○  who then will speak for the common good?  ○

ple to uphold the common good if we are derelict in upholding the common good. more is required of public officials than slogans and handshakes and press releases. more is required. we must hold ourselves strictly accountable. we must provide the people with a vision of the future.

if we promise as public officials, we must deliver. if we as public officials propose, we must produce. if we say to the american people it is time for you to be sacrificial; sacrifice. if the public official says that, we [public officials] must be the first to give. we must be. and again, if we make mistakes, we must be willing to admit them. we have to do that. what we have to do is strike a balance between the idea that government should do everything and that idea, the belief, that government ought to do nothing. strike a balance. let there be no illusions about the difficulty of forming this kind of a national community. it's tough, difficult, not easy. but a spirit of harmony will survive in america only if each of us remembers that we share a common destiny. if each of us remembers when self-interest and bitterness seem to prevail that we share a common destiny.

i have confidence that we can form this kind of national community.

i have confidence that the democratic party can lead the way.

i have that confidence.

we cannot improve on the system of government handed down to us by the founders of the republic. there is no way to improve upon that. but what we can do is to find new ways to implement that system and realize our destiny.

now, i began this speech by commenting to you on the uniqueness of a barbara jordan making a keynote address. well i am going to close my speech by quoting a republican president and i ask you that as you listen to these words of abraham lincoln, relate them to the concept of a national community in which

上一页  [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] 下一页