Worlds to Remake and to Change

Throughout his campaign, Sen. Barack Obama has sought to assert his own form of patriotism, after years of watching his party's candidates wither under Republican attacks on the subject. In laying out his vision of American exceptionalism, he has at times recalled the uplifting rhetoric of President Ronald Reagan, whose optimism Obama has admired.

Obama: 'We Will Remake the World'

"Nothing worthwhile in this country has ever happened except somebody somewhere was willing to hope. That is how this nation was founded. A group of patriots declaring independence from the mighty British Empire. No one gave them a chance. That's how slaves and abolitionists resisted a wicked system. . . . That is how the greatest generation . . . defeated fascism and lifted itself up out of the Great Depression. That is how pioneers had the courage to travel West in search of a better life. That's how immigrants were willing to come here from distant shores, how women won the right to vote, how workers won the right to organize. That's why young people traveled South on freedom buses. . . .

"There is a moment in the life of every generation when that spirit of hopefulness has to come through, where we shed the fear and the doubts and the cynicism and we roll up our sleeves and . . . all of us join together to remake this country, block by block, county by county, state by state. This is our moment, this is our time, and if you are willing to stand with me . . . if you do not believe that this is the end of the American dream but just the beginning . . . then you and I together, we will remake this country and we will remake the world."

-- Obama stump speech, Feb. 2, 2008

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Reagan: 'We Changed a World'

"Because we're a great nation, our challenges seem complex. . . . But as long as we remember our first principles and believe in ourselves, the future will always be ours. And something else we learned: Once you begin a great movement, there's no telling where it will end. We meant to change a nation, and instead, we changed a world. . . .

"In my mind, [America] was a tall, proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, wind-swept, God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace, a city with free ports that hummed with commerce and creativity, and if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here. . . . She still stands strong and true on the granite ridge, and her glow has held steady no matter what storm. And she's still a beacon, still a magnet for all who must have freedom, for all the pilgrims from all the lost places who are hurtling through the darkness, toward home."

-- Reagan's farewell address, Jan. 11, 1989