Hello, Chicago!
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 Sen. 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 Gov. 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 16
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 $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.
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 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. 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 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.
能！ 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.