Barack Obama. Presidential Victory Speech

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benji1000, Sebaset and dolphin888

And there he is,

President-elect,

Barack Obama,

his wife Michelle,

and daughters Sasha and Malia.

Hello, Chicago!

Is 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 fonders

is alive in our son ?

Who still questions

the power of our Democracy?

Tonight is your answer.

It's the answer told by lines

that stretched around

schools ans churches

in numbers that this nation

has never seen,

by people who waited

three hours, four hours.

Many for the 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've been told for so long

by so many to be cynical, and fearfull,

and doubtful

about 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,

changes come to America.

A little bit earlier this evening,

I received an extraordinarily

gracious call

from Senator McCain.

Senator McCain fought long and hard

in this campaign,

and he's fought even longer and harder

for the country that he loves.

He has endured sacrifices

for America,

that most of us

can not 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 that they've 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 the 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 sixteen 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 poppy that is coming with us

to the White House.

And while she's no longer with us,

I know my grandmother's watching.

Along, with the family

that made me who I am.

I miss them tonight.

I know that my debt to them

is beyond measure.

To my sister Maya,

my sister Alma,

all my other brothers and sisters...

Thank you so much for all the support

you've given me.

I'm grateful to them.

To my campaign manager, David Plouffe...

The unsung heroe of this campaign

who built the best...

...the best political campaign, I think,

in the history of

the United States of America.

To my chief strategist, David Axelrod,

who has been a partner with me

every step of the way.

To the best campaign team ever,

ever assembled

in the history of politics,

you made this happen,

and I'm forever grateful,

for what you sacrificed

to get it done.

But above all,

I will never forget

who this victory truly belongs to.

It belongs to you.

It belongs to you.

I was never the likeliest candidate

for this office.

We didn't start

with much money

or many endorsments.

Our campaign has not hatched

in the halls of Washington,

it began in the backyards of Des Moines,

in the livingrooms of Concord,

in the front porches of Charleston.

It was built by working men and women

who dug into what little savings

they had to give 5$, $10, $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 drew strength

from the not-so-young people

who braved the bitter cold

and scorching heat

to knock on doors of perfect strangers.

And from the millions of Americans

who volunteered and organized

and proved than 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.

And 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 the children fall asleep

and wonder how they'll make the mortgage

or pay their doctors' bills

or save enough for their

child's college education.

There's new energy to harness,

new jobs to be created,

new schools to build,

and threats to meet,

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 the 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 can't happen without you,

without a new spirit of service,

a new spirit of sacrifice.

So let us summon

a new spirit of patriotism,

of 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's resist the temptation

to fall back on the same partisanship

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