέλεγχο όλων των δαπανών του προϋπολογισμού και συνέχειση μόνο όσων κονδυλίων πραγματικά χρειάζονται.

Τέλος, σημαντικό είναι το σημείο όπου προσδιορίζει το ρόλο του κράτους: το κράτος δε μπορεί να λύσει όλα τα προβλήματα, όμως μπορεί να κάνει αυτά που δε μπορούμε να κάνουμε εμείς για εμάς: να μας προστατεύσει, να προσφέρει σωστή εκπαίδευση, να διατηρήσει το νερό πόσιμο και τα παιχνίδια ασφαλή, να επενδύσει σε νέα σχολεία, στο οδικό δίκτυο στην επιστήμη και την τεχνολογία.

Ολοκληρώνοντας, η ομιλία είχε σκοπό να προβάλει τόσα τα προβλήματα όσο και τις λύσεις που θεωρεί ότι απαιτούνται. Δεν ξέφυγε από ορισμένα κλισέ ώστε να θεωρεί κάποιος ότι έχουμε να κάνουμε με το νέο Μάρτιν Λούθερ Κινγκ ή το JFK, αλλά τέτοιοι δεν υπάρχουν πια...

Όμως σίγουρα μπροστά μας κάποιον που δηλώνει ότι χρειάζεται αλλαγή στα καθημερινά προβλήματα της μεσαίας τάξης. Και σίγουρα πρώτο θέμα η κοινωνική ασφάλιση.
Κι αυτό είναι πρόοδος!