Obama's 2008 Victory Speech

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November 4, 2008 is a date that most will never forget.. Barack Obama was elected President of the United States. This Tuesday night, in Grant Park, in Chicago, Illinois, President Elect Obama gave his general election victory speech, where from beginning to end his tone remains thankful, appreciative, and humbled. Obama assures the American people that change will soon come, but it will have to be done through a collective effort of himself and the people. The president’s pathetic appeal begins the moment the speech starts. There is electricity in the crowd and the excited tension is thick in the air. Everyone is chattering and the audience is just waiting for something to hook them in. The speech offers viewers and listeners an accepting hand to join in with the Obama campaign. The American people are presented as having a pathetic appeal in the campaign since they elected him president. This is evident in Obama’s reference to America as a place. Obama states “we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America”(Obama). As these words left his lips the audience’s applause began to grow and it grew with each statement until the applause grew so loud that Obama had to pause for it to die down. He tries to dispel the notion of America as multiple entities consisting of colors, races, or creeds. He wants to represent a united America. This is an attempt to unify the country after a particularly divisive time, seeing as at the time the country was going through the worst economic recession since the Great Depression. Obama gives the victory to the people. How many people can say they got to be a part of something bigger than themselves? He states, “I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to – it belongs to you” (Obama). This statement is a thank you to all the common people who donated
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