The promise of America has been made and kept as we nominate a man whose life story encapsulates the heritage of our nation, and his candidacy promises to open the stage for the next American century.
As I sit here, Sen. Obama is addressing supporters in St. Paul Minnesota. A good friend lives outside St. Paul, and he and I talk politics on the phone from time to time. In 2004, he was a moderate Republican watching the Democratic national convention. He saw then-Senate candidate Obama's speech and said "that guy should be the nominee." In 2008, he campaigned and caucused for Sen. Obama, and tonight sits in that audience in St. Paul.
Another friend has been a Democrat for a very long time. He served as the Chair of the LCDC during dark times for Loudoun Democrats. He has fought for the progress of our America his entire life. This year, he stood up early and strong for Sen. Obama, and has worked tirelessly for the Senator, and all Democrats, all year. A few weeks ago, he achieved his dream and was selected as one of the Virginia Electors for Sen. Obama. It will be our honor to spend the next five months ensuring he casts a vote that counts.
Tonight, however, I hope it is okay to take a few moments to stop and consider what has occurred over the past six months. We grew our party in every corner of America, we kept the criticality of the election on the front pages. And we nominated a man who inspires to carry our standard.
Yes, you bet your ass, we can.
Tonight, I want to congratulate Senator Obama on securing the Democratic nomination for president.It has been a long journey since Barack announced his candidacy in February of 2007. And, after 54 contests beginning more than five months ago in Iowa, Senator Obama is poised to make a successful and historic General Election run for the White House.
I endorsed Barack shortly after he announced because I believed his positive message of hope and his commitment to end politics-as-usual was desperately needed in Washington.
Now, more than ever, I believe Senator Obama to be the best-equipped candidate to bring folks together from across the political spectrum and bring transformative change to our country.
Now it is time for all of us to come together and focus our efforts on winning in November.
Senator Clinton ran a strong campaign and has been a formidable opponent, but it's time to unite solidly behind Senator Obama and his effort to move this country forward.