Radio Address to the Nation from Sioux City, Iowa

Greetings from Sioux City, Iowa! This is John Kerry.

Today, we're blazing across America's Freedom Trail on the way to Boston, the place where freedom and democracy were born 228 years ago. On Friday, we began this journey in Aurora, Colorado, the place where I was born... let's say definitely less than 228 years ago.

This journey – this campaign – is about celebrating the spirit and the values that built America. It's about the sense of service that led my father to sign up with the Army Air Corps in Colorado during WWII, and the can-do optimism that pressed Lewis and Clark westward after Sioux City. It's about the rising opportunity once provided by a bustling Ohio economy, and the limitless possibility launched with each Cape Canaveral space shuttle. And it's about supporting the soldier standing post at a Virginia naval base, and giving the freedom-loving Philadelphian a country that is once again looked upon with respect and admiration by its neighbors.

Most of all, for John Edwards and I, this campaign is about listening and learning from Americans who believe in their hearts that tomorrow can be better than today. Americans who are ready to build a stronger America that is once again respected in the world.

We'll have covered a lot of ground by the time we get to Boston on Thursday. Yet, just like the fight for our freedom, Boston is where our journey truly begins.

Following the convention, John, Elizabeth, Teresa and I will set out with family and friends on a cross-country tour – from sea to shining sea – to bring our message of hope and optimism to every corner of America.

From Main Street steps to front porch visits, we will show Americans that John Edwards and I have the vision and the values to build a stronger America

Values are not just talk. They're what we live. They're about the causes we champion and the people we fight for. And we intend to criss-cross this country reminding people that what matters is not the narrow values that divide – but the shared values that have always united every American: faith and family, strength and service, responsibility and opportunity for all.

Let me tell you what John Edwards and I value.

We value good-paying jobs that actually let American workers get ahead. We value affordable health care that is a right, not a privilege, for every American. We value an America that is free and independent of Mideast oil. And we value a strong military and strong alliances, so that America never has to go to war because it wants to, but only because we have to.

These aren't Democratic values. They're not Republican values. They're American values. They're what we believe in. They're who we are. And if we honor them, we can build an America that's stronger at home and respected in the world.

This is the most important election of our lifetime. Our health care is on the line. Our jobs are on the line. Our children's future is on the line. America's role in the world is on the line.

We can provide a new direction for America if we remember that in all the great movements for civil rights and equal rights, the environment and economic justice for all, we have always come together as one America to give life to our highest ideals.

We're taking this trip with the hope that we can begin a new conversation in this country. That we can lift ourselves up, reach for the possible, and look to the horizon once more.

John Edwards and I will not rest along this journey until we build the future of our dreams, for all Americans. Because we believe in the possibility of tomorrow. We believe that America's best days lie ahead. And, like all of you, we believe in America.

Thanks for listening and we'll see you out on the trail.