November 7th, 2008

Dawn of a new day

And to all those watch­ing tonight from beyond our shores, from par­lia­ments and palaces to those who are hud­dled around radios in the for­got­ten cor­ners of our world—our sto­ries are sin­gu­lar, but our des­tiny is shared, and a new dawn of Amer­i­can lead­er­ship is at hand. To those who would tear this 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 our 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.

— President-​elect Barack Obama, Novem­ber 4, 2008

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