Good morning, you can do better than that. Good morning everyone. It is a great day to be in Maryland, isn’t it?

Mayor Moyer, of the great city of Annapolis, thank you for hosting us and keeping your city so beautiful. It is an honor to welcome a very special guest to our state today. And you know it is going to take a strong leader to reverse the catastrophic blunders of the Bush years and put our nation back on a positive course that faces the opportunities of our shared future.

Whether you look at any issue, I submit to you that our country today, the country that we will pass on to our children, is suffering from a leadership deficit. Whether it’s competing and winning in the global economy, developing sustainable, independent energy sources, whether it’s homeland security, or whether it’s healthcare and opportunity for all, our country is suffering from a leadership deficit.

And, in fact, I’d submit to you that the security of our nation might very well depend on the speed with which our next president can close that leadership deficit at home and also in the international arena. We are going to need a strong leader of intelligence and insight, of toughness and understanding, a leader with a powerful and penetrating vision, a leader with a proven record of results, a strong leader who can quickly close that leadership deficit which threatens our children’s future. And ladies and gentlemen, standing with me today, is that leader, Hilary Rodham Clinton.

Senator Clinton has spent her entire life being a champion for the working families whose hopes and whose dreams are the very core of our nation. She will fight as president for better schools so our children will have the tools to compete on the international stage. She will fight for affordable health care for all so that no family or small business goes under because of their inability to get quality health care when they need it. She will work for energy independence for our nation’s security and really the health of the planet that all of us share.

As a New York Senator, she represents the city and the people who were hardest hit on September 11. And I have worked with her in the halls of Congress on homeland security issues. She has been relentless in helping her city and the people of New York recover from those attacks and rebuild. She understands the responsibility of homeland security and the dire consequences of failing to meet that challenge. She will dedicate herself to restoring America’s moral strength and standing in the world. And why is that important? It’s important because that is one of the most powerful security assets that our country has. And if George Bush won’t end this war, she will bring our troops safely home.

Senator Clinton is a strong leader who understands that ideas and policy and a government that works is far more important that partisanship. In the Senate, she has bridged partisan divides. She has brought people together. What a novel idea, bringing people together to solve problems and make a better future. She is ready, today, she is ready to lead. She is ready, and she is also I’d submit to you the person who offers the sort of forward-looking leadership that our country needs, especially now. Come 2009, at long last, we will again have a president who is committed to bringing people together to solve problems and make a better future for our children.

And today, it is with great pride and enthusiasm that I endorse my friend Senator Hilary Rodham Clinton to be the next president of the United States.