Senator elect obama discussing this memoir in new york city. [cheering and applause]. Good evening everyone my name is luke and thank you for joining us and on the morning of november 3rd, millions of americans woke up to find them and they voted for was elected president. [laughter]. Millions of other americans. [cheering and applause]. Almost an equal numbers woke up to a great disappointment. For those americans there was a least one saving grace. [cheering and applause]. The man who had been the dynamic voice of the democratic conventions keynote speaker and amanda spoke of big dreams and his own life and big dreams for his country had actually been elected senator from illinois. [cheering and applause]. And that man is our guest tonight, barack obama. It is convention speak our guest spoke about his father born and raised in kenya that he spoke of his grandfather, domestic servants marine and he spoke of the journey he has taken his own life. That story which brings him here tonight, has sold more fully is memoir called, dreams from my father. Now if there is talk about what i guess will be doing in the year 2008. [laughter]. And in 2012. And beyond. It would certainly give me a great deal of clip protester to say that i was introducing the next president of the United States. [cheering and applause]. And give you a lot of pleasure as well on shore. Bullet millions of welcome and disappointment on november 3r november 3rd, 5 feet looking to get what i guess will be doing in the immediate future. They said the journey in the stands he is taken Many Americans should rejoice over the voice they will have in their government. A voice that speaks for expanding opportunity and civil liberties. A voice that speaks to the promise that we will eventually as he puts it, come out of the long political darkness. Please join me in welcoming the man behind that voice, barack obama. [cheering and applause]. Pres. Barack obama thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you so much. Thank you. [cheering and applause]. Thank you. I appreciated. Thank you very much. Thank you so much. I know i made the speech about there are no red states and blue states but i suspect the states kind of love. [laughter]. Were looking at that, looking at the crowd out here tonight. Would make am so grateful to all of you for taking the time out of your busy schedules to travel here especially in new york traffic which i just braved. I was mentioning that when the book theyre going to be discussing tonight, conversing about witches out which is in 1995 in 1996. And a much smaller reception. [laughter]. But this bookstore which had just opened it. In fact it was one of the stuff that we made this wonderful to be back close to ten years later. And to see how things have grown. Im very grateful to all of you for being here. What im going to do is spend a few minutes talking a little bit about my perspective as expressed not only the book but also the campaign now those two things connect and then we will open up for questions before we start to do a book signing i just had night appearance on charlie rose is asking me how does the book connect with your politics. Is very clear to me that there is a direct line between subject matter of dreams from my father and the types of politics i aspire to. Because essentially what the stories about is a boy born to a father from kenya and a mother from kansas. In hawaii with an unusual name. Who traveled to indonesia and came back. Found himself in chicago working in some of the lowest income neighborhoods in the country. Then traveled back to africa. But somehow was able to lead together workable meeting for his life as an africanamerican, as an american and a somebody who is part of the broader human family. It was not an easy task. It wasnt an easy task not because it did not have some enormous love for my family. I did. It wasnt because i didnt have people helping me every step of the way. I had that help. But it was because i found myself born astride a nation in the world that is so often divided. Divided along lines of race, divided along lines of class pretty and religion. So we have this enormous tragic history that all of us confront from whatever backgrounds are. Whether we are white box is danny muslim jew or christian. The notion that in fact in the words of a great writer happen to win a nobel prize, William Faulkner he said that pass is not even faceted think that all of us are confronting costlier history. The history of slavery in this country. Were confronting the history and problems that arose in the conflicts of the mobile is improved with confronting those scars of violence and oppression and struggle and difficulty and hope not only on the larger canvas of history but also within our own families. And for me it was not entirely obvious how in fact i was going to be able to integrate apple together. All of those different strands in my life. So part of a challenge growing up was figure out how i function as someone who is black but also passed white blood in me. How do function as somebody who is american and takes pride and understands the enormous blessings that come with being an american but is also able to recognize that i am part of something larger than just a nationstate. How do i embrace my faith and as a christian and also recognizing that if people within my own family have a different faith and how i described the fact that well different paths ultimately to a same source, the same place that we come from and which ultimately we will all end up. How did we do that. What kind of language do we come up with. Natalie have empathy and allow each and every one of us be able to stand in somebody elses shoes and see the world through their eyes and as a consequence see ourselves and other people. Because it strikes me that that is the only way that we are going to survive. As a planet. And so that was in a very abstract terms with the theme of this book is about. And much more concrete, its about a boy is going up and does not have a father around. When i start with is a my father passing away. Killed in a car accident. A father than i did not know well. Somebody who had been part of that first generation of africans to study in the United States and then married an american woman, had a child but that had back to his own country. Thinking somehow to be old to bring that technology and transformation the knowledge that he had gained to help develop country that was nearly free. Didnt really know a story very well. All i knew about my father for the most part during my upbringing stories my mother told me. Fortunately mythology my mother fed me was a very positive image. To read about the fact that in the book, i grew up with an image of a strong black man who just didnt happen to be in the house. But one is one of the smartest and brightest and most charismatic and honest people that you would ever care to meet. So there was a mythology that i carried with me despite his absence and living with her in a very different world this. It is only a later that i started to realize his life was much more complex. And as a consequence rebelled and all sorts of ways and went through a lot of difficulties that are not unique to me. In fact particularly among africanamerican males without fathers in the house buffeted by a series of negative stereotypes but they say release confining stereotypes of what it means to be black men in america. As a consequence of the state, owing to a whole negative direction that lasted throughout most of my teenage years. What the book discusses and seven i pulled myself out of it and ended up being a matter of me recognizing that the struggles that i was going through internally to reconcile divided heritage, different strands of my past. Could only be done if i think my story up with a larger story. Story of struggle, taking place here in the United States with africanamericans who struggle is taking place overseas. With the millions of people are impoverished and dont have opportunity. That is part of what led me directly into the organizing works that i did in the civil rights work that i did not ultimately into the politics of still engaged in. In some ways the themes of this book are very much the project of my life right now. Just to figure out how in fact we lived together as one people effectively. What is the main and require. Where is the nature of our commitment to each other what is the scope of our regard and concern. That is not an easy question for us to answer. We just rented through an election in which i think both sides symbolized the nature of the problem didnt necessarily offer very good solutions. Our politics so often functions as one side ending a character sure of the other side. The republicans happen to be better characterizing. Then the other way around. [laughter]. Clipart of what i meant in my speech when i said there are no red states in the blue states. Was the fact that the complexity of our lives is not fully captured in our political debates. There are people in red states were devout christians and traditionalists who also think the of the american tradition of tolerance. There are people in urban areas were wine sipping and volvo driving. But also think we live in a dangerous world and have to confront the threats that we face in the strongest of terms. When we simplify our politics and we caricature each other. And i think that we are actually going in a direction that is entirely contrary to the best spirit of this country. I actually am and believer in american conceptualism. Another its not always popular but i believe in american exceptionalism but there is Something Special about this nation precisely because this is a nation that is heterogeneous and forced to constantly confront the fact that we are different. And yet somehow their set of core values and common beliefs and bind us together as a single people. If we cant pull off that experiment in the United States, then we can be optimistic about what happens if Northern Ireland the middle east or rwanda because we have so much to build on. The basic outlines of the government that we possess and her civic religion as a people, and such potentially a least could create a society that is the model for the world. It is not right now. Thats one of the tragedies of think our Foreign Policy not domestic policy that that is quite out of the last several years. [applause]. The book ends with me traveling back to africa. Retracing than the steps that my father took. My grandfather took. My grandfather as those of you who read the book or we will read the book will discover that actually the first african in his village in the circle ever to meet point person. Almost immediately he had to confront what it meant to be drawn from 15th century 13th century world into a 20th century world span of a single lifetime. In the enormous contradictions that he had to grapple with and he ended up passing on to my father. This contradictions, my father than is passed on to me. The problem of the 20th century is the problem of the color line. I think that over sympathize it. Such as the color line, his class lined and gender lines. Sexual orientation lines and religious lines. I call this book of racism inheritance because the inheritances most important inheritance that i received is the fact that ive got to grapple with the same issues that my grandfather and my father had to grapple with that my mother and her parents had to grapple with. And that you have to grapple with. Not only near individual lives but also as american citizens and citizens of the world. So hopefully with this book accomplishes not to provide answers to all of these enormous questions but at least allows each and every one of us to recognize a piece of ourselves in my story and is a consequent, maybe will be able to recognize a piece of yourself and the person sitting next to you. And i will close by just saying i havent had much of a break since the election. [laughter]. Summary very charitably told me i havent seen them in six months. They said you really aged. [laughter]. s lsi i said thank you very much. Im going to take a vacation. And im going to go back to hawaii for two weeks for my grandmother is 92 and was born in augustine, kansas. A little old white lady. Syllabus. Shes got a bad back shes just as sharp as ever. And my sister also lives there. And she is half indonesian. She married a chinese canadian. [laughter]. So with my wife, is a descendent of slaves from South Carolina who grew up on the southside of chicago. My two gorgeous daughters. Malia natasha, we will be visiting their new cousin. Its something that, in jesus her last name. The little chinese girl who carries in her my dna. The prospect of watching this little girls run on the beach or on the beach depending on the progress that shes making. [laughter]. Is part of what all of us are working towards. Making sure that their lives ultimately are rich blessed. In that way that they deserve. So hopefully that will be a project that all of us will be working on for many years to come. [applause]. [applause]. Barack obama i think what we have arranged is to take a few questions. Theyre going to get busy. After my pin already. So those of you have questions. I think you have to line up. There may be unfortunate cutoff point because of him going to be him to get through this proud is going to get out of here by midnight. We double take every question. So i apologize in advance for those of you who do not get your questions responded to. Yes please pretty. On the spiritual leader of a Faith Community of religion and faith as they can be used as a wedge in this country. I would really appreciate your reflections of help those of us who consider ourselves fatal can be more proactive in combating this very negative way of talking about religion. Barack obama i think thats a terrific question. Theres been a lot of talk of the election about a week lost the election on moral values. Personal, i think its oversimplified analysis. The fact of the matter is we were running against him personally popular wartime president in one of the best political operations thats ever been created. We had mistakes that we made and we didnt have any margin for error during the course of the campaign. We moved actually looking at night at the exit polls which were badly worded but you look at where george bush came the boats and why people said they voted for him. He increases martin in manhattan as much as he did the socalled rural areas were supposedly moral values persuaded part of it had to do with the memory 911 and ultimately not being persuaded that the Democratic Party was going to be as effective with respect to terrorism. I obviously disagree with that and a lunch into a whole reason why. We didnt make our case as effectively as we should. Having said that, what is true is that Democratic Party has not been particularly effective. The progress in the community has not been particularly effective in general. In describing his values in a narrative that relates to peoples faith in the family and the community. Part of that thing started off as our embrace of intolerance. I think there is a running strain in progressive politics and Democratic Politics that at some point, and to know when it was exactly equated religion with intolerance. So the fair was if we talk too much about religion, then we must be demeaning of putting down something else. So lets stop talking about it. So then we equated secularism with intolerance and thats a dangerous equation. I think it is wrong. Theres a reason why doctor king was such a good preacher. He was preaching. He wasnt just making a speech. So those who were inspired by the Civil Rights Movement has an understanding was rotted and faith. Thats why people were flowing to subject themselves to these things. So i think it is possible for us to reclaim this territory and think we have ceded to a very narrow and intolerant rand. The faith. But requires us being active in that arena and talking about our values and talking about the meaning of her faith in a way thats inclusive as opposed to exquisite. We do that, it also has to be authentic. If we go around telling our bibles or whatever our religious text is and try to be more righteous than somebody else then they were playing a game. People will sniff that out. As the organic and internal has to come from within. I think that is Something Interesting and engaging in. Ill hopefully be working with people who are interested in these issues per there is a problem though. Theres a genuine one that cant be brushed aside and that is the nature of religious faith by definition is absolute. You believe in a lot. You believe in allah and all the way. If you believe that jesus christ as your savior, then you cant say sort of pretty you believe that jesus christ as your savior. And the nature of political pluralism requires a certain measure of doubt. Its contrary to absolute wisdom. It assumes that there are questions that have to be answered and then dont always have the right answer and certainly i cant do deliberative discursively by saying god told me so. That is not an option. So there is that real tension all i can do is say personally how i resolve the tension is by proclaiming that impact my religious faith is premised on some measure of doubt. Thats whys faith in him science. So that means that is i can admit when i read scripture, that im in this constant interpretation. Trying to figure out in my own simple imperfect way, what exactly is god trying to say. And if that is the spirit to bring to the Public Square and you can reconcile those two things. But that is a difficult project. [applause]. I have followed by a question. How would a that you do run for president of the United States. [applause]. Barack obama i rank 99th grade in the senate write it in a while, is until somebody, will be sharpening pencils. And sweeping up when i get to washington. So help people dont expect too much. [laughter]. My question is among. Just looking at a book of Current Events by monday for the election. You saw a lot of books was for president bush or for john kerry against president bush against john kerry. Kerry is a liar. Back and forth back and forth. There is no middle ground. In the senate, that will be more polarized. He knew was on his own. How you bridge the divide. Not just culturally, with abortion, guns and god whatnots. Just people looking at two different worlds. Her tooth different americans. Barack obama think youre absolutely right that the political language that we use politically is is more than just polarized. Its poisonous. Cant watch most of these cable news shows. Wheth