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Obama wins big in South Carolina primary ElectionCenter 2008: South Carolina
Well, tonight, the cynics who believed that what began in the snows of Iowa was just an illusion were told a different story by the good people of South Carolina.
After four -- after four great contests, in every corner of this country, we have the most votes, the most delegates, and the most diverse coalition of Americans that we\'ve seen in a long, long time.
You can see it in the faces here tonight.There are young and old, rich and poor.They are black and white, Latino and Asian and Native American.
They are Democrats from Des Moines and independents from Concord and, yes, some Republicans from rural Nevada.And we\'ve got young people all acro this country who have never had a reason to participate until now.
And in nine days, in nine short days, nearly half the nation will have the chance to join us in saying that we are tired of busine as usual in Washington.We are hungry for change and we are ready to believe again.
But if there\'s anything, though, that we have been reminded of since Iowa, it\'s that the kind of change we seek will not come easy, partly because we have fine candidates in this race, fierce competitors who are worthy of our respect and our admiration.
And as contentious as this campaign may get, we have to remember that this is a contest for the Democratic nomination.And that all of us share an abiding desire to end the disastrous policies of the current administration.
But there are real differences between the candidates.We are looking for more than just a change of party in the White House.We\'re looking to fundamentally change the status quo in Washington.
It\'s a status quo that extends beyond any particular party and right now that status quo is fighting back with everything it\'s got, with the same old tactics that divide and distract us from solving the problems people face, whether those problems are health care that folks can\'t afford or a mortgage they cannot pay.
So this will not be easy.Make no mistake about what we\'re up against.We\'re up against the belief that it\'s all right for lobbyists to dominate our government, that they are just part of the system in Washington.
But we know that the undue influence of lobbyists is part of the problem and this election is our chance to say that we are not going to let them stand in our way anymore.
We\'re up against the conventional thinking that says your ability to lead as president comes from longevity in Washington or proximity to the White House.But we know that real leadership is about candor and judgment and the ability to rally Americans from all walks of life around a common purpose, a higher purpose.
