f differing views and opinions find common cause many times during my two decades in public life， and I have brought many together myself. I ve walked arm？in？arm with community leaders on the South Side of Chicago and watched tensions fade as black， white， and Latino fought together for good jobs and good schools. I ve sat across the table from law enforcement and civil rights advocates to reform a criminal justice system that sent thirteen innocent people to death row. And I ve worked with friends in the other party to provide more children with health insurance and more working families with a tax break； to curb the spread of nuclear weapons and ensure that the American people know where their tax dollars are being spent； and to reduce the influence of lobbyists who have all too often set the agenda in Washington.

In our country， I have found that this cooperation happens not because we agree on everything， but because behind all the labels and false divisions and categories that define us； beyond all the petty bickering and point？scoring in Washington， Americans are a decent， generous， compassionate people， united by common challenges and common hopes. And every so often， there are moments which call on that fundamental goodness to make this country great again.

So it was for that band of patriots who declared in a Philadelphia hall the formation of a more perfect union； and for all those who gave on the fields of Gettysburg and Antietam their last full measure of devotion