2008-11-05 08:48:00
Wed Nov 5, 12:18 am ET
Remarks of President-Elect Barack Obama-as prepared for delivery
Election Night
Tuesday, November 4th, 2008
Chicago, Illinois
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.