"There are no red states, there are no blue states, there is the United States"
Change has come to America...with no balloons, no confetti, no fireworks...just a voice,somber, real,passionate. Tonight,there are no colors...the face of the American map, as he told us 4 years ago, is not about red states and blue states...it is about the people of the United States.
The campaign saw the shift, knew the body politic had undergone a seed change demographically, enviornmentally, technologically,emotionally...and they knew those were the paths to reach change. They built a coalition, a movement, one American at a time.
Did the rotten economy help? Sure. Did the choice of a quirky right leaning inexperienced Sarah Palen help? Yes. Did the profound unpopularity of Bush help? Absolutely...but this election from the start was a rocket ride for Obama. His intelligence and ability to understand this country,read the faces of this country, resulted in the realization that we will never be the same.
A country that just 4 years ago re-elected George W. Bush woke up and realized that their destiny was in their own hands..they did not and could not accept life as we have lived it the past 8 years...Barack Obama led us to that place.
It was about the numbers. The faces behind those numbers are not the same that they were even 4 years ago...the faces in Chicago in Grant Park,hundreds of thousands, were made up of the real America. An America that needed leadership, that needed to be "fired up" and it was Barack Obama who knew how to do this and who reached out to every corner of this country and created a force.
There are those who will never accept this election, as perhaps they cannot accept change, fear and ignorance may keep them from understanding that there is a new electorate, a shifting electorate, the torch as been passed.
Roger Wilkins spoke about the new America that his grandson will come of age in..."...he will know that the paths of success and opportunity... he doesn't have to worry about it... they will be there... the country is sending a message of opportunity." Roger Wilkins
Congressman John Lewis declared that this election was "...a non violent revolution... a revolution of values, a revolution of ideas...we are preparing to lay down the burden of race and move ahead..."
The job is overwhelming. What faces Barack Obama this morning is sobering. This country is in such pain. The only way out is to not look back and to move forward as one country, united in purpose...the work begins now.
You can talk about the magnitude of this election. You can talk about this profoundly historic moment in time(how lucky to bear witness). You can talk about the transformative power of this candidate...but tonight, don't talk-just watch, just listen and just remember...
In 2009 the 100th anniversary of the founding of the NAACP(in of all places Springfield Illinois) will be celebrated, and the skinny kid with the funny name will take the Oath of office of the Presidency of the United States on steps built by slaves.
"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 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 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...
...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 221 years — block by block, brick by brick, callused hand by callused hand.
What began 21 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...
...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 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.
...America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do...
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."
