A jubilant crowd cheered Barack Obama on Tuesday as the nation’s first African-American president-elect vowed to be a president for all of America.
“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,” he told a crowd of 125,000 people in Chicago’s Grant Park.
“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,” he said.
Speaking in soaring rhetoric of the chance for an end to cynicism, fear and doubt about the power of democracy, the Illinois senator spoke to an emotional crowd surrounded by clear bulletproof screens on his left and right.
He sprinkled his address with references to the civil rights struggle that has led to him being elected the country’s first black president. To those who voted against him, he said, “I will be your president, too.”
In his first speech as victor, Obama catalogued the challenges ahead.
“The greatest of a lifetime,” he said, “two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century.”
He added, “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.”
After a gracious concession speech from vanquished rival John McCain, Obama praised the service of the Arizona senator, who served years in the military and as a Vietnam POW.
“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. We are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader,” he said, adding that he looks forward to working with him in the future.
Obama and his running mate, Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware, will take their oaths of office as president and vice president on Jan. 20, 2009. Obama will move into the Oval Office as leader of a country that is almost certainly in recession, and trying to end two long wars, one in Iraq, the other in Afghanistan.
In his speech, Obama invoked the words of Lincoln and echoed John F. Kennedy. “So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder,” he said.
Obama has said his first order of presidential business will be to tackle the economy. He has also pledged to withdraw most U.S. combat troops from Iraq within 16 months.