As Prepared for Delivery:

Before I begin, I just want to send my condolences to the victims of the storms that hit Tennessee and Arkansas.  They are in our thoughts and in our prayers.

Well, the polls are just closing in California and the votes are still being counted in cities and towns across the country.  But there is one thing on this February night that we do not need the final results to know – our time has come, our movement is real, and change is coming to America.

Only a few hundred miles from here, almost one year ago to the day, we stood on the steps of the Old State Capitol to reaffirm a truth that was spoken there so many generations ago – that a house divided cannot stand; that we are more than a collection of Red States and Blue States; we are, and always will be, the United States of America.

What began as a whisper in Springfield soon carried across the corn fields of Iowa, where farmers and factory workers; students and seniors stood up in numbers we’ve never seen.  They stood up to say that maybe this year, we don’t have to settle for a politics where scoring points is more important than solving problems.  This time we can finally do something about health care we can’t afford or mortgages we can’t pay.  This time can be different.

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