ad habit of expecting something for nothing:
from our government, or from each other. Let us all take more
responsibility, not only for ourselves and our families, but for our
communities and our country. To renew America we must revitalize our
democracy. This beautiful capitol, like every capitol since the dawn of
civilization, is often a place of intrigue and calculation. Powerful
people maneuver for position and worry endlessly about who is *in* and
who is *out*, who is *up* and who is *down*, forgetting those people
whose toil and sweat sends us here and paves our way.

Americans deserve better, and in this city today there are people who
want to do better, and so I say to all of you here, let us resolve to
reform our politics, so that power and privilege no longer shout down
the voice of the people. Let us put aside personal advantage, so that
we can feel the pain and see the promise of America. Let us resolve to
make our government a place for what Franklin Roosevelt called "bold,
persistent experimentation, a government for our tomorrows, not our
yesterdays." Let us give this capitol back to the people to whom it
belongs.

To renew America we must meet challenges abroad, as well as at home.
There is no longer a clear division between what is foreign and what is
domestic. The world economy, the world environment, the world AIDS
crisis, the world arms race: they affect us all. Today as an old order
passes, the new world is more free, but less stable. Communism's
collapse has called forth old animosities, and new dangers. Clearly,
America must continue to lead the world we did so much to make. While
America rebuilds at home, we will not shrink from the challenges nor
fail to seize the opportunities of this new world. Together with our
friends and allies, we will work together to shape change, lest it
engulf us. When our vital interests are challenged, or the will and
conscience of the international community is defied, we will act; with
peaceful diplomacy whenever possible, with force when necessary. The
brave Americans serving our nation today in the Persian Gulf, in
Somalia, and wherever else they stand, are testament to our resolve, but
our greatest strength is the power of our ideas, which are still new in
many lands. Across the world, we see them embraced and we rejoice. Our
hopes, our hearts, our hands, are with those on every continent, who are
building democracy and freedom. Their cause is Am