Congratulations to all partisan Democrats and ardent Obama supporters: the night yours and our nation is now in your hands. I'm proud to say that my vote here in Florida went to the victorious Obama/Biden ticket. I know this may not be the most popular thing to do right now, but I'd appreciate it if you joined me below the fold as I selected my Top Ten quotes from Sen. John McCain's concession speech in the spirit of bipartisanship, honor and my most sincere hope for a better tomorrow.
John McCain was the first candidate for President of the United States of America that I supported (way back in 2000) and I still believe he is a good man, despite the fact that his 8-year quest for the White House has warped him beyond recognition. I believe he will now revert to his old self and be instrumental in the Democratic leaderships efforts to overcome what I am sure will be an obstinant Republican minority in the Senate. I found glimpses of that in his concession speech tonight and I thought I'd share them with you for your thoughts. And so, without further ado:
- My friends...
- This campaign was and will remain the great honor of my life, and my heart is filled with nothing but gratitude for the experience and to the American people for giving me a fair hearing before deciding that Senator Obama and my old friend Senator Joe Biden should have the honor of leading us for the next four years.
- I don't know what more we could have done to try to win this election. [...] But I won't spend a moment of the future regretting what might have been.
- In a contest as long and difficult as this campaign has been, [Senator Obama’s] success alone commands my respect for his ability and perseverance [...] I deeply admire and commend him for achieving [it].
- A little while ago, I had the honor of calling Senator Barack Obama to congratulate him on being elected the next president of the country that we both love.
- Senator Obama has achieved a great thing for himself and for his country. I applaud him for it, and offer him my sincere sympathy that his beloved grandmother did not live to see this day. Though our faith assures us she is at rest in the presence of her creator and so very proud of the good man she helped raise.
- Whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans.
- I wish Godspeed to the man who was my former opponent and will be my president.
- Senator Obama and I have had and argued our differences, and he has prevailed. No doubt many of those differences remain. These are difficult times for our country. And I pledge to him tonight to do all in my power to help him lead us through the many challenges we face.
- I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating [Senator Obama], but offering our next president our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together to find the necessary compromises to bridge our differences and help restore our prosperity, defend our security in a dangerous world, and leave our children and grandchildren a stronger, better country than we inherited.