Below is a transcript of Barack Obama’s Victory Speech in Grant Park on Nov. 4, 2008.
Here is video of this speech:
TRANSCRIPT OF PRESIDENT-ELECT OBAMA’S SPEECH
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.
A senior advisor to the Barack Obama campaign confirmed on Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2008, to NBC News that Illinois Rep. Rahm Emanuel has accepted the job of Chief of Staff for the Obama White House.
Nov. 6 Statement from President-Elect Barack Obama
“I am pleased to announce that my good friend, Congressman Rahm Emanuel, has agreed to serve as my White House chief of staff. I announce this appointment first because the Chief of Staff is central to the ability of a President and Administration to accomplish an agenda. And no one I know is better at getting things done than Rahm Emanuel.
John Podesta, Valerie Jarrett and Pete Rouse have been named co-chairs of Barack Obama’s and Joe Biden’s transition team, according to Nick Shapiro of the Obama-Biden campaign. A new 501(c)(4), to be known as the Obama-Biden Transition Project, is being formally planned.
Podesta served as Bill Clinton’s chief of staff and is currently president of the Center for American Progress. Jarrett is a long-time associate of Obama’s from Chicago and has served as senior advisor to his campaign. Rouse has served as Obama’s chief of staff during his U.S. Senate tenure, a position Rouse also filled for former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle.
In a heavy drizzle shortly after midnight on November 5, 2008, several thousand people filled the barricaded segment of Pennsylvania Avenue between 15th and 17th streets in front of the White House dancing and chanting “O-ba-ma!” and “Whose house? Obama’s house!” Some sang “America the Beautiful” and “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
At 14th and U streets NW, hundreds of Sen. Barack Obama’s supporters chanted, “Yes, we can!” People danced on bus shelters. Strangers hugged.
Here is some video of the event recorded on Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House:
Election night ended an extraordinary day in the Washington region, one charged with deep emotion and a vivid sense of history. Older African Americans wiped away tears as they cast their ballots, overwhelmed by the reality that in their lifetime a man of color was at the threshold of the presidency. Some went to the polls with icons linking them to loved ones: a poll-tax receipt, photos of long-dead relatives. Many brought their children to bear witness.
President George W. Bush said Wednesday (11/5/08) that he had congratulated Barack Obama on his historic election as the first black president of the United States, saying that voters had “showed a watching world the vitality of America’s democracy and the strides we have made toward a more perfect union.”
The president, in brief remarks from the White House Rose Garden, also said he had spoken last night to Senator John McCain to congratulate him on what Bush called “a determined campaign.”
“The American people will always be grateful for the lifetime of service John McCain has devoted to this nation,” Bush said, adding that he felt certain that the Arizona senator would “continue to make tremendous contributions.”
Here is video of George W. Bush making a public statement from the Rose Garden of the White House to congratulate President-Elect Obama.
The president, who will hand over power to Obama on Jan. 20 in what surely will be one of the most widely watched inaugurations ever, promised to do everything possible to ensure a smooth transition.
