1、Thank you so much. Thank you all. 2)Well, this isnt exactly the party Id planned, but I sure like the company. 3)I want to start today by saying how grateful I am to all of you-to everyone who poured your hearts and your hopes into this campaign, who drove for miles and lined the streets waving home
2、made signs, who scrimped and saved to raise money, who knocked on doors and made calls, who talked and sometimes argued withyour friends and neighbors, who e-mailed and contributed online, who invested somuch in our common enterprise. To the moms and dads who came to our events, who lifted their lit
3、tle girls and little boys on their shoulders and whispered in their ears, “See, you can be anything you want to be.“ 4)To the young people, like 13-year-old Ann Riddle from Mayfield, Ohio, who had been saving for two years to go to Disney World, and decided to use her savings instead to travel to Pe
4、nnsylvania with her mom and volunteer there as well. To the veterans and the childhood friends, to New Yorkers and Arkansans who traveled across the country, telling anyone who would listen why you supported me. 5)To all those women in their 80s and their 90s, born before women could vote, who cast
5、their votes for our campaign. Ive told you before about Florence Steenof South Dakota, who was 88 years old, and insisted that her daughter bring an absentee ballot to her hospice bedside. Her daughter and a friend put an American flag behind her bed and helped her fill out the ballot. She passed aw
6、aysoon after, and under state law, her ballot didnt count. But her daughter latertold a reporter, “My dads an ornery old cowboy, and he didnt like it when he heard moms vote wouldnt be counted. I dont think he had voted in 20 years. But he voted in place of my mom.“ 6)To all those who voted for me,
7、and to whom I pledged my utmost, my commitment to you and to the progress we seek, is unyielding. You have inspired and touchedme with the stories of the joys and sorrows that make up the fabric of our lives, and you have humbled me with your commitment to our country. 7)Eighteen million of you from
8、 all walks of life-women and men, young and old, Latino and Asian, African-American and Caucasian, rich, poor and middle-class, gay and straight-you have stood strong with me. And I will continue to stand strong with you, every time, every place and every way that I can. The dreams weshare are worth
9、 fighting for. 8)Remember-we fought for the single mom with a young daughter, juggling work and school, who told me, “Im doing it all to better myself for her.“ We fought for the woman who grabbed my hand, and asked me, “What are you going to do to make sure I have health care?“ and began to cry, be
10、cause even though she works three jobs, she cant afford insurance.9)We fought for the young man in the Marine Corps T-shirt who waited months for medical care and said, “Take care of my buddies over there-and then, will you please help take care of me?“ We fought for all those whove lost jobs and he
11、alth care, who cant afford gas or groceries or college, who have felt invisible to their president these last seven years. 10) I entered this race because I have an old-fashioned conviction: that public service is about helping people solve their problems and live their dreams. Ivehad every opportun
12、ity and blessing in my own life-and I want the same for all Americans. Until that day comes, you will always find me on the front lines of democracy-fighting for the future. The way to continue our fight now-to accomplish the goals for which we stand-is to take our energy, our passion, our strength
13、and do all we can to help electBarack Obama the next president of the United States. 11)Today, as I suspend my campaign, I congratulate him on the victory he has wonand the extraordinary race he has run. I endorse him, and throw my full support behind him. And I ask all of you to join me in working
14、as hard for Barack Obama as you have for me. 12)I have served in the Senate with him for four years. I have been in this campaign with him for 16 months. 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 haveseen his strength an
15、d determination, his grace and his grit. 13)In his own life, Barack Obama has lived the American Dream. As a community organizer, in the state senate, as a United States senator-he has dedicated himself to ensuring the dream is realized. And in this campaign, he has inspiredso many to become involve
16、d in the democratic process and invested in our common future. 14)Now, 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 thats exactly what were going to do by ensuring that
17、 Barack Obama walks through the doors of the Oval Office on Jan. 20, 2009. 15)I understand that we all know this has been a tough fight. The Democratic Party is a family, and its now time to restore the ties that bind us together and to come together around the ideals we share, the values we cherish
18、 and the country we love. 16)We may have started on separate journeys-but today, our paths have merged. And we are all heading toward 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. 17)We all want an economy that s
19、ustains the American Dream, the opportunity to work hard and have that work rewarded; to save for college, a home, and retirement; to afford that gas and those groceries and still have a little left over at the end of the month. An economy that lifts all of our people and ensures that our prosperity
20、 is broadly distributed and shared. 18)We all want a health care system that is universal, high-quality and affordable, so that parents no longer have to choose between care for themselvesor their children or be stuck in dead-end jobs simply to keep their insurance. This isnt just an issue for me, i
21、t is a passion and a cause, and it is a fight I will continue until every single American is insured-no exceptions, no excuses. 19)We all want an America defined by deep and meaningful equality-from civil rights to labor rights, from womens rights to gay rights, from ending discrimination to promoti
22、ng unionization to providing help for the most important job there is: caring for our families. 20)We all want to restore Americas standing in the world, to end the war in Iraq and once again lead by the power of our values, and to join with our alliesto confront our shared challenges, from poverty
23、and genocide to terrorism and global warming. 21)You know, Ive been involved in politics and public life in one way or another for four decades. During those 40 years, our country has voted 10 times for president. Democrats won only three of those times. And the man who won two of those elections is
24、 with us today. 22)We made tremendous progress during the 90s under a Democratic president, witha flourishing economy, and our leadership for peace and security respected around the world. Just think how much more progress we could have made over the past 40 years if we had a Democratic president. T
25、hink about the lost opportunities of these past seven years-on the environment and the economy, on health care and civil rights, on education, foreign policy and the Supreme Court. Imagine how far we couldve come, how much we couldve achieved, if we had just had a Democrat in the White House. 23)We
26、cannot let this moment slip away. We have come too far and accomplished too much. 24)Now, the journey ahead will not be easy. Some will say we cant do it. That its too hard. That were just not up to the task. But for as long as America has existed, it has been the American way to reject “cant-do“ cl
27、aims, and to choose instead to stretch the boundaries of the possible through hard work, determination and a pioneering spirit. 25)It is this belief, this optimism, that Senator Obama and I share, and that has inspired so many millions of our supporters to make their voices heard. 26)So today, I am
28、standing with Senator Obama to say: Yes we can. 27)Together, we will work. Well have to work hard to get universal health care.But on the day we live in an America where no child, no man and no woman is without health insurance, we will live in a stronger America. Thats why we needto help elect Bara
29、ck Obama our president. 28)Well 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 thriving and growing again, where all Americans, no matter where they live or where their ancestors came from, can earn a decen
30、t living, we will live in a stronger America, and that is why we must elect Barack Obama our president. 29)Well have to work hard to foster the innovation that makes us energy-independent and lift the threat of global warming from our childrens future. But on the day we live in an America fueled by
31、renewable energy, we will live ina stronger America. Thats why we have to help elect Barack Obama our president.30)Well have to work hard to bring our troops home from Iraq and get them the support theyve earned by their service. But on the day we live in an America thats as loyal to our troops as t
32、hey have been to us, we will live in a stronger America. And that is why we must help elect Barack Obama our president.31)This election is a turning-point election, and it is critical that we all understand what our choice really is. Will we go forward together, or will we stall and slip backward? T
33、hink how much progress we have already made. When we first started, people everywhere asked the same questions: 32)Could a woman really serve as commander-in-chief? Well, I think we answered that one. 33)And could an African-American really be our president? Senator Obama has answered that one. 34)T
34、ogether, Senator Obama and I achieved milestones essential to our progress as a nation, part of our perpetual duty to form a more perfect union. 35)Now, on a personal note-when I was asked what it means to be a woman runningfor president, I always gave the same answer: that I was proud to be running
35、 as a woman, but I was running because I thought Id be the best president. But I ama woman, and like millions of women, I know there are still barriers and biases out there, often unconscious. 36)I want to build an America that respects and embraces the potential of every last one of us. 37)I ran as
36、 a daughter who benefited from opportunities my mother never dreamed of. I ran as a mother who worries about my daughters future and a mother who wants to lead all children to brighter tomorrows. To build that future I see, wemust make sure that women and men alike understand the struggles of their
37、grandmothers and mothers, and that women enjoy equal opportunities, equal pay and equal respect. Let us resolve and work toward achieving some very simple propositions: There are no acceptable limits and there are no acceptable prejudices in the 21st century. 38)You can be so proud that, from now on
38、, it will be unremarkable for a woman towin primary-state victories, unremarkable to have a woman in a close race to be our nominee, unremarkable to think that a woman can be the president of the United States. And that is truly remarkable. 39)To those who are disappointed that we couldnt go all the
39、 way-especially theyoung 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. When you stumble, keep faith. When youre knocked
40、down, get right back up. And never listen to anyone who says you cant or shouldnt go on. 40)As we gather here today in this historic, magnificent building, the 50th woman to leave this Earth is orbiting overhead. If we can blast 50 women into space, we will someday launch a woman into the White Hous
41、e. 41)Although we werent able to shatter that highest, hardest glass ceiling this time, thanks to you, its got about 18 million cracks in it. And the light is shining through like never before, filling us all with the hope and the sure knowledge that the path will be a little easier next time. That
42、has always been the history of progress in America. 42)Think of the suffragists who gathered at Seneca Falls in 1848 and those who kept fighting until women could cast their votes. Think of the abolitionists whostruggled and died to see the end of slavery. Think of the civil-rights heroes and foot s
43、oldiers who marched, protested and risked their lives to bring about the end to segregation and Jim Crow. 43)Because of them, I grew up taking for granted that women could vote. Because of them, my daughter grew up taking for granted that children of all colors could go to school together. Because o
44、f them, Barack Obama and I could wage a hard-fought campaign for the Democratic nomination. Because of them, and becauseof you, children today will grow up taking for granted that an African American or a woman can, yes, become president of the United States. 44)When that day arrives, and a woman ta
45、kes the oath of office as our president,we will all stand taller, proud of the values of our nation, proud that every little girl can dream 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 pave the way for that day. 45)So I
46、 want to say to my supporters, when you hear people saying or think to yourself-“if only“ or “what if,“ I say, “please dont go there.“ Every moment wasted looking back keeps us from moving forward. 46)Life is too short, time is too precious and the stakes are too high to dwell on what might have bee
47、n. We have to work together for what still can be. And that is why I will work my heart out to make sure that Senator Obama is our nextpresident, and I hope and pray that all of you will join me in that effort. 47)To my supporters and colleagues in Congress, to the governors and mayors, elected offi
48、cials who stood with me, in good times and in bad, thank you for your strength and leadership. To my friends in our labor unions who stood strongevery 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 commitments sustain me eve
49、ry single day.48)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 supporters, thank you for working those long, hard hours. Thank you for dropping everything-leaving work or school, traveling to places youd never been, sometimes for months on end. And thanks to your families as well, because your sacrifice was theirs too. 49)All of you were there for me every step of the way. Being human, we are imperfect. That
