Over the years, I've been deeply moved by the people who've told me they wish they could feel inspired and hopeful about America the way people did w… - Caroline Kennedy

I'm here tonight I'm here tonight to pay tribute to two men who have changed my life and the life of this country – Barack Obama and Edward M. Kennedy. Their stories are very different but they share a commitment to the timeless American ideals of justice and fairness, service and sacrifice, faith and family. Leaders like them come along rarely. But once or twice in a lifetime, they come along just when we need them the most. This is one of those moments. As our nation faces a fundamental choice between moving forward or falling farther behind, Senator Obama offers the change we need. Everywhere I go in this country, people tell me that Barack Obama is making them feel hopeful, the way they did when my father was president. It's hardly the words he uses – words that remind us that we are all in this together and that we each have something to contribute to this country that has given us so much.

But it's the life he's led that is the true source of this inspiration – a life spent fighting for ordinary people in neighborhoods and courts in the state Senate and in the United States Senate. I've never had someone inspire me the way people tell me my father inspired them, but I do now – Barack Obama. And I know someone else who has been inspired all over again by Senator Obama. In our family, he's known as Uncle Teddy. More than any senator of his generation or perhaps any generation, Teddy has made life better for people in this country and around the world. For 46 years, he's been so much more than just a senator for the people of Massachusetts. He's been a senator for all who believe in a dream that's never died.

Obviously, cost of living is a huge issue at home just like it is here. Our economies are doing well but people aren’t feeling it.