Address at the 2012 Democratic National Convention - Sept. 4, 2012

It’s my privilege, on behalf of the people of North Carolina, to welcome you all to the Queen City, Charlotte, in the great, great state of North Carolina. It is always an honor for me, as the governor, to welcome a distinguished group of national leaders to North Carolina, but it's particularly exciting today, because of why we're here: to make sure that Barack Obama is re-elected president of the United States.

We must re-elect the president because he's standing up for middle-class families and growing an economy that is built to last. And he's doing it all over the country and right here in North Carolina. My friends, it starts with education. The president has made schools a top priority. He actually understands that all parents want their children to have even better opportunities than they had as a child. This president's education initiatives are helping North Carolina's schools and schools across America soar. These investments are moving education reform and innovation, and strengthening our nationally recognized early-childhood education programs. This president, my friends, simply gets it on education, and that is a good thing for America. He knows that a education is the difference-maker for every child and is the pathway for this country to succeed in the global economy.

From education to broadband, from building roads and bridges to supporting the military, Barack Obama is delivering for North Carolina. And he is delivering for America. A growing middle class is simply the foundation for a strong America.

President Obama is also standing up for women in North Carolina and in America. He has helped women across this country fight for equal pay for equal work; he understands that women must be guaranteed access to quality, affordable health care, and make sure that their insurance coverage pays for those costs with no out-of-pocket costs. And unlike Mitt Romney, President Obama is standing up for Planned Parenthood.

This election that we’re all working so hard to make happen is about the future. We each have a choice in this country. We can go back to the same old failed economic policies that brought about the worst recession since the Great Depression. Or, we can go back to economic plans that are designed to benefit only the wealthiest among us, like Mitt Romney. Or we can keep moving America forward with President Obama's vision for a middle-class that works for the people of America. For me, and for North Carolina and for the people in America, it's an easy choice.

Join with me as we take North Carolina. We will win this state. We will return Barack Obama to the White House, and we will keep America moving forward.

Speech from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDtyehT5lBQ.