His words in Iowa were strongly reminiscent of Barack Obama's Inspiring 2004 Democratic Convention Speech.
His 2004 convention speech first brought Barack Obama to national attention. Obama-supporter Oprah Winfrey said that as she watched Obama deliver his famed 2004 speech, she thought, "This is something above and beyond politics."
SEN. BARACK OBAMA'S IOWA VICTORY SPEECH
You know, they said this day would never come.
They said our sights were set too high. They said this country was too divided, too disillusioned to ever come together around a common purpose.
But on this January night, at this defining moment in history, you have done what the cynics said we couldn't do.
You have done what the state of New Hampshire can do in five days. You have done what America can do in this new year, 2008.
Our Time for Change Has Come
In lines that stretched around schools and churches, in small towns and in big cities, you came together as Democrats, Republicans and independents, to stand up and say that we are one nation. We are one people. And our time for change has come.
You said the time has come to move beyond the bitterness and pettiness and anger that's consumed Washington.
To end the political strategy that's been all about division, and instead make it about addition. To build a coalition for change that stretches through red states and blue states.
Because that's how we'll win in November, and that's how we'll finally meet the challenges that we face as a nation.
We're Choosing Hope over Fear
We are choosing hope over fear.
We're choosing unity over division, and sending a powerful message that change is coming to America.
You said the time has come to tell the lobbyists who think their money and their influence speak louder than our voices that they don't own this government -- we do. And we are here to take it back.
The time has come for a president who will be honest about the choices and the challenges we face, who will listen to you and learn from you, even when we disagree, who won't just tell you what you want to hear, but what you need to know.
And in New Hampshire, if you give me the same chance that Iowa did tonight, I will be that president for America.
Affordable Health Care for Every American
- I'll be a president who finally makes health care affordable and available to every single American, the same way I expanded health care in Illinois by bringing Democrats and Republicans together to get the job done.
- I'll be a president who ends the tax breaks for companies that ship our jobs overseas and put a middle-class tax cut into the pockets of working Americans who deserve it.
- I'll be a president who harnesses the ingenuity of farmers and scientists and entrepreneurs to free this nation from the tyranny of oil once and for all.
- And I'll be a president who ends this war in Iraq and finally brings our troops home...
- ... who restores our moral standing...
- ... who understands that 9/11 is not a way to scare up votes but a challenge that should unite America and the world against the common threats of the 21st century.
Tonight, we are one step closer to that vision of America because of what you did here in Iowa.
And so I'd especially like to thank the organizers and the precinct captains, the volunteers and the staff who made this all possible.
