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15:00
Transcript
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thank
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you thank you my
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friends thank you for coming here on
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this beautiful Arizona evening
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[Applause]
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my friends we have we have come to the
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end of a long journey the American
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people have spoken and they have spoken
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clearly a little while ago I had the
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honor of calling Senator Barack Obama to
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congratulate
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him
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please to congratulate him on being
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elected the next president of the
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country that we both
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love in a contest as long and difficult
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as this campaign has been his success
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alone commands my respect for his
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1:07
ability and
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perseverance but that he managed to do
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so by inspiring the hopes of so many
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millions of Americans who would once
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wrongly believed that they had little at
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stake or little influence in the
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election of an American president is
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something I deeply admire and commend
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him for
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achieving this is an historic election
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and I recognize the special significance
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it has for
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African-Americans and for the special
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Pride that must be theirs tonight I've
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always believed that America offers
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opportunities to all who have the
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industry and will to seize it Senator
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Obama believes that too but we both
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recognize that though we have come a
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long way from the old injustices that
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once stained our nation's reputation
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and denied some Americans the full
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blessings of American
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citizenship the memory of them still had
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the power to wound a century ago
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president Theodore Roosevelt's
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invitation of Booker T Washington to to
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dine at the White House was taken as an
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outrage in many
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quarters America today is a world away
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from the cruel and prideful bigotry of
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that time there is no better evidence of
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this than the election of an
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African-American to the presidency of
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the United States let there be no reason
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[Applause]
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now let there be no reason now for any
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American to fail to cherish their
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citizenship in this the greatest nation
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on Earth
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Senator Obama has achieved a great thing
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for himself and for his country I
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applaud him for it and offer in my
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sincere sympathy that his beloved
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grandmother did not live to see this day
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though our faith assures us she is at
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rest in the presence of her Creator and
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so very proud of the good man she helped
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raise Senator Obama and I have had and
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argued our differences and he has
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prevailed no doubt many of those
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differences remain these are difficult
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times for our country and I pledge to
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him tonight to do all in my power to
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help him lead us through the many
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challenges we face I urge all
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Americans I urge all Americans who
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supported me to join me in not just
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congratulating him but offering our next
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president our good will and Earnest
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effort to find ways to come together to
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find the necessary compromises to bridge
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our differences and help restore our
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prosperity defend our security in a
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dangerous world and leave our children
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and grandchildren a stronger better
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country than we
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inherited whatever our differences we
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are fellow Americans and please believe
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me when I say no Association has ever
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meant more to me than
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[Applause]
4:42
that it is
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natural it's natural tonight to feel
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some disappointment but tomorrow we must
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move Beyond it and work together to get
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our country moving again we fought we
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fought as hard as we could and though we
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fell short the failure is mine not
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yours I am
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so I am so deeply grateful to all of you
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for the great honor of your support and
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for all you have done for for me I wish
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the outcome had been different my
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friends the road was a difficult one
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from the
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outset but your support and friendship
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never wavered I cannot adequately
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Express how deeply I indebted I am to
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you I especially grateful to my wife
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Cindy my children my dear
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Mother my dear Mother and all my family
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and to the many old and dear friends who
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have stood by my side through the many
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ups and downs of this long
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campaign I have always been a fortunate
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man and never more so for the love and
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encouragement you have given me you know
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campaigns are often harder on a
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candidate's family than on the candidate
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and that's been true in this campaign
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all I can offer in compensation is my
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love and gratitude and the promise of
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more peaceful years ahead
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I am also I am also of course very
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thankful to Governor Sarah Palin one of
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the best campers I have ever
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seen one of the best campaigners I have
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ever seen and an impressive new voice in
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our party for reform and the principles
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that have always been our greatest
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strength her husband Todd and their five
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beautiful
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children for their tireless dedication
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to our cause and the courage and Grace
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they showed in the Rough and Tumble of a
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presidential campaign we can all look
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forward with great interest to her
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future service to Alaska the Republican
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party in our
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country to all my campaign comrades from
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Rick Davis and Steve Schmidt and Mark
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alter to every last volunteer who fought
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so hard and valiantly month after month
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in what at times seemed to be the most
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challenged campaign in modern times
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thank you so much a lost election will
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never mean more to me than the privilege
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of your faith and friendship I don't
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know I don't know what more we could
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have done to try to win this election
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I'll leave that to others to determine
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every candidate makes mistakes and I'm
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sure I made my share of them but I won't
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spend a moment of the future regretting
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what might have been this campaign was
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and Will Remain the great honor of my
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life and my heart is filled with nothing
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but gratitude for the experience and to
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the American people for giving me a fair
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hearing before deciding that Senator
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Obama and my old friend Senator Joe
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Biden should have the honor of leading
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us for the next four
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years you deserve please
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please I would not I would not be an an
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American worthy of the name should I
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regret a fate that is allowed me the
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extraordinary PR privilege of serving
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this country for a half a century today
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I was a candidate for the highest office
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in the country I love so much and
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tonight I remain her servant that is
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blessing enough for anyone and I thank
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the people of Arizona for
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it tonight
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tonight more than any night I hold in my
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heart nothing but love for this country
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and for all its citizens whether they
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supported me or Senator Obama whether
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they supported me or Senator Obama I
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wish godspeed to the man who was my
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former opponent and will be my president
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and I call on all Americans as I have
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often in this campaign to not despair of
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our present difficult ulties but to
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believe always in the promise and
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greatness of America because nothing is
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inevitable here Americans never quit we
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Never Surrender we never hide from
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history We Make History thank you and
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God bless you and God bless America
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thank you all very much
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W wo
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[Applause]
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we're all good
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Senator John McCain thanking supporters
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at the builtmore hotel in his home state
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of Phoenix at Arizona if you are
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interested in hearing Senator McCain's
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remarks again we will have them on our
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website c-span.org within the next 5 or
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6 minutes you can click on it and find
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and watch it uh what the Senator's
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remarks were we're going to return now
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to Grant Park in Chicago where the crowd
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there is waiting for the arrival of the
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next president of the United States
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president-elect Senator Barack Obama of
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Illinois we're going to watch now
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will
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is
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hey you hey
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is
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312
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953 7
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91 okay baby
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w
— end of transcript —
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