Remarks
of President-Elect Barack Obama : Election Night
Chicago, IL | November 04, 2008
If there is anyone
out there who still doubts that America is a place where all
things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our
founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power
of our democracy, tonight is your answer.
It's the answer
told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in
numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three
hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their
lives, because they believed that this time must be different;
that their voice could be that difference.
It's the answer
spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican,
black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight,
disabled and not disabled - Americans who sent a message to
the world that we have never been a collection of Red States
and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States
of America.
It's the answer
that led those who have been told for so long by so many to
be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve
to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once
more toward the hope of a better day.
It's been a long
time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day,
in this election, at this defining moment, change has come
to America.
I just received
a very gracious call from Senator McCain. He fought long and
hard in this campaign, and he's fought even longer and harder
for the country he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America
that most of us cannot begin to imagine, and we are better
off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader.
I congratulate him and Governor Palin for all they have achieved,
and I look forward to working with them to renew this nation's
promise in the months ahead.
I want to thank
my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his
heart and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the
streets of Scranton and rode with on that train home to Delaware,
the Vice President-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.
I would not be
standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my
best friend for the last sixteen years, the rock of our family
and the love of my life, our nation's next First Lady, Michelle
Obama. Sasha and Malia, I love you both so much, and you have
earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the White House.
And while she's no longer with us, I know my grandmother is
watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss
them tonight, and know that my debt to them is beyond measure.
To my campaign
manager David Plouffe, my chief strategist David Axelrod,
and the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of
politics - you made this happen, and I am forever grateful
for what you've sacrificed to get it done.
But above all,
I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to - it
belongs to you.
I was never the
likeliest candidate for this office. We didn't start with
much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched
in the halls of Washington - it began in the backyards of
Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches
of Charleston.
It was built by
working men and women who dug into what little savings they
had to give five dollars and ten dollars and twenty dollars
to this cause. It grew strength from the young people who
rejected the myth of their generation's apathy; who left their
homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay
and less sleep; from the not-so-young people who braved the
bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on the doors of perfect
strangers; from the millions of Americans who volunteered,
and organized, and proved that more than two centuries later,
a government of the people, by the people and for the people
has not perished from this Earth. This is your victory.
I know you didn't
do this just to win an election and I know you didn't do it
for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of
the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight,
we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest
of our lifetime - two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial
crisis in a century. Even as we stand here tonight, we know
there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq
and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us.
There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after their
children fall asleep and wonder how they'll make the mortgage,
or pay their doctor's bills, or save enough for college. There
is new energy to harness and new jobs to be created; new schools
to build and threats to meet and alliances to repair.
The road ahead
will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there
in one year or even one term, but America - I have never been
more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise
you - we as a people will get there.
There will be setbacks
and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every
decision or policy I make as President, and we know that government
can't solve every problem. But I will always be honest with
you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially
when we disagree. And above all, I will ask you join in the
work of remaking this nation the only way it's been done in
America for two-hundred and twenty-one years - block by block,
brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.
What began twenty-one
months ago in the depths of winter must not end on this autumn
night. This victory alone is not the change we seek - it is
only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot
happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen
without you.
So let us summon
a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility
where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and
look after not only ourselves, but each other. Let us remember
that if this financial crisis taught us anything, it's that
we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers
- in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people.
Let us resist the
temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness
and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long.
Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first
carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House
- a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual
liberty, and national unity. Those are values we all share,
and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight,
we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal
the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said
to a nation far more divided than ours, "We are not enemies,
but friends... though passion may have strained it must not
break our bonds of affection." And to those Americans
whose support I have yet to earn - I may not have won your
vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will
be your President too.
And to all those
watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments
and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the
forgotten corners of our world - our stories are singular,
but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership
is at hand. To those who would tear this world down - we will
defeat you. To those who seek peace and security - we support
you. And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon
still burns as bright - tonight we proved once more that the
true strength of our nation comes not from our the might of
our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring
power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and
unyielding hope.
For that is the
true genius of America - that America can change. Our union
can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives
us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.
This election had
many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations.
But one that's on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast
her ballot in Atlanta. She's a lot like the millions of others
who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election
except for one thing - Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.
She was born just
a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars
on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't
vote for two reasons - because she was a woman and because
of the color of her skin.
And tonight, I
think about all that she's seen throughout her century in
America - the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the
progress; the times we were told that we can't, and the people
who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.
At a time when
women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she
lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the
ballot. Yes we can.
When there was
despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she
saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs
and a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.
When the bombs
fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was
there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy
was saved. Yes we can.
She was there for
the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge
in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that
"We Shall Overcome." Yes we can.
A man touched down
on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected
by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this
election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her
vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best
of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can
change. Yes we can.
America, we have
come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more
to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves - if our children
should live to see the next century; if my daughters should
be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change
will they see? What progress will we have made?
This is our chance
to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time
- to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity
for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause
of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that
fundamental truth - that out of many, we are one; that while
we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and
doubt, and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond
with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people:
Yes We Can. Thank
you, God bless you, and may God Bless the United States of
America.
Source: BarackObama.com
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