Obama: "The Past Versus the Future"
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Barack Obama routed his opponents in South Carolina, partly because voters wanted change, his campaign said.
"Tonight was a rejection of the politics of the past," Obama campaign communications director Robert Gibbs told reporters. "South Carolina voters spoke for a politics that will bring us together."
CBS News exit polling showed that 54 percent of voters said that the ability for a candidate to bring about change mattered most in how they decided who to vote for today. And of those 54 percent, 3/4 of them voted for Obama.
Obama's victory speech stayed on message but he did not let up against opponents despite the victory.
"There are real differences between the candidates. We are looking for more than just a change of party in the White House. We're looking to fundamentally change the status quo in Washington – a status quo that extends beyond any particular party," Obama said, "And right now, that status quo is fighting back with everything it's got."
Obama told the crowd several times the election will not be easy because of "distractions and drama." "We are up against the idea that it's acceptable to say anything and do anything to win an election," Obama said.
"It's the politics that uses religion as a wedge, and patriotism as a bludgeon. A politics that tells us that we have to think, act, and even vote within the confines of the categories that supposedly define us."
Obama was determined to convey that his win was due to more than just the African American vote, though exit polls showed that 55 percent of voters today were black and Obama won 78 percent of the black vote.
Throughout his speech, he spoke about the diversity of his supporters and the people who he met.
"I did not travel around this state over the last year and see a white South Carolina or a black South Carolina. I saw South Carolina," Obama said.
"The choice in this election is not between regions or religions or genders. It's not about rich versus poor; young versus old; and it is not about black versus white. It's about the past versus the future."