Det amerikanska familjegräl som uppstår vart fjärde år, är för denna gång över, och tidigare partipartisaner börjar nu göra enad front utåt. President Bush och den blivande President Obama ska mötas nästa vecka för att diskutera frågor så som Irak, finanskrisen etc. Obama har redan nu börjat briefas av CIA på samma sätt som presidenten.
Förmodligen kommer mötet att resultera i att nationen efter en lång valkampanj börjar enas. Trots Obamas hårda retorik mot Bush under valkampanjen, så är det allmänt bekant att presidenter när de väl intar sitt ämbete får en betydligt större lojalitet mot tidigare presidenter än innan de inträdde i det Ovala rummet. Historien bevisar den saken: efter ett bittert nederlag för George H W Bush mot Bill Clinton 1992 - har de därefter arbetat tillsammans med hjälpinsamlingar åt såväl tsunami-offren, som de som drabbades av orkanen Katrina - och en bestående partiöverskridande ömsesidig vänskap har växt fram dem emellan.
Efter terrorattacken den 11 september 2001 sa President Bush:
A great people has been moved to defend a great nation. Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shattered steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve.
America was targeted for attack because we're the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world. And no one will keep that light from shining.
I sitt segertal i Chicago sa Obama följande:
And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores... To those who would tear this world down – we will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security – we support you. And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright – tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from our the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope.
Obamas tal lät inte som ropen från de skränande demonstrerande militanta anti-Bush pacifisterna. Det var snarare en retorik väldigt snarlik President Bushs: besegra fienden, sprid demokrati.
I sitt gratualtionstal efter valet sa President Bush:
A long campaign has now ended, and we move forward as one nation. We're embarking on a period of change in Washington, yet there are some things that will not change. The United States government will stay vigilant in meeting its most important responsibility -- protecting the American people. And the world can be certain this commitment will remain steadfast under our next Commander-in-Chief.
Senator John McCain som förlorade primärvalet år 2000 mot George W. Bush - försonades med Bush och gav sitt innerliga stöd till President Bush på 2004 års Republikanska Nationalkonvent - där han förklarade att den amerikanska patriotismen överskred partigränserna:
Remember how we felt when the serenity of a bright September morning was destroyed by a savage atrocity so hostile to all human virtue we could scarcely imagine any human being capable of it. We were united... In that moment, we were not different races. We were not poor or rich. We were not Democrat or Republican, liberal or conservative. We were not two countries. We were Americans.
...My friends, we are again met on the field of political competition with our fellow countrymen... We are arguing over the means to better secure our freedom, and promote the general welfare. But it should remain an argument among friends who share an unshaken belief in our great cause, and in the goodness of each other.
We are Americans first, Americans last, Americans always.
Let us argue our differences. But remember we are not enemies, but comrades in a war against a real enemy, and take courage from the knowledge that our military superiority is matched only by the superiority of our ideals, and our unconquerable love for them.
Our adversaries are weaker than us in arms and men, but weaker still in causes. They fight to express a hatred for all that is good in humanity. We fight for love of freedom and justice, a love that is invincible.
Keep that faith. Keep your courage. Stick together. Stay strong. Do not yield. Do not flinch. Stand up. Stand up with our President and fight. We're Americans. We're Americans, and we'll never surrender. They will.
Och i sitt förlusttal i förrgår mot blivande president Obama, andades McCains precis samma känsla av att lojaliteten mot sitt land, var viktigare än någon partilojalitet eller någon valseger:
Sen. 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 him, 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.
Whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans. And please believe me when I say no association has ever meant more to me than that.
... Today, I was a candidate for the highest office in the country I love so much. And tonight, I remain her servant. That is blessing enough for anyone, and I thank the people of Arizona for it.
Tonight -- tonight, more than any night, I hold in my heart nothing but love for this country and for all its citizens, whether they supported me or Sen. Obama.
I wish Godspeed to the man who was my former opponent and will be my president. And I call on all Americans, as I have often in this campaign, to not despair of our present difficulties, but to believe, always, in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here. Americans never quit. We never surrender. We never hide from history. We make history.
Och för att avsluta med orden från President Bush, från hans segertal 2004 - ord Barack Obama säkerligen skulle skriva under på:
There's an old saying, "Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers; pray for powers equal to your tasks." In four historic years, America has been given great tasks, and faced them with strength and courage... Because we have done the hard work, we are entering a season of hope... We have one country, one Constitution and one future that binds us. And when we come together and work together, there is no limit to the greatness of America.
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