Obama Says His Path 'Leads to a Better Place'

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.
 
Thursday night, at the Democratic National Convention, President Barack Obama accepted his party's nomination for a second term.
 
BARACK OBAMA: "If you believe in a country where everyone gets a fair shot and everyone does their fair share and everybody plays by the same rules, then I need your vote in November!"
 
Mr. Obama said he supports the middle class while Republican nominee Mitt Romney favors the wealthy. He said the differences between them give voters "the clearest choice of any time in a generation."
 
"Over the next few years," he said, "big decisions will be made in Washington on jobs, the economy, taxes and deficits, energy, education, war and peace." And he added, those decisions "will have a huge impact on our lives and on our children's lives for decades to come."
 
Mr. Obama told the convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, that he was mindful of his "failings."
 
BARACK OBAMA: "But know this, America. Our problems can be solved. Our challenges can be met. The path we offer may be harder, but it leads to a better place. And I'm asking you to choose that future."
 
On foreign policy, he said that "for all the progress we've made, challenges remain."
 
BARACK OBAMA: "Terrorist plots must be disrupted. Europe's crisis must be contained. Our commitment to Israel's security must not waver, and neither must our pursuit of peace. "
 
What did delegates think after the speech?
 
DELEGATES: "I do think he's going to win the important states, maybe by squeakers, but that's all that it takes!" "We are very confident as Democrats as to what's ahead of us, and we are confident as to what we must do, and we are confident as to what we know is going to happen, so we're happy. I'm excited."
 
Mr. Obama spoke after Vice President Joe Biden accepted the Democratic nomination for a second term. Mr. Biden offered two examples that he said showed the president's bravery. One was approving the operation that killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. The other was deciding to rescue the American auto industry.
 
JOE BIDEN: "We can now proudly say what you have heard me say the last six months: Osama bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive!"
 
On Wednesday night, former President Bill Clinton urged Americans to elect Mr. Obama to another four years.
 
BILL CLINTON: "We believe that 'we're all in this together' is a far better philosophy than 'you are on your own.'"
 
MICHELLE OBAMA: "Barack knows the American Dream because he's lived it."
 
On Tuesday, Michelle Obama spoke to the delegates on the first night of the convention.
 
MICHELLE OBAMA: "For Barack, success isn't about how much money you make. It's about the difference you make in people's lives."
 
For the first time a Latino gave one of the major speeches at the Democratic convention. Julian Castro is the mayor of San Antonio, Texas, and a son of Mexican immigrants.
 
JULIAN CASTRO: "When it comes to getting the middle class back to work, Mitt Romney says, 'No.' When it comes to respecting women's rights, Mitt Romney says, 'No.'"
 
The election is November sixth. Opinion surveys have being showing a close race.
 
On Friday morning, the government released the jobs report for August. It showed that the economy added just ninety-six thousand jobs. The unemployment rate remained above eight percent for the forty-third month in a row.
 
Mitt Romney, on a campaign visit to Iowa, said the report shows that Mr. Obama "hasn't lived up to his promises and his policies haven't worked."
 
Mr. Obama, campaigning in New Hampshire, said the report was "not good enough." But he noted that the economy has added jobs for the past thirty months. It was losing eight hundred thousand jobs a month when he took office.
 
And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I'm Steve Ember.
 
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Contributing: Kane Farabaugh, Jim Malone and Carolyn Presutti