John Kerry's 2004 presidential election concession speech

Grants | Legacy Digitization | Programs | MPR Special Coverage | Topics | Politics |
Listen: 2426722
0:00

Transcript of John Kerry's 2004 presidential election concession speech:

Thank you so much. Thank you, thank you. I love you. I love you,

thank you. Thank you, thank you so much.

Thank you so much. You just have no idea how warming and how

generous that welcome is, your love is, your affection. And I'm

gratified by it.

I'm sorry that we got here a little bit late and little bit

short.

I spoke to President Bush and I offered him and Laura our

congratulations on their victory.

We had a good conversation, and we talked about the danger of

division in our country and the need - the desperate need for

unity, for finding the common ground, coming together.

Today I hope that we can begin the healing.

In America, it is vital that every vote count, and that 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 is now clear that even when all the provisional ballots are

counted, which they will be, there won't be enough outstanding

votes for us to be able to win Ohio.

And therefore we cannot win this election.

My friends, it was here that we began our campaign for the

presidency and all we had was hope and vision for a better America.

It was a privilege and a gift to spend two years traveling this

country, coming to know so many of you.

I wish that I could just wrap you up in my arms and embrace each

and every one of you individually all across this nation. I thank

you from the bottom of my heart. ...

I will always be particularly grateful to the colleague that you

just heard from who became my partner, my very close friend, an

extraordinary leader, John Edwards.

And I thank him for everything he did.

Thank you, sir.

John and I would be the first to tell you that we owe so much to

our families. They're here with us today. They were with us every

single step of the way. They sustained us.

They went out on their own and they multiplied our campaign all

across this country.

No one did this more with grace and with courage and candor,

that I love, than my wife Teresa, and I thank her.

And our children were there every single step of the way. It was

unbelievable. Vanessa, Alex, Chris, Andre and John from my family,

and 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, who were up beyond

their bedtime last night, like a lot of us.

I want to thank my crewmates and my friends from 35 years ago,

that great band of brothers who crisscrossed this country on my

behalf for 2004.

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 the 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 lead

by a wonderful campaign manager, Mary Beth Cahill, who did an

extraordinary job.

There's so much written about campaigns and there's so much that

Americans never 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 it's a gift to everybody, but

especially to me, and I'm grateful to each and every one of you.

And I thank your families and I thank you for the sacrifices

you've made. And to all the volunteers all across this country who

gave so much of themselves. You know, thanks to William Field, a

6-year-old who collected $680 a quarter and a dollar at a time,

selling bracelets during the summer to help change America.

Thanks to Michael Benson from Florida, who I spied in a rope

line holding a container of money and it turned out he had raided

his piggy bank and wanted to contribute.

And thanks to Ilana Wexler, 11 years old, who started Kids for

Kerry all across our country.

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 the hot days of

summer and the cold days of the fall and the winter to knock on

door because they were determined to open the doors of opportunity

to all Americans.

They worked their hearts out. And I wish, you don't know how

much, that I could have brought this race home for you, for them.

And I say to them now Don't 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 it's worth fighting for.

I want to especially say to the American people In 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've heard your stories.

I know your struggles, I know your hopes. They are part of me

now.

And I will never forget you and I'll never stop fighting for

you.

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 you've lifted me up and you've 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.

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 or recrimination, without anger or

rancor. America is in need of unity 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 harm's 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 that 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.

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 privilege.

Our fight goes on to protect the environment, to achieve

equality, to push the frontiers of science and discovery and to

restore America's reputation in the world.

I believe that all of this will happen, and sooner than we may

think, because we're America, and America always moves forward.

I've been honored to represent the citizens of this commonwealth

in the United States Senate now for 20 years. And I pledge to them

that in the years ahead, I'm going to fight on for the people and

for the principles that I've learned and lived with here in

Massachusetts.

I'm proud of what we stood for in this campaign and of what we

accomplished.

When we began, no one thought it was possible to even make this

a close race.

But we stood for real change, change that would make a real

difference in the life of our nation and the lives of our families.

And we defined that choice to America.

I'll never forget the wonderful people who came to our rallies,

who 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.

So with a grateful heart, I leave this campaign with a prayer

that has even greater meaning to me now that I've 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.

-Sen. John Kerry's concession speech on Wednesday, as transcribed

by e-Media Millworks Inc.

Funders

Digitization made possible by the State of Minnesota Legacy Amendment’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, approved by voters in 2008.

This Story Appears in the Following Collections

Views and opinions expressed in the content do not represent the opinions of APMG. APMG is not responsible for objectionable content and language represented on the site. Please use the "Contact Us" button if you'd like to report a piece of content. Thank you.

Transcriptions provided are machine generated, and while APMG makes the best effort for accuracy, mistakes will happen. Please excuse these errors and use the "Contact Us" button if you'd like to report an error. Thank you.

< path d="M23.5-64c0 0.1 0 0.1 0 0.2 -0.1 0.1-0.1 0.1-0.2 0.1 -0.1 0.1-0.1 0.3-0.1 0.4 -0.2 0.1 0 0.2 0 0.3 0 0 0 0.1 0 0.2 0 0.1 0 0.3 0.1 0.4 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.5 0.2 0.1 0.4 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.2 0 0.4-0.1 0.5-0.1 0.2 0 0.4 0 0.6-0.1 0.2-0.1 0.1-0.3 0.3-0.5 0.1-0.1 0.3 0 0.4-0.1 0.2-0.1 0.3-0.3 0.4-0.5 0-0.1 0-0.1 0-0.2 0-0.1 0.1-0.2 0.1-0.3 0-0.1-0.1-0.1-0.1-0.2 0-0.1 0-0.2 0-0.3 0-0.2 0-0.4-0.1-0.5 -0.4-0.7-1.2-0.9-2-0.8 -0.2 0-0.3 0.1-0.4 0.2 -0.2 0.1-0.1 0.2-0.3 0.2 -0.1 0-0.2 0.1-0.2 0.2C23.5-64 23.5-64.1 23.5-64 23.5-64 23.5-64 23.5-64"/>