At a rally on Wednesday in his hometown of Chicago, Barack Obama delivers a victory speech
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. (Sustained cheers, applause.)
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. (Cheers, applause.)
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. (Cheers, applause.)
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.
(Cheers,
applause.) I want to thank every American who participated in this
election. (Cheers, applause.) Whether you voted for the very first time
(cheers) or waited in line for a very long time (cheers) – by the way,
we have to fix that – (cheers, applause) – whether you pounded the
pavement or picked up the phone (cheers, applause), whether you held an
Obama sign or a Romney sign, you made your voice heard and you made a
difference. (Cheers, applause.)
I just spoke with Governor Romney
and I congratulated him and Paul Ryan on a hard-fought campaign.
(Cheers, applause.) 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 a legacy that
we honour and applaud tonight. (Cheers, applause.) In the weeks ahead, I
also look forward to sitting down with Governor Romney to talk about
where we can work together to move this country forward.
(Cheers, applause.)
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. (Cheers, applause.)
And I wouldn't be the man I am today
without the woman who agreed to marry me 20 years ago. (Cheers,
applause.) Let me say this publicly. Michelle, I have never loved you
more. (Cheers, applause.) I have never been prouder to watch the rest of
America fall in love with you too as our nation's first lady. (Cheers,
applause.)
Sasha and Malia – (cheers, applause) – before our very
eyes, you're growing up to become two strong, smart, beautiful young
women, just like your mom. (Cheers, applause.) And I am so proud of you
guys. But I will say that, for now, one dog's probably enough.
(Laughter.)
To the best campaign team and volunteers in the
history of politics – (cheers, applause) – the best – the best ever –
(cheers, applause) – some of you were new this time around, and some of
you have been at my side since the very beginning.
(Cheers,
applause.) 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. (Cheers, applause.) And you will have the lifelong
appreciation of a grateful president. Thank you for believing all the
way – (cheers, applause) – to every hill, to every valley. (Cheers,
applause.) You lifted me up the whole day, and I will always be grateful
for everything that you've done and all the incredible work that you've
put in. (Cheers, applause.)
I know that political campaigns can
sometimes seem small, even silly. And that provides plenty of fodder for
the cynics who 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 – or saw folks working late at a campaign
office in some tiny county far away from home, you'll discover something
else.
You'll hear the determination in the voice of a young field
organiser who's working his way through college and wants to make sure
every child has that same opportunity. (Cheers, applause.) 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. (Cheers, applause.)
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. (Cheers, applause.)
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, and
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 – (cheers, applause) – 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 – (cheers, applause) – a country that
lives up to its legacy as the global leader in technology and discovery
and innovation – (scattered cheers, applause) – with all of 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 up by
inequality, that isn't threatened by the destructive power of a warming
planet. (Cheers, applause.)
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 – (cheers, applause) – 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 – (cheers, applause) – to
the young boy on the south side of Chicago
who sees a life beyond the nearest street corner – (cheers, applause) –
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 – (cheers, applause) – that's the future we hope for.
(Cheers,
applause.) That's the vision we share. That's where we need to go –
forward. (Cheers, applause.) That's where we need to go. (Cheers,
applause.)
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, resolve 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. (Cheers, applause.) A long campaign is now
over. (Cheers, applause.) 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. (Cheers, applause.)
Tonight you voted for action, not politics as usual. (Cheers, applause.) 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. (Cheers, applause.)
But that doesn't mean
your work is done. The role of citizens 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. (Cheers, applause.) 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 – (cheers, applause) – that
this country only works when we accept certain obligations to one
another and to future generations, so that 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. (Cheers, applause.)
I
am hopeful tonight because I have seen this 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 neighbours 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 re-enlist 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. (Cheers, applause.) 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.
(Cheers, applause.)
And I saw it just the other day in Mentor,
Ohio, where a father told the story of his eight-year-old daughter whose
long battle with leukaemia nearly cost their family everything had it
not been for healthcare reform passing just a few months before the
insurance company was about to stop paying for her care. (Cheers,
applause.) 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. (Cheers, applause.)
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. (Cheers, applause.) I
have never been more hopeful about America. And I ask you to sustain
that hope.
[Audience member: "We got your back, Mr President!"]
I'm
not talking about blind optimism, the kind of hope that just ignores
the enormity of the tasks ahead or the road blocks 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.
(Cheers, applause.)
America, I believe we can build on the
progress we've made and continue to fight for new jobs and new
opportunities and new security for the middle class. I believe we can
keep the promise of our founding, 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, abled, disabled, gay or straight. (Cheers, applause.) You can
make it here in America if you're willing to try.
(Cheers, applause.)
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. (Cheers, applause.)
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. (Cheers, applause.) Thank you, America. (Cheers,
applause.) God bless you. God bless these United States. (Cheers,
applause.)
FC Barcelona and Qatar Sports Investments announce that they
have agreed, under the terms of their contract, that Qatar Airways will appear
on the Club shirt from the 2013-2014 season as the new Main Global Sponsor.
