Obama victory speech

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Here is the text of President-elect Barack Obama's victory speech in Chicago on Tuesday, as released by his campaign:
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.
 
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Second half

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.
 
It was a great speech...delivered well.

That said, I'm already chuckling to myself and feeling pretty good because I can't wait for obama to start backtracking on all the promises he made!!

This part is actually going to be a lot of fun.

The first teehee is going to be on the stupid folks who said "I don't have to worry about putting gas in my gas tank and making my mortgage payments anymore!" LMAO already!
 
It was a brilliant speech. Hundreds of thousands showed up to hear it live. Millions stopped what thy were doing to watch it on TV.

At some point very soon we will have to recognize the Obama Presidency as a "movement". People are already starting to line up and be a part. This is what America needs, her people INVOLVED. Her people SERVED. Her people EXCITED. Her people INCLUDED.

It's been a closed shop for too long.

McCain's speech was a fine one as well. Now we can all get to work.

bwana
 
His very first line I disagreed with

he said

"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. "

I never doubted America was a place where all things were possible, I found it rather sad that he is just figuring it out because he won something.

and I had not really ever questioned democrazy till acorn.

This part really bothered me

"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."

Now that he won he is saying all of his promisses may not even happen in his first term, so thus may not even happen. Not that I wanted anything from him and I am sure its the things he promised people that will come last and his socialist agenda to come first. But it looks like he needs a second term to keep his promise. I cant tell if he meant the free health care, or ending the war or what was going to take a second term.

Here is an interesting one, it seem to play off what biden said a couple of weeks ago.

"There will be setbacks and false starts There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as President"

I really wonder what this false start is???


OK this is where he starts sounding like Karl Marx to me

"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. "

Now this part was choice. he used bitter partisanship to get where he is but tonight lets all change ..

"Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long."


Now this next part I loved, and I would have loved it a million times more had I believed he really meant it.

"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. "

THis part bothered me but I can not exactly explain why, it just did.

"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"

anyway what was your thoughts on messiah obama's victory speech?
 
It was a great speech...delivered well.

That said, I'm already chuckling to myself and feeling pretty good because I can't wait for obama to start backtracking on all the promises he made!!

This part is actually going to be a lot of fun.

The first teehee is going to be on the stupid folks who said "I don't have to worry about putting gas in my gas tank and making my mortgage payments anymore!" LMAO already!

He delivers well that is for sure, he could sell life insurance to a dead man

and I also cant wait to see the people crying after he doesnt just not fill their gas tanks and pay their rent, gas is to high to drive and rent well get a room mate or three
 
It was a brilliant speech. Hundreds of thousands showed up to hear it live. Millions stopped what thy were doing to watch it on TV.

At some point very soon we will have to recognize the Obama Presidency as a "movement". People are already starting to line up and be a part. This is what America needs, her people INVOLVED. Her people SERVED. Her people EXCITED. Her people INCLUDED.

It's been a closed shop for too long.

McCain's speech was a fine one as well. Now we can all get to work.

bwana


I dont think anyone on earth would disagree with you that this is a movement
 
bwa, I find that an interesting perspective. Keep in mind I've been actively involved in our government for years, so I might see this a bit differently than you.

People have always had the opportunity to be involved! Always. The parties have attempted to get our people more involved throughout history. Do you realize how hard it is to get people involved, even in issues they BELIEVE IN??? I do. I've been the leader of "movements". People tend to leave the work to others. They do a much better job of complaining.

The involvement that happened is great...but I can't help but wonder if MOST of these people got involved because they believe obama is going to GIVE THEM MONEY and they won't have to be RESPONSIBLE FOR THEMSELVES any longer?

What do you personally expect from obama?
 
....All, without any Booing of John McCain......like you heard from McCain's -supporters (during his concession-speech), towards Obama. :rolleyes:

Had McCain won and Obama lost you would be as civil as a rattle snake right now and there would have been boo's on the obama side.



One thing I am very sure of there will be more respect for obama by non obama worshipers than there ever was for bush
 
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Gosh do you think maybe that's 'cause their candidate didn't win? Are you saying that you think Obama's supporters wouldn't have done the same if the situation was reversed? McCain didn't send out the panthers either.... and I'm sure Obama didn't know anything about it, just like he didn't know about this illegal aunt, He didn't know about Wright, he was sure Ayers was a changed man. Is there anything he does know about other than being omniscient about whites being devious?

We're gonna find out eh?
 
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