ery first
time in all of history, more people on this planet live under democracy
than dictatorship.

My fellow Americans, as we look back at this remarkable century, we
may ask, can we hope not just to follow, but even to surpass the
achievements of the 20th century in America and to avoid the awful
bloodshed that stained its legacy? To that question, every American here
and every American in our land today must answer a resounding "Yes."

This is the heart of our task. With a new vision of government, a new
sense of responsibility, a new spirit of community, we will sustain
America's journey. The promise we sought in a new land we will find
again in a land of new promise.

In this new land, education will be every citizen's most prized
possession. Our schools will have the highest standards in the world,
igniting the spark of possibility in the eyes of every girl and
every boy. And the doors of higher education will be open to all. The
knowledge and power of the Information Age will be within reach not just
of the few, but of every classroom, every library, every child. Parents
and children will have time not only to work, but to read and play
together. And the plans they make at their kitchen table will be those
of a better home, a better job, the certain chance to go to college.

Our streets will echo again with the laughter of our children, because
no one will try to shoot them or sell them drugs anymore. Everyone
who can work, will work, with today's permanent under class part of
tomorrow's growing middle class. New miracles of medicine at last
will reach not only those who can claim care now, but the children and
hardworking families too long denied.

We will stand mighty for peace and freedom, and maintain a strong
defense against terror and destruction. Our children will sleep free
from the threat of nuclear, chemical or biological weapons. Ports and
airports, farms and factories will thrive with trade and innovation and
ideas. And the world's greatest democracy will lead a whole world of
democracies.

Our land of new promise will be a nation that meets its obligations--a
nation that balances its budget, but never loses the balance of its
values. A nation where our grandparents have secure retirement and
health care, and their grandchildren know we have made the reforms
necessary to sustain those benefits for their time. A nation that
fortifies the world's most productive economy even as it protects the