Convention highlights

Incumbent President Barack Obama and former Gov. Mitt Romney have accepted the nomination for the 2012 presidential election at the Democratic National Convention and the Republican National Convention, respectively.

The following are excerpts from each presidential nominee’s acceptance speech.

I won’t pretend the path I’m offering is quick or easy. I
never have. You didn’t elect me to tell you what you wanted to hear.

You elected me to tell you the truth…

And the truth is, it will take more than a few years for us to solve challenges that have built up over decades…

I’ve met workers in Detroit and Toledo who feared they’d never build another American car. And today, they can’t build them fast enough, because we reinvented a dying auto industry that’s back on top of the world…

And now you have a choice. We can gut education, or we can decide that in the United States of America, no child should have her dreams deferred because of a crowded classroom or a crumbling school. No family should have to set aside a college acceptance letter because they don’t have the money. No company should have to look for workers overseas because they couldn’t find any with the right skills here at home. That’s not our future. That is not our future…

I promised to refocus on the terrorists who actually
attacked us on 9/11. And we have. We’ve blunted the Taliban’s momentum in Afghanistan, and in 2014, our longest war will be over…

A new tower rises above the New York skyline, al-Qaeda is on the path to defeat and Osama Bin Laden is dead…

America, I never said this journey would be easy, and I
won’t promise that now. Yes, our path is harder, but it leads to a better place. Yes, our road is longer, but we travel it together. We don’t turn back. We leave no one behind. We pull each other up. We draw strength from our victories, and we learn from our mistakes, but we keep our eyes fixed on that distant horizon, knowing that Providence is with us, and that we are surely blessed to be citizens of the greatest nation on Earth.

To watch the entire speech, visit demconvention.com/photos-video.

Read Obama’s entire speech from the DNC

I am running for president to help create a better future, a future where everyone who wants a job can find a job, where no senior fears for the security of their retirement, an America where every parent knows that their child will get an education that leads to a good job and a bright horizon, and unlike the president, I have a plan to create 12 million new jobs…

Paul Ryan and I have five steps.

First, by 2020, North America will be energy independent by taking inventory of our oil, our coal, our gas, our nuclear and renewables.

Second, we will give our fellow citizens the skills they
need for the jobs of today and the careers of tomorrow. When it comes to the school your child will attend, every parent should have a choice, and every child should have a chance.

Third, we will make trade work for America by forging new trade agreements, and when nations cheat in trade, there will be unmistakable consequences.

And fourth, to assure every entrepreneur and every job creator that their investments in America will not vanish, as have those in Greece, we will cut the deficit and put America on track to a balanced budget.

And fifth, we will champion small businesses, America’s engine of job growth. That means reducing taxes on business, not raising them. It means simplifying and modernizing the regulations that hurt small businesses the most, and it means we must rein in skyrocketing cost of health care by repealing and replacing Obamacare…

If I am elected president of these United States, I will
work with all my energy and soul to restore that America, to lift our eyes to a better future. That future is our destiny. That future is out there. It is waiting for us. Our children deserve it. Our nation depends on it. The peace and freedom of the world require it. And with your help we will deliver it. Let us the begin that future for America tonight.

To watch the entire speech, visit gopconvention2012.com and click on “watch live.”

Read Romney’s entire speech from the RNC