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.
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.
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 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 the 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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.