‘Reaching for what’s possible’

Barack Obama’s political career has been rooted in his ability to give speeches that stir and inspire. Here are some excerpts:

Against the Iraq war

Oct. 2, 2002, Chicago

“I don’t oppose all wars. And I know that in this crowd today, there is no shortage of patriots or of patriotism. What I am opposed to is a dumb war. What I am opposed to is a rash war. What I am opposed to is the cynical attempt by Richard Perle and Paul Wolfowitz and other armchair, weekend warriors in this administration to shove their own ideological agendas down our throats, irrespective of the costs in lives lost and in hardships borne.”

Keynote address at the Democratic National Convention

July 27, 2004, Boston

“In the end, that’s what this election is about. Do we participate in a politics of cynicism or a politics of hope? . . . I’m not talking about blind optimism here -- the almost willful ignorance that thinks unemployment will go away if we just don’t talk about it, or the healthcare crisis will solve itself if we just ignore it. No, I’m talking about something more substantial. It’s the hope of slaves sitting around a fire singing freedom songs; the hope of immigrants setting out for distant shores; the hope of a young naval lieutenant bravely patrolling the Mekong Delta; the hope of a millworker’s son who dares to defy the odds; the hope of a skinny kid with a funny name who believes that America has a place for him too. The audacity of hope!”

Announcement of presidential campaign

Feb. 10, 2007, Springfield, Ill.

“It’s humbling, but in my heart I know you didn’t come here just for me. You came here because you believe in what this country can be. In the face of war, you believe there can be peace. In the face of despair, you believe there can be hope. In the face of a politics that’s shut you out, that’s told you to settle, that’s divided us for too long, you believe we can be one people, reaching for what’s possible, building that more perfect union.”

On race

March 18, 2008, Philadelphia

“I can no more disown [the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr.] than I can disown the black community. I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother -- a woman who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world, but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe. These people are a part of me. And they are a part of America, this country that I love.”

Election night victory speech

Nov. 4, 2008, Chicago

“As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, ‘We are not enemies but friends . . . though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.’ And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn -- I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices. I need your help, and I will be your president too. And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world -- our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand. To those who would tear this world down: We will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security: We support you.”