Obama's Rousing Acceptance Speech

In case you missed it, Obama gave one hell of an acceptance speech last night — a night that didn't just see him win re-election, but also saw four states vote in favour of same sex marriage, two states legalize marijuana, the election of the first openly gay Senator in American history, and the defeat of many of the most disturbingly conservative Republicans. The end of the President's speech was particularly rousing. (And, as Canadians, reminded us a little of the end of Jack Layton's last letter.) We'll embed the full 23-minute video below; our favourite excerpt starts a bit after the 20-minute mark:

"I believe we can keep the promise of our founding: 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 suggest. We are 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. 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.