Remarks by Alexi Giannoulias Introducing President Obama

Thank you very much. It is great to see so many friends and supporters. I want to begin by thanking the senior Senator from Illinois - someone who I look up to, admire, and hope to have the honor to serve with in the U.S. Senate - Senator Dick Durbin. Thank you, Senator.

In just 26 days, voters across Illinois will head to the polls and cast a ballot that will say a lot about where we are headed as a nation.

This is a race that is bigger than me, it's bigger than President Obama. This is a race about the future of the United States.

At this seminal moment in this country's history, which path will we choose as a nation? Will we go back to the short-sighted, reckless and greedy economic policies that have brought this country to its knees, or will we leap forward with a renewed commitment to economic opportunity for everyone?

Are we going to send people to Washington to get things done, or will we elect those whose only objective is to obstruct and deny the achievements of the other party?

Will we elect leaders who bring a new energy and commitment to spurring economic growth and giving small businesses the incentives they need to start hiring again, or will we send more typical Washington politicians who have forgotten how tough life is for too many struggling Americans?

That is what this election is about. And that is why it is critically important that we send someone to DC who will work with Senator Durbin and President Obama to move this country forward.

If I am fortunate enough to join them, we will work harder than ever, together, to fix the mess handed down to us after eight years of Bush-Kirk economic policy that doubled our national debt, cost millions of hard-working Americans their jobs, and destroyed the American middle class.

As your next U.S. Senator, I will fight every day to turn this economy around and create the next generation of private sector jobs right here in Illinois.

That means jobs that can't be outsourced. It means incentives and targeted tax cuts for businesses to create jobs here at home. It means finally fast-tracking a clean energy agenda, so that we end our addiction to oil, rescue a planet in peril, and create the next generation of green jobs.

It means protecting consumers from the excess and recklessness of Wall Street. It means creating an immigration system that makes sense, and it means fighting for equal rights for all Americans, not just when it's easy and convenient, but especially in the face of political pressure.

It means bringing fresh, principled leadership and new ideas to the D.C. culture that my opponent is engrained in. He's forgotten how tough it is out there for families throughout this country just trying to pay their bills.

But I need your help to get there.

I am proud to be the first candidate for the Senate in Illinois history to refuse money from corporate PACs and federal lobbyists because the only way to get out of this mess is to break the grip of the special interests.

My opponent is one of the most prolific special interest fundraisers in the history of Congress. He takes their money and votes their way every single time.

And now, after Congressman Kirk helped Karl Rove wreck this economy, Karl Rove is repaying the favor with millions of dollars in false attack ads.

Congressman Kirk is not just part of the problem in D.C., he is the problem.

And so, with just over three weeks to go in this pivotal election, a choice will be made.

Will we change the way things are done in D.C.? Will both parties try to work together to craft a true vision for this country's future? Will we help this President lead us forward? Will we inspire the next generation of leaders to step up, to stand up, and to lead?

Will we successfully write the next great chapter in America's amazing story - a chapter that we can look back on with tremendous pride and say that we were a part of?

Will we fight for families that, right now, are hanging on by a thread and fighting just to survive?

That decision is in our hands.

We must vote, we must get energized and engaged, and we must educate everyone we know about the stark choice in this election. And we must send a fighter to DC to help President Obama do the job that we sent him there to do.

It is my great honor to introduce one of the greatest fighters of our time. My friend, our president, Barack Obama.

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