If a speech were a book, then President Elect Barack Obama's acceptance speech Tuesday night would be a Pulitzer Prize winner. Here it is, in its entirety. Notice not just how exquisitely beautiful the language is, but how sprawling and grand the themes. It will be studies for decades to come as just how moving the written and spoken word can be:
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.
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 very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.
It's 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.
It's 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.
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.
I just received a very gracious call from Senator McCain. He fought long and hard in this campaign, and he's 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 nation's 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 nation's next First Lady, Michelle Obama. Sasha and Malia, I love you both so much, and you have earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the White House. 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 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 you've 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 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 five dollars and ten dollars and twenty dollars to this cause. It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation's 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 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 doctor's 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 won't agree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know that 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 join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it's 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, it's 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 America's 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 that's on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She's 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 couldn't vote for two reasons because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.
And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can't, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.
At a time when women's 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 can't, 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.
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I'm confused.
Why is it "not Oprah's book club"
Does feministing have something against Oprah? Her book club?
Why can't it be "the feministing book club" or just "book club"?
Why the diss?
Authors on Oprah's book club list include
William Faulkner
Jeffrey Eugenides
Toni Morrison
Maya Angelou
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Barbra Kingsolver
Isabelle Allende
John Steinbeck
Leo Tolstoy
Pearl S. Buck
I'm a fan of Oprah's book club. When people diss Oprah's book club, it always reminds me of this interesting Bitch Magazine article discussing stereotypes about gender and literary standards.
If you're interested:
http://bitchmagazine.org/article/franzen
i read "not oprah's book club" as less of a diss and more of a "the masses aren't reading this right now, but it can enlighten you in ways that oprah's book club has done for many"
That makes sense.
The masses were pretty tuned into it you know. We worked hard, voted, and gave a hell of a lot of money for the opportunity to hear that speech.
Yeah, thanks for chiming in folks. We've been through this before...basically it's NOT Oprah's book club because I can't write a review and immediately sell 5,000 times as many copies of Anna Karenina. I love what she's done for reading and readers. (I do think there's something sort of undemocratic about how much power she has. It's disproportionate and the opposite of blogging in so many ways.)
Haha, you know this country has made great strides when an African American woman has come to represent the existing power structure.
People don't have to watch Oprah. People can read blogs if they want to. Oprah's successful because people choose her. How is that undemocratic?
I think blogging could be considered more "democratic" because it gives the power to influence culture and politics to anyone who has a computer, rather than to just anyone who has a multi-million dollar media enterprise. Oprah aside, blogging and the internet give people the power to frame the political discourse; otherwise the discourse would pretty much be controlled by corporate media talking heads.
I understand that: until yesterday I read Andrew Sullivan's blog and my God is he a proponent of bloggerism. But Oprah succeeds and has influence because a gazillion people care what she has to say. I'm not one of them, but the majority rules. If people didn't care what Oprah had to say, she'd disappear with her ratings. Democracy.
More people have televisions than home computers. Blogs are less accessible to people who are low income, very young and very old.
Not everyone has access to computers and many who have access only have that at work, where they are not allowed to read blogs.
Thanks for clarifying your position.
You stated that you've been through this before. It sounds like a diss &/or is coming off sounding mean or jealous until clarification to others, not just me.
Like you, I too "love what she's done for reading and readers". A blog can be as popular and powerful as Oprah's show. It is possible.
Oprah is a feminist who worked hard to be in a position to inform and inspire so many people.
Feministing should be so lucky.
This speech is so touching. Listening to Obama is a different experience for me than listening to other politicians' rhetoric; he really believes in what he's saying, and he never fails to give me chills.
I have to say, the "disabled and not disabled" line really distracted me, which just struck me as bizarre, clumsy language (disappointing from a politician known for his ability to speak so powerfully). Maybe it's positive that people was disabilities were acknowledged as a segment of the US population, but I disliked the way it was worded--as non-disabled as the norm, and identified as what they are not. I mean, he didn't say, "Gay and not-gay." Maybe disabled is one of those identies that doesn't need an opposite, especially considering the (imo) slippery definition of it. I work with kids in a special ed program, and it's not easy to tell who's "disabled" and who's "not disabled."
Yeah, that distracted me too. But that sentence had a rhythm of A and B, C and D, so it would have been awkward to just say disabled. And it's better to say disabled and not disabled than disabled and abled, which seems kinda insulting.
i actually loved that he used that languaged. according to one of my favorite writers on privilege, allen johnson: use of "disabled/ non-disabled" as centering people with disabilities' identities rather than "able bodied" folks being the norm/hegemon/center. johnson's purpose in using such language is to point out that we're all very temporarily "abled"
That's exactly what I was going to say. I appreciate the twist he gave on that usual distinction. "Disabled" and "abled" sounds a little too dismissive of the disabled. It's almost like saying "normal or disabled". The reason "disabled and not disabled" sounds so strange is because we're all accustomed to hearing of thinking of the disabled as not normal. It's rare that the minority can be put in a first position, rather than being othered in language always.
I was also shaken out of the exquisite rhythm he was in by the "disabled and not disabled" phrasing, but how else could he have said it? There isn't any other word that works, so maybe we just have to hear it said a few times for it to sound good.
I agree the wording sounded a bit clumsy, but I can't think of another way to word it without being more offensive. He couldn't really say "able" vs "disabled," right? And "able-bodied" leaves out all the disabilities that aren't physical. As a physically disabled person myself, I'd be super irritated if he called me "differently abled," or any other overly-euphemistic phrasing.
Good point about Oprah's book club! Some of our favorite ladies have been featured as authors. Maybe Courtney has issues with it that we're not aware of. But, considering how much Oprah adores Obama, this speech surely WOULD be a candidate for her 'book club.' Hmmm ...
In other news: I hate to be a cynical party pooper but, for me, the speech doesn't represent great literature. Great rhetoric, maybe. I was there in Grant Park, and the energy was amazing, and he is a wonderful, inspiring speaker. I know. But the rhetoric is so unbelievably soaring, I find it hard to accept.
There are very real conflicts in our country, and the greatest of these (I believe) is the conflict between business interests and the interests of working-class people. I haven't seen any real evidence that Obama will be any kind of revolutionary figure in this struggle. He is getting ready to set up a government which will probably retain some of the architects of the Iraq war. Papers like the New York Times are already telling us to "tamp down" our expectations for an Obama presidency. But honestly, my expectations were never as high as Obama's speeches asked them to be.
"But honestly, my expectations were never as high as Obama's speeches asked them to be."
Really? I thought one of the main points of all of his speeches were about maintaining a realistic notion of change- slow but significant progress over long periods of time.
I don't really see all the problems people have mentioned with this speech. Although I, too, stumbled over "disabled and not disabled," he could have made it so much worse. I work with the disabled/handicapped/special needs community, and there is still no PC way of saying it--what one person prefers to be called, another person hates. I do applaud Obama for bringing out a particular set of differences that few politicians and public figures. Part of the reason no one knows what to say is because we don't talk about it at all. Believe me, he would have many more people down his throat if he had said "disabled and able-bodied" or, God forbid, "disabled and normal".
And after 8 years of Bush's ridiculousness, to know that we have a leader who can speak well and give speeches like this, I can't believe we're not all jumping up and down. Any mistakes Obama made in that speech shows that we elected a human, not a god, which everyone should have known already. I cried when he first gave it and I cried reading this. I look forward to many more moving speeches from President Barack Obama.
As someone who had to study presidential speeches as part of her senior research project, I can't even begin to tell you how amazing it was to listen to this speech! It was phenomenal!!!
I am SO ready to hear this man speak for the next 4 (hopefully 8 years). I have never felt so affected by a politician. He is destined for greatness.
When I first heard it, with tears rolling down my eyes with joy, I just couldn't believe that this moment had arrived.I've seen it several times since and every time I think to myself: that wasn't an acceptance speech, it was THE acceptance speech. I'm not sure I'll ever hear another one like it again (except possibly in about four years).
I cried like a baby from the moment he started speaking. I hadn't cried since 1998.
Yay! A quotable President for a change!
I'm willing to let the whole "disabled, not-disabled" thing slide because I feel that at least he was aiming at acknowledging diversely-abled folk like me. Hopefully he'll learn a bit more about the multi-abled community as he serves his term(s)
I think Bush was incredibly quotable. There are books of nothing but Bush quotes!
Though I guess you meant quotable in a good way...
A president who you can quote without being accused of vile slander?
Haha! In Canada we have a book of Jean Chretien quotes which was pretty popular when he was Prime Minister
But yes, quotable in a good way.
"I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it's been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand."
Alright, Prez, you got me, I'm ready to go. Now what do I do? Where do I sign up to help?
I checked your website, but I didn't see anything other than campaigning. And you don't need that anymore.
*
Does anyone know his plans with this? Or is this a general "get out and volunteer" message? It doesn't feel like it.
I thought it was a beautiful speech. This all still hasn't sunken in yet though, so I can't tell how excited or happy I might be. But I think his speech was hopeful but realistic. It's like "Look, I can't change everything wrong with this country. But maybe if we work hard we can do some good."
My actual favorite part was when he spoke to those who don't support him "I'm listening. I need your help." I found that extremely touching and sincere. It's a vulnerable thing for anyone to say "I need your help" let alone the freakin' president.
Maybe it's not great literature, but I don't think most speeches are. However, it will go down as one of the most significant, famous, great speeches in history. Along with his speech on race.
Did Bush ever make a great speech? Or even a decent speech for that matter?
obama speech made me have chills. What an awesome speech. People will be reading this speech in history books. i am so glad he is president.
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