'Change Has Come To America'

Full text of US President-elect Barack Obama's speech in Chicago afterwinning the presidential election. For video, please click here: PartI, PartII, partIII


Hello, Chicago.

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where allthings are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive inour time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is youranswer.

It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches innumbers this nation has never seen, by people who waited three hours and fourhours, many for the first time in their lives, because they believed that thistime 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 notdisabled. Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been justa collection of individuals or 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've been told for so long by so many to becynical and fearful and doubtful about what we can achieve to put their hands onthe 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 datein this election at this defining moment change has come to America.

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

Senator McCain fought long and hard in this campaign. And he's fought evenlonger and harder for the country that he loves. He has endured sacrifices forAmerica that most of us cannot begin to imagine. We are better off for theservice rendered by this brave and selfless leader.

I congratulate him; I congratulate Governor Palin for all that they've achieved.And I look forward to working with them to renew this nation's promise in themonths 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 the train home to Delaware, the vice president-elect of theUnited States, Joe Biden.

And I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of mybest friend for the last 16 years ... the rock of our family, the love of mylife, the nation's next first lady ... Michelle Obama.

Sasha and Malia ... I love you both more than you can imagine. And you haveearned the new puppy that's coming with us ...to the new White House.

And while she's no longer with us, I know my grandmother's watching, along withthe family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight. I know that my debt tothem is beyond measure.

To my sister Maya, my sister Alma, all my other brothers and sisters, thank youso much for all the support that you've given me. I am grateful to them.

And to my campaign manager, David Plouffe ... the unsung hero of this campaign,who built the best , the best political campaign, I think, in the history of theUnited States of America.

To my chief strategist David Axelrod ... who's been a partner with me every stepof the way.

To the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics ... you madethis happen, and I am forever grateful for what you've sacrificed to get itdone.

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

I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn't start with muchmoney or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls ofWashington. It began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms ofConcord and the front porches of Charleston. It was built by working men andwomen who dug into what little savings they had to give $5 and $10 and $20 tothe cause.

It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of theirgeneration's apathy ... who left their homes and their families for jobs thatoffered little pay and less sleep.

It drew strength from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold andscorching heat to knock on doors of perfect strangers, and from the millions ofAmericans who volunteered and organized and proved that more than two centurieslater a government of the people, by the people, and for the people has notperished from the Earth.

This is your victory.

And I know you didn't do this just to win an election. And I know you didn't doit for me.

You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. Foreven as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bringare the greatest of our lifetime , two wars, a planet in peril, the worstfinancial crisis in a century.

Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up inthe deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us.

There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after the children fall asleepand wonder how they'll make the mortgage or pay their doctors' bills or saveenough for their child's college education.

There's new energy to harness, new jobs to be created, new schools to build, andthreats to meet, alliances to repair.

The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there inone year or even in one term. But, America, I have never been more hopeful thanI am tonight that we will get there.

I promise you, we as a people will get there.

[Audience: Yes we can! Yes we can! Yes we can!]

There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree withevery decision or policy I make as president. And we know the government can'tsolve every problem.

But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listento you, especially when we disagree. And, above all, I will ask you to join inthe work of remaking this nation, the only way it's been done in America for 221years , 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 autumnnight.

This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance for us tomake 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 ofsacrifice.

So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, where each of usresolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves but eachother.

Let us remember that, if this financial crisis taught us anything, it's that wecannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers.

In this country, we rise or fall as one nation, as one people. Let's resist thetemptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturitythat has poisoned our politics for so long.

Let's remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner ofthe Republican Party to the White House, a party founded on the values ofself-reliance and individual liberty and national unity.

Those are values that we all share. And while the Democratic Party has won agreat victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination toheal the divides that have held back our progress.

As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, we are not enemies butfriends. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds ofaffection.

And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won yourvote tonight, but I hear your voices. I need your help. And I will be yourpresident, too.

And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments andpalaces, to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of theworld, our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn ofAmerican leadership is at hand.

To those , to those who would tear the world down: We will defeat you. To thosewho seek peace and security: We support you. And to all those who have wonderedif America's beacon still burns as bright: Tonight we proved once more that thetrue strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale ofour wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty,opportunity and unyielding hope.

That's the true genius of America: that America can change. Our union can beperfected. What we've already achieved gives us hope for what we can and mustachieve tomorrow.

This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told forgenerations. But one that's on my mind tonight's about a woman who cast herballot in Atlanta. She's a lot like the millions of others who stood in line tomake their voice heard in this election except for one thing: Ann Nixon Cooperis 106 years old.

She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars onthe road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for tworeasons: 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 weretold that we can't, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yeswe can.

At a time when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she livedto 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 sawa nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs, a new sense of commonpurpose. Yes we can.

[Audience: Yes we can]

When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she wasthere to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yeswe can.

Audience: Yes we can.

She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge inSelma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that We Shall Overcome. Yeswe can.

[Audience: Yes we can.]

A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world wasconnected by our own science and imagination.

And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and casther vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and thedarkest of hours, she knows how America can change.

Yes we can.

[Audience: Yes we can]

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more todo. So tonight, let us ask ourselves , if our children should live to see thenext century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann NixonCooper, 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 opportunityfor our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaimthe American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth, that, out of many, weare one; that while we breathe, we hope. And where we are met with cynicism anddoubts and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timelesscreed 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.