Obama: Voters answering call for change

Barack Obama returned tonight to the scene of his first big victory to declare that he is within reach of the Democratic nomination.

He told a cheering crowd in Des Moines, Iowa, that voters across the country have answered his call for change and propelled his unlikely journey.

"Many of you have been disappointed by politics and politicians more times than you can count. You’ve seen promises broken, good ideas drown in the sea of influence, and point-scoring, and petty bickering that has consumed Washington. And you’ve been told over and over and over again to be cynical, and doubtful, and even fearful about the possibility that things could ever be different, could ever be better," Obama said.

"And yet, in spite of all the doubt and disappointment -- or perhaps because of it -- you came out on a cold winter’s night in numbers that this country has never seen, and you stood for change. You stood for change, and because you did, a few more stood up. And then a few thousand stood up. And then a few million stood up. And tonight, Iowa, in the fullness of spring, with the help of those who stood up from Portland to Louisville, we have returned to Iowa with a majority of delegates elected by the American people, and you have put us within reach of the Democratic nomination for president of the United States of America."

Obama also had kind words for Hillary Clinton:

"The road here has been long, and that is partly because we’ve traveled it with one of the most formidable candidates to ever run for this office. In her thirty-five years of public service, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton has never given up on her fight for the American people, and tonight I congratulate her on her victory in Kentucky. We have had our disagreements during this campaign, but we all admire her courage, her commitment and her perseverance. No matter how this primary ends, Senator Clinton has shattered myths and broken barriers and changed the America in which my daughters and your daughters will come of age, and for that we are grateful to her."

He also paid tribute to Senator Edward M. Kennedy. "You know, there is a spirit that brought us here tonight – a spirit of change, and hope, and possibility. And there are few people in this country who embody that spirit more than our friend and our champion, Senator Edward Kennedy. He has spent his life in service to this country not for the sake of glory or recognition, but because he cares – deeply, in his gut – about the causes of justice, and equality, and opportunity. So many of us here have benefited in some way or another because of the battles he’s waged, and some of us are here because of them.
"We know he is not well right now, but we also know that he’s a fighter. And as he takes on this fight, let us lift his spirits tonight by letting Ted Kennedy know that we are thinking of him and Vicki, that we are praying for him, that we are standing with him, and that we will be fighting with him every step of the way."

And Obama laid down the gauntlet to John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee.

"I will leave it up to Senator McCain to explain to the American people whether his policies and positions represent long-held convictions or Washington calculations, but the one thing they don’t represent is change," Obama said.

"That is the choice in this election. The same question that first led us to Iowa fifteen months ago is the one that has brought us back here tonight; it is the one we will debate from Washington to Florida, from New Hampshire to New Mexico -- the question of whether this country, at this moment, will keep doing what we’ve been doing for four more years, or whether we will take that different path. It is more of the same versus change. It is the past versus the future. It has been asked and answered by generations before us, and now it is our turn to choose."

"We will face our share of difficult and uncertain days in the journey ahead. The other side knows they have embraced yesterday’s policies, so they will also embrace yesterday’s tactics to try and change the subject. They will play on our fears and our doubts, they'll try to sow discord and division to distract us from what matters to you and your future. Well they can take the low road if they want, but it will not lead this country to a better place. And it will not work in this election. It won’t work because you will not let it work. Not this time. Not this year."

UPDATE: McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds responded: "This election is fundamentally about who Americans can trust to secure peace and prosperity for the next generation of Americans. Without a doubt, Barack Obama is a talented political orator, but his naive plans for unconditional summits with rogue leaders and support for big tax hikes on hardworking families expose his bad judgment that Americans can ill-afford in our next president. Rather than offer solutions and leadership, Senator Obama again tonight launched the tired old political attacks of a typical politician, not the 'new politics' he's promised. America needs a commander in chief who is ready from day one. John McCain has the experience, character and courage to move America foward with strength, optimism and resolve."