FORWARD!

Tonight was a great night! Tonight was an historic night! Tonight we re-elected Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States.

This was a long campaign. This was a bitter campaign. However, this campaign also marked a clear line in the sand for American elections and the American electorate. Women won everywhere. Women carried the day everywhere. Minorities made their voices heard. Obama won them 80%-20%. The young overwhelmingly supported the President, too. In essence, the future of this country won while the demographics that have ruled this country for so long - the white, the old, and the males - lost, and they lost big.

It is hard not to feel that President Obama and the Democratic Party are on the right side of history and that they have grasped this moment.  What matters now is what they will do with that momentum.  Will they compromise, or will they project a positive vision for the country and try to bring their Republican opponents along? I hope that we will see a little of both.

Most importantly, what will the country make of tonight's Democratic victory?  Will the people raise their voices and rightfully demand that their leaders work for them?  I hope so because we have so much work to do. We must move forward on jobs, the economy, the debt, ending wars, and rebuilding this country.  Are we up for it? Are we as big as our politics?

The answer must be yes if we are to win the future and leave our kids a better country than we were given.  I am in awe of this victory, and I will soak it up.

However, I realize that the climb will be long. Obstacles, some surmountable and some insurmountable, will stand in our way. Those who would rather gum up the works rather than reform our political stalemate will persevere.

Despite this, I am more confident than ever that we are up to the task. Why? Any nation that can commit itself to electing an African-American named Barack Hussein Obama not once but twice is serious about progress. For these reasons, I am hopeful today. I am proud today. I hope you are, too, because today we are all Americans first. Today, we traveled a little farther up the mountaintop. We must keep moving forward!