FULL TEXT: PRESIDENT-ELECT BARACK OBAMA:
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.
Its 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.
Its 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.
Its 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.
Its 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 hes 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 nations 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 nations next First Lady, Michelle Obama.
Sasha and Malia, I love you both so much, and you have earned the new
puppy thats coming with us to the White House. And while shes 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
youve 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 didnt 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 generations 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 didnt do this just to win an election and I know you
didnt 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 theyll make the
mortgage, or pay their doctors 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 wont
agree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know
that government cant 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 its 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, its 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 Americas 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 thats on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast
her ballot in Atlanta. Shes 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 couldnt
vote for two reasons - because she was a woman and because of the color
of her skin.
And tonight, I think about all that shes seen throughout her century
in America - the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress;
the times we were told that we cant, and the people who pressed on with
that American creed: Yes we can.
At a time when womens 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 cant,
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.
