Remarks
of
President-Elect
Barack
Obama—As
Prepared
For
Delivery
Election
Night
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.
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.
Source: Obama For America |