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.