Obama calls victory a “defining moment in history”
At 10pm on the night of his handy Iowa victory, Senator Barack Obama took the stage in front of 3200 screaming supporters in downtown Des Moines, with his wife, Michelle, and their daughers, Sasha and Malia. The candidate seemed serene in his victory, and appeared to soak in the moment. There was no reference to his rivals, John Edwards or Hillary Clinton, and the senator did not ask his fans if they were “fired up” or “ready to go.”
Instead he delivered a moving and measured 10-minute speech, thanking the state for building a “coalition for change,” choosing “hope over fear,” and “unity over division.” Obama declared this “the moment when we tore down barriers that have divided us for too long. When we rallied people of all parties and ages to a common cause. When we finally gave Americans who’ve never participated in politics a reason to stand up and to do something.”
And it didn’t take him long to appeal to New Hampshire voters. “You have done what the state of New Hampshire can do in five days,” he said just a few minutes upon taking the stage.
Afterwards, on board his campaign plane, the weary candidate told the press, “My throat is hoarse, but my spirits are good.” When Obama was asked to describe his moment of realization upon winning the Iowa caucuses, he loosened his tie and replied, “We felt good for the last two weeks, because we are so proud of what is happening on the ground, we were seeing the crowds, and so regardless how the numbers played out exactly, we were really confident of us having changed how politics operated in this caucus and it makes me very optimistic in this country and I think that we can do it with the country as a whole.”
After a few minutes and shortly before takeoff, he smiled, turned to leave, and said, “Alright, guys. Let me go to sleep now.” Someone yelled out, “Can you?” He turned his head and chuckled, “You bet.”
The plane landed just before 4:30am Eastern Standard Time in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and whisked the winning candidate to his hotel. He begins his day in just a few hours, with a rally at 9:30.
Tags: caucus, iowa, New Hampshire, obama, victory
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hillary lost because she puts america second — so does rudy giuliani — as hillary & rudy campaign, they each keep losing potential voters because americans living in the hinterlands put america first
Consider what America got with the first Clinton co-Presidency:
• Abuse of the powers of the office of the President
makes me doubt her capabilities.
• Granting Presidential pardons to buy Hillary’s election to the Senate. As a woman who made it on my own, Hillary’s need to ride Bill’s coattails and her sense of entitlement (as in “it’s my turn and Obama should wait his turn”
• Hillary’s long-suffering marriage to Bill, enabling a lifetime of sexual trysts and trying to contain the Bimbo eruptions, gives me a President without the backbone to stand up to a man. Hillary claims to be tough enough to play with the boys when, in fact, she is unable to leave a cheating husband. How will she stand up to other male leaders who see this in “Mrs.” Clinton and walk all over her?
• Being married to a former President does not make one qualified to be President.
Hillary has less experience in elected office than Barack. She’s held elected office for one Senate term plus one year and has introduced no major legislation during that time. Is this the kind of experience we want in the Oval Office?
I am not a “Hillary hater;” I am an America lover. Please consider very carefully which candidate the Democratic Party puts on the ballot. The future of this country absolutely depends on it.
Faced with such overwhelming evidence of a country on the wrong path, Americans should be careful not to underestimate the resolve of their countrymen to alter that course. Iowa is but the tip of the iceberg.
The citizens have grown weary of the fearmongerers, the double-talkers, and the saber rattlers. Finally, finally, we can unite behind a leader who will inspire us with the hope, the purpose, and the can-do attitude that made this country great. Obama will unite these states of America.
“That skinny kid with the funny name” has my vote.
Let’s face it… it is over for Hillary…
The country has changed… the younger voters cannot connect with her… Obama is the future.
She should bail now to avoid the humiliation
I am proud of you obama…you have made this about the issues and not about race. Its not about black or white its about the best person for the Job.
As an undecided voter, I was moved by the victory speech of Obama. The focus was on the most important issue: a generational shift away from divisive, fear-exploiting rhetoric of defining persons and states as blue and red to a vision for the only sustainable path forward - the UNITED states.
We are all weary of the disingenuous, shrill tone of hate radio and other mainstream media. There is not a civil war as Dittohead, Hanadee, Savage, O’Reilly, Murdoch and their ilk would have us believe. In the land that tipped the powers of kings and despots on their collective ear more than 200 years ago by creation of this great experiment in democracy, there is a growing desire to reclaim the promise of a Republic of the people, by the people, and for the people. (And corporations do not qualify for the rights of the individual.) The abuses in the halls of power and the consolidation of corporate greed has finally awakened the sleeping giant: true democracy.
Obama, Huckabee and Edwards have all tapped into this yearning. Obama’s speech lifted the level of discourse out of the extreme partisanship of the last 15 years and into the realm of statesmanship. Thank you Obama for leading us to a possible rediscovery of our potential as a true democracy.
Generation X can claim Obama. Hillary is a Boomer icon. The results in Iowa may signal one change that’s happening right on time.
Obama could be right here. It is a defining moment. He is wrong about what it defined though. It defines a few small things. First and foremost: Hillary can be defeated. She is not the defacto nominee anymore! That is it Obama, nothing else. Secondly, McCain is still in it. It means NOTHING else Barack!
These candidates have it made, and I will tell you why Obama is our likely next President. We are in a precieved POST-WAR era. Many think we never were at war, while many more think we have won or are winning the war, even in the back of their minds. No more attacks since 9/11 means the Democrats will sail into office. Simply look at history. It defines the future.
One reason Obama will be a better president than Clinton: he’ll have more time. Think how long it must take for Hillary to do her hair and makeup! Obama just has to roll out of bed and take a shower. He doesn’t even need to comb his hair. Think about how much more he can accomplish in that time!
“It means NOTHING else Barack!”
Of course it does. It means that the color of your skin does not have to be a factor, that there are Republicans willing to vote for the right candidate instead of toeing the party line, and that for the first time in America, there was a Clinton who was less qualified than Bill running for President.
Hate to say this - but McCain being quoted as saying, “We could be in Iraq for a hundred or a thousand year,” just totally ruined the public to any further Republican candidates.
It is a defining moment.
No revolving door dynasty please.
Bush.
Clinton.
Bush.
Obama (NOT Clinton).
Obama has this independent Texan’s vote.
obama,, you need to know that you put your right hand over your heart and face the flag when the national anthem is played or pledge to the flag is said… is oprah going to be the ambassador for africa? i suppose if i wanted to attend your church i would be sent away since of i am white, huh?
I’m fired up!!
comments by sndtim:
more ignorance…exactly what we as Americans are tired of. you are exactly why he (Obama) has a very real chance.