thank you thank you thank you so much thank you thank you so much thank you thank you very much everybody thank you michelle i love you so much a few nights ago everybody was reminded just what a lucky man i am malia and sasha we are so proud of you and yes you do have to go to school in the morning and joe biden thank you for being the very best vice president i could have ever hoped for and being a strong and loyal friend madam chairwoman delegates i accept your nomination for president of the united states now the first time i addressed this convention in 2004 i was a younger man a senate candidate from illinois who spoke about hope not blind optimism not wishful thinking but hope in the face of difficulty hope in the face of uncertainty that dogged faith in the future which has pushed this nation forward even when the odds are great even when the road is long eight years later that hope has been tested by the cost of war by one of the worst economic crises in history and by political gridlock that's left us wondering whether it's still even possible to tackle the challenges of our time i know campaigns can seem small even silly sometimes trivial things become big distractions serious issues become sound bites the truth gets buried under an avalanche of money and advertising and if you're sick of hearing me approve this message believe me so am i but when all is said and done when you pick up that ballot to vote you will face the clearest choice of any time in a generation over the next few years big decisions will be made in washington on jobs the economy taxes and deficits energy education war and peace decisions that will have a huge impact on our lives and on our children's lives for decades to come and on every issue the choice you face won't just be between two candidates or two parties it will be a choice between two different paths for america a choice between two fundamentally different visions for the future ours is a fight to restore the values that built the largest middle class and the strongest economy the world has ever known the values my grandfather defended as a soldier in patton's army the values that drove my grandmother to work on a bomber assembly line while he was gone they knew they were part of something larger a nation that triumphed over fascism and depression a nation where the most innovative businesses turned out the world's best products and everyone shared in that pride and success from the corner office to the factory floor my grandparents were given the chance to go to college buy their own their own home and fulfill the basic bargain at the heart of america's story the promise that hard work will pay off that responsibility will be rewarded that everyone gets a fair shot and everyone does their fair share and everyone plays by the same rules from main street to wall street to washington d.c and i ran for president because i saw that basic bargain slipping away i began my career helping people in the shadow of a shuttered steel mill at a time when too many good jobs were starting to move overseas and by 2008 we had seen nearly a decade in which families struggled with costs that kept rising but paychecks that didn't folks racking up more and more debt just to make the mortgage or pay tuition put gas in the car or food on the table and when the house of cards collapsed in the great recession millions of innocent americans lost their jobs their homes their life savings a tragedy from which we're still fighting to recover now our friends down in tampa at the republican convention we're more than happy to talk about everything they think is wrong with america but they didn't have much to say about how they'd make it right they want your vote but they don't want you to know their plan and that's because all they have to offer is the same prescriptions they've had for the last 30 years have a surplus try a tax cut deficit too high try another feel a cold coming on take two tax cuts roll back some regulations and call us in the morning now i've cut taxes for those who need it middle-class families small businesses but i don't believe that another round of tax breaks for millionaires will bring good jobs to our shores or pay down our deficit i don't believe that firing teachers or kicking students off financial aid will grow the economy or help us compete with the scientists and engineers coming out of china after all we've been through i don't believe that rolling back regulations on wall street will help the small business woman expand or the laid off construction worker keep his home we have been there we've tried that and we're not going back we are moving forward america now i won't pretend the path i'm offering is quick or easy i never have you didn't elect me to tell you what you wanted to hear you elected me to tell you the truth and the truth is it will take more than a few years for us to solve challenges that have built up over decades it'll require common effort and shared responsibility and the kind of bold persistent experimentation that franklin roosevelt pursued during the only crisis worse than this one and by the way those of us who carry on his party's legacy should remember that not every problem can be remedied with another government program or dictate from washington but know this america our problems can be solved our challenges can be met the path we offer may be harder but it leads to a better place and i'm asking you to choose that future i'm asking you to rally around a set of goals for your country goals in manufacturing energy education national security and the deficit real achievable plans that will lead to new jobs more opportunity and rebuild this economy on a stronger foundation that's what we can do in the next four years and that is why i am running for a second term as president of the united states we can choose a future where we export more products and outsource fewer jobs after a decade that was defined by what we bought and borrowed we're getting back to basics and doing what america has always done best we are making things again i've met workers in detroit and toledo who feared they'd never build another american car and today they can't build them fast enough because we reinvented a dying auto industry that's back on the top of the world i've worked with business leaders who are bringing jobs back to america not because our workers make less pay but because we make better products because we work harder and smarter than anyone else i've signed trade agreements that are helping our company sell more goods to millions of new customers goods that are stamped with three proud words made in america and after a decade of decline this country created over half a million manufacturing jobs in the last two and a half years and now you have a choice we can give more tax breaks to corporations that ship jobs overseas or we can start rewarding companies that open new plants and train new workers and create new jobs here in the united states of america we can help big factories and small businesses double their exports and if we choose this path we can create a million new manufacturing jobs in the next four years you can make that happen you can choose that future you can choose the path where we control more of our own energy after 30 years of inaction we raised fuel standards so that by the middle of the next decade cars and trucks will go twice as far on a gallon of gas we have doubled our use of renewable energy and thousands of americans have jobs today building wind turbines and long lasting batteries in the last year alone we cut oil imports by one million barrels a day more than any administration in recent history and today the united states of america is less dependent on foreign oil than at any time in the last two decades so now you have a choice between a strategy that reverses this progress or one that builds on it we've opened millions of new acres for oil and gas exploration in the last three years and we'll open more but unlike my opponent i will not let oil companies write this country's energy plan or endanger our coastlines or collect another four billion dollars in corporate welfare from our taxpayers we're offering a better path we're offering a better path where we a future where we keep investing in wind and solar and clean coal where farmers and scientists harness new biofuels to power our cars and trucks where construction workers build homes and factories that waste less energy where where we develop a hundred year supply of natural gas that's right beneath our feet if you choose this path we can cut our oil imports in half by 2020 and support more than six hundred 000 new jobs in natural gas alone and yes my plan will continue to reduce the carbon pollution that is heating our planet because climate change is not a hoax more droughts and floods and wildfires are not a joke they are a threat to our children's future and in this election you can do something about it yeah you can choose a future where more americans have the chance to gain the skills they need to compete no matter how old they are or how much money they have education was the gateway to opportunity for me it was the gateway for michelle it was the gateway for most of you and now more than ever it is the gateway to a middle-class life for the first time in a generation nearly every state has answered our call to raise their standards for teaching and learning some of the worst schools in the country have made real gains in math and reading millions of students are paying less for college today because we finally took on a system that wasted billions of taxpayer dollars on banks and lenders and now you have a choice we can gut education or we can decide that in the united states of america no child should have her dreams deferred because of a crowded classroom or a crumbling school no family should have to set aside a college acceptance letter because they don't have the money no company should have to look for workers overseas because they couldn't find any with the right skills here at home that's not our future that is not our a future has a role in this but teachers must inspire principals must lead parents must instill a thirst for learning and students you got to do the work and together i promise you we can out-educate and out-compete any nation on earth so help me help me recruit a hundred thousand math and science teachers within ten years and improve early childhood education help give two million workers the chance to learn skills at their community college that will lead directly to a job help us work with colleges and universities to cut in half the growth of tuition costs over the next 10 years we can meet that goal together you can choose that future for america that's our future you know in a world of new threats and new challenges you can choose leadership that has been tested and proven four years ago i promised to end the war in iraq we did i promise to refocus on the terrorists who actually attacked us on 9 11 and we have we've blunted the taliban's momentum in afghanistan and in 2014 our longest war will be over a new tower rises above the new york skyline al qaeda is on the path to defeat and osama bin laden is dead tonight we pay tribute to the americans who still serve in harm's way we are forever in debt to a generation whose sacrifice has made this country safer and more respected we will never forget you and so long as i'm commander-in-chief we will sustain the strongest military the world has ever known when you take off the uniform we will serve you as well as you've served us because no one who fights for this country should have to fight for a job or a roof over their heads or the care that they need when they come home around the world we've strengthened old alliances and forged new coalitions to stop the spread of nuclear weapons we've reasserted our power across the pacific and stood up to china on behalf of our workers from burma to libya to south sudan we have advanced the rights and dignity of all human beings men and women christians and muslims and jews but for all the progress that we've made challenges remain terrorist plots must be disrupted europe's crisis must be contained our commitment to israel's security must not waver and neither must our pursuit of peace the iranian government must face a world that stays united against its nuclear ambitions the historic change sweeping across the arab world must be defined not by the iron fist of a dictator or the hate of extremists but by the hopes and aspirations of ordinary people who are reaching for the same rights that we celebrate here today so now we have a choice my opponent and his running mate are new to foreign policy but from all that we've seen and heard they want to take us back to an era of blustering and blundering that cost america so dearly after all you don't call russia our number one enemy not al qaeda russia unless you're still stuck in a cold war mine war you might not be ready for diplomacy with beijing if you can't visit the olympics without insulting our closest ally my opponent my opponent said that it was tragic to end the war in iraq and he won't tell us how he'll end the war in afghanistan well i have and i will and while my opponent would spend more money on military hardware that our joint chiefs don't even want i will use the money we're no longer spending on war to pay down our debt and put more people back to work rebuilding roads and bridges and schools and runways because after two wars that have cost us thousands of lives and over a trillion dollars it's time to do some nation building right here at home you can choose a future where we reduce our deficit without sticking it to the middle class independent experts say that my plan would cut our deficit by four trillion dollars and last summer i worked with republicans in congress to cut a billion dollars in spending because those of us who believe government can be a force for good should work harder than anyone to reform it so that it's leaner and more efficient and more responsive to the american people i want to reform the tax codes so that simple fair and ask the wealthiest households to pay higher taxes on incomes over 250 000 the same rate we had when bill clinton was president the same rate we had when our economy created nearly 23 million new jobs the biggest surplus in history and a whole lot of millionaires to boot now i'm still eager to reach an agreement based on the principles of my bipartisan debt commission no party has a monopoly on wisdom no democracy works without compromise i want to get this done and we can get it done but when governor romney and his friends in congress tell us we can somehow lower our deficits by spending trillions more on new tax breaks for the wealthy well what bill clinton call it you do the arithmetic you do the math i refuse to go along with that and as long as i'm president i never will i refuse to ask middle-class families to give up their deductions for owning a home or raising their kids just to pay for another millionaire's tax cut i refuse to ask students to pay more for college or kick children out of head start programs to eliminate health insurance for millions of americans who are poor and elderly or disabled also those with the most can pay less i'm not going along with that and i will never i will never turn medicare into a voucher no american should ever have to spend their golden years at the mercy of insurance companies they should retire with the care and the dignity that they have earned yes we will reform and strengthen medicare for the long haul but we'll do it by reducing the cost of health care not by asking seniors to pay thousands of dollars more and we will keep the promise of social security by taking the responsible steps to strengthen it not by turning it over to wall street this is the choice we now face this is what the election comes down to over and over we've been told by our opponents that bigger tax cuts and fewer regulations are the only way that since government can't do everything it should do almost nothing if you can't afford health insurance hope that you don't get sick if a company releases toxic pollution into the air your children breathe well that's the price of progress if you can't afford to start a business or go to college take my opponent's advice and borrow money from your parents you know what that's not who we are that's not what this country's about as americans we believe we are endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights rights that no man or government can take away we insist on personal responsibility and we celebrate individual initiative we're not entitled to success we have to earn it we honor the strivers the dreamers the risk takers the entrepreneurs who have always been the driving force behind our free enterprise system the greatest engine of growth and prosperity that the world's ever known but we also believe in something called citizenship citizenship a word at the very heart of our founding a word at the very essence of our democracy the idea that this country only works when we accept certain obligations to one another and of future generations we believe that when a ceo pays his auto workers enough to buy the cars that they build the whole company does better we believe that when a family can no longer be tricked into signing a mortgage they can't afford that family is protected but so is the value of other people's homes and so is the entire economy we believe the little girl who's offered an escape from poverty by a great teacher or a grant for college could become the next steve jobs or the scientist who cures cancer or the president of the united states and it is in our power to give her that chance we know that churches and charities can often make more of a difference than a poverty program alone we don't want handouts for people who refuse to help themselves and we certainly don't want bailouts for banks that break the rules we don't think the government can solve all of our problems but we don't think that the government is the source of all of our problems any more than our welfare recipients or corporations or unions or immigrants or gays or any other group we're told to blame for our troubles because because america we understand that this democracy is ours we the people recognize that we have responsibilities as well as rights that our destinies are bound together that a freedom which asks only what's in it for me a freedom without a commitment to others a freedom without love or charity or duty or patriotism is unworthy of our founding ideals and those who died in their defense as citizens we understand that america is not about what can be done for us it's about what can be done by us together through the hard and frustrating but necessary work of self-government that's what we believe so you see the election four years ago wasn't about me it was about you my fellow citizens you were the change you're the reason there's a little girl with a heart disorder in phoenix will get the surgery she needs because an insurance company can't limit her coverage you did that you're the reason a young man in colorado who never thought he'd be able to afford his dream of earning a medical degree is about to get that chance you made that possible you're the reason a young immigrant who grew up here and went to school here and pledged allegiance to our flag will no longer be deported from the only country she's ever called home why selfless soldiers won't be kicked out of the military because of who they are or who they love why thousands of families have finally been able to say to the loved ones who served us so bravely welcome home welcome home you did that you did that you did that if you turn away now if you turn away now if you buy into the cynicism that the change we fought for is impossible well change will not happen if you give up on the idea that your voice can make a difference then other voices will fill the void the lobbyists and special interests the people with the 10 million dollar checks who are trying to buy this election and those who are trying to make it harder for you to vote politicians who want to decide who you can marry or control health care choices that women should be making for themselves only you can make sure that doesn't happen only you have the power to move us forward you know i recognize that times have changed since i first spoke to this convention times have changed and so have i i'm no longer just a candidate i'm the president and and that and that and that means i know what it means to send young americans into battle for i've held in my arms the mothers and fathers of those who didn't return i've shared the pain of families who've lost their homes and the frustration of workers who've lost their jobs if the critics are right that i've made all my decisions based on polls then i must not be very good at reading them and while i'm very proud of what we've achieved together i'm far more mindful of my own failings knowing exactly what lincoln meant when he said i have been driven to my knees many times by the overwhelming conviction that i had no place else to go but as i stand here tonight i have never been more hopeful about america not because i think i have all the answers not because i'm naive about the magnitude of our challenges i'm hopeful because of you the young woman i met at a science fair who won national recognition for her biology research while living with her family at a homeless shelter she gives me hope the auto worker who won the lottery after his plant almost closed but kept coming to work every day and bought flags for his whole town and one of the cars that he built to surprise his wife he gives me hope the family business in war road minnesota that didn't lay off a single one of their 4 000 employees when the recession hit even when their competitors shut down dozens of plants even when it meant the owner gave up some perks and some pay because they understood that their biggest asset was the community and the workers who had helped build that business they give me hope i think about the young sailor i met at walter reed hospital still recovering from a grenade attack that would cause him to have his leg amputated above the knee and six months ago we would watch him walk into a white house dinner honoring those who served in iraq tall and 20 pounds heavier dashing in his uniform with a big grin on his face sturdy on his new leg and i remember how a few months after that i would watch him on a bicycle racing with his fellow wounded warriors on a sparkling spring day inspiring other heroes who had just begun the hard path he had traveled he gives me hope he gives me hope i don't know what party these men and women belong to i don't know if they'll vote for me but i know that their spirit defines us they remind me in the words of scripture that ours is a future filled with hope and if you share that faith with me if you share that hope with me i ask you tonight for your vote if you reject the notion that this nation's promise is reserved for the few your voice must be heard in this election if you reject the notion that our government is forever beholden to the highest bidder you need to stand up in this election if you believe that new plants and factories can dot our landscape that new energy can power our future that new schools can provide ladders of opportunity to this nation of dreamers if you believe in a country where everyone gets a fair shot and everyone does their fair share and everyone plays by the same rules then i need you to vote this november america i never said this journey would be easy and i won't promise that now yes our path is harder but it leads to a better place yes our road is longer but we travel it together we don't turn back we leave no one behind we pull each other up we draw strength from our victories and we learn from our mistakes but we keep our eyes fixed on that distant horizon knowing that providence is with us and that we are surely blessed to be citizens of the greatest nation on earth thank you god bless you and god bless these united states you