Barack Obama celebrated his re-election victory at his Election party with
a host of celebritysupporters this morning in his hometown of Chicago.
The President gave a rousing speech at McCormick Place convention center in front of 10,000 supporters, which featured many of his star fans.
They were not the ones who shared his first public moments since the
election was called in his favor, however, as President Obama opted to walk on stage with First Lady Michelle and their two daughters Malia and Sasha.
Strong Democratic supporters Stevie Wonder, Mary J Blige, Ashley Judd, Melanie Griffith and Will.i.Am who were all on the guest list.
But the President saved his thanks his nationwide network of campaign
workers and field organisers, his running mate Vice President Joe Biden (who he likened to a ‘happy warrior’), and his most sentimental shout out went to his wife Michelle.
‘I wouldn’t be the man I am today without the woman who agreed to marry me 20 years ago,’ he said.
‘Let me say this publicly Michelle I have never loved you more.’
In reference to his 2008 campaign promise that if he won the election he
would reward his daughters with a pet dog, President Obama said ‘before our very eyes you are growing up to be two strong smart beautiful young women just like your mother, but I will say for now one dog is probably enough.’
In keeping with his ethos of openness and transparency, the President first announced his victory on his Twitter account, sharing the moment with his 22 million followers.
Obama tweeted a picture of himself hugging First Lady Michelle at 11.16pm (EST) with the words: 'Four more years.'
He also thanked his supporters on Twitter ago, saying: 'We're all in this
together. That's how we campaigned.' It came a few minutes after TV networks announced that Obama would be re-elected as President.
Earlier on Tuesday night, Obama had dinner with his family at home in Chicago. The President's daughters 14-year-old Malia and Sasha, 11, flew to Chicago with their grandmother Marian Robinson after school on Tuesday afternoon.
The President's sister Maya and the First Lady's brother Craig along with a number of nieces and nephews were invited to dinner with the Obamas at their $2million townhouse in Chicago.
Obama said that he had two speeches prepared for this evening. He told Fox31 on Tuesday:
'You always have two speeches prepared because you can’t take anything for granted.
'It is an extraordinary privilege to serve the people, whatever the office. I have served as a state senator, a U.S. senator and now as the president. And each and every time I’ve been reminded that it is the people where power ultimately resides; and I’m their representative, I’m their servant.'
However Romney told reporters that he had prepared only a single victory speech - of around 1,118 words.
Earlier in the day, Obama indulged his superstitions by engaging in a traditional Election Day basketball game with friends as the presidential race was finally in the hands of voters.
Obama played - and won - on the court today after he gave final words of encouragement to campaign volunteers in Chicago. He also voiced optimism about his chances and congratulated rival Mitt Romney on a 'spirited campaign'.
He gave the campaign one last push on Tuesday morning by visiting a campaign office near his South Side Chicago home. Thunderous applause from about two dozen volunteers, many with tears streaming down their faces, greeted Obama.
The President said: 'I expect that we'll have a good night' before removing his suit coat and sitting down to make calls to volunteers in neighboring Wisconsin.
'Hopefully we'll have a good day,' he said on one phone call. 'Keep working hard all the way through.'
Speaking to reporters afterwards, Obama said: 'We feel confident we've got the votes to win but it's going to depend ultimately on whether these votes turn out.'
He said he knows Romney's supporters are 'just as engaged, just as enthusiastic' as his own and congratulated the former Massachusetts governor 'for a hard-fought race'.
Obama spent the day in his hometown, making his last appeals to voters during a round of satellite interviews with TV stations in swing states rather than a final flurry of campaign rallies.
The president headed into Election Day locked in a close race with Romney, according to national polls.
However he appeared to have a slight edge in some key battlegrounds that will decide the contest, including Ohio, Iowa and Wisconsin.
There was no traditional Election Day photo of Obama voting on Tuesday because he did so in Chicago last week, part of his campaign's effort to promote early voting.
First Lady Michelle Obama voted by absentee ballot.
One tradition Obama kept, however, was his Election Day basketball game.
A diehard basketball fan, Obama was joined by former Chicago Bulls star Scottie Pippen, childhood friends Mike Ramos and Marty Nesbitt, and Education Secretary Arne Duncan, a former captain of Harvard's basketball team.
Others who played included Obama's chef Sam Kass, Michelle's brother Craig Robinson, former Bulls player Jeff Sanders and Alexi Giannoulias, the former Illinois state treasurer and 2010 Democratic U.S. Senate nominee.
Giannoulias said Obama was player-coach of his team, which included Giannoulias and Pippen. The game had referees and the teams played 12-minute quarters. Duncan and Nesbitt played on the other team.
In 2008, Obama played basketball with aides before winning the kickoff Iowa caucuses. They decided to make basketball an Election Day tradition after he lost the next contest, the New Hampshire primary, on a day when they didn't hit the court.
'We made the mistake of not playing basketball once. I can assure you we will not repeat that,' said Robert Gibbs, a longtime Obama aide who accompanied the President in the campaign's final days.
No comments:
Post a Comment