Subscribe
The Daily Grind Video
CLOSE

It’s official, President Barack Obama has been re-elected to the White House for a second term!

Obama’s historic win now marks the first time an African American has been elected as a two-term president. A number of supporters and Democrats voted for the President, giving him the edge he needed to defeat his political opponent Mitt Romney

After 18 months of a record-breaking campaign that capped out at $2 billion, the presidential race has come to a close. The president won a number of battleground states, including Pennsylvania, where a record number of African American voters turned out, topping the number that voted for the incumbent in 2008. President Obama also won the key swing states of New Hampshire, Ohio and Iowa.

The Romney-Ryan ticket took a major blow when they lost both home states of their two candidates in the election – Wisconsin, which Paul Ryan represents in Congress, and Massachusetts, where Romney reigned as governor from 2003 to 2007.

But, not only was this a historic win for Democrats and Obama supporters, it was also historic for the American people across the nation who waited in long lines to take part in the voting process. Both the youth vote and the Latino vote exceeded their turnout in 2008, despite the Republican efforts to suppress voting rights by passing voter ID laws that disproportionately hurt minorities. In addition, 20 million people tweeted about the 2012 election, making it the most tweeted about event recorded in US political history.

From his Chicago headquarters, the newly re-elected president delivered his victory speech as the country watched in awe. He began:

“Tonight, more than 200 years after a former colony won the right to determine its own destiny, the task of perfecting our union moves forward.” 

He continued, “in this election, you, the American people, reminded us that while our road has been hard, while our journey has been long, we have picked ourselves up, we have fought our way back, and we know in our hearts that for the United States of America, the best is yet to come.”

“I want to thank every American that participated in this election, whether you voted for the very first time, or waited in line for a very long time–by the way we have to fix that,” said the Commander-in-Chief with charm.

He continued by commending Mitt Romney on his campaign effort and added that he looks forward to sitting down with the Governor to talk about moving the country forward.

Obama went on by thanking Vice President Joe Biden and First Lady Michelle Obama, telling her “Michelle, I have never loved you more.” Of course, he gave a shout out to the First Daughters, Sasha and Malia, who he proudly declared are growing up to become two strong and smart women. “I’m so proud of you guys,” said the POTUS, “but I will say: for now, one dog’s probably enough.”

The crowd went wild when he called his campaign team the best team “in the history of politics.” They have remarkably mobilized a record number of young people and minority voters during both the 2008 and the 2012 election. “You lifted me up, and I will always be grateful.”

The president also talked about preventing our children from living in an America that isn’t burdened by debt and that is safe and defended by the strongest nation on earth.  

“We believe in a generous America. We believe in a compassionate America. We believe in a tolerant America,” said Obama. “And whether I earned your vote or not, I have listened to you, I have learned from you and you have made me a better president.” He continued, “Tonight, you voted for action, not politics as usual.”

He made it clear that he plans to work across partisan lines and reach out to leaders in both parties during his second term adding, “we have more work to do.” But he also pushed Americans to actively partake in the political arena. “The role of citizen does not end with your vote.” He said, “America’s never been about what can be done for us, but what can be done by us.”

Obama’s 2012 victory speech ended on a positive note with a message of hope, loud cheers and lots of confetti.

And together, with your help and God’s grace, we will continue our journey forward and remind the world just why it is that we live in the greatest nation on earth. Thank you, America. God bless you. God bless these United States. 

Check out video of his victory speech below!