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