Obama: “A More Perfect Union”

Barack Obama’s historical speech in Philadelphia, where the Declaration of Independence was signed:

The text of the speech can be found at the site of the Washington Post, for example.
An extract that explains the connection between the quotation from the Declaration (”a more perfect union”) and Obama’s joining the race for nomination as the Democratic Party’s candidate for the presidency:

I chose to run for the presidency at this moment in history because I believe deeply that we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together – unless we perfect our union by understanding that we may have different stories, but we hold common hopes; that we may not look the same and we may not have come from the same place, but we all want to move in the same direction – towards a better future for of children and our grandchildren.

This belief comes from my unyielding faith in the decency and generosity of the American people. But it also comes from my own American story.