PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: 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 honor 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 organizer
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 out 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 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 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 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. (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!
PRESIDENT OBAMA: 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 (ph). 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.)
