Fellow Americans, loyal supporters, and hard-working staffers:

A year and a half ago, I began this campaign for the Presidency knowing that electing me would be a historic first for our great nation. You may have noticed that I’m not a white man, and I am truly inspired and grateful that so many people know that does not – and should not – disqualify me from the presidency. But this is not a campaign about race or about gender.

This is a campaign about who will be the best President to clean up the mess that eight years of George W Bush has left behind.

The mess in Iraq.

The mess in our economy.

The mess of our environment.

The mess of cronyism and corruption.

The mess of human rights, torture of enemy prisoners, and twisting the law.

The mess of turning every branch of government into a tool for Karl Rove’s Republican machine.

I thought I would be the best person to lead our nation out of this mess, and I still do.

But I know one important thing. The best person to lead America out of this mess is NOT John McCain. We need to get a Democrat into the White House. We need to build our Democratic majorities in the Senate and the House of Representatives. More than anything else, we need to WIN THIS ELECTION.

(applause)

It has been a long, tough battle in the primaries – six months of visiting so many states, so many small towns, and meeting so many terrific Americans. You, the voters, kept me going. Your hunger to fix the mess in our country, and your support, and your cheers, and yes, your donations – have kept me going. I want to win this for you. I want to win the election for the farmer in Ankeny, Iowa whose son was maimed in Iraq. I want to win the election for the waitress in Watertown, New Hampshire who has no health insurance and a child with special needs.  I want to win it for the family in Ohio who has lost their house because of a fraudulent mortgage. And I want to win for you.

The primary fight has become the big story for the media. We have been working hard, both of us, for a long time. My opponent and I have been in dozens of debates. From the beginning, we have had blood, sweat, tears, and toil. There have been others in this race – Bill Richardson, John Edwards – who have terrific ideas about what this country needs to do. And all of us – ALL of us – share the goal of getting a Democratic president elected. We just disagreed about who that should be.

But you know, the election did not end in Pennsylvania. It did not end in Indiana and North Carolina. And it will not end in June in Montana and South Dakota. It does not end in Denver this summer. This election comes to an end on November fourth, all across our land, when the voters have their say. And on the twenty-first of January, the cleanup begins.

(applause)

We have less than six months before Election Day. It’s time to focus on winning the election by beating John McCain and not on beating up each other. Now, I could carry this fight to Denver. I think I have a good shot at winning the nomination even though I don’t, quite, have a majority of convention delegates. There could be a floor fight over so many issues. What to do about the delegates representing the great – and politically important – states of Michigan and Florida is chief among them.

But remember, that’s not the fight we should be having.

The real fight is against the Republican machine. For months now, John McCain has had an easy ride. While Senator Obama and I have been battling each other, Senator McCain has been resting, raising funds, and visiting those places where he won’t be paying a lot of attention to come Fall.

One of our greatest Presidents, Abraham Lincoln, (yes, yes, he was a Republican, but pretty darn good anyway…) said “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” And he was right. The Democratic house has been divided. It’s time we unite to get this country back on the right track!

Now, I had hoped to be listening to a speech like this, not giving it. I had wanted to be the next President. After a long fight, and a very tough one, and an even tougher couple of days, I have come to realize that it is not going to be. I will not be the next President. But perhaps I can be the “next next President”. Now, there’s the audacity of hope!

(applause, laughter)

Right now, I want to tell you two things. First, I’m not bitter. (laughter) It was a tough fight, and sometimes a bitter one. Second,  Mr. Obama and I are rivals, not enemies. I look forward to working with President Obama from my Senate seat.

(interrupted by shouts of “Veep! Veep! Veep!”)

 No, no, that’s Mr. Obama’s decision to make. We haven’t discussed it, I haven’t thought about it, and I won’t think about it until I have to.

We have to get this country back on track and that is going to take a lot of work. I will carry a broom, I will carry a dustpan, I will carry on the work of cleaning up the mess Mr. Bush has made of this country. And I know that you will work with me.

Some of my supporters have said that they could never vote for Barack Obama. Well, some of his supporters said the same about me. I hope that’s not true, either way. I want each and every one of you to know that voting for me was great, I appreciate it. 

But if you don’t want to vote for Obama, you won’t be helping us clean up this country. You won’t be helping us fix the economy, damaged by foolish Republican “borrow and waste” economic policies. You won’t be helping us to get our brave men and women out of the middle of the Iraqi civil war.  You won’t be helping clean up the environment, you won’t be helping decrease our dependence on imported oil, you won’t be helping us make sure every American has the basic health insurance they need and deserve. If you stay home November fourth, that’s about half a vote for McCain.

(boos)

And you know, Bush and McCain are more of the same. We don’t want more Bush. We don’t want McCain. We don’t want more of the same!

(crowd starts chanting, “No more Bush! No McCain! No more of the same!”)

Thank you all, thanks to you millions of voters, to the thousands of people who have so generously shared their time and their money, to my staff, and to Bill and Chelsea. I love you all. We have made a difference. And we will continue making a difference!

Good night, America!