“Thank you John Sweeney and all the leaders here who fight everyday for working people all across this land. 

“And thank you Sheila Perez, David Bevard, Cathi Schafer, and Brenda Jenkins – you are the real reason we are here. 

“Today we stand united in a common cause: to defeat George W. Bush and change the direction of our nation.  We’re going to put America back on track – the road of prosperity, the road of fairness, the road of jobs.

“Every year, George Bush has promised to create jobs.  And every year, he’s ended up losing them.  Just last week, the White House promised to create 2.6 million jobs this year.  But yesterday, George Bush said he couldn’t be held responsible for knowing the number of new jobs because he’s not in charge of the numbers.  Well it doesn’t take a lot of math to count to zero. 

“We’re not asking George Bush to count the jobs – we’re asking for a President who will create jobs and fight for working people.

“Just a week ago, this Administration actually said that sending our jobs overseas was good for America.  In fact, this President gives big corporations tax breaks to do it.  This country needs a President who has the commitment and the strength to create and keep good jobs here at home.  George Bush hasn’t done that.  I will. 

“It makes no sense at all for the American taxpayer to subsidize sending our jobs overseas. 
We’re going to repeal every tax loophole and benefit that rewards any Benedict Arnold CEO or company for exploiting the tax code to export American jobs.  We should be exporting American products, not American jobs.
 
“George Bush said that if our trading partners engage in unfair trading practices, they’ll hear from us.  But today, when foreign countries engage in unfair trading practices, all they hear from this President is the silence of a wink and a nod.  I will insist on real worker and environmental provisions in the core of every trade agreement.  Unlike George Bush, I will enforce them.
And I am honored by the confidence of working men and women that I will stand up and fight for you. 

“Everywhere I’ve been in this campaign, I’ve seen the wreckage of the Bush economy.  I’ve met working Americans who are getting the short end of the stick.  Jobs on the run.  Wages and salaries dead in the water.  Health care unavailable and unaffordable.  A sense of powerlessness – people waking up everyday worried that their job is about to disappear and a lifetime of dreams will be destroyed.

“I’ve met those workers over and over again.  They have touched my conscience and my heart.  I will never forget them.  And I will be a President who fights for them.

“Jobs is the issue – but the issue isn’t just jobs.  This President looks at crumbling schools and a broken health care system, and refuses to repeal the Bush tax breaks for the wealthy so that we can invest in education and health care.  If I am President, that’s exactly what we will do. 

“Cathi Schafer from California is here today.  She is a diabetic and an eight-year breast cancer survivor – and she’s walking the picket line to fight for health benefits.  She deserves a President who will walk the walk for her.  Cathi, thank you for being here. 

“And I promise that if I am President, we’re going to win the fight to make health care affordable and available for you and for all our families – a right, and not a privilege, for every American.

“Today, the message is ringing out loud and clear: change is coming to America – and working people are ready to make it happen.

“We’ve had four years to see who George Bush fights for.  And we’re here to say to working people: in November, it’s going to be your turn.  Your turn to have a President who hears your voices.  Your turn to have a government on your side.  A President fighting for you.

“Thank you for standing with me.  I am proud to stand with you.  Every day, in this campaign and everyday if I am President, I will fight for the working men and women who are the strength and soul of America.

“I know the fight for jobs, the fight for affordable health care, the fight for trade policies that work for America won’t be easy.  But I’ve been in tough fights before.  For 35 years, I’ve fought for my country and for people.  And I’m ready to lead the battle for our jobs and our economic future.

“I say to all of you and all of America: get ready – a new day is on the way.”