American Rhetoric Audio

"How simple the writing of literature would be if it were only necessary to write in another way what has been well written."

"I am telling you what you are entitled to know: As I come before you seeking your support for the most powerful office in the free world -- I am saying to you that my decisions on every public policy will be my own…"

"Let me tell you something of the goals of this better America toward which we will strive."

"The test of any government is not how popular it is with the powerful, but how honestly and fairly it deals with those who must depend on it."

"Our cause has been, since the days of Thomas Jefferson, the cause of the common man and the common woman."

"I will not stand by and watch this great country destroy itself under mediocre leadership..."

"A Tale of Two Cities"

"From Fannie Lou Hamer in Atlantic City in 1964 to the Rainbow Coalition in San Francisco today; from the Atlantic to the Pacific, we have experienced pain but progress, as we ended American apartheid laws."

"When I look out at this convention, I see the face of America: Red, Yellow, Brown, Black and White. We are all precious in God's sight -- the real rainbow coalition."

"In July 1988 in Atlanta, GA Ann Richards delivered this speech..."

"I seek the presidency for a single purpose, a purpose that has motivated millions of Americans across the years and the ocean voyages."

"This election is about putting power back in your hands and putting the government back on your side."

"In this hall is the future -- women, men of all colors saying, "Take America back."

"What we need to do, Democrats, is believe that it is possible to win. It is possible."

"A Whisper of Aids"

"I know, I gotta go, I gotta go, and I got one last thing and I said it before, and I'm gonna say it again: Cancer can take away all my physical ability. It cannot touch my mind; it cannot touch my heart; and it cannot touch my soul."

"And over the last few years we have heard a lot about something called "family values".

"Just moments ago, I spoke with George W. Bush and congratulated him on becoming the 43rd president of the United States."

"I was not elected to serve one party, but to serve one nation."

"I am rebelling against the idea that the world is the way the world is..."

"We will work for a prosperity that is broadly shared ... "

"Tonight is a particular honor for me because, let’s face it, my presence on this stage is pretty unlikely..."

"My fellow Americans, for as long as our country stands, people will look to the resurrection of New York City and they will say: Here buildings fell; here a nation rose."

"But having strong beliefs, being able to stick with them through popular and unpopular times, is the most important characteristic of a great leader."

"As a new Congress gathers, all of us in the elected branches of government share a great privilege…"