This is rough. It just came to the surface this morning and is truly only the work of a few minutes. Forgive typos - I am at work and fit this in during lunch hour.
It is what I'd like to say to America and the world if I were elected President in 2008.
Since I'm not running it is what I'd like to hear.
Short but I think the sentiment is there.
What would you like to hear?
Read on...
My fellow Americans and, indeed, all of the world's peoples:
Today I am addressing all of you with paradoxical emotions.
I am grateful and proud the American people feel that I am the best candidate to lead this great country. I am also extremely cognizant of the fact that America has strayed from its primary roles as a true leader, role model of democratic practices and, above all, humanitarian entity.
However well-intentioned past actions by this country's previous administration may have been, the American people realized that those actions were not well received by the rest of the world and that we have a great deal of work to do in order to ensure that the United States of America never again appears to practice nation-building or intentionally contributes to the hardships of any people anywhere on this magnificent planet we all inhabit.
Our current and future generations of Americans will pay the price for the actions undertaken in the name of democracy. I pledged during my campaign that diplomatic relations will be restored globally and I am reaffirming that commitment to you today.
The American public's desire for a new direction was made very apparent during the 2006 mid-term Congressional elections. We reaffirmed the need for our Constitutional system of check and balances. We reaffirmed our desire for a true separation of church and state. We reaffirmed our commitment to religious tolerance. We reaffirmed our commitment to reevaluating our immigration standards. We reaffirmed our desire and willingness to truly compete in this evolving global marketplace.
Above all, we reaffirmed our commitment to peace.
September 11 was both a tragedy and an opportunity for the American people. We continue to mourn our dead. We initially reached out to the leaders of the world and reached a nearly universal consensus on the need to both combat terrorist activities and to prevent circumstances from arising that permit terrorist activity to be an accepted course of action.
It was an opportunity we discarded. Instead we went to war - not only against the terrorists. We intentionally deposed the leader of a sovereign nation and created a domestic insurgency that consisted not of terrorists but of the very people who lived and worked in that country. We created the environment that resulted in a civil dispute that destabilized the region and whose true cost should not be weighed in dollars spent but in lives lost. I believe that history will judge these actions harshly.
Billions of dollars that could - and should - have gone to improve the health and welfare of Americans and the residents of second- and third-world countries were squandered on a military actions undertaken for the most specious of reasons. Lies were told to our Congress and our constituency.
Accountability became a forgotten word.
Believing that the democratic process would be welcomed by any nation anywhere in the world at any time is not the real problem. Believing that democracy is best viewed from the end of a gun barrel, over the grave of a dead child or while watching one's home become a pile rubble is beyond misguided. It was negligent and short-sighted.
I say to all Americans and to the world: This was not an America by and for the people of this great nation.
This was not the America dreamed of by our Founding Fathers. This was not the America supported and sacrificed for during both World Wars. This was not the America that was at the forefront of the industrial revolution, medical research, pharmaceutical and technological development.
It was a fearful America.
I am committed to bringing to the world an America founded on hope, on dreams and on the basic tenets of our Bill of Rights.
I am reaching out to the peoples of all nations and saying to you the American people have elected a President that realizes that cultural diversity exists, that our climate is changing, that corporations have a right to profit but also have a responsibility to contribute to the society that permits their success. This is an America that realizes that access to quality healthcare is a universal right among our own population and for the world's poor.
This is an America I am proud to represent.
This is an America of hope.