Obama's victory speech

The following is a transcript of Senator Barack Obama’s victory speech in Chicago, as

provided

by Federal News Service.

SENATOR BARACK OBAMA: (Cheers, applause.) Hello, Chicago. (Cheers, applause.)

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. (Cheers, applause.)

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 -- (cheers) --

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. (Cheers, applause.)

It's the answer that -- 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 day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.

(Cheers, applause.)

A little bit earlier this evening, I received an extraordinarily gracious call from Senator McCain.

(Cheers, applause.) 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. (Applause.) I congratulate him, I congratulate Governor Palin for all they've achieved,

and I look forward to working with them to renew this nation's promise in the months ahead.

(Cheers, applause.)

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. (Cheers, applause.)

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. (Cheers, applause.)

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 White House. (Cheers, applause.)

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 sister Maya, my sister Auma, all my other brothers and sisters, thank you so much for all

the support that you've given to me. I am grateful to them. (Cheers, applause.)

And to my campaign manager, David Plouffe -- (cheers, applause) -- the unsung hero of this

campaign who built the best -- (cheers) -- the best political campaign I think in the history of the

United States of America -- (cheers, applause) -- to my chief strategist, David Axelrod -- (cheers,

applause) -- who has been a partner with me every step of the way, to the best campaign team ever

assembled in the history of politics -- (cheers) -- you made this happen, and I am forever grateful

for what you've sacrificed to get it done. (Cheers, applause.)

But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to. It belongs to you. (Cheers,

applause.) It belongs to you. (Cheers.)

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. (Cheers, applause.) It grew strength from the young people who rejected the

myth of their generation's apathy -- (cheers) -- 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 the 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. (Cheers, applause.)

Now, 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 doctors' bills or save

enough for their child's college education.

There's new energy to harness, new jobs to be created, new schools to build, and threats to meet,

alliances to repair.

The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in

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. (Cheers, applause.)

AUDIENCE: Yes, we can! Yes, we can! Yes, we can! Yes, we can! Yes, we can!

MR. OBAMA: 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 the 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 to join in the work of remaking this nation the

only way it's been done in America for 221 years -- block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand

by calloused hand.

What began 21 months ago in the depths of winter cannot 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 can't happen without you, without

a new spirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice. So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of