Barack Obama responds to Sarah Palin

On the stump today, Barack Obama wasted no time in hitting back at Sarah Palin and the Republicans for their shameless political theater last night:

You wouldn't know that this is such a critical election by watching the convention last night. I know we had our week.

And the Republicans deserve theirs. But it's been amazing for me to watch over the last two nights.

If you sit there, and you watch it. You're hearing a lot about John McCain, and he's got a compelling biography as a P.O.W.

You're hearing an awful lot about me. Much of which is not true.

What you're not hearing is a lot about you.

You haven't heard one word about how they're going to make the health system work - so that when a union is negotiating with a company it's not all just a discussion about higher premiums and you guys can actually start talking about higher wages and benefits.

You haven't heard one word about how we're gonna create more apprenticeship programs like the ones we have here. Or give other people a chance to train in new trades.

You haven't heard one word about getting serious about green and alternative energy. The kind of work that is resulting in all the expansion and hiring here.

You haven't heard one word about how we're going to strengthen unions so that working people get a decent stake.

You haven't heard one word about how we're going to improve math and science education so that we can hire more engineers to create more products in green technology.

You haven't heard one word about how we're going to deal with any aspect of the economy that is affecting you and your pocket day to day.

Haven't heard one word about it. Literally. Two nights. They have not said a word about it. They have not said a word about it. They've had a lot to say about me. But they haven't had anything to say about you.

And the thing that I'm insisting on in this election is that we can't keep playing the same political games we always play.

Well said, sir. Well said!

Whereas in the past, there might have been no strong Democratic response forthcoming from the nominee, this year is different.

This year we have a champion who won't back down or cower in the face of Republican attacks and viciousness. This year we have a leader who will fearlessly lead our party into battle against the Republicans.

This year, we have Barack Obama.

And as Barack says, we have ourselves. Millions of us, who have come together to take back our country. Barack has provided the inspiration; we have provided the time, talent, and treasure in this people-powered campaign. We will continue forward, united in our efforts to win the White House this November.

And nothing Sarah Palin or John McCain can say or do is going to lower our spirits. The destruction of our common wealth by the right wing has gone on long enough.

This year, it ends.