Our universities and museums are respected around the country.

Chicago kept industry, attracted new business, became the center for convention trade and transportation.

If for no other reason than the energy crisis now facing this country, the federal government should be eager to become partners with us in rebuilding our city.

The nation can no longer afford to continue policies that hasten the flight of persons to the distant suburbs.

We must care. We must all care. And while I am working, while the governments is working, so must the people also work.

The people of Chicago are a proud people - and for good reason.

The credit for much of this rightly belongs to the late Mayor Daley who forged a coalition of business and labor that kept Chicago always moving ahead.

I pledge tonight to be Mayor for all of the people of this city - for one Chicago.

If all of us would require the same level of performance from ourselves as we expect from government, this city will forever be the city that works.

I accept that responsibility and ask only that I be judged by my performance as its chief executive.

For my part, I plan to work out a fair and adequate redistribution of city services to all city neighborhoods.

In the housing projects, people talked of ways to reduce crime, relieve overcrowding, and they were good ideas that we plan to study, and possibly implement.

If those communities are left to decay, this city will decay.

City employees will be hired and promoted because of their abilities - without outside interference.

In the days and months I spent walking through the various communities of this city, I found that Chicago did not work for everyone, however.

If we are to succeed, we must recognize that the community redevelopment is not solely the rehabilitation of housing, or putting a mall in the business strips.

We saw hundreds of programs to redevelop the central city, the neighborhoods, in the past.

But as important as the job to be done by government in the neighborhoods, the people must also be involved.

But always I was a private citizen whose activities in government or political party were appointive.

The Chicago Symphony is considered the greatest orchestra in the world.

Chicago's neighborhoods have always been this city's greatest strength.

The cooperation of government at its different levels is important and can only be achieved as long as the people of Chicago are directly involved in our efforts and supportive of our goals.

Be assured that I did not become the Mayor of Chicago to preside over its decline.

I am here before you tonight to dedicate this administration to bringing a new renaissance of neighborhood life and community spirit, a renewal of confidence in the future of our city and a revival of opportunity for all Chicago.

Tonight - by taking this solemn oath - I am no longer a private citizen but the Mayor of the City of Chicago.

As I visited the various neighborhoods in the campaign, I learned fast that it's a mistake to think that all of the wisdom and possible solutions to our problems are available only in this building.

Our universities and museums are respected around the country.

But I am committed to keeping this city a strong and viable center for commerce and industry, for continuing to make it a place of opportunity for its citizens.

The people ask much, often more than any government can give. We must resist the temptation to promise solutions to all problems.

I am a Democrat. I have been one all of my life.

The people must know that from this day on, we want their opinions.

When there were fears about the future of this nation's older cities... when a few of the cities teetered on the brink of bankruptcy, all eyes were focused on Chicago for contrast.

Chicago kept industry attracted new business became the center for convention trade and transportation.

But like the rest of the country, Maine has reached an impasse, for most of the mercury that fouls our skies, waters and land comes from outside our borders.

Education is the cornerstone of our communities and our country.

For a country to have a great writer is like having another government. That's why no regime has ever loved great writers, only minor ones.

The successful establishment of a buffer zone around Fort Carson will provide an example for other bases around the country as we seek to protect the training mission of the U.S. military while preserving critical habitats on our ranges.

Then, in that hour of deliverance, my heart spoke. Does not such a country, and such defenders of their country, deserve a song?

Prosperous farmers mean more employment, more prosperity for the workers and the business men of every industrial area in the whole country.

You look at the whole Human Rights questions, I happened to be there at just the right time when the country was awakening - this goes to the first question you asked - the whole country was awakening to a hundred years of injustice that hadn't been resolved yet.

It may be shocking to some people in this country to realize that, without meaning to do so, they hold views in common with Hitler when they preach discrimination against other religious, racial or economic groups.

So, for example, a country was into recession right after I was sworn in, a dot-com bust had taken place. Then the attacks of September the 11th, and then of course the great financial meltdown in the -the fundamental question facing any presidency is how do you deal with the hand you're dealt?

And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.

The day cold and fair with a high easterly wind: we were visited by two Indians who gave us an account of the country and people near the Rocky mountains where they had been.

It was clear that the special interest groups in California really wanted the Chinese to be shut out of the country, because that was where the racial tension was the greatest.

Duty, Honor, Country. Those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, what you will be.

What makes my approach special is that I do different things. I do jazz, blues, country music and so forth. I do them all, like a good utility man.

Disney had such a hold on the mind of America-they were Adolf Hitler. The whole country thought Disney was some sort of god and that animation was some sort of pure thing for children.

To stop terrorists before the strike, we must do three things: deny them entry into the country, curtail their freedom of action inside the country, and deprive them of material and moral support from within the country.