"A new dawn of American leadership is
at hand"












President-elect Barack Obama's
Acceptance Speech

November 4, 2008

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 Senator 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 Governor 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 sixteen 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 five dollars and ten dollars and twenty
dollars 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 two-hundred and twenty-one years
- block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused
hand.   

What began twenty-one 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 our 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.   

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.
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