“I return to the White House, more determined” Barack Obama

Barack Obama has called for unity and presented an optimistic vision of the future in his victory speech before supporters in Chicago.

The re-elected President promised “the best is yet to come”, as “I return to the White House more determined and more inspired than ever about the work there is to do, and the future that lies ahead.”

Obama in his speech said during the fierce campaign that he had ‘listened and learned’ through the American people and it had ‘made him a better president and he will return to the White House more determined and inspired than ever’.


“Progress comes in fits and starts” he said, adding that “the road is littered with difficult compromises.” But he noted that he enters the next four years with an ‘economy recovering, a decade of war ending and a long campaign is over.’

He thanked his wife and also paid tribute to his daughters Sasha and Malia who he said were ‘two smart beautiful young women, just like their mother’, but joked ‘one dog is probably enough’.

Obama thanked the citizens who had participated in the political process: ‘Whether you held an Obama sign or a Romney sign, you made your voice heard and you made a difference.’

Paying tribute to his opponent Mitt Romney, the 44th US President stated that “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,” he said.

He pledged to work with Republican leaders in Congress to reduce the government’s budget deficit, fix the tax code and reform the immigration system.

“We are an American family and we rise and fall together as one nation,” he said.

He revealed that speaking to Romney, he ‘congratulated him and Paul Ryan on a hard fought campaign’, adding a tribute to the Romney family’s history, saying: From George and Lenore to their son Mitt, the Romney family has chosen to give back to America through public service and that is a legacy that we honour and applaud tonight.’

Referring to the bitterness of the long-running election campaign, the President said, ‘When we go through tough times – when we go through tough decisions as a country – it necessarily provokes arguments, provokes controversy,’ but he added: ‘These arguments we have are a mark of our liberty.’

Romney had earlier called for America to ‘put the people before politics’ and warned, ‘At a time like this, we can’t risk partisan bickering and political posturing.’ He added, ‘I so wish that I had been able to fulfill your hopes to lead this country in a different direction. But the nation chose another leader.’

In his conclusion, Obama said “I believe we can keep the promise of our founders, the idea that if you’re willing to work hard, it doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from or what you look like or where you love, It doesn’t matter whether you’re black or white or Hispanic or Asian or Native American or young or old or rich or poor, able, disabled, gay or straight, you can make it here in America if you’re willing to try.”

“I believe we can seize this future together because we are not as divided as our politics suggests. We’re not as cynical as the pundits believe. We are greater than the sum of our individual ambitions, and we remain more than a collection of red states and blue states. We are and forever will be the United States of America.”