President Bush’s Second Term Victory Speech
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James Joyner | Wednesday, November 3, 2004 |
Bush Voices Pride, Humility and Optimism [RSS] (NYT)
President Bush basked in victory today, reaching out to the supporters of his defeated rival, Senator John Kerry, and vowing to lead the United States toward new paths of greatness. “I will do all I can do to deserve your trust,” Mr. Bush said at a thunderous celebration in the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, speaking as much to Mr. Kerry’s backers as to his own. “We have one country, one Constitution, and one future binds us.”
Mr. Bush spoke barely an hour after Mr. Kerry delivered his concession speech in Boston. The president praised the challenger for waging a spirited campaign and for the graciousness of his private concession to him, delivered in a late-morning telephone call. “America has spoken,” Mr. Bush said. “I’m humbled by the confidence and trust of my fellow citizens.”
Describing his second term as a wonderful opportunity, Mr. Bush said he was deeply proud “to lead such an amazing country, and proud to lead it forward.” The president reiterated the themes he had articulated throughout the long months of the campaign, and indeed for most of his first term: that America would defeat terrorism, nurture the seeds of democracy in Afghanistan and Iraq and reinvigorate its economy. Mr. Bush, whose roots are in New England as well as Texas, also embraced the Lone Star State, where he was governor before becoming president. He said he loved the values of Texas: “sturdy, honest and as hopeful as the break of day.”
Seeking to erase, at least for the moment, the deep differences between red states and blue states, Mr. Bush said, “When we come together, there is no limit to the greatness of America.”
Transcript of Vice President Dick Cheney’s Speech
Transcript of President Bush’s Speech
Video Link (try also here)
About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife and infant daughter.
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