Obama's Victory Speech transcript

[Guest guest]

> A very confident, presidential address to the large, emotional crowd

> at Grant Park in Chicago

>

>

> 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 chur

> ches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited thr

> ee 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, stra

> ight, disabled and not disabled – Americans who sent a message to th

> e 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 towa

> rd 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 com

> e 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 hard

> er for the country he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America t

> hat most of us cannot begin to imagine, and we are better off for th

> e service rendered by this brave and selfless leader. I congratulate

> him and Governor Palin for all they have achieved, and I look forwa

> rd 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 Obam

> a. 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 th

> e family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight, and know that m

> y 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 scorchi

> ng heat to knock on the doors of perfect strangers; from the million

> s 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 vi

> ctory.

>

> I know you didn’t do this just to win an election and I know you did

> n’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 life

> time – two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a

> century. Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Amer

> icans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanis

> tan to risk their lives for us. There are mothers and fathers who wi

> ll 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 ag

> ree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know t

> hat government can’t solve every problem. But I will always be hones

> t with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, espec

> ially when we disagree. And above all, I will ask you join in the wo

> rk of remaking this nation the only way it’s been done in America fo

> r 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 ca

> nnot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen w

> ithout 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 canno

> t have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers – in this co

> untry, 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 pa

> rty founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty, and

> national unity. Those are values we all share, and while the Democra

> tic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure o

> f humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back

> our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than our

> s, “We are not enemies, but friends…though passion may have strained

> it must not break our bonds of affection.” And to those Americans w

> hose 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 t

> oo.

>

> 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 o

> ur destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at ha

> nd. 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 thos

> e who have wondered if America’s beacon still burns as bright – toni

> ght we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes n

> ot from our the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but fr

> om the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity

> , and unyielding hope.

>

> For that is the true genius of America – that America can change. Ou

> r 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 centur

> y in America – the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the prog

> ress; the times we were told that we can’t, and the people who press

> ed on with that American creed: Yes we can.

>

> At a time when women’s voices were silenced and their hopes dismisse

> d, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ba

> llot. 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 lu

> cky 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 opportun

> ity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of pea

> ce; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental trut

> h – that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, an

> d where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us t

> hat 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.

>

> Regards,

> Jayalakshmi

>

>

>