The senator

The senator from Illinois urged the graduates to rise above a culture that "too often tells us our principal goal in life is to be rich, thin, young, famous, safe and entertained, a culture where those in power too often encourage these selfish impulses." Building his message on the themes of empathy for others, taking risks and persevering, Obama said much rides on whether the young generation rises to the challenges facing the country and the world, including fixing a broken health-care system, combating global climate change, stopping genocide in Darfur and restoring the U.S. image abroad. There are those who are betting against you, who say that you don't pay attention to what's going on, that you don't show up to vote, that you're too concerned with your own lives and your own problems to get engaged," he said. "That's not what I believe, and it's not what I've seen. I've seen rallies filled with crowds that stretch far into the horizon, thousands upon thousands signing up to organize online, scores who are coming to the very first political event of their lifetime." Obama spoke in Manchester a few hours after sending about 600 volunteers into the neighborhoods of New Hampshire with a petition urging the state's two Republican senators to support efforts in Congress to end the war in Iraq. His advisers said it was one of the largest early-canvassing efforts by a presidential candidate in the state. Clinton praised the Dillard University graduates for their commitment to a school that faced enormous challenges after Katrina hit the Gulf Coast in 2005, but she coupled that with condemnation for the response of the federal government. "On everything from emergency response to rebuilding public works to restoring essential services, the federal government has failed us," she said.