11-05-08, 9:53 am
Striking a unifying theme, President-elect Barack Obama told a crowd of an estimated 1 million people in Chicago, Illinois and millions watching and listening around the world, that 'America is not and never has been just a collection of red states and blue states.' In his 17-minute speech, Obama noted that the results of the election answered the question about whether or not American could overcome division and fear to embrace unity and hope.
'It's the answer that led those who've been told for so long by so many to be cynical and fearful 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, change has come to America,' Obama said.
Across the country and the world, Americans celebrated Obama's victory, its historical character, and the page that has been turned on the failed policies of the past.
Obama dedicated his victory to the American people. 'I will never forget,' he said, 'who this victory truly belongs to. It belongs to you. It belongs to you.' Obama credited the millions of working men and women of all ages, regions, races and ethnicities, sexual orientations, and abilities who built his campaign with their small donations, their volunteer activities, and their hope and belief. 'This is your victory,' he emphasized, striking the chord that many Obama supporters believed all along: that a electoral victory would be based on a people's movement.
Will the new president have a honeymoon? Obama indicated that from day one he would face tremendous challenges. 'For even as we celebrate tonight,' Obama added, '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.'
War and economic crisis will shorten the jubilant atmosphere, he continued. '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 doctors' bills or save enough for their child' college education.'
Despite the obstacles and challenges, Obama expressed the hope that marked his campaign. '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.'
Obama called on Americans to work with him. '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.'
'It can't happen without you, without a new spirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice,' he added. Rejecting partisanship, Obama appealed even to those who did not vote for him to speak up and help in the struggle to remake the country.
See the speech here:
