U.S. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA (D-IL) DELIVERS REMARKS ON WORLD AIDS DAY.

Original Source: Political Transcript Wire

SENATOR OBAMA DELIVERS REMARKS ON WORLD AIDS DAY, LOS ANGELES

DECEMBER 1, 2006

SPEAKER: U.S. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA (D-IL)

[*] OBAMA: Giving all praise and honor to God for bringing me here today, let me send greetings from my church, Trinity United Church of Christ on 95th Street on the South Side of Chicago.

(APPLAUSE) I really enjoyed the music ministry here. We got a pretty good choir at Trinity too.

(LAUGHTER)

So if anybody wants to come and worship, we would be grateful.

I want to say, first of all, how blessed I am to be here today, and how grateful I am to Saddleback and to Pastor Rick and his wonderful wife, Kay.

I have been inspired by "The Purpose Driven Life" before I met Rick, but one of the things that's amazing about him is his capacity to give plain words to such profound feelings.

A lot of times -- and especially in Washington -- you hear folks use a lot of big 25-cent words, mainly to confuse you...

(LAUGHTER)

... and to sound like you're smart. And to hear people who have this God-given power to communicate what's in our heart in such a profound way and to help us focus on what is right and what is true is such an extraordinary gift.

Now, the other thing that I love about Rick is that he and share a characteristic which is we both married up.

(LAUGHTER)

You know, one of the purposes of marriage is to improve your gene pool.

(LAUGHTER)

And for lugs like me and Rick, we have been successful. The moment I met Kay, I was dazzled by her energy and her spirit and so I know that she is guiding him and guiding this church in a powerful way. And so we're extraordinarily grateful to her.

(APPLAUSE)

Thank you so much.

(APPLAUSE)

And, finally, let me acknowledge the entire Saddleback family because one of the things I love about this church and the network that it has helped build is this understanding that ordinary people can do extraordinary things; that the basis of our power is not some charismatic leader -- it's not some political agenda; it is people finding the best that's in them and finding God within them and expressing that.

OBAMA: You know, Rick mentioned that before I was elected to any office I worked as a community organizer. I moved to Chicago. And there were a group of churches on the South Side that were trying to deal with the devastation of steel plants that had closed, and tens of thousands had been laid off. And you had seen devastation in the economy of the region.

And this tiny group of churches, about 12 churches had gotten together to start job training programs and after-school programs and to rebuild communities. And it was all based on lay leadership empowering themselves and the community.

And it was an extraordinary experience for me because it taught me that to be a leader is to empower others, to be predisposed to the power in other people. And that's part of what this conference is about, is recognizing the power each and every one of us have within us to make a difference.

You know, ever since Rick and Kay visited Africa to see the pain and suffering that had been wrought by AIDS, I know that the Warrens and this church have proved each day that faith is not something you have, it's something you do.

Their decision to devote their time, their money, their lives to some of the greatest challenges that we face is not one that's always reported in the news, it's not always splashed across the front pages, but it's quietly becoming one of the most influential forces in the struggle against AIDS and HIV.

You know, the resources of governments may be abundant, the good works of philanthropists are important, but we should never underestimate how powerful the passion of people and faith can be in making a difference in this world.

OBAMA: And one of the passionate individuals I should note that is making a difference is the person you just heard from, my friend and colleague Sam Brownback.

Sam and I don't agree on every issue. But I could not be more impressed with his efforts on issues like AIDS, the crisis in the Congo, genocide in Darfur, sexual trafficking --…