Listen to them Both!

(As They Spoke Last Night)

Barack Obama

The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term. But, America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there.

I promise you, we as a people will get there…

There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as president. And we know the government can't solve every problem.

But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And, above all, I will ask you to join in the work of remaking this nation, the only way it's been done in America for 221 years — block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand…

This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were.

It can't happen without you, without a new spirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice.

So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves but each other.

John McCain

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 ... 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.

It is natural. It's natural, tonight, to feel some disappointment. But tomorrow, we must move beyond it and work together to get our country moving again.

Two wise men, a hard fought battle, and time for us to be Americans again. One country.

I’m Peter Dekom, and I can dream too.

Instant Gratification? Not this Time

The bailout is necessary, and I’ve said that before. But the bailout does not mean that the good times will be “here again,” at least not in the immediate future. The difference is between a possible 1929-style depression (no bailout) and an uncomfortably long (15-24 months I suspect) recession (with a bailout). To have growth, we need value. That means retraining and education, fixing broken infrastructure, and encouraging job growth.

We've got lots that needs to be done, in both the public and private sectors, but a slow economy and tough money with sluggish leading indicators (even with a bailout) make achieving those goals that much more difficult. And with the rest of the world pointing their fingers at greedy Wall Street and the government that refused to regulate them until it was too late, the international capital markets are not likely going to help much.

We have energy and health care issues that can create massive new jobs, roads, highways, bridges, dams and levees that need to be repaired and expanded. Whatever the long term result, most of the bailout will be recaptured if the government makes the right moves, but we now have to focus on getting this nation into a place where it can grow, build jobs and sustain hope. Climate change, with the irony of drought and battering hurricanes, only makes that job more difficult. But we can, and we must.

The next President will be faced with the issue of priorities, as questions from the debate so clearly indicate. Choices must be made, spending cuts must be implemented, but we need tax dollars and capital investment to move from bailout to success. This is a multi-step process, and it will take both cash and patience. It will also take courage.

I'm Peter Dekom, and I approve this message.