From our revolution to the Civil War, to theGreat Depression to the civil rights movement, ourpeople have mustered the determination toconstruct from these crises the pillars of ourhistory.

Thomas Jefferson believes that to preserve thevery foundations of our nation, we would needdramatic change from time to time. My fellowcitizens, this is our time. Let us embrace it.

Our democracy must be not only the envy of theworld but the engine of our own renewal. There isnothing wrong with America that cannot be cured bywhat is right with America.

So today, we pledge that the era of deadlockand drift is over--a new season of Americanrenewal has begun.

To renew America, we must be bold.

We must do what no generation has had to dobefore. We must invest more in our own people andin our future, and at the same time cut ourmassive debt. And we must do so in a world inwhich we must compete for every opportunity.

It will not be easy; it will require sacrifice.But it can be done, and done fairly, not choosingsacrifice for its own sake, but for our own sake.We must provide for our nation the way a familyprovides for its children.

Our founders saw themselves in the light ofposterity. We can do no less. Anyone who has everwatched a child's eyes wander into sleep knowswhat posterity is. Posterity is the world tocome--the world for whom we hold our ideals, fromwhom we have borrowed our planet, and to whom webear sacred responsibility.

We must do what America does best: offeropportunity to all and demand responsibility fromall.

It is time to break the bad habit of expectingsomething for nothing, from our government or fromeach other. Let us take more responsibility, notonly for ourselves and our families but for ourcommunities and for our country.

To renew America, we must revitalize ourdemocracy.

This beautiful capital, like every capitalsince the dawn of civilization, is a place ofintrigue and calculation. Powerful people maneuverfor position and worry endlessly about who is inand who is out, who is up and who is down,forgetting the people whose toil and sweat sendsthem here and pays their way.

Americans deserve better. In this city, thereare people who want to do better. Let us resolveto reform our politics, so that power andprivilege no longer shout down the voice of thepeople. Let us put aside personal advantage sothat we can feel the pain and see the promise ofAmerica.

Let us resolve to make our government a placefor what Franklin Roosevelt called "bold,persistent experimentation," a government for ourtomorrows, not our yesterdays.

Let us give this capital back to the people towhom it belongs.