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November 04,
2008
Chicago, Illinois
Remarks of President-elect Barack Obama after his Historic Election
Night Victory
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.
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