My mother was one of seven girls whose parents went to bed hungry so their children wouldn't. My father lost his mother when he was nine. He left school and went to work for the next 70 years. They emigrated to America with little more than the hope of a better life.
But since her earliest days America has inspired people from all over the world. Inspired them with the hope that one day their own countries would be one like this one.
To my great disappointment it appears that the politics of division are making a big comeback. Many Americans share my disappointment - especially those who were filled with great hope a few years ago when then-Senator Obama announced his candidacy in Springfield Illinois.
I hope I'm wrong but I am afraid that Iraq is going to turn out to be the greatest disaster in American foreign policy - worse than Vietnam not in the number who died but in terms of its unintended consequences and its reverberation throughout the region.
Hundreds of thousands of American servicemen and women are deployed across the world in the war on terror. By bringing hope to the oppressed and delivering justice to the violent they are making America more secure.
I am a beneficiary of the American people's generosity and I hope we can have comprehensive immigration legislation that allows this country to continue to be enriched by those who were not born here.
I had in mind a message although I hope it doesn't intrude too badly persuading Americans and especially Southerners of the critical importance of land and our vanishing natural environment and wildlife.
When too many Americans don't vote or participate some see apathy and despair. I see disappointment and even outrage. And I believe that out of this frustration can come hope and action.
Conservatism is not about leaving people behind. Conservatism is about empowering people to catch up to give them the tools at their disposable that make it possible for them to access all the hope all the promise all the opportunity that America offers. And our programs to help them should reflect that.
Together we will build an America where hope is a new job with a paycheck not a faded word on an old bumper sticker.
I hope that no American will waste his franchise and throw away his vote by voting either for me or against me solely on account of my religious affiliation. It is not relevant.
The rich are always going to say that you know just give us more money and we'll go out and spend more and then it will all trickle down to the rest of you. But that has not worked the last 10 years and I hope the American public is catching on.
For President Obama 'home of the brave' are not just the last words of our national anthem but also a call to action. This is why the president's policies and our platform include incentives to train and hire our troops returning home. Not only because of our moral responsibility but because it makes for a stronger more secure American economy.
Ladies and gentlemen god bless America - land of the free home of the brave.
The American consumer is also the American worker and if we don't do something to protect our manufacturing base here at home it is going to be hard to buy any retail goods.
After all I long to be in America again nay if I can go home to return no more to Europe it seems to me that I shall ever enjoy more peace of mind and even Physical comfort than I can meet with in any portion of the world beside.
Americans particularly after World War II tended to romanticize war because in World War II our cause was the cause of humanity and our soldiers brought home glory and victory and thank God that they did. But it led us to romanticize it to some extent.
I am an American citizen and it is my home now. I like the U.S.A. which is not a place too many people have liked since Bush. The U.S. has a young population and everything can change within a year.
The American dream seems to be thriving in Europe not at home.
I saw the president make the tough calls in the Situation Room - and today our troops in Iraq have finally come home so America can do some nation building here at home. That was the change that we believed in. That was the change we fought for. That was the change President Obama delivered.
My favorite show is America's Funniest Home Videos. People will get hit on the head and I feel bad cause I'm laughing my head off!
In Afghanistan there is a plan to build democracy hundreds of thousands of troops are protecting it. There is a plan to rebuild and reconstruct there. But many thousands of Americans die from violence and poverty every year and we don't have a plan for reconstruction at home.
Most of American life consists of driving somewhere and then returning home wondering why the hell you went.
What the New Yorker calls home would seem like a couple of closets to most Americans yet he manages not only to live there but also to grow trees and cockroaches right on the premises.