Thank you. Thank you. [ cheers and applause ] thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you so much. You just have no idea how warmi warming, how generous, your affection and im gratified by it. Im sorry we got here a little bit late and a little bit short. Earlier today i spoke to president bush and i offered him and laura our congratulations on their victory. We had a good conversation. We talked about the danger of division in our country and the ne need, desperate need finding Common Ground and coming together. Today i hope that we can begin the healing. In america it is vital that every vote count and every vote be counted. But the outcome should be decided by voters, not a protracted legal process. I would not give up this fight if there was a chance that we would prevail but it is now clear that even when all the provisional ballots are counted, which they will be, there wont be enough outstanding votes for us to be able to win ohio. Therefore, we cannot win this election. My friends, it was here we began our fight for the presidency. All we had was a hope and vision for a better america. It was a privilege and gift to spend two years traveling this country coming to know so many of you. I wish that i could wrap you up in my arms and embrace every one of you individually. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you. Thank you. Weve still got your back. Thank you, man. And i assure you, you watch, i still have yours. Hang in there. I will always be particular hi grateful to the colleague that you just heard from who became my partner, my very close friend and extraordinary leader john edwards. I thank him for everything he did. He [ applause ] john and i would be the first to tell you we owe so much to our families. They are here with us today. They were with us every single step of the way. They sustained us. They went out on their own and multiplied our campaign all across this country. No one did this with more great and courage and candor that i love than my wife teresa. Thank you. And our children were there every single step. Way. It was unbelievable. Elizabeth edwards, who is so remarkable and so strong and so smart. And johnny and kate who went out there on their own, just like my daughters did, and also emma claire and jack, up beyond their bedtime last night like a lot of us. I want to thank my crew mates and friends from 35 years ago, that great band of brothers who crisscrossed this country on my behalf for 2004. [ applause ] they had the courage to speak the truth back then, and they spoke it again this year, and for that i will forever be grateful. And thanks also as i look around here to friends and family of a lifetime, some from college, friends made all across the years and then all across the miles of this campaign, you are so special. You brought the gift of your passion for our country and possibilities of change, and that will stay with us and with this country forever. Thanks to democrats and republicans and independents who stood with us, and everyone who voted no matter who their candidate was, and thanks to my absolutely unbelievable dedicated staff led by a Wonderful Campaign manager, mary beth cahill, who did an extraordinary job. [ applause ] theres so much written about campaigns, and theres so much that americans dont get to see. I wish they could all spend a day on a campaign and see how hard these folks work to make america better. It is its own unbelievable contribution to our democracy and its a gift to everybody, but especially to me, and im grateful to each and every one of you, and i thank your families and i thank you for the sacrifices you made. To all of the volunteers, all across this country, who gave so much of themselves. You know, thanks to william field, a sixyearold who collected 680, a quarter and a dollar at a time, selling bracelets during the summer to help change america. [ applause ] thanks to Michael Benson from florida who i spied in a rope line holding a container of money. Turned out he raided his piggy bank, wanted to contribute. And thanks to alana wexler, 11 years old, started kids for kerry all across this country. [ applause ] i think of the brigades of students and people young and old who took time to travel, time off from work, their own Vacation Time to work in states far and wide. They braved hot days of summer and the cold days of the fall and winter to knock on doors because they were determined to open the doors of opportunity to all americans. They worked their hearts out. And i wish you know how much i wish i could have brought this race home for you, for them. And i say to them now, dont lose faith. What you did made a difference. And building on itself, we go on to make a difference another day. I promise you that time will come. The time will come, the election will come when your work and your ballots will change the world. And its worth fighting for. [ applause ] i want to especially say to the American People that this journey you have given me the honor and the gift of listening and learning from you. I have visited your homes, i visited your churches, i visited your community halls, i heard your stories. I know your struggles, i know your hopes. Theyre part of me now, and i will never forget you and ill never stop fighting for you. [ applause ] you may not understand completely in what ways, but it is true when i say to you that you have taught me and you have tested me and youve lifted me up and youve made me stronger. I did my best to express my vision and my hopes for america. We worked hard, and we fought hard, and i wish that things had turned out a little differently, but in an American Election there are no losers because whether or not our candidates are successful, the next morning we all wake up as americans. [ applause ] and that is the greatest privilege and the most remarkable good fortune that can come to us on earth. With that gift also comes obligation. We are required now to Work Together for the good of our country. In the days ahead, we must find common cause. We must join in common effort, without remorse, recrimination, without anger or rancor. America is in need of community and longing for a larger measure of compassion. I hope president bush will advance those values in the coming years. I pledge to do my part to try to bridge the partisan divide. I know this is a difficult time for my supporters, but i ask them, all of you, to join me in doing that. Now more than ever with our soldiers in harms way, we must stand together and succeed in iraq and win the war on terror. I will also do everything in my power to ensure my party, a proud, democratic party, stands true to our best hopes and ideals. I believe that what we started in this campaign will not end here. [ applause ] and i know our fight goes on to put america back to work and to make our economy a great engine of job growth. Our fight goes on to make Affordable Health care an accessible right for all americans, not a privilege. Our fight goes on to protect the environment, to achieve equality, to push the frontiers of science and discovery and to restore americas reputation in the world. I believe that all of this will happen, and sooner than we may think, because were america and america always moves forward. [ applause ] i have been honored to represent the citizens of this commonwealth for the United States senate now for 20 years, and i pledge to them that in the years ahead im going to fight on for the people and for the principles that i learned and lived with here in massachusetts. Im proud of what we stood for in this campaign and of what we accomplished. When we began, no one thought it was possible to make this a close race, but we stood for real change, change that would make a real difference in the life of our nation, the lives of our families, and we defined that choice to america. Ill never forget the wonderful people that came to our rallies, stood in our rope lines, who put their hopes in our hands, who invested in each and every one of us. I saw in them the truth, that america is not only great but it is good. [ applause ] so with a grateful heart, i leave this campaign with a prayer that has even greater meaning to me now that ive come to know our vast country so much better. Thanks to all of you, and what a privilege it has been to do so, and that prayer is very simple. God bless america. Thank you. [ applause ] [ applause ] weeknights this month, were featuring American History tv programs as a preview of whats available every weekend on cspan3. Tonight former u. S. Senator sam nunn reflects on the cold war, 75 years after it began. Senator nunn served 1972 to 19 the 7 as a democrat from georgia, as chair 1987 to 1995. After leaving the senate he cofounded Nuclear Threat initiative. Senator nunn talks about his experience during cuban missile crisis. The leadership of president s from harry truman to george h. W. Bush. Foreign leaders who influenced events during the cold war, as well as continued threat of the conflict. Watch tonight at 8 00 p. M. Eastern and enjoy American History tv every weekend on cspan3. Every saturday at 8 00 p. M. Eastern American History tv, go inside a Different College classroom and hear about topics ranging from the american revolution, civil rights, and u. S. President s to 9 11. Thanks for your paeshs and for logging into class. With most College Campuses closed due to the impact of coronavirus, watch them transfer teaching to virtual setting to engage with their students. Gorbachev did most of the work to change the soviet union but reagan met him halfway, reagan encouraged him, reagan supported him. Freedom of the press well get to later, i should mention, madison called it freedom of the use of the press. It is the freedom to print things and publish things, its not what we refer to institutionally as the press. Lectures in history on cspan3 every saturday at 8 00 p. M. Eastern. Lectures in history is also available as a podcast. Find it where you listen to podcasts. Youre watching American History tv. Every weekend on cspan3, explore our nations past. Cspan3 created by americas Cable Television company as a Television Service and brought to you today by our television provider. This morning Facebook Ceo Mark Zuckerberg and twitter Ceo Jack Dorsey answer questions about censorship, suppression of New York Post articles and their companys handling of 2020 election. They will testify before the Senate JudiciaryCommittee Live at 10 00 a. M. Eastern on cspan3. Online at cspan. Org or listen on the free cspan radio app. Up next, the victory speech by incumbent george w. Bush in the 2004 president ial election. He defeated Democrat John kerry to win a second early to. This took place at the Ronald Reagan building in washington, d. C. [ cheers and applause ] thank you all for coming. We had a long night and a great night