Heartiest Congratulations to Barack Obama and Joe Biden for the Presidential term 2013 - 2017 . You really deserve your second term to carry out the blueprint laid down for another 4 years
Obama's Victory celebration 2012 in Chicago . After a close race, President Barack Obama thanked the crowd as he spoke in Chicago, Illinois on Wednesday morning , November 7th. 2012
Barack
Obama delivered his victory speech at the McCormick Place convention cenenter in
Chicago this morning: Full transcript of his victory remarks
Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you so much.
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.
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.
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.
I want to
thank every American who participated in this election, whether you voted for
the very first time or waited in line for a very long time. By the way, we have
to fix that.
Whether you
pounded the pavement or picked up the phone, whether you held an Obama sign or
a Romney sign, you made your voice heard and you made a difference.
I just
spoke with Governor Romney and I congratulated him and Paul Ryan on a
hard-fought campaign.
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
the legacy that we honor and applaud tonight.
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.
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.
And I
wouldn’t be the man I am today without the woman who agreed to marry me 20 years
ago.
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.
Sasha and
Malia, before our very eyes you’re growing up to become two strong, smart
beautiful young women, just like your mom.
To the best
campaign team and volunteers in the history of politics...
The best.
The best ever. 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 life-long appreciation
of a grateful president. Thank you for believing all the way, through every
hill, through every valley.
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.
I know that
political campaigns can sometimes seem small, even silly. And that provides
plenty of fodder for the cynics that 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 in 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.
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.
You’ll hear
the deep patriotism in the voice of a military spouse whose 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.
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. 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
To the
young boy on the south side of Chicago who sees a life beyond the nearest
street corner.
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 future we hope for. That’s the vision we share. That’s where we need
to go - forward.
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.
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.
Tonight you
voted for action, not politics as usual.
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.
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. 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; that this country only works when we accept certain
obligations to one another and to future generations. 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.
I am
hopeful tonight because I’ve seen the 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 reenlist 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.
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.
And I saw
just the other day, in Mentor, Ohio, where a father told the story of his
8-year-old daughter, whose long battle with leukaemia nearly cost their family
everything had it not been for health care reform passing just a few months
before the insurance company was about to stop paying for her care.
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.
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.
I have
never been more hopeful about America. And I ask you to sustain that hope. I’m
not talking about blind optimism, the kind of hope that just ignores the
enormity of the tasks ahead or the roadblocks 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.
America, I
believe we can build on the progress we’ve made and continue to fight for new
jobs and new opportunity and new security for the middle class. I believe we
can keep the promise of our founders, 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, able,
disabled, gay or straight, you can make it here in America if you’re willing to
try.
I believe
we can seize this future together because we are not as divided as our politics
suggests. We’re not as cynical as the pundits believe. We are greater than the
sum of our individual ambitions, and we remain more than a collection of red
states and blue states. We are and forever will be the United States of
America.
And
together with your help and God’s grace we will continue our journey forward
and remind the world just why it is that we live in the greatest nation on
Earth.
Thank you,
America. God bless you. God bless these United States.
END
Mitt Romney , the Republican Presidential Candidate
Concession Speech 2012
END
Mitt Romney , the Republican Presidential Candidate
Concession Speech 2012
Full transcript of Mitt Romney Concession Speech 2012
ROMNEY:
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, my friends. Thank you so very much.
(APPLAUSE)
Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you.
I have just
called President Obama to congratulate him on his victory. His supporters and
his campaign also deserve congratulations.
ROMNEY: His
supporters and his campaign also deserve congratulations. I wish all of them
well, but particularly the president, the first lady and their daughters.
(APPLAUSE)
This is a
time of great challenges for America, and I pray that the president will be
successful in guiding our nation.
(APPLAUSE)
ROMNEY: I
want to thank Paul Ryan for all that he has done for our campaign.
(APPLAUSE)
And for our
country. Besides my wife, Ann, Paul is the best choice I’ve ever made.
(APPLAUSE)
And I trust
that his intellect and his hard work and his commitment to principle will
continue to contribute to the good of our nation.
(APPLAUSE)
I also want
to thank Ann, the love of my life.
(APPLAUSE)
ROMNEY: She
would have been a wonderful first lady. She’s -- she has been that and more to
me and to our family and to the many people that she has touched with her
compassion and her care.
I thank my
sons for their tireless work on behalf of the campaign, and thank their wives
and children for taking up the slack as their husbands and dads have spent so
many weeks away from home.
(APPLAUSE)
I want to
thank Matt Rhoades and the dedicated campaign team he led.
(APPLAUSE)
They have
made an extraordinary effort not just for me, but also for the country that we
love.
And to you
here tonight, and to the team across the country -- the volunteers, the
fundraisers, the donors, the surrogates -- I don’t believe that there’s ever
been an effort in our party that can compare with what you have done over these
past years. Thank you so very much.
Thanks for
all the hours of work, for the calls, for the speeches and appearances, for the
resources and for the prayers. You gave deeply from yourselves and performed
magnificently. And you inspired us and you humbled us. You’ve been the very
best we could have imagined.
ROMNEY: The
nation, as you know, is at a critical point. At a time like this, we can’t risk
partisan bickering and political posturing. Our leaders have to reach across
the aisle to do the people’s work.
And we
citizens also have to rise to the occasion. We look to our teachers and
professors, we count on you not just to teach, but to inspire our children with
a passion for learning and discovery.
We look to
our pastors and priests and rabbis and counselors of all kinds to testify of
the enduring principles upon which our society is built: honesty, charity,
integrity and family.
We look to
our parents, for in the final analysis everything depends on the success of our
homes.
ROMNEY: We
look to job creators of all kinds. We’re counting on you to invest, to hire, to
step forward.
And we look
to Democrats and Republicans in government at all levels to put the people
before the politics.
I believe
in America. I believe in the people of America.
(APPLAUSE)
And I ran
for office because I’m concerned about America. This election is over, but our
principles endure. I believe that the principles upon which this nation was
founded are the only sure guide to a resurgent economy and to renewed
greatness.
Like so many
of you, Paul and I have left everything on the field. We have given our all to
this campaign.
(APPLAUSE)
I so wish
-- I so wish that I had been able to fulfill your hopes to lead the country in
a different direction, but the nation chose another leader. And so Ann and I
join with you to earnestly pray for him and for this great nation.
Thank you,
and God bless America. You guys are the best. Thank you so much. Thank you.
Thanks, guys.
(APPLAUSE)
November 6, 2008 Barack Obama Elect President Victory Speech