President Barack Obama's speech in Chicago after his re-election:
Thank you so much.
Tonight, more than 200 years after a former colony won the right to
determine its own destiny, the task of perfecting our union moves
forward.
It moves forward because of you. It moves forward because you reaffirmed the spirit that has triumphed over war and depression,
the spirit that has lifted this country from the depths of despair to
the great heights of hope, the belief that while each of us will pursue
our own individual dreams, we are an American family and we rise or fall
together as one nation and as one people.
Tonight, in this election, you, the American people, reminded us that while our road has been hard, while our journey has been long, we have picked ourselves up, we have fought our way back, and we know in our hearts that for the United States of America the best is yet to come.
I want to thank every American who participated in this election,
whether you voted for the very first time or waited in line for a very
long time. By the way, we have to fix that. Whether you pounded the pavement or picked up the phone, whether you held an Obama sign or a Romney sign, you made your voice heard and you made a difference.
I just spoke with Gov. Romney and I congratulated him and Paul Ryan
on a hard-fought campaign. We may have battled fiercely, but it's only
because we love this country deeply and we care so strongly about its
future. From George
to Lenore to their son Mitt, the Romney family has chosen to give back
to America through public service and that is the legacy that we honor
and applaud tonight. In the weeks ahead, I also look forward to sitting
down with Gov. Romney to talk about where we can work together to move
this country forward.
I want to thank my friend and partner of the last four years, America's happy warrior, the best vice president anybody could ever hope for, Joe Biden.
And I wouldn't be the man I am today without the woman who agreed to
marry me 20 years ago. Let me say this publicly: Michelle, I have never
loved you more. I have never been prouder to watch the rest
of America fall in love with you, too, as our nation's first lady.
Sasha and Malia, before our very eyes you're growing up to become two
strong, smart beautiful young women, just like your mom. And I'm so proud of you guys. But I will say that for now one dog's probably enough.
To the best campaign team and volunteers in the history of politics.
The best. The best ever. Some of you were new this time around, and some
of you have been at my side since the very beginning. But all of you
are family. No matter what you do or where you go from here, you will
carry the memory of the history we made together and you will have the
lifelong appreciation of a grateful president. Thank you for believing all the way, through every hill, through every
valley. You lifted me up the whole way and I will always be grateful for
everything that you've done and all the incredible work that you put in.
I know that political campaigns can sometimes seem small, even silly.
And that provides plenty of fodder for the cynics that tell us that
politics is nothing more than a contest of egos or the domain of special
interests. But if you ever get the chance to talk to folks who turned
out at our rallies and crowded along a rope line in a high school gym,
or saw folks working late in a campaign office in some tiny country far away from home, you'll discover something else.
You'll hear the determination in the voice
of a young field organizer who's working his way through college and
wants to make sure every child has that same opportunity. You'll hear
the pride in the voice of a volunteer who's going door to door because
her brother was finally hired when the local auto plant added another
shift. You'll hear the deep patriotism in the voice of a military spouse
who's working the phones late at night to make sure that no one who
fights for this country ever has to fight for a job or a roof over their
head when they come home.
That's why we do this. That's what
politics can be. That's why elections matter. It's not small, it's big.
It's important. Democracy in a nation of 300 million can be noisy and
messy and complicated. We have our own opinions. Each of us has deeply
held beliefs. And when we go through tough times, when we make big
decisions as a country, it necessarily stirs passions, stirs up
controversy. That won't change after tonight, and it shouldn't. These
arguments we have are a mark of our liberty. We can never forget that as
we speak people in distant nations are risking their lives right now
just for a chance to argue about the issues that matter, the chance to
cast their ballots like we did today.
But despite all our
differences, most of us share certain hopes for America's future. We
want our kids to grow up in a country where they have access to the best
schools and the best teachers. A country that lives up to its legacy as
the global leader in technology and discovery and innovation, with all
the good jobs and new businesses that follow.
We want our
children to live in an America that isn't burdened by debt, that isn't
weakened by inequality, that isn't threatened by the destructive power
of a warming planet. We want to pass on a country that's safe and
respected and admired around the world, a nation that is defended by the
strongest military on earth
and the best troops this — this world has ever known. But also a
country that moves with confidence beyond this time of war, to shape a
peace that is built on the promise of freedom and dignity for every
human being.
We believe in a generous America, in a
compassionate America, in a tolerant America, open to the dreams of an
immigrant's daughter who studies in our schools and pledges to our flag.
To the young boy on the south side of Chicago who sees a life beyond
the nearest street corner. To the furniture worker's child in North Carolina
who wants to become a doctor or a scientist, an engineer or an
entrepreneur, a diplomat or even a president — that's the future we hope
for. That's the vision we share. That's where we need to go — forward.
That's where we need to go.
Now, we will disagree, sometimes
fiercely, about how to get there. As it has for more than two centuries,
progress will come in fits and starts. It's not always a straight line.
It's not always a smooth path. By itself, the recognition that we have
common hopes and dreams won't end all the gridlock or solve all our
problems or substitute for the painstaking work of building consensus
and making the difficult compromises needed to move this country
forward. But that common bond is where we must begin.
Our economy
is recovering. A decade of war is ending. A long campaign is now over.
And whether I earned your vote or not, I have listened to you, I have
learned from you, and you've made me a better president. And with your
stories and your struggles, I return to the White House more determined and more inspired than ever about the work there is to do and the future that lies ahead.
Tonight you voted for action, not politics as usual. You elected us to
focus on your jobs, not ours. And in the coming weeks and months, I am
looking forward to reaching out and working with leaders of both parties
to meet the challenges we can only solve together. Reducing our
deficit. Reforming our tax code. Fixing our immigration system. Freeing
ourselves from foreign oil. We've got more work to do.
But that
doesn't mean your work is done. The role of citizen in our democracy
does not end with your vote. America's never been about what can be done
for us. It's about what can be done by us together through the hard and
frustrating, but necessary work of self-government. That's the
principle we were founded on.
This country has more wealth than
any nation, but that's not what makes us rich. We have the most
powerful military in history, but that's not what makes us strong. Our
university, our culture are all the envy of the world, but that's not
what keeps the world coming to our shores.
What makes America exceptional
are the bonds that hold together the most diverse nation on earth. The
belief that our destiny is shared; that this country only works when we
accept certain obligations to one another and to future generations. The
freedom which so many Americans have fought for and died for come with
responsibilities as well as rights. And among those are love and charity
and duty and patriotism. That's what makes America great.
I am
hopeful tonight because I've seen the spirit at work in America. I've
seen it in the family business whose owners would rather cut their own
pay than lay off their neighbors, and in the workers who would rather
cut back their hours than see a friend lose a job. I've seen it in the
soldiers who reenlist after losing a limb and in those SEALs who charged
up the stairs into darkness and danger because they knew there was a
buddy behind them watching their back.
I've seen it on the shores of New Jersey and New York,
where leaders from every party and level of government have swept aside
their differences to help a community rebuild from the wreckage of a
terrible storm. And I saw just the other day, in Mentor, Ohio,
where a father told the story of his 8-year-old daughter, whose long
battle with leukemia nearly cost their family everything had it not been
for health care reform passing just a few months before the insurance company was about to stop paying for her care.
I had an opportunity to not just talk to the father, but meet this incredible
daughter of his. And when he spoke to the crowd listening to that
father's story, every parent in that room had tears in their eyes,
because we knew that little girl could be our own. And I know that every
American wants her future to be just as bright. That's who we are.
That's the country I'm so proud to lead as your president.
And
tonight, despite all the hardship we've been through, despite all the
frustrations of Washington, I've never been more hopeful about our
future. I have never been more hopeful about America. And I ask you to
sustain that hope. I'm not talking about blind optimism, the kind of
hope that just ignores the enormity of the tasks ahead or the roadblocks
that stand in our path. I'm not talking about the wishful idealism that
allows us to just sit on the sidelines or shirk from a fight.
I
have always believed that hope is that stubborn thing inside us that
insists, despite all the evidence to the contrary, that something better
awaits us so long as we have the courage to keep reaching, to keep
working, to keep fighting.
America, I believe we can build on
the progress we've made and continue to fight for new jobs and new
opportunity and new security for the middle
class. I believe we can keep the promise of our founders, the idea that
if you're willing to work hard, it doesn't matter who you are or where
you come from or what you look like or where you love. It doesn't matter
whether you're black or white or Hispanic or Asian or Native American
or young or old or rich or poor, able, disabled, gay or straight, you
can make it here in America if you're willing to try.
I believe
we can seize this future together because we are not as divided as our
politics suggests. We're not as cynical as the pundits believe. We are
greater than the sum of our individual ambitions, and we remain more
than a collection of red states and blue states. We are and forever will
be the United States of America.
And together with your help and God's grace we will continue our journey forward and remind the world just why it is that we live in the greatest nation on Earth.
Thank you, America. God bless you. God bless these United States.
Posted with Permission of The Times
