Obama re-embraces "hope" in victory speech

US President Barack Obama gives the thumbs-up to a crowd of supporters on stage on election night November 6, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois. President Barack Obama swept to re-election Tuesday, forging history again by transcending a slow economic recovery and the high unemployment which haunted his first term to beat Republican Mitt Romney. / JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty

Applauding Mitt Romney's choice "to give back in public service and legacy" and vowing to work across the aisle with him in the weeks ahead, President Obama told a packed room at his Chicago victory rally that he returns to his second term in the White House "more determined and more inspired than ever about the future that lies ahead."

"Whether I earned your vote or not," the president said early this morning in a glancing reference to Romney's now-infamous "47 percent" comment, "I have listened to you, I have learned form you, and you made me a better president."

Mr. Obama took the stage at Chicago's McCormick Place with his wife, Michelle, two daughters, and Vice President Joe Biden, whom he labeled his "friend and partner of the last four years, America's happy warrior, the best vice president anybody could ever hope for." What was expected to be a long night of close calls ended relatively early with a game-changing win for the president in the battleground state of Ohio.

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President Obama's victory speech

Echoing lines from his stump speech, the president argued that while political campaigns "sometimes seem small" and allow "plenty of fodder for cynics," the ultimate goal uniting Americans from both political parties and all walks of life is to provide hope for "the child in North Carolina who wants to become a doctor, scientist, engineer or an entrepreneur, a diplomat, or even a president."

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While "we will disagree, sometimes fiercely, about how to get there," he continued, "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 past. ...That common bond is where we must begin.

"Our economy is recovering, a decade of war is ending, a long campaign is now over," he said to cheers.

In his remarks, which ran for more than 20 minutes, Mr. Obama re-embraced the campaign mantle of "hope and change" that helped usher him to victory in 2008, and which the Republican ticket in recent weeks repurposed as its own. "Tonight you voted for action, not politics as usual," he said.

"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," the president continued. "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 - that despite all the evidence to the contrary, that we have something to keep fighting for," he said. "America, I believe we can build on the progress we've made and continue to fight for new jobs and new opportunities and new security for the middle class."

Promising to deliver leadership for a bipartisan effort on everything from the upcoming "fiscal cliff" to immigration reform, the president said he would sit down with Romney in the weeks ahead "to talk about where we can work together to move this country forward."

"Democracy in a nation of 300 million can be noisy and messy and complicated," Mr. Obama said. "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," he continued. "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."

[hypnotoad72]

""Our economy is recovering, a decade of war is ending, a long campaign is now over," he said to cheers."

Wars dwindling down = good news and cost savings.

As long as middle class jobs are found and adjusted for inflation, it's hard to nitpick the economy, though everyone seems to be ambiguous over what "economy" means (supply-side, Wall Street, Main Street, or something else).

[KevinMiller100]

HOPE! Are you OUT of YOUR MINDS! BHO had his 4 years and he's bombed 16 poor, underdeveloped countries! Assassinated over 4 Americans extra judicially, one was a 16 years old boy who was killed by a drone while having a BBQ with friends in the cool of the evening. BHO will be deadly dangerous this second and final term. Americans must be informed and defend their bill of right or first 10 Amendments to the nail. If you want to benefit from this term, you will have to be on top of the situation. There is no room for fools here.

[hypnotoad72]

Links?

Context?

Or are you merely telling us what was written on toilet paper?

[BigMykul]

VICTORYDEM replies: What??? You're not getting any? You wont cooperate? You expect others to cooperate? What????
-----------------------------------------------------------
Never cooperate. Full obstruction. Boehner must keep these dumbocraps out of our wallets.

[hypnotoad72]

Hi childish troll who can do nothing more than namecall like a toddler,

http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/04/14/158424/republican-leaders-debt-limit-hypocrisy/

Your Boehner comrade is a massive hypocrite but maybe he's a "dumbocrap" too.

As is comrade Cantor:

http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/06/27/eric_cantor_conflict_of_interest/index.html

Amongst others, but I've added more detail in others' responses and are free for you to read.

So when you grow up, we might respond to you with a little civility. Right now, you deserve the same attitude you're blindly and wrongly putting out.

So grow up already.

[BigMykul]

Liadan1916 replies: We would get more debt no matter who won. Hurricane Sandy insured that one. And we *have* to invest in America. That is the way to get more American jobs and get people off welfare. Raising up the poor raises up everyone
-----------------------------------------------------------
How long do we have to raise up the poor? Cradle to grave. As for the northeast, at least when the storms are over, there won't be as many liberals screwing up the country.

[hypnotoad72]

Try putting value on work, instead of offshoring work to pocket the difference as personal "profit".

Your communist buddies are screwing up the country. Here's a small list of reminders:




http://www.ontheissues.org/senate/Rick_Santorum.htm#Corporations
http://www.ontheissues.org/john_mccain.htm#Corporations
http://www.ontheissues.org/senate/mitch_mcconnell.htm#Corporations
http://www.ontheissues.org/senate/jim_demint.htm#Corporations
http://www.ontheissues.org/senate/Orrin_Hatch.htm#Corporations
http://www.issues2000.org/senate/Judd_Gregg.htm#Corporations
http://www.ontheissues.org/Senate/Chuck_Grassley.htm#Corporations
http://www.ontheissues.org/senate/john_cornyn.htm#Corporations
and more...

"Voted NO on repealing tax subsidy for companies which move US jobs offshore. (Mar 2005)"

Now, read that - giving taxpayer money to corporations that offshore (to communist countries) has definitely not helped this country, but that's what they will tell us. In reality, all that means people in America are out of work as we're shipping jobs overseas. This also means we create a revenue problem because there are fewer working people to tax and gives the appearance of overspending. Replacing middle class wage-paying jobs with low wage-paying jobs (or unpaid or "volunteer" labor) doesn't help either. This also means the dislocated start to suffer from "skills rot", but I'm sure most people can think through all of the ramifications... but I digress:

Obama voted 'YES' to repeal the anti-free market corporate handout issue mentioned above...

So, if you want the full list of communists, which includes some Democrats, check out the full list:

http://www.ontheissues.org/SenateVote/Party_2005-63.htm

Now, let me know if that doesn't help you understand one of the problems our country faces.

You're welcome.

[surmall]

Congratulation,Obama
The election is over "We Have a Lot of Work to Do"

[lisachamp]

It was an absolutely beautiful victory speech, very moving. Thank you, President Obama.

[Liadan1916]

We had a major victory last night, popular and electoral vote won handily. But it still should not have been this close. Big money and the propaganda media scored major victories too. We have a lot of work to do and we still don't have the Congress to do it. The GOP will continue to obstruct jobs bills and improving the economy. They *still* will work to make America fail and try again in 2016. Party first, people second. We have to lobby hard against that. If we want to protect Democracy, we need campaign reform and media reform. We have to expect greater economic problems due to the GOP and to the fallout from Hurricane Sandy. This won't be because of any so-called Liberal policies and increased debt. This would have happened regardless of who won. We have to work and get a Congress that Obama can work with or we will have a repeat of the last four years. We need to adopt a page from Mormonism or the Jehovah's Witnesses and send out witnesses on missions to educate America and fight against FOX propaganda and Rove money. We have to fight the Swiftboating. We need to convince the GOP and their drones that Conservatives will not be elected again unless they start serving the people not corporations. Repeal Citizen's United is priority one!

[hypnotoad72]

True.

It's a shame the President can't put out some executive orders that fix the system, but some people would just blindly shriek "Communist" no matter what he does... even after years of compromising and getting virtually nowhere.

[grumpas]

As some of the comments here have demonstrated. The Republican Party has become so filled with hate ridden people it is sad to watch how far in the mud they have drug the Party of Lincoln in 30 short years. A lot of us won't vote Republican again until they lose this element. Along with all the social conservatives determined to drag this country back a 100 years and control people's behavior. The Republican Party is not capable of any sound government anymore. The last congress proved that. So where is the point in voting that kind of mess back into power and destroying what's left of the country??? Most Republican's could care less about this countries future, just their twisted ideology. That's what it's become today with the nasty epitates spewed by their followers. And they wonder why a lot of us won't vote for them?????

[zenia5]

Ditto, grumpas. It's pathetic what today's GOP has morphed into. Until their ideology changes for the better, they will never win another presidential election.

[BigMykul]

Some of us will never vote for a dumbocrap. No compromise, let it fail, then we can get rid of the 47% leeches, and maybe the worthless unions.

[BigMykul]

No cooperation.

[hypnotoad72]

Obama compromised for years, while the GOP obstructed.

I've posted links plenty of times pointing that out.

[bobmike81]

AT least we held the house so we can somewhat slow the decay of this nation.

[sjc_1]

The TeaPublicans CAUSED the decay of the nation. Last summer they took us to the brink of default which got our credit rating reduced. THAT is a LOT of decay.