thank you. thank you. >> thank you. >> thank you, thank you. thank you so much. thank you all. thank you very, very much. well, well, this isn't exactly the party i planned but i sure like the company. and i want to start today by

saying how grateful i am to all of you. to everyone who hopoured your heart into the campaign, for those of you that made homemade signs and who raised money, who knocked on doors and made calls who talked and sometimes argued with your friends and neighbors -- [ applause ] who e-mailed and contributed online, who pin vested so much in our common enterprise, to the moms and dads who came to our events, who lifted their little girls and little boys on their shoulders, and whispered in their ears, see, you can be anything you want to be.

to the young people. [ applause ] like 13-year-old ann riddle from mayfield, ohio who had been saving for two years to go to disney world, and decided instead to use the money to travel to pennsylvania with her mom and volunteer as well. to the veterans and childhood friends and to new yorkers and arkansasians. who traveled across the country telling anyone who would listen, why you supported me. and to all those women in their 80s and their 90s born before

women could vote, who cast their votes for our campaign. i have told you before about florence stein of north dakota, 88 years old and insisted that her daughter bring a absentee ballot to her hospice bed side, and they put an american flag behind her bed and helped her fill it out. she passed away and under state law, her ballot did not count but her daughter said, my dad is a tough cow boy, and was not happy when he found her vote was not counted. he had not voted in 20 years, but he voted in place of my mom. [ applause ] so, to all those who voted for me and to whom i pledged by mosd

the progress we seek is unyielding. you have inspired and touched me with the stories and the joys of sorrows that make up the fabric of our lives, and you have humbled me with your commitment to our country, 18 million of you from all walks of life [ applause ] >> women, women and men. young and old, latino and asian, african american and caucasian, rich, poor, and middle class, gay and straight, you have stood with me.

and i will continue to stand strong with you every time, every place and in every way that i can. the dreams we share are worth fighting for. remember, we fought for the single mom with the young daughter juggling work and school, who told me i'm doing it all to better myself for her. we fought for the woman that grabbed my handzus and asked me, what are you going to do to make sure i have health care and began to cry, because even though she works three jobs, she can not afford insurance. we fought for young man and the mari marine corp t-shirt that waited for months for medical care, and said, take care of my buddies over there and will you then please take care of me. [ applause ] >> we fought for all those who

have lost jobs and health care. who can't afford gas or groceries or college, who have felt inadvisable to their president these last seven years, i entered the race because i had a conviction, that public service is about helping people solve their problems and live their dreams. i have had every opportunity and blessing in my life, and i want to same for all americans and until that day comes you'll always find me on the front lines of for the future. way, the way to contr

fight now, to accomplish the goals we stand, is to take our energy, our passion, our strength and do all we can to help elect barack obama the next p of the united states. >> today,o campaign, i congratulate him on the victory he has won and the extraordinary race he has run. iw my full support behind him.

and i ask all of in working as hard for barack obama as you have for me p i have served -- i have served in the senate with him for four years, i have been in this campaign with himormonths. i have stood on the stage and gone toe to toe with him in 22 debates. i have had a front row seat to his candidacy and i have seen his strength and determination and his grace and his grit. in his own life, barack obama has lived the american dream, as a community organizer in the state ant and a united states senator, he has dedicated himself to ensuring the dream is realized and in this campaign he has inspired so many to be in the democratic process. when i started this race, i

intended to win back the white house and make sure we have a president who puts our country back on the path to peace, prosperity and progress. and that is exactly whatwe going to do by ensuring that barack obama walks through the doors of the oval office on january 20th, 2009. [ applause ] that we all know, in has been a tough fight. but the democratic party is a family. and now it's time to restore the ties that bind us together and to come together around the ideals we share, the values we cherish and the country we love. we may have started on separate journeys but today our paths have merged and we are headed to

the same destination. united and more ready than ever, to win in november and to turn our country around because so much is at stake. we all want the opportunity to work hard and have that work rewarded. to save for college, a home and requireme retirement, and to afford the gas and groceries and still have a little left over at the end of the month and an economy that ensures that our prosperity is broadly disprohibited and shared. we want a health care system that is universal, high quality and affordable. so that parents don't have to choose between care for themselves or their children or be stuck in dead end jobs simply to keep their insurance. this is not just an issue for me. it is a passion and a cause and

it is a fight i will continue until every single americanptns excuses. we all want an america defined by deep and meaningful equality from civil rights to women's rights to gay rights, from ending discrimination, to promoting unionization, to providing help for the most important job there is, caring for our families. and we all want to restore america's standing in the world, to end the war in iraq and once again, lead by power of our values. and to join with our allies to confront our shared challenges, from poverty so genoside to

global warming. i have been involved in the white house in one way or the other and during those 40 years, our country has voted ten times for president. democrats won only three of those times, and the man who won two of those elections is with us today. [ applause ] we made tremendous progress during the '90s under a democratic president with a flourishing economy is with

leadership for peace and prosperity around the world. think how much more progress wektd -- we could have made over the last 40 years, think of the lost opportunities of these past seven year on the economy and environment and health care and civil rights on education, foreign policy and the supreme court, imagine how far we could have come p how much we could have achieved, if we had just had a democrat in the white house. we cannot let this moment slip away. we have come too far and accomplished too much. now, the journey ahead will not be easy. some will say we cannot do. that it's too hard, we are just not up to the task. bu america has existed, it has been the american way to reject "can't do claims" and to choose instead to

stretch the boundaries of the possible through hard work, determination and a pioneering spirit, it's this belief, this optimism that senator obama and i share, and it has inspired so many millions our supporters to make their voices heard. today time standing with senator obama to say yes we can! and that together we will work, we will have to work hard to achieve universal health care but to day we live in an america where no child, month man and no woman is without health insurance, we will live in a stronger america, that is why we need to help elect barack obama our president.

we will have to work hard to get back to fiscal responsibility. and a strong middle class. but on the day we live in an america whose middle class is growing again, where all americans no matter where they life or where their ancestors came from can earn a good living, we will live in a stronger america and that is why we must help elect barack obama our president. we will have to work hard to foster the innovations, that will make us energy independent and lift the threat of global warming from our children's future, on the day we live in an america, fueled by renewable energy, we will live in a stronger america and that is why, we have to help elect

barack obama our president. we will have to work hard to bring our troop approximates moment from iraq, and get them this support they have earned by their service. but on the day we live in an america that is as loyal to our troops as they have been to us, we will live in a stronger america and that is why we must help elect barack obama our president. in election is a turning points election. and it's critical that we all understand what our choice really is. will we go forward together or wheth will we stall and slip backwards. think how much progress we have made already. when we first started, people

everywhere asked the same questions, could a woman really serve as commander and chief? i think we answered that one. and could an african american really be our president and senator obama has answered that one. together senator obama and i achieved milestones essential to our progress as a nation and part of our duty to form a more perfect union. now, on a personal note, when i was asked what it means to be a woman running for president, i

gave the same answer, i was proud to be running as a woman and i was running because i thought i would be the best president. but -- [ applause ] but i am a come and like millions women, i know there are still barers and bias out there often unconscious and i want to build an america that respects and embraces the potential of every last one of us. i ran -- i ran as a daughter who benefitted from opportunities my mother never dreamed of. i ran as a mother who worries about my daughter's future and a

mother who wants to leave all children brighter tomorrows. to build that future i see, we must make sure that women and men alike understand the and their mothers. and that women enjoy equal opportunities, equal and equal respect. let us -- let us resolve and work toward achieving, very simple propositions, there are no acceptable limits and there are no acceptable pre

in you can be so prod o'proud that in now on it will be unremarkable for a woman to win primary stake victories. unremarkable to have a woman in a close race to be our nominee, unremarkable to think that a woman can be president of the united states and that is truly remarkable, my friends.disappoi

that we couldn't go all the way, especially the young people who put so much into this campaign, it would break my heart if in falling short of my goal, i in any way discouraged any of you from pursuing yours. always aim high, work hard and care deeply about what you believe in. and when you stumble, keep and when you're knocked down, get right back ud anyone who s can't or shouldn't go on.er her the woman to leave this

earth is orbiting right now. surely we can launch a woman someday into the white house. although shatter that hardest glass ceiling for you, thanks to it's got about 18 million cracks in it. and the light is shining through so that the path will be a little bit easier than the first time. a has always the history of progress in america. remember those who kept fighting until women could cast their votes.

think of the abboll igsists struggled, think of the heroes sold krers who risked their lives to bring out the end of segregation and jim crow. because of them, i grew up taking for granted that women could vote and because of them, my daughter grew up taking for granted that children of all colors could go to school together. because of them, barack obama and i could wage a hard fought campaign for the democratic nomination. because of them and because of you, children today will grow up taking for granted that an african-american or a woman can, yes, become the president of the united states. and so when that day arrives and

a woman takes the oath of office as our president, we will all stand taller, proud that every little girl can dream big and that her dreams can come true in america. and all of you will know that because of your passion and hard work, you helped paved thyourse. when you hear yourself saying what if, i say please don't go there, every moment looking back keeps us from moving forward. life is too short, time precious and there too high to dwell on what might have

been, you have to work together for what still can be, and that is why iy heart out to make sure that senator obama is our next president and i hope and pray that all of you will join me in that effort. to my supporters and congress and elected officials who stood with me in good timesanyou for leadership. to my friends who stood strong every step of the way, i thank you and pledge my support to you. to my friends from every stage of my life, your love and ongoing commitment sustained me

ever single day. to my family, especially bill, and chelsea and my mother, you mean the world to me and i thank you for all you have done. and to my extraordinary staff, volunteers and sup parties.-- s. thank you for working those leaving d tnk you for work or school, traveling to places you have never been, sometimes for months on end, and thanks to your families as well. because your sacrifice was theirs too, all of you were there for me every step of the way, now being human, we are imperfect, that's why we need each other, to catch each other when we falter, to encourage each other when we lose heart.

but none of us can go it alone, the changes we are working for are changes that we could only accomplish together. life, liberty and the pursuit og to us as individuals, but our lives, our freedom, our happiness are best enjoyed, best protected and best advanced when we do work together. that is what we will do now, as we join forces with senator obama and his campaign, we will make history together as we write the next chapter in america's story, we will stand united for the values we hold dear, for the vision of progress we share and for the country, we love, there is nothing more american than that, and looking out at you today, i have never felt so blessed. the challenges that i have faced in this campaign.

are nothing compared to those who millions of americans face every day in their lives. so i'm going to keep on doing what i was doing long before the cameras ever showed up and what i'll be doing long after they're gone, working to give every american the same opportunities i had and working to ensure that every child has a chance to grow up and achieve his or her god-given potential. i will do it with a heart filled with gratitude, with a deep and abiding love for our country and with nothing but optimism and confidence for the days ahead. this is now our time to do all that we can to make sure that in this election, we add another

democratic president to thatt o years, we take back our country and once again move confident and with commitment. thank you all and god bless america.