Much Of Note Happened This Day -- In History...

In 1959, as well as in 1979 -- and in many many prior years. . . much of note happened. But for me, on this cool rainy Saturday morning -- the early evening hours of 2008, an unseasonably perfect and warm fourth of November evening in Grant Park -- will always stand out.

I'll hush -- and let our 44^th President do the rest (we miss you, man!):

. . . .[T]onight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America. . . . The road ahead will be long, our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year, or even in one term — but America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. . . .

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

Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the 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 asleep and wonder how they'll make the mortgage or pay their doctors' bills or save enough for their child's college education. . . .

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

This is our time, to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth, that, out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope. . . .

And where we are met with cynicism and doubts and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can. . . .

It seems so long ago, now -- and yet, as though it were only yesterday.

So we do celebrate this day for a host of reasons -- and we will continue to do so, for the rest of our lives. It is in fact, as though we are carrying a torch -- in the mostly dark and dangerous night, of this moment. . . a torch of. . . hope. . . . for the arc of history to once again bend toward. . . progress.

So. Don't. Give. Up. On. Me. That's what this moment is all about:







नमस्ते