歐巴馬勝選演說

自從成為白宮風雲 (West Wing) 影集的粉絲，對於美國的政治特別感到興趣，加上這一次共和民主兩黨從黨內初選開始就充滿戲劇性的演變，以及這次兩黨候選人各具歷史性意義的背景與身份，讓我對於這次的美國總統大選的發展一直都很關心。

國內自新任總統上任到現在，除了讓人不由自主的聯想到鬥爭清算的肅貪除弊動作外，其他所有的舉措與反應不是過於理想化或學院味道濃厚，就是視民粹如洪水猛獸而應付於沒有耐心的溝通，過於短窄的視野加上粗糙的執行，所有的一切都令人失望甚至不敢恭維。單一政黨府院獨大後的傲慢感也自然而然地四處蔓延，這一次原本立意甚佳的兩岸高階會談因為這樣的氛圍就在缺乏溝通的情形下導致反對的聲音與動作越來越大，執法上卻又完全採取堅壁清野不留餘地的方式，小心翼翼到完全失去當主人該有的格。如果在自己家裡談都這樣，以後出去談判如何讓人放心。

因為這樣，看不下去又使不上力，乾脆新聞只看 CNN，專心在美國大選裡。

（這個心情是不是跟那些對國內棒球失望轉而只看美國職棒大聯盟的棒球迷的心態很像？我不確定，但是自己覺得有點像就是了。）

就在台北時間將近中午時分，美國三大電視網以及 CNN 同時根據電視網自己做的出口民調預測及結果，宣佈民主黨候選人歐巴馬已超過兩百七十選舉人票，篤定當選美國第四十四位總統。

歐巴馬非常年輕，從政經驗才短短十多年，去年默默無名到今年當選大位，堪稱美國夢想國度的最佳實證。他是非常有魅力的群眾演說家，也是口才都非常好的辯論家，總是能夠用最簡捷的方式解釋或回答複雜的問題，從今年的兩場總統辯論以及各處的演說都可以給人民非常好的印象。他的膚色與出身原本可能是很大的爭議與缺點，但是他卻能一再堅持自己的競選方針，非常冷靜且以超過實際年齡的智慧來回應對手及其他意識團體或反對團體的攻擊。歐巴馬能夠當選有著時代的配合，但是自己的特質與努力才是真正讓他得以勝出的關鍵。

當然，一個好的領導人更重要的是要能夠吸引並組織一個好的團隊來協助。就在電視網紛紛公佈以及麥肯公開承認敗選並向對手恭賀後，歐巴馬總統當選人向支持者發表勝選演說。就讓我們一起看看他怎麼說吧。

FULL TRANSCRIPT: Sen. Barack Obama's Victory Speech

Sen. Barack Obama Delivers Victory Speech from Grant Park in Chicago

Nov. 4, 2008

Full remarks as prepared for delivery and provided by the campaign of Sen. Barack Obama on Nov. 4, 2008, at Grant Park in Chicago, IL.

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.

It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled － Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.

It's the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.

It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.

I just received a very gracious call from Senator McCain. He fought long and hard in this campaign, and he's fought even longer and harder for the country he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine, and we are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader. I congratulate him and Governor Palin for all they have achieved, and I look forward to working with them to renew this nation's promise in the months ahead.

I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton and rode with on that train home to Delaware, the Vice President-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.

I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last sixteen years, the rock of our family and the love of my life, our nation's next First Lady, Michelle Obama. Sasha and Malia, I love you both so much, and you have earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the White House. And while she's no longer with us, I know my grandmother is watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight, and know that my debt to them is beyond measure.

To my campaign manager David Plouffe, my chief strategist David Axelrod, and the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics － you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you've sacrificed to get it done.

But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to － it belongs to you.

I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn't start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington － it began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston.

It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give five dollars and ten dollars and twenty dollars to this cause. It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation's apathy; who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep; from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on the doors of perfect strangers; from the millions of Americans who volunteered, and organized, and proved that more than two centuries later, a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from this Earth. This is your victory.

I know you didn't do this just to win an election and I know you didn't do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime － two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century. 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 their children fall asleep and wonder how they'll make the mortgage, or pay their doctor's bills, or save enough for college. There is new energy to harness and new jobs to be created; new schools to build and threats to meet and alliances to repair.

The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America － I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you － we as a people will get there.

There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know that government can't solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And above all, I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it's been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years － block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.

What began twenty-one months ago in the depths of winter must not end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek － it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you.

So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, it's that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers － in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people.

Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House － a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty, and national unity. Those are values we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress. 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." And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn － I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President too.

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.

For that is the true genius of America － that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that's on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She's a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing － Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.

She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons － because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.

And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America － the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can't, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.

At a time when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.

When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs and a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.

When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.

She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that "We Shall Overcome." Yes we can.

A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes we can.

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves － if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. 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 doubt, 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. Thank you, God bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.

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