|
| WORLD NEWS - WORLD NEWS - USA Obama speaks |
|
 29 Aug Obama pledges ‘better America’ after Bush
US presidential nominee Barack Obama (pictured) has accused the Bush administration of pursuing broken politics and said America could be a better country than it had been under the Bush administration.
In his speech in Denver where he officially accepted his nomination as the Democratic party presidential candidate Obama focused mainly on jobs and the economy. “Tonight, more Americans are out of work and more are working harder for less,” Obama said. “More of you have lost your homes and even more are watching your home values plummet. More of you have cars you can't afford to drive, credit card bills you can't afford to pay, and tuition that's beyond your reach.”
Obama said although the challenges faced by Americans are not all of government's making, the failure to respond is a direct result of a broken politics in Washington and the failed policies of President George W Bush.
“America, we are better than these last eight years. We are a better country than this,” said Obama whose speech was underlined by much applause. “This country is more decent than one where a woman in Ohio, on the brink of retirement, finds herself one illness away from disaster after a lifetime of hard work.
“We are more compassionate than a government that lets veterans sleep on our streets and families slide into poverty; that sits on its hands while a major American city drowns before our eyes.”
Turning to his Republican nominee, John McCain, Obama said although he had “worn the uniform of our country with bravery and distinction,” John McCain has voted with George Bush 90% of the time.
“Senator McCain likes to talk about judgement, but really, what does it say about your judgement when you think George Bush has been right more than 90% of the time? I don't know about you, but I'm not ready to take a 10% chance on change,” Obama said.
Furthermore, he said: “The truth is, on issue after issue that would make a difference in your lives - on health care and education and the economy - Senator McCain has been anything but independent. He said that our economy has made "great progress" under this president. He said that the fundamentals of the economy are strong. And when one of his chief advisers - the man who wrote his economic plan - was talking about the anxiety Americans are feeling, he said that we were just suffering from a "mental recession", and that we've become, and I quote, "a nation of whiners".
|
|
|
|
|
)
