A recap of Wednesday night's speeches at the Democratic National Convention

John Edwards
“Decisive. Strong. Aren’t these the traits you want in a Commander in Chief? We hear a lot of talk about values. Where I come from, you don’t judge someone’s values based on how they use that word in a political ad. You judge their values based upon what they’ve spent their life doing. So when a man volunteers to serve his country, and puts his life on the line for others, ­that’s a man who represents real American values. This is a man who is prepared to keep the American people safe and to make America stronger at home and respected in the world...
“The truth is, we still live in two different Americas: one for people who have lived the American Dream and don’t have to worry, and another for most Americans who work hard and still struggle to make ends meet. It doesn’t have to be that way. We can build one America...
“I have heard some discussions and debates about where, and in front of what audiences we should talk about race, equality, and civil rights. Well, I have an answer to that question. Everywhere. Everywhere.  Everywhere. This is not an African-American issue, not a Latino issue, not an Asian-American issue, this is an American issue. It’s about who we are, what our values are, what kind of country we want to live in...
“And we will have one clear unmistakable message for al Qaida and the rest of these terrorists. You cannot run. You cannot hide. And we will destroy you...
“So when you return home, you might pass a mother on her way to work the late-shift ­you tell her……hope is on the way. When your brother calls and says that he’s working all the time at the office and still can’t get ahead­ - you tell him……hope is on the way. When your parents call and tell you their medical bills are through the roof - you tell them…...hope is on the way. When your neighbor calls you and says that her daughter has worked hard and wants to go to college - ­you tell her……hope is on the way. When you talk to your son or daughter who is serving this country and protecting our freedoms in Iraq­ - you tell them……hope is on the way. And when you wake up and sit with your kids at the kitchen table, talking to them about the great possibilities in America, you make sure that they know that John and I believe at our core that tomorrow can be better than today”

Elizabeth Edwards
“This has been quite a year for John and for me. We started last January crisscrossing America, talking about how, with determination and vision and optimism, we can end the injustice of two Americas. And this January, it's going to end when we move two great friends, two great Americans, John Kerry and Teresa Heinz Kerry, into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue...
“You know, I married the smartest, toughest, sweetest man I know. And in two days, we will celebrate 27 years of marriage the way we always do. We'll do it the way we always do at Wendy's. Whether it's Wendy's or Washington, I've found that it's true: It's not where you go, it's who you go with...
“But none of the things I've mentioned are the reason that I married John Edwards. I married him because he was the single-most optimistic person that I have ever known. He knew there was a brighter day ahead, even as he swept the floors in the cotton mill as a high school student. He knew if he worked hard enough, he could be the first in his family to go to college. He knew that he could outwork and out-tough any battalion of lawyers to find justice. And he continued that fight in Washington, courageously, eloquently, with one simple goal: to make the opportunities of America available to all Americans”

Al Sharpton
“I'm convinced that at a time when a vicious spirit in the body politic of this country that attempts to undermine America's freedoms -- our civil rights, and civil liberties -- we must leave this city and go forth and organize this nation for victory for our party and John Kerry and John Edwards in November...
“Mr. President, I heard you say Friday that you had questions for voters, particularly African- American voters. And you asked the question: Did the Democratic Party take us for granted? ...Let me answer your question. You said the Republican Party was the party of Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. It is true that Mr. Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, after which there was a commitment to give 40 acres and a mule. That's where the argument, to this day, of reparations starts. We never got the 40 acres. We went all the way to Herbert Hoover, and we never got the 40 acres. We didn't get the mule. So we decided we'd ride this donkey as far as it would take us...
“Mr. President, the reason we are fighting so hard, the reason we took Florida so seriously, is our right to vote wasn't gained because of our age. Our vote was soaked in the blood of martyrs, soaked in the blood of good men, soaked in the blood of four little girls in Birmingham. This vote is sacred to us. This vote can't be bargained away. This vote can't be given away. Mr. President, in all due respect, Mr. President, read my lips: Our vote is not for sale...
“And it occurred to me as I heard Ray Charles singing, that Ray wasn't singing about what he knew, because Ray had been blind since he was a child. He hadn't seen many purple mountains. He hadn't seen many fruited plains. He was singing about what he believed to be. Mr. President, we love America, not because all of us have seen the beauty all the time. But we believed if we kept on working, if we kept on marching, if we kept on voting, if we kept on believing, we would make America beautiful for everybody. Starting in November, let's make America beautiful again.”