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2008-11-05 08:48:00
Democrat Barack Obama has become the first African-American to win the White
House. Here are his remarks to a huge crowd in his home city of Chicago:
CHANGE HAS COME
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 voices could be that difference.
It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and
Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight,
disabled and not disabled - Americans who sent a message to the world that we
have never been just a collection of individuals or 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.
PARTNERS IN THE JOURNEY
A little bit earlier this evening I received an extraordinarily 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. We are better off for the
service rendered by this brave and selfless leader.
I congratulate him, I congratulate 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.
And I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my
best friend for the last 16 years, the rock of our family, the love of my life,
the nation's next first lady, Michelle Obama. Sasha and Malia, I love you both
more than you can imagine, 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 sister Maya, my sister Auma, all my other
brothers and sisters - thank you so much for all the support you have given me.
I am grateful to them.
To my campaign manager David Plouffe, the unsung hero of this campaign, who
built the best political campaign in the history of the United States of
America. My chief strategist David Axelrod, who has been a partner with me
every step of the way, and to 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.
VICTORY FOR THE PEOPLE
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 $5 and $10 and $20 to the 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; it grew strength 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
organised, and proved that more than two centuries later, a government of the
people, by the people and for the people has not perished from the Earth.
This is your victory.
THE TASK AHEAD
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 their child's college education. There is new energy to
harness and new jobs to be created; new schools to build and threats to meet
and alliances to repair.
REMAKING THE NATION The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We
may not get there in one year or even in 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 to join in the work of remaking this nation the
only way it's been done in America for 221 years - block by block, brick by
brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.
ONE NATION, ONE PEOPLE
What began 21 months ago in the depths of winter cannot 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, without a new spirit of service, a new
spirit of sacrifice.
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 that 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 tonight, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your
president too.
AMERICA IN THE WORLD
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 the
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 the 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
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.
A HISTORY OF STRUGGLE
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 colour 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 harbour 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.
THIS IS OUR MOMENT
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.