Barack Obama: Thank you very much.
Barack Obama: If I'm not the one to do this let me ask, "Who has the power to bring Mississippi into play?"
Barack Obama: Someday I want to hear, "The state of black America is strong."
Barack Obama: Who will have the capacity? Who can inspire new people into the process of improvement?
Barack Obama: The critical question of this race is twofold. First, who has the leadership capacity? Second, who can inspire and mobilize the country?
Barack Obama: I'm going to spend some time in New Orleans. Two years after the hurricane, all we got was a 'mission accomplished' photo op. We need to make sure the people who need to be a part of the rebuilding process are a part of it.
Barack Obama: The day I'm innaugurated, the country looks at itself differently. Don't underestimate that power.
Barack Obama: 3 things I would do in my first 100 days as President to enhance African-American owned businesses.
1. Call a summit with African-American business owners.
2. Put an individual in charge of overseeing the little agencies that exist now. That person reports to the president.
3. Give financial and technical assistance. Someone may have a good idea, but no tech to back it up. We need to provide training for that.
Barack Obama: I'm confident in my ability to lead this country. But I can't do it all on my own. I'll need the help of everyone here.
Barack Obama: What it takes to operate the Harlem Children's Center for a year is roughly equal to four hours in Iraq.
Barack Obama: This plan won't be cheap.
Barack Obama: I will crack down on predatory lenders.
Barack Obama: If we created a world bank to help the poorest nations, why can't we create an inner city bank?
Barack Obama: We need to bring businesses back to inner cities.
Barack Obama: I will put in one billion dollars into innovative new jobs.
Barack Obama: When I'm president, I'll give money to fathers who help raise their children and crack down on those who don't.
Barack Obama: Why spend money imprisoning kids when we could spend less to help them early. We can find money to save the children of America.
Barack Obama: Can I have an extra five minutes? Since you had me wait 45 minutes. (audience laughs)
Mark Morial: All in favor of five more minutes...
Audience: AYE!
Barack Obama: No more subsidies for middlemen on college loans. Increase Pell Grants.
Barack Obama: We need wireless broadband in every city.
Barack Obama: If we have sprawl, we need better public transportation.
Barack Obama: We need to take steps that are important for all cities, even those that aren't housing the poorest of the poor.
Barack Obama: I want to focus on a comprehensive plan I've put forward to lift up urban America.
Barack Obama: It makes a difference when parents turn off the TV, put away the video games and starts reading to their children.
Barack Obama: Let's never pass a law called "No Child Left Behind" that leaves the money behind.
Barack Obama: We can retire the phrase working poor. If you're working every day, you shouldn't be poor.
Barack Obama taking the stage.
Hillary Clinton: Some of my Katrina Plan...
1. I would put one person in charge of that progress. That person would be in the White House and I would meet with them every day.
2. We've got to get the money directed where it is most needed.
Go to my website and look for the Dillard speech.
Hillary Clinton: I have a ten point plan about how to help Katrina victims. We have to make it clear that what was a natural disaster was turned into a national disgrace. This administration shamed us as a nation.
Hillary Clinton: steps to take in the first 100 days to protect Civil Rights:
Appoint an Attorney General who supports civil rights laws.
While enforcing current laws, let's look for holes to plug.
Hillary Clinton: I'm confident we can do this. James Baldwin said, "Those who say it can't be done are usually interrupted by those who are doing it."
Hillary Clinton: We've got to reverse President Bush's cuts on child support enforcement. We have to combat the impact of the brutal criminal justice system. I want to have a second chance program that focuses on keeping young people out of the criminal justice system and how we will rehabilitate them when they come out.
Hillary Clinton: A recent study showed that when employers were presented with similarly qualified white and black applicants, they were twice as likely to hire the white applicant. They hired white applicants with criminal records as often as they hired black applicants.
Hillary Clinton: I have a program that will create 50,000 jobs that can't be outsourced.
Hillary Clinton: We need comprehensive, community-based programs to help children go from falling through the cracks to filling in the cracks.
Hillary Clinton: According to study at the University of Chicago, universal pre-kindergarten would close by 50% the education gap between white and black children.
Hillary Clinton: I've made a commitment to universal pre-kindergarten.
Hillary Clinton: Let's expand and build on Head Start.
Hillary Clinton: Today I am announcing my Youth Opportunity Agenda. Where we do whatever we can to help every child realize their potential...I'm going to focus like a laser on those early years...Let's not just focus on children, let's focus on the parents and the aunts and uncles and cousins.
Hillary Clinton: When we squander those 1.4 million futures, we squander America's future.
Hillary Clinton: I reject the conversation about 1.4 million men being a threat. I reject the conversation about 1.4 million lost causes. It's time for America to begin a new conversation about 1.4 million workers, taxpayers, entrepeneurs.
Hillary Clinton: I want to focus on just one aspect...the crisis of 1.4 million young men of color between the ages of 16 and 24.
Clinton taking the stage.
John Edwards: When minority entrepeneurs have contracts, they're more likely to move to urban areas. They're more likely to hire minorities.
John Edwards: I will make sure my administration looks like America from the top to the bottom.
John Edwards: There are two candidates in this race spending more time attacking each other than addressing America's real problems... That got your attention, huh. (laughter)Labels: Live_Blogging
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