All of this was made possible by an idea I spoke of when Mr. Gorbachev was here—­the belief that the most exciting revolution ever known to humankind began with three simple words:  “We the People,” the revolutionary notion that the people grant government its rights, and not the other way around.  And there’s one lesson that has come home powerfully to me, which I would offer to you now.  Just as those who created this Republic pledged to each other their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor, so, too, America’s leaders today must pledge to each other that we will keep foremost in our hearts and minds not what is best for ourselves or for our party but what is best for America.

In the spirit of Jefferson, let us affirm that in this Chamber tonight there are no Republicans, no Democrats—­just Americans.  Yes, we will have our differences, but let us always remember what unites us far outweighs whatever divides us.  Those who sent us here to serve them—­the millions of Americans watching and listening tonight—­expect this of us.  Let’s prove to them and to ourselves that democracy works even in an election year.  We’ve done this before.  And as we have worked together to bring down spending, tax rates, and inflation, employment has climbed to record heights; America has created more jobs and better, higher paying jobs; family income has risen for 4 straight years, and America’s poor climbed out of poverty at the fastest rate in more than 10 years.

Our record is not just the longest peacetime expansion in history but an economic and social revolution of hope based on work, incentives, growth, and opportunity; a revolution of compassion that led to private sector initiatives and a 77-percent increase in charitable giving; a revolution that at a critical moment in world history reclaimed and restored the American dream.

In international relations, too, there’s only one description for what, together, we have achieved:  a complete turnabout, a revolution.  Seven years ago, America was weak, and freedom everywhere was under siege.  Today America is strong, and democracy is everywhere on the move.  From Central America to East Asia, ideas like free markets and democratic reforms and human rights are taking hold.  We’ve replaced “Blame America” with “Look up to America.”  We’ve rebuilt our defenses.  And of all our accomplishments, none can give us more satisfaction than knowing that our young people are again proud to wear our country’s uniform.

And in a few moments, I’m going to talk about three developments—­arms reduction, the Strategic Defense Initiative, and the global democratic revolution—­that, when taken together, offer a chance none of us would have dared imagine 7 years ago, a chance to rid the world of the two great nightmares of the postwar era.  I speak of the startling hope of giving our children a future free of both totalitarianism and nuclear terror.

Tonight, then, we’re strong, prosperous, at peace, and we are free.  This is the state of our Union.  And if we will work together this year, I believe we can give a future President and a future Congress the chance to make that prosperity, that peace, that freedom not just the state of our Union but the state of our world.