i would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last sixteen years, the rock of our family and the love of my life, our nation's next first lady, michelle obama. sasha and malia, i love you both so much, and you have earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the white house. and while she's no longer with us, i know my grandmother is watching, along with the family that made me who i am. i miss them tonight, and know that my debt to them is beyond measure.
to my campaign manager david plouffe, my chief strategist david axelrod, and the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics - you made this happen, and i am forever grateful for what you've sacrificed to get it done.
but above all, i will never forget who this victory truly belongs to - it belongs to you.
i was never the likeliest candidate for this office. we didn't start with much money or many endorsements. our campaign was not hatched in the halls of washington - it began in the backyards of des moines and the living rooms of concord and the front porches of charleston.
it was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give five dollars and ten dollars and twenty dollars to this cause. it grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation's apathy; who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep; from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on the doors of perfect strangers; from the millions of americans who volunteered, and organized, and proved that more than two centuries later, a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from this earth. this is your victory.
i know you didn't do this just to win an election