We meet at an important moment for Democrats and a time of change for the Republicans.  They used to be the party of Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, and Ronald Reagan.  Today they are the party of Rush Limbaugh and Arnold Schwarzenegger. That's the party of values?

You know, after reading about the pill popping, skirt chasing, Hitler praising Republicans, it's very tempting to point out their hypocrisy.  But is it the right thing to do?  Absolutely.

These are difficult, dangerous, and serious times we're living in.  And so I want to take my time today to talk seriously with you.  I have been traveling across America.  And I can tell you, I have never seen the American people so fearful of their future, and so worried about the ability of their national leadership to make it better.

It didn't have to be this way.

During the 2000 campaign, we all remember how George Bush kept acting out his inauguration.

He'd raise his right hand, and say: "When I take that oath, I will swear to uphold the honor and integrity of the office to which I have been elected, so help me God."

It is almost three years later, and we know.  He has done no such thing.

Sadly, since day one--since before day one, in Florida, in fact--there has been one value repeatedly missing from this presidency: integrity.  The people who run this White House haven't trusted the American people enough to level with them, and so the American people are now losing their trust in this White House.

There has been a pattern of broken promises and basic deceptions that diminish the presidency, degrade our strength, and disrespect the American people.  These are serious charges.  I understand. I don't make them lightly.  But the evidence is clear.

They promised us prosperity but gave us more unemployment and poverty, reversing the gains made when Bill Clinton and Al Gore were there.

They promised to protect the middle class, but squeezed and shrunk it.

They said they would pursue the whole truth about 9/11, but they have concealed it at every turn.

They promised an era of responsibility, but they gave us the foxes to guard the foxes:

The accountants' leading lawyer as the head of the SEC.  A mining lobbyist to oversee our public lands.  A lead paint industry executive put on the lead paint advisory council.

They promised that air quality at Ground Zero was safe, after the experts at EPA told them it might not be.

They promised a new immigration policy.  Then used terrorism as an excuse to deny Latinos and millions of others the right to come safely and legally to this country. I'll welcome them.

They talk about corporate accountability, but they reward corporate greed with billions in offshore tax shelters.  I'll end them.

They pledged fiscal responsibility, but then ransacked the Treasury, hiding as long as they could the historic, humongous debt they have created.

And it doesn't stop there.

The Vice President said he has "no financial interest" in Halliburton, but he's getting a half million dollars over the next three years--and still holds almost half a million stock options.

He said in public he'd write a new energy policy, but he let his oil industry friends do the work in secret.

They even told us Dick Cheney was at a "secure" location, when he was really out with his friends hunting ducks.

They didn't even trust us enough to tell us the truth about that.

And there's more.

The President says increase AmeriCorps then cuts it.  He says leave no child behind, then leaves millions of children behind.  He proposes a "Clear Skies" initiative that dirties our air and causes more asthma in children.  He proposes a "Healthy Forests" plan that cuts trees down and rewards the timber industry.

He says he wants judges who will uphold the Constitution, but everyone knows that's code for undermining and overturning Roe v. Wade.

This President says he didn't really know Ken Lay, when it turns out he knew Kenny Boy pretty well.

He bragged "Mission Accomplished" in Iraq, when it clearly wasn't.

He said he had a plan to win the peace, but he didn't.

He said he would rally the world to our cause, but he hasn't.

He said there was proof Iraq tried to buy uranium in Niger, but there wasn't.

By their deception and disarray, this White House has betrayed the just cause of fighting tyranny and terrorism around the world.

And now, we learn what they were doing to stop us from learning the truth.

Listen to the words of the first President Bush.  In 1999, he said, "I have nothing but contempt and anger for those who betray the trust by exposing the name of our sources.  They are, in my view, the most insidious of traitors."

I wonder if that quote was hanging on any White House office walls when they leaked the name of a covert operative of the CIA to punish her husband for telling us the truth.  This was the politics of personal destruction at its worst, but it was just another day at the office for them.

Whoever did this did not act in a vacuum.  They were encouraged by an atmosphere that set no limits on what could be done to advance political interests and hurt political foes.

Look at what they did to John McCain in South Carolina.  Look at what they did to Max Cleland in Georgia.  Look at what they are trying to do to Tom Daschle in South Dakota.  And never forget what they did in Florida to Al Gore and me, to all of us--to older Americans, African-Americans, and Haitian Americans denied the right to vote and have their vote counted.  It's the way they play politics.  It's the way they do business.

It is wrong.  And it must be stopped.

They think they can fool most of the people most of the time.  But the people are on to their game now.  Their deceptions can no longer conceal the pain their policies have caused.

The economy is a mess.  Health care is a mess.  Our schools are a mess.  The environment, the deficit--they are a mess.  Homeland security is a mess.  And, Lord knows, Iraq is a mess.

We can and must do much better.  And that's why, next November, we will win.

If I have the honor to be your candidate then to put my left hand on the bible and right hand in the air as I recite the oath of office, I will take it as a sacred obligation to restore the people's trust in their government, pride in their country, and hope in their future.

I will lead with integrity so that while there may be debate about some of my actions, there will never be distrust in any of my motives.  My only interest will be the nation's interest.  That is my promise, so help me God.

When we lead with integrity based on America's best values, we will restore fairness to our tax system, balance to our budget, and jobs to our economy.

When we lead with integrity based on America's best values, we will give more people health care, help more people work their way out of poverty, and give every American a more secure retirement.

When we lead with integrity based on America's best values, we will ensure trust in the markets again, make corporations pay their fair share, and clamp down on corporate crime so we can relieve the middle class squeeze.

And when we lead with integrity based on America's best values, we will earn back the respect of the world, and build alliances to solve our common problems.

I love this country.  I believe in this party and what it stands for.  I am a lifelong Democrat, and I will work my heart out to make sure that our values, Democratic values, American values, are restored to our government again.  That will be my singular purpose as President.

Because the central issue in this election is integrity.  Integrity is on the ballot next fall.  And that is a battle I can win.

I ask for your support.

Let's each of us in this room pledge to give the American people the truth that they deserve.

Let us pledge never again to be steamrolled by the Supreme Court.

Let us pledge to show the American people what real integrity is--to say what's right, to make clear choices, and to stick with them.

And let us stick with each other--as the Declaration of Independence says: Let us "mutually pledge to each other... our sacred Honor" in this noble cause.

And with that pledge, we will reclaim America.

That is our opportunity and our responsibility, and with God's help, it will be our destiny.

Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless America.