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  • Hallo Chicago!

  • 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 first time in their lives,

  • because they believed that this time must be different,

  • that their voices could be that difference.

  • It's the answer spoken by young and old,

  • rich and poor,

  • Democrat and Republican,

  • black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight,

  • disabled and not disabled.

  • Americans who sent a message to the world

  • that we have never been just a collection of individuals

  • or 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'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 date in this election

  • at this defining moment change has come to America.

  • A little bit earlier this evening,

  • I received an extraordinarily gracious call from Senator McCain.

  • Senator McCain fought long and hard in this campaign.

  • And he's fought even longer and harder for the country that he loves.

  • He has endured sacrifices for America

  • that most of us cannot begin to imagine.

  • We are better off for the service

  • rendered by this brave and selfless leader.

  • I congratulate him;

  • I congratulate Governor Palin for all that they've 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 the train home to Delaware,

  • the vice president-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.

  • And I would not be standing here tonight

  • without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last 16 years...

  • the rock of our family,

  • the love of my life,

  • the nation's next first lady...Michelle Obama.

  • Sasha and Malia... I love you both

  • more than you can imagine.

  • And you have earned the new puppy

  • that's coming with us... to the new White House.

  • And while she's no longer with us,

  • I know my grandmother's watching,

  • along with the family that made me who I am.

  • I miss them tonight.

  • I know that my debt to them is beyond measure.

  • To my sister Maya, my sister Alma,

  • all my other brothers and sisters,

  • thank you so much for all the support that you've given me.

  • I am grateful to them.

  • And to my campaign manager,

  • David Plouffe...

  • the unsung hero of this campaign,

  • who built the best - the best political campaign,

  • I think, in the history of the United States of America.

  • To my chief strategist David Axelrod...

  • who's been a partner with me every step of the way.

  • To 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. 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 $5 and $10 and $20 to the 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.

  • It drew strength from the not-so-young people

  • who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat

  • to knock on doors of perfect strangers,

  • and 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 the Earth.

  • This is your victory.

Hallo Chicago!

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