Obama: "Tomorrow"

The Democratic presidential candidate in Jacksonville, FL:

It's great to be back on the First Coast. I have just one word for you, Florida: tomorrow. 

After decades of broken politics in Washington, eight years of failed policies from George Bush, and twenty-one months of a campaign that has taken us from the rocky coast of Maine to the sunshine of California, we are one day away from change in America. 

Tomorrow, you can turn the page on policies that have put the greed and irresponsibility of Wall Street before the hard work and sacrifice of folks on Main Street. 

Tomorrow, you can choose policies that invest in our middle-class, create new jobs, and grow this economy so that everyone has a chance to succeed; from the CEO to the secretary and the janitor; from the factory owner to the men and women who work on its floor 

Tomorrow, you can put an end to the politics that would divide a nation just to win an election; that tries to pit region against region, city against town, Republican against Democrat; that asks us to fear at a time when we need hope. 

Tomorrow, at this defining moment in history, you can give this country the change we need. 

We began this journey in the depths of winter nearly two years ago, on the steps of the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Illinois.  Back then, we didn't have much money or many endorsements.  We weren't given much of a chance by the polls or the pundits. We knew how steep our climb would be. 

But I also knew this.  I knew that the size of our challenges had outgrown the smallness of our politics.  I believed that Democrats and Republicans and Americans of every political stripe were hungry for new ideas, new leadership, and a new kind of politics - one that favors common sense over ideology; one that focuses on those values and ideals we hold in common as Americans. 

Most of all, I knew the American people were a decent, generous people willing to work hard and sacrifice for future generations. I was convinced that when we come together, our voices are more powerful than the most entrenched lobbyists, or the most vicious political attacks, or the full force of a status quo in Washington that wants to keep things just the way they are. 

Twenty-one months later, my faith in the American people has been vindicated.  That's how we've come so far and so close - because of you.  That's how we'll change this country - with your help.  And that's why we can't afford to slow down, sit back, or let up, one minute, or one second in the next twenty-four hours.  Not now.  Not when so much is at stake.