-
THE
PRESIDENT:
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. (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.
(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.
(Applause.)
I want to thank every American who
participated in this election. (Applause.) Whether
you
voted for the very first time or
waited in line for a very long time -- (applause)
-- by the way,
we have to fix that.
(Applause.) Whether you pounded the pavement or
picked up the phone
-- (applause) --
whether you held an Obama sign or a Romney sign,
you made your voice
heard, and you made
a difference. (Applause.)
I
just spoke with Governor Romney, and I
congratulated him and Paul Ryan on a hard-fought
campaign.
(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. (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. (Applause.)
I want to thank my friend and partner
of the last four years,
America
’
s happy warrior
--
(applause) -- the best
Vice President anybody could ever hope for -- Joe
Biden. (Applause.)
And I
wouldn
’
t be the man I am
today without the woman who agreed to marry me 20
years
ago. (Applause.) Let me say this
publicly -- Michelle, I have never loved you more.
I have
never been prouder to watch the
rest of America fall in love with you, too, as our
nation
’
s First
Lady. (Applause.) Sasha and Malia,
before our very eyes, you're growing up to become
two
strong, smart, beautiful young
women, just like your mom. (Applause.) And
I
’
m so proud of
you guys. But I will say that for now,
one dog is probably enough. (Laughter
.)
To the best campaign team
and volunteers in the history of politics --
(applause) -- the best.
The best
ever
. (Applause.) Some of you were new
this time around, and some of you have
been at my side since the very
beginning. 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
, and you
will have
the lifelong appreciation of a grateful President.
Thank you for believing all the way,
through every hill, through every
valley. (Applause.) You lifted me up the whole
way. And I
will always be grateful for
everything that you've done and all the incredible
work that you put
in. (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 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 worked his
way
through college, and wants to make
sure every child has that same opportunity.
(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.
(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. (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
, the chance to cast
their
ballots like we did today.
(Applause.)
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
--
(applause)
--
a
country
that
lives
up
to
its
legacy
as
the
global
leader
in
technology and discovery
and innovation, with all 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
by
inequality;
that
isn
’
t
threatened
by
the
destructive
power
of
a
warming
planet.
(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 world has
ever known -- (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.
(Applause.) To the young boy on the
South Side of Chicago who sees a life beyond the
nearest
street
corner
.
(Applause.)
To
the
furniture
worker
’
s
child
in
North
Carolina
who
wants
to
become a
doctor or a scientist, an engineer or
entrepreneur
, a diplomat or even a
President.
That
’
s
the
future
we
hope
for
.
That
’
s
the
vision
we
share.
That
’
s
where
we
need
to
go.
Forward.
(Applause.) That's where we need to go.
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, or solve 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.
A
long
campaign
is
now
over
.
(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. 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. (Applause.)
Tonight, you voted for action, not
politics as usual. (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. (Applause.)
But that doesn
’
t
mean your work is done. The role of citizen in our
democracy does not end
with your vote.
America has 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. (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,
culture are 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; that this country only works when we
accept
certain
obligations
to
one another
,
and
to
future
generations;
that
the
freedom
which
so
many Americans have
fought for and died for comes with
responsibilities as well as rights,
and
among those are love and charity and duty and
patriotism. That's what makes America
great. (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. (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.
(Applause.)
And
I
saw
it
just
the
other
day
in
Mentor
,
Ohio,
where
a
father
told
the
story
of
his