Chicago,
IL- With election results heeding a proposed winner Tuesday, President
Barack Obama gave his acceptance speech the evening of Election Day Nov.
6. Obama administered his remarks after winning the needed electoral
majority of 270 votes. His address spoke to the determination of people
who helped him to gain his second term, the importance of the United
States coming together as a nation in order to rise and to follow
through with his plan.
“You
reaffirmed the spirit that has triumphed over war and depression,”
Obama said. “The spirit that has lifted this country from the depths of
despair to the great heights of hope; the belief that while each of us
will pursue our own individual dreams, we are an American family and we
rise or fall together as one nation and as one people.”
While
the speech itself served to rally supporters and thank citizens for
their votes, whether for Romney or himself, the president also addressed
the work that lies ahead.
“Our
economy is recovering. A decade of war is ending. A long campaign is
now over, and whether I earned your vote or not, I have listened to you.
I have learned from you. And you’ve made me a better president.”
In
his second term, the president wants to invest more in education,
research and technology in order to provide growth for the economy long
term. He plans to eliminate tax breaks for companies that send jobs and
profits overseas, and reinstate tax codes similar to those under former
President Bill Clinton’s term, by making sure millionaires are not
paying lower tax rates than those in the middle class.
In
order to cut tuition hikes, the president hopes to expand student aid
and work with states and colleges, by creating partnerships between
community college students and local employers. Obama also will continue
with his plan to invest in education early, by expanding programs like
Head Start for preschool age children.
In
campaigning, Obama often highlighted his fulfillment in ending the war
in Iraq and successfully ordering the raid on jihadist Al-Qaeda leader
Osama bin Laden. For his second term, the president will put a plan in
place to end the war in Afghanistan in 2014, as well as prevent the
spread of nuclear arsenal. In doing this, he wishes to renew the United
States’ global leader position through appropriate foreign policy.
Obama
also will keep in place the Affordable Care Act, which he instated to
force insurance companies to provide more transparent plans, notably a
Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC). Health insurance issuers are
bound to provide clients a clear understanding of coverage through an
SBC. The act also gives citizens the rights to free, preventative health
care, including: blood pressure and cholesterol tests, cancer
screenings and routine vaccinations.
In
speaking to his supporters on Tuesday night, the president allowed for
some celebration and hints of his victory in 2008, a campaign for hope
and change. However, after four years, the president also warned the
journey out of recession for the United States is not over.
“I
have never been more hopeful about America, and I ask you to sustain
that hope,” Obama said. “I’m not talking about blind optimism, the kind
of hope that just ignores the enormity of the tasks ahead or the
roadblocks that stand in our path.”
“I
have always believed that hope is that stubborn thing inside us that
insists, despite all the evidence to the contrary, that something better
awaits us so long as we have the courage to keep reaching, to keep
working, to keep fighting.”