Barack Obama's Victory Speech in Chicago following the election on November 4th, 2008.

Full Transcript:

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.

Its 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.

Its 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.

Its 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.

Its 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 hes 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
nations 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 nations next
First Lady, Michelle Obama. Sasha and Malia, I love you both so much, and you have earned
the new puppy thats coming with us to the White House. And while shes 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 youve 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 didnt 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 generations 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 didnt do this just to win an election and I know you didnt 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 theyll make
the mortgage, or pay their doctors 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 wont agree with every
decision or policy I make as President, and we know that government cant 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 its 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, its 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 Americas
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
thats on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. Shes 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 couldnt vote for two reasons - because she
was a woman and because of the color of her skin.

And tonight, I think about all that shes seen throughout her century in America - the
heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we
cant, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.

At a time when womens 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 cant, 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.