By the People: The Election of Barack Obama (2009) - full transcript

(street noise)

(metal detector beeps)

(indistinct radio chatter)

(indistinct)

- Good morning, guys.
- Woman: Good morning.

Good.

Go directly to you by
the seventh (indistinct),

and then we are out of there.

Uh, what have they
called so far? Sharon.

Reporter (TV):
Right now we have
a major projection,

major projection to make
in the state of Maryland...



(cell phone rings)

...we project will be elected,

the next United States senator
from the state of Maryland,

succeeding Paul Sarbanes...

- Alright, that's good.
- Did you call them?

No, I'm gonna make calls now.

Do they have a count
on the House seats yet?

(both speaking indistinctly)

That's the only one
that's a pick-up,

though Yarmuth in Louisville

is up with...

- That's what I'm talking about.
- 96% in, but they haven't called it.

My goal is every candidate...
Every candidate

I campaign for, I want to win.



- (laughs)
- Every single one.

Hey, congratulations,
Madam Speaker.

We...

Well, listen, we're...
We're so proud of you.

You're...
You're making history, and, uh,

let's figure out how I can
be helpful going forward.

Alright. Bye-bye.

Woman: We keep asking you,

are you ready to run?

Are you ready to
serve as President?

Barack Obama:
You know, the, uh...

I haven't had time

to catch my breath.
This, I think,

will be the first week where
I haven't taken off my shoes

at the airport
security terminal. So,

I'm gonna step back,
take a look at what's going on,

and, you know, really do some
soul-searching in terms of

how I can be most useful
to the country.

I haven't had time
to do that yet.

...this point with
84 and a half in.

-(sigh) You don't get a lot tighter than that.
- Nope.

I love elections.

It's so much fun. (laughs)

It's even more fun when
you're not on the ballot.

(traffic ambiance)

(indistinct chatter)

-(indistinct) -Ronnie
Cho: My name is Ronnie,

calling from the Barack Obama
campaign here in Des Moines.

And just wanted to
try to get acquainted

with people in the community.

I'm gonna be working
in that area

through the caucuses in January.

Oh, you do a caucus?
Well, that's great.

Have you decided who
you'll be supporting?

Not yet. Well, you're right.
It is awfully early.

Well, Alvin, is there
a particular issue

that you care about?

Something that stands out
in your mind?

Just basically just trying
to get out there,

set up meetings
with activists,
let them know that we're here

and we'd like to talk
to them. You know,

people wanna see him,

but they don't necessarily
know a lot about him.

-He is the biggest and
best tool we have -(jet idling)

in terms of drawing people in
to get interested.

I think that's half the battle.

- How are you? Having fun?
- What's going on?

It's been a couple
of crazy days, huh?

- I like this.
- You like it?

- Yeah, I do.
- Okay, good.

Linda, I can't wait
to see you on the 30th,

and let's just...
Let's just stay in touch.

Say hi to... Say hi to your
husband and son for me.

Alright, bye-bye.

(hangs up)

- (indistinct)
- I'm the one...

Sorry, after this next...

- these next two calls,
- Robert Gibbs: Yes, sir.

Are we going straight
to the farm thing?

Gibbs: Yes. We'll do the
remaining press calls in the car.

Obama: I just want a
second to change out of...

This is not
the best outfit for...

- Gibbs: I hear you.
- Rural America.

Paul Tewes: We got overalls.

- I'm not gonna wear overalls.
- And a horse.

- Is that gonna be a problem?
- (laughs)

A horse I won't mind, actually.
That sounds kinda cool.

Obama: So I just want
to check in and find out

what we need to do
to earn your support,

because I think once I get you,
that puts us over the top.

Then I've got...
I've got Iowa at that point.

I, you know, I...

I understand completely,

but, you know, the one thing
I will say is that...

we wanna make sure that

anybody who is supporting us,

that, you know, this is all
part of a single team.

I'm fascinated by Obama.

Here's a man
who's been in town...

Washington for two... Two years?

As near as I can tell,
hasn't done a thing?

Apparently there's no
performance criteria,

in the process of selecting
somebody to be President.

Nobody asked the question
what has he,

in fact, ever done?

Woman: What do you
think of Barack Obama?

I think he's a cool guy.
I don't know much

about the guy
to be honest with you.

I have no clue who that is.

- Man: You don't? Okay.
- I have no clue who that is.

Girl:
Wait, is he African American?

- Yeah.
- Okay.

That'd be really cool if he
was our next President then.

I got a "O," you got a "Bama."

- O! O!
- All: Bama! Bama!

I got a "O," you got a "Bama."

- O! O!
- All: Bama! Bama!

Mike Blake: I got a "O,"
you got a "Bama."

- O! O! O! O!
- All: Bama! Bama! Bama! Bama!

I haven't done this since, um,

I campaigned for Bobby Kennedy

back in mid '60s, '68.

There just hasn't been anybody
that's been exciting enough.

Crowd (chanting): I, O, W, A,

Barack Obama all the way.

I, O, W, A,
Barack Obama all the way.

I, O, W, A,
Barack Obama all the way!

Woman: Do you think
this country is ready

to elect the first
African American President?

- No. No.
- Man: Sure.

Not even Colin Powell?
He would get elected.

That's a different story.

He's smart enough
to know not to run.

Woman 1: Right now
I have to say that I'm...

I'm looking at Edwards.

I would like to see Richardson.

Woman 2: I don't like
any of the candidates.

I don't think any of them
are the right people.

I think Hillary's
been around too long.

She doesn't stand
for anything anymore.

Obama's wonderful but he's just
a little too young and untried.

'Course after Bush,
anybody can be President.

I can be President.

It's for good reason,
if you think about it

the odds of me standing
here are very slim.

I wasn't born to money,
I wasn't born to fame,

I didn't have a famous
family member.

You know, my father left
when I was two years old.

I was raised by a single mom

and by my grandparents.

And so they... They gave me love,

and they gave me an education,

and they gave me hope.

David Axelrod:
I met Barack Obama in 1992.

He was an extraordinary guy.

He was thoughtful, he was funny

-(crowd cheering) -and he
was obviously well-motivated.

In 2002,

-(crowd cheering) -I heard
that he was considering

a race in 2004 for the Senate,
and I'd thought, like,

if you could elect Barack Obama
to the United States Senate

that you'd be doing
something that

you could be proud of for
the rest of your life.

She was the manager
for my first campaign.

Yes, I was.

Carol Harwell,
from the west side of Chicago.

- Right on.
- (both laugh)

If it wasn't for her,
I'd be nowhere.

Thank you. (laugh)

Over the course of time,

and particularly in the spring of 2006,
leading into the summer,

-(applause, cheering) -everywhere he went,
he was drawing huge crowds.

And at each event
people would say,

"You really ought to think
about running for President."

Barack asked us a lot
of questions, and we said,

"Why would you wanna run for

President of the United States?"

-(indistinct) -And he said,
"I have a strong feeling about

"what it would mean to a lot of
young kids around this country

"the moment I raise my hand
and swore that oath

because all of a sudden,
anything would be possible."

Appreciate you taking
the time to come out,

even though it's a little hot.

- You gonna shake his hand?
- I know.

But you know, my... my daughter...

How old are you, nine?

Yeah, my daughter is nine.
She explained me,

"Dad, you know,
kids don't shake hands.

- (chuckle)
- They just say 'Hey'."

I think I'm gonna win again.
That's my prediction.

You just...

Alright, Sasha.

(laughs)

Sasha!

I did nothing!

- You just ruin everything.
- (laughing)

(yelling)

Malia Obama:
That was perfect. (indistinct)

(phone ringing)

I'll... I'll get it.

If it's Kathy, tell her she can
stay as long as she wants.

Malia: Hello?

Hi, Daddy.

- Oh, it's Daddy.
- Dada.

I'm fine.

Daddy, I had to eat a lot
of chocolate today.

(laugh)

Yup.

Okay.

I love you. Okay.

Hi, Daddy.

Good. Yes, I went to the gym.

(indistinct chatter, laughing)

Uh, I played with Poi ball.

- (indistinct chatter)
- Poi ball.

You wanna talk to Mama?

Okay. Mommy.

Alright, I play,
Malia play, you play.

Hello.

Michelle Obama: I had, you know,

a lot of practical questions

that I needed answers to
before I could say definitely

that this is something
that I could handle.

Which I was telling
Lindsay about...

Michelle:
That is funny how they do the...

How is this gonna work?

What would be the schedule?

How often would Barack
be on the road?

What would be expected of me

as a campaigner

- (laughter)
- and spokesperson?

Now I'm really not tired.

A little ice cream boost.

- (indistinct chatter)
- You wanna hold on to this?

- Can I have a lick?
- You can.

Yeah, that's your second.

- Staffer: Go ahead, finish it.
- Malia, can I have a lick?

- Malia, can I have a lick?
- Michelle: And how would we

structure our time to
ensure that our girls

would not be pulled out
of their lives?

How much would it
cost us as a family?

How are we financially
going to handle

me reducing my hours

at work to be able
to participate?

What would the campaign do,

if anything, about security?

We obviously got all the...
Those questions answered

to my satisfaction,

and, as a result, we are now

running for President.

(laughs)

(park chatter)

- Woman: What are you gonna be when you grow up?
- Ah...

I wanna be an actress.

Woman: How do you feel about
your dad running for President?

What's it been like?

- (indistinct chatter)
- It's hot.

- Hi, how are you?
- Tommy Vietor: This is actually taped.

-This is actually taped.
-It's taped. It was supposed to be live,

- and then our sat truck went down, of course.
- No problem.

- Woman: How'd this event go?
- (train horn)

It's great.

Except for the, you know,
seven trains that went by

and the bug that he ate.
Other than that...

Vietor:
I'll never forget the first
time I met Barack.

I was in this office, and we
were working on the weekend,

and he walks in.

I sort of pop up
and then I shake his hand.

He was great. I mean, I didn't
spent a lot of time with him

until they got to the Senate.

I always sort of felt like
there wasn't a day

where I didn't feel like
he was uniquely qualified

to do anything.

You know, be a Senator,
be a CEO, lead the country.

And that's what's so
impressive about the guy.

(indistinct chatter)

- Okay, hey, guys.
- How are you?

- This is my Polk County staff?
- Man: Yeah, some of them.

- Obama: Good-looking group.
- (laughs)

(indistinct)

Alright. Are any of
these people over 30?

(laughs) Nope.

(indistinct chatter)

David Plouffe: You're part of
something really historic today.

We've got 10, 15,000 people

around the country,

right now as we speak,
knocking doors

and attending events
and spreading the message

about the campaign.

What this really speaks to

is the kind of
grassroots enthusiasm

that Barack Obama's candidacy

is inspiring all
across the country.

He's a community organizer
at heart.

So door-to-door canvassing,
phone calls,

real contact with voters.

Even in a Presidential
campaign, his firm belief

is that to both
succeed electorally

and transform the country and
make the changes we need to,

we need to build a grassroots
movement for change.

- Woman: Where are
you gonna walk?
- Just here in Illinois.

Woman: Can we follow you?

Uh, well I've got to wait
for my son to wake up,

so this is kind of our own
freelance canvas.

Barack is walking
in about 20 minutes.

-Thanks for coming out.
Hey, everybody.
-(indistinct)

-(baby screeching)
-I just wanted to say
thank you so much for coming.

You know, this isn't
a bad day to be outside.

I just want to let all of you
know,

I wanna shake hands
with everybody.

Hi, very nice to meet you.

-Welcome to Iowa.
-Hey, good to see you.
How are you?

Axelrod:
Running for President
is like being an astronaut.

You can go in the simulator
all you want,

but until you're
orbiting in space,

you don't really know
what it's gonna be like.

I've been shaking hands...

for three straight hours.

(indistinct chatter)

Straight.

You guys are killing me!

- I'm physically spent.
- (laughing)

I don't know how
I'm going to give a speech!

It's like I've been
through a wrestling match!

- Marvin!
- Marvin Nicholson: Yes, sir.

- You all are killing me, man.
- Nicholson: What's the matter?

I've been shaking hands
three hours straight!

- Nicholson: We're early, though.
- Obama: We're early.

- Nicholson: We're early, though.
- (laughter)

You got a lot more hands
to shake in this state.

- Man: Good morning again.
- Obama: Good to see you.

Okay, so I wanna emphasize that.

I'm gonna talk about CAFE, I'm
gonna talk about cap and trade,

low-carbon standard.

The equivalent of removing...

Now, you know,
there was a statistic,

I don't know if you guys
still have it,

that if you're making
the fuel less harmful

and then you're
also making the cars

use less fuel,
and, in combination,

then it ends up
being real powerful.

Woman (PA):
...begin to engage in this
whole support process.

The whole country
is watching us.

(yawns)

We came here to listen.

This man came here
to talk to you.

He came here to listen to you.

This is our place.
This is his time.

Mr. Senator Barack Obama.

(crowd cheers)

Axelrod:
And there really
isn't any corollary

for what he's gone through

because almost every
candidate for President,

save a very few, start off

in semi-obscurity,
and then work their way up.

I always say, you know,

most of them get to
try their stuff out

in New Haven and Topeka
before they get to Broadway.

We opened up right on Broadway.

Critics in the front row.

And that's an awful
lot of pressure.

The reality is, Obama is
not gonna be the nominee

for the simple fact that he's
never run a competitive race

outside a state-legislative
district in Illinois,

That is not gonna happen.

He can't win the election.

Woman: Why not?

I don't think that
America's ready for it yet.

Just because of his race

and his views.

People are saying they're
viewing him kinda as, like,

a terrorist. They associate him
with the terrorists and stuff,

so, it's... I don't know.

I think he'll have a tough time
winning just because of that

whole association-by-race.

I find it kinda interesting.

Everybody keeps asking me,
"Well, you think

that Obama got a leg up
because he's African American?"

My question is, well,
does Clinton have a leg up

because she's a woman?

I'm actually going to wear
a button for Hillary this time.

And then my husband
won't commit himself,

but if he doesn't vote for her...
We've been married 41 years.

If he doesn't vote for her,
we're through.

We got to put up a fight
against Hillary.

We've had about 20 years
of the Bushes and Hillarys.

We want a fresh start,
fresh face.
That's Barack Obama.

Is Hillary Clinton pulling away
for the Democratic nomination?

A new USA Today Gallup Poll

gives her a double-digit lead
right now over Barack Obama.

Is she the inevitable nominee?

Has Hillary Clinton got
this thing locked?

(amusement park screaming)

(sizzling)

Woman:
Good job, Hillary. Good job.

(laughter)

Well, you know, if you can't
stand the heat,

- get out of the kitchen.
- (all laughing)

(alarm buzzes)

(crowd cheers)

Woman (PA): Finally. Alright.

You get to pick out
any prize you like.

You want an update?
I'm trying to get him on TV.

On a local NBC affiliate,
Live at 6,

but I have no clue where
we're gonna be, where we are

and how long it's taking
to get there.

We're literally on our way out.

(kids laughing)

- Hey, I'm Tommy.
- Oh, hey, Tommy. Tommy Vietor?

- Yeah.
- Scott Helman
from the Boston Globe.

- Hey, man!
- How are you?

I've been reading you
forever. I've been

swearing about Boston sports.

Way to stick it to us
on that crap lobbying story.

Yeah, I knew
you wouldn't like that.

That's such bullshit.

When are we gonna move
past the gotcha story?

Oh, come on, that was
totally not bullshit...

Here's the reason
it's a bullshit story...

Sir, we did two. Is that okay?

- Woman 1: Alright.
- Woman 2: Oh, look at that.

- Which one is it?
- Yeah, you did it, I think.

- Woman 3: Yeah, you got it.
- Man: Oh, I got it!

Hey, thank you!
Will you sign her thing?

(indistinct chatter)

I got a picture
of you and Hillary.

Yesterday was Dave's birthday.

- Yeah, you told me.
- Okay, just want to make sure.

Dave, we're here.

Dave Price:
Alright, we're with
Senator Barack Obama

outside our
Cast Your Kernel poll here.

Senator, if you would like the
honor here of actually voting.

There's your corn kernel.

(whistling)

Price:
Now, as you may see here, sir,

- you're getting out-jarred now.
- Obama: Excuse me, everybody.

I need everybody
to get a corn kernel

and start filling up a jar.

You don't want me to be behind.
It's heartbreaking.

So, we need to catch up.

By Sunday, we're gonna
have overtaken

all the other candidates when
it comes to their corn kernels,

- alright? Do I have
a commitment?
- Man: Yeah.

-(applause)
-Obama: That's it.
Thank you, guys.

Hello, is this Barbara?

My name's Lorenzo,
and I'm nine years old.

I'm a volunteer with the Obama
campaign. How are you?

- Where's Diana?
- (office chatter)

Who's Diana?

Obama is the candidate
running for President.

No, not... Not Diana. Obama.

Well, he is a candidate
running for President.

(sighs)

He's a candidate
running for President.

Of the United States of America.

No, Hillary is running
for President.

Obam...

Hope you have a wonderful day.

How are you, sir?

- What's your name?
- Joe Scott.

Good to see you, Joe.
How you been? Is this your shop?

- No.
- Oh. (laugh)

Hi, Barack. What's your name?

- John.
- Nice to meet you, John.

- Sarah.
- Hey, Sarah, good to see you.

- Kay.
- Hey, Kay.

- Rose.
- Nice to meet you.

- You too.
- Well, thank you very much

for saying hello. This is...

This is as nice
a downtown as I've seen.

Obama has raised more money...

A little bit more
money than Hillary.

Yet...

if you look at
the national polls,

his momentum just stalled at
a certain point this summer.

People are starting
to question whether

he has what it takes
to take down Hillary.

- Congratulations.
- Thank you.

So the question everyone
has been waiting

to have answered
in this campaign

is when is Obama gonna start
moving in these national polls?

Reporter:
Senator Hillary Clinton's
widening her lead

-with a 30-point lead.
I had to ask, I have to ask.
-(scoff)

- (laugh)
- Does it concern you at all?

- I mean...
- (laugh)

We're having a good
time in Iowa.

You know, the national polls
story will run...

Sooner or later,
it has to run itself out.

At some point, there'll be
the first actual vote.

Lynn Sweet:
I think these polls
can change. I think

he's not in the best
position to win,

but, by no means is he not
in a position to win.

The strength of
Obama's calling card is

he's a community organizer.

This campaign is his
laboratory for organizing.

- ♪ You better think ♪
- ♪ Think ♪

♪ Think about what you're
tryin' to do to me ♪

- ♪ Think ♪ - ♪ Think, think ♪

♪ Let your mind go,
let yourself be free ♪

♪ Let's go back, let's go back ♪

♪ Let's go way on
to way back when ♪

♪ I didn't even know you ♪

♪ You couldn't have been
too much more than 10 ♪

♪ I ain't no psychiatrist ♪

♪ I ain't no doctor
with degrees ♪

♪ But it don't take
too much high IQ's ♪

♪ To see what
you're doin' to me ♪

- ♪ You better think ♪
- ♪ Think ♪

♪ Think about what you're
tryin' to do to me ♪

- ♪ Yeah, think ♪
- ♪ Think, think ♪

♪ Let your mind go,
let yourself be free ♪

- ♪ Oh, freedom ♪ - ♪ Freedom ♪

- ♪ Freedom ♪ - ♪ Freedom ♪

♪ Oh, freedom ♪

- ♪ Yeah, freedom ♪
- ♪ Freedom ♪

- ♪ Oh, now, freedom ♪
- ♪ Freedom ♪

- ♪ Oh, freedom ♪ - ♪ Freedom ♪

He's got my vote. He's on time.

He showed up on time.
He's got my vote.

What?

Woman:
You guys getting excited
for the big dinner?

- I am.
- Woman: You are?

- Yeah.
- Is his speech all ready?

- Haven't written it yet. (laugh)
- Oh, yeah.

Axelrod: Jon is, in my view,

a brilliant young guy.

Woman: Is he a hero of yours?

Jon Favreau:
Yeah, he's one of them for sure.

I mean, you know, cliché
but as a speech writer,

you always look
to Kennedy for sure.

I think for speeches,
even Bobby Kennedy's speeches

are probably even more
inspirational in some senses.

It's a little more
like Barack, I think.

Axelrod:
I think he has a good ear
for Barack's voice.

It's a very tough thing to be
a speech writer for Barack,

because Barack is the best
speech writer in our group.

Now, you guys may argue with
me with on this, but, again,

I'm just trying to give
a little bit of a...

I want this to be populist,

but I want a little bit of
a flavor. Forward-looking.

So, one place we can put it.

"I will eliminate capital gains
tax for small businesses

to start up their
engine of growth."

Favreau:
He always wrote most of his
speeches himself before this.

He's had to get used to
having... writers around,

just because the nature
of a Presidential campaign.

But he doesn't give up,
you know...

He's still the chief
speech writer, always.

(indistinct)

We are 77, 8,

something like that,
days out from the Iowa caucus.

I am working on
the speech he'll give

at the Jefferson-Jackson
dinner in Iowa,

which is a pretty big deal,
where all the candidates

are gonna appear
at the same time.

It's a big organizational test

of each campaign, see who
can turn out the most people,

the most raucous crowd,
give a great speech.

(drumline playing)

We think of the 9000 people
going to J-J tonight,

3,000... We know
3,000 are our votes.

3,000 or more.

As you can see.

(drums playing, crowd cheering)

(drumming, cheering continue)

(crowd chanting)

(cheering continues)

(laugh)

People ask me, "Why do
you think you can win Iowa?"

And I think if we're in
a close race, these kids,

they're gonna win it for us.

Thank you, guys.

Axelrod:
They think they're
changing the world

and that's the best thing
that they could do,

and God bless them.
We need more of them.

- The good news is
I think they are.
- Yeah.

(cheering continues)

Obama:
I am running in this race,

because of what Dr. King called,

"The fierce urgency of now."

I believe the American people

are tired of fear

- and tired of distractions
- (cheering)

and tired of diversions.

We can make this election

not about fear,
but about the future,

and that won't just be
a Democratic victory,

that will be an
American victory!

(cheering, applauding)

That's why I'm running,
Democrats!

Thank you very much, everybody.

Thank you.

(music playing
over loudspeakers)

Obama: Thank you.

("Signed, Sealed, Delivered"
by Stevie Wonder playing on
speakers)

Axelrod:
The J.J. was a big task.

Nine thousand people,

and the whole political
world focused on you.

Your opponent's sitting
in front of you.

No teleprompter, no notes.

Just you and this crowd.

And he just knocked it
out of the park.

And I think the campaign

changed dramatically that day.

She's so real,
I'm here to tell you.

(indistinct chatter)

Obama:
I just want to say
to the parents,

thank you for doing a great job.

I want to say to the organizers,

don't believe everything
I'm saying right now

because I'm talking
to your parents.

- (laughter)
- You better be working hard

over these last two months.

- (cheering)
- We've got a lot of work to do!

We gotta go get
some caucus-goers!

We gotta knock on doors!

We gotta make phone calls!

We gotta get everybody
in Iowa fired up!

I'm ready to go!

(truck rumbling)

(chatter)

I'm finding supporters
out of the woodworks.

My neighbors down the street
I had no idea about

are supporting Obama.

You can tell that, you know,

the momentum
has definitely shifted.

I remember there were
times when people

couldn't even pronounce
"Barack Obama,"

much less end up
caucusing for him,

so he's come a long way.

We can start here.
This is Stephanie Grobman.

- Stephanie Grobman: Hey.
- What happened?

I had to pick up Senator
Wofford from the airport.

Oh, that's so nice of you.

- Was he nice?
- Yeah, he was.

Obama:
You know, I think that we are

at this moment that doesn't
come around that often,

where we've got a chance

to make big change.

After seven years of
disastrous foreign policy

and a country that
is more divided

and less competitive
than it was before.

I think, not only Democrats,
but Republicans and Independents

are looking for something new.

Reporter:
Anything keeping you up
at night at this point?

Uh, nothing keeps
me up at night.

- Reporter: It must
be exhausting.
- Yeah, it's tiring.

Now, actually, one thing that
keeps me up at night

is the prospect of...

dealing with all the problems
that we've got right now.

So, when I fret,

it's not about the campaign.
It's about governing

and figuring out how can
we lead this country

to a better direction?

Reporter:
Do you have time
to reflect on what,

you know, what's
happening to you?

No.

At some point I will.

- Alright.
- (indistinct)

Candy Crowley:
He seems different now.

I sensed before that this
civil rights professor,

walked in and gave
very deliberative answers,

all of which is laudable.
He thinks things through,

but in sound-bite world,
he was terrible.

Well, now, that Barack Obama

that flashed onto
the national scene

is showing up in Waterloo.

His trajectory is
good at this point.

Now, can he bring it home?
That's the beauty of Iowa.

Nobody knows.

Plouffe (phone):
Alright, everybody.

Thanks for getting on the phone.

12 months ago today,
Barack was in Hawaii

wrestling whether to run,
on Christmas Eve.

We had no infrastructure.

If ever there was
a David vs. Goliath situation,

if Barack were to run,
this is it.

Barack came back
from Hawaii and told us

he was gonna run
for the Presidency,

and this
improbable journey began.

We were facing the most
dominant national front-runner

our party has seen in
a generation, if not more.

I talked to Barack
when he landed

after having been out in Iowa
with you guys on that bus tour.

And he said, "You know,
I really wanna win this."

I said, "Yeah,
no shit, Sherlock."

(laughter)

And he said, "No,
I really wanna win Iowa."

I said, "Yeah, you know,
if we win Iowa,

I think we're off to
the races. "He said," No, no.

It's not about
anything like that."

He says,
"I wanna win for those kids."

Yeah, and...

(voice breaking):
He believes so strongly
in what you guys are doing.

In eight days, we're gonna
win the Iowa caucus,

in 13 days, we're gonna win
the New Hampshire primary.

In 24 days, the Nevada caucus,

31 days,
the South Carolina primary.

In 39 days, on February 5th,

we're gonna clinch
this nomination.

Then we'll have to deal
with Mitt or Rudy or Huckabee

or whatever asshole
they nominate.

And November 4th,
you all in this zone

are gonna be responsible
for electing Barack Obama,

the 44th President
of the United States.

(applause)

- Michelle: How's it going?
- Woman: It's going very well.

Alright, well,
we need your support too.

- Yeah. (laugh)
- Are you both undecided?

- We're undecided.
- Oh, goodness.

- But all of our family's...
- You gotta work on 'em.

We need your support.

- I-I-I haven't decided yet.
- (mocks stuttering)

- I haven't decided yet.
- Were you listening to me?

- Yeah.
- Were you awake?

- ...Republican.
- Were you awake?

- Yeah.
- You know you love me.

(laughter)

- Hi.
- ...caucus for Obama!

- Uh, uh...
- Say, "Yes, I am."

- Will you sign this?
- I will.

He says that if

Barack Obama gets nominated,

we won't have to worry
about living on peanuts.

That's right.
That is absolutely right.

Richard Wolffe:
It's New Year's Eve

and everyone's on tenterhooks

waiting for the Des Moines
register poll, which is...

the serious poll of
what's gonna happen.

And the caucus is
just a few days away.

(indistinct chatter)

Man: Oh shit, it's up!

What... Uh, what is it?

- Woman: Oh...
- Man: Obama at 32.

Clinton, 25. Edwards, 24.

(cheering)

Woo! That's wonderful.

32 to 25.

That's gonna do it.

Alright. Love you too, Mom.

Bye.

Yeah. Seven points, baby.

I asked for a seven-point
lead today. Who knew?

(laughter)

All (chanting):
Fired up, ready to go!

Fired up, ready to go!
Fired up, ready to go!

Fired up, ready to go!

(all cheering)

Listen, listen. I really want
everybody to know this.

Polls don't mean shit.

And if you think tonight
that this is done,

you're wrong.

This is a close,
close, close race.

And we are on the verge
of making history.

On the verge.

And what we do tomorrow,

and what we do the next day and
what we do the day after that

determines whether we're
gonna make history or not.

(indistinct chatter)

Obama:
Michelle and I had a really
interesting conversation

and she said,

"We're not doing this again."

(laughter)

At first I thought she just
meant well, you know what?

I'm never home
and it's hard on the family.

And she meant
a little bit of that,

but what she really
meant was, you know,

that the reason that it was
important for us to do this now,

the reason it's better for us
to do it now than later,

is we're still almost normal.

Which I loved.
It was a great line.

I attribute it to you.
It was a good one.

And what she meant was,
you know what,

five years ago, six years ago...

We had just finished paying
off our student loans.

Michelle:
Three years ago. What are you...?

-(laughter)
-Well, it was actually
five or six.

We were still living in a condo.

It was a little bit
too small for the kids,

a growing family.

We still had credit card debt.
We were trying to figure out

how to save for college
for the girls

and to save for our retirement.

I mean, the point is, is that

we've gone through what people
are going through right now

relatively recently.

We don't forget it.

And so, when I go
into the White House,

I will be carrying
your voices with me.

What it comes down to is,
who do you trust?

And, you know,
I think that if you trust me,

then I think I'll...
I'll deliver it for you.

Alright? I'm gonna go to bed.

- Thank you.
- (applause)

It's caucus day!

I saw Tom Vilsack,
the former governor,

Iowa governor.

He said, "Happy Caucus Day!"

Whoever thought
that was a greeting?

-(indistinct chatter)
-Cho: So,
you guys know where to go?

Altoona Being There
Coffee House?

We're gonna be in there,
like, 10 minutes.

- 10 minutes?
- So we'll leave right now.

Grab a sign for good
old-fashioned visibility.

Right down Main Street, USA.

I remember feeling

so proud of...

of this opportunity and,
you know, my parents,

they really have truly come
from absolutely nothing.

My dad has never had
any money in his life.

My mom, you know,
she's from Seoul, Korea.

She was born and raised
there and moved out here

when my mom and dad got married.

You know, we lived in a car

for, you know, the first
couple of years of my life.

And I was the first member
of my family to go to college,

and now I'm working
for Barack Obama, right?

Just one of those...
One of those stories.

(laugh) Hey,
have you guys seen this one

- where we do the O-dance?
- Man: No.

Everyone's gotta do it,
so let's get in over here.

-(indistinct)
-So, alright... remember that
episode of The Fresh Prince

where they were like... that
one, he's doing a little dance

like this? Everyone watch me and
then we're all gonna do this.

♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh ♪

♪ Oh, oh, Obama ♪

♪ Obama, Obama, Obama ♪

♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh ♪

♪ Oh, oh, Obama ♪

♪ Obama, Obama, Obama ♪

Alright!

Reporter: How do you feel today?

Good. Uh, confident.

I feel like we did
everything we could.

And the crowds have been great

and the volunteers
have been great.

- It's nice to see you.
- Nice to see you, thank you.

Ethan, who are you voting for?

Who are you voting for?

I'm going for Barack Obama.

(laughs)

We've been doing this
for months, and this is it.

You... We've worked too hard
to let this go now.

So now let's just,
close the deal.

Have to close the deal.
It's more... At this...

This just means too much.
Means too much.

New Hampshire and Des Moines?

(chuckles)

(indistinct chatter)

(inaudible)

Adrienne Cooper:
You're making...
You're gonna make me cry.

I've been like this all day.
I've been so emotional today.

Don't do this to me.
Don't do this to me.

- I'm with you.
- Thank you.

Woman:
Did you sleep at all last night?

Uh, yeah, for, like,
two or three hours.

Yeah, it was great.

It was great.

Reporters (TV):
Put a fork in her,

her goose will be cooked.

...receiving end of a tirade.

We'll see. We'll see soon.

Just a little bit more
than an hour from now.

What's going on? (indistinct)

Gibbs:
We have to say, "And finally."

(TV chatter)

Wolf, I think the most
important thing to remember

about the Democratic caucuses
is they're not an election.

They are a caucus.
They're more like a meeting,

and people stand up
and be counted.

They actually walk up to
their candidate's location.

They usually put up
a poster for each candidate,

and in front of their neighbors,

they decide who to vote for.

And now,
we come to the key rule.

Any candidate who is
15 percent or more,

gets to go on to the next round.

It's called
the viability threshold.

And any candidate
who is not, uh...

Does not get 15 percent,
they're out.

♪ ♪

Tewes:
I always think that
people should witness

the Iowa caucuses firsthand,
because I...

I do believe it's true
democracy in action.

(indistinct chatter)

This is so exciting.
The parking lot is full.

-People are streaming in.
It's democracy in action.
-Yeah.

I'm seeing a lot
of my neighbors here.

And they're all on Obama's side,
and that's great.

(chatter continues)

There'll be a lot of cajoling.
People will say,

"Hey, come over to our side."
And you're like,

"No, I'm an Obama supporter,
I'm staying put."

(chatter continues)

This is many more people
that we were expecting.

About four times more.

♪ ♪

Uh, this is like listening to
the pregame of the Super Bowl.

None of it matters.

Just kick off the damn ball.

You may now break
into your preference groups.

Obama, you sit towards the end.
Obama, over here.

Woman:
Obama people,
hold your hands up!

We're gonna start counting!

Hold them up!

43, 44, 45.

63.

64.

65.

So who said it's crazy?
What does that mean?

(inaudible)

Oh.

Biden, Dodd and Richardson
are not viable.

This is our final round
of realignment.

I'm a Republican.

I registered Democrat.

That's why I'm here.

Just get in there. Go, Obama.

We need two more people.

Somebody get in the hallway
and find me two people.

I need someone with
a green card.

And I don't mean
the immigration kind.

Sir, have you already
given your vote?

You guys wanna
be with the winners?

Okay.

I'm inviting you to join us

with the Obama group.

How about some stickers?

- Give me a sticker.
- Hey, hey!

I need one person
for Obama! Damn.

Oh, you don't wanna
be counted for Obama?

Yes, I have been counted
for Obama.

Oh, yes, thank you! You rock!

(laughter)

♪ ♪

That's the latest.

Man:
We will elect eight delegates

to the county convention
for this precinct.

Edwards will elect
two delegates,

-(scattered applause)
-Obama will
elect four delegates.

(cheering)

Clinton will elect
two delegates.

(cheering)

(news sound effects)

We are back on the air
here in Des Moines

and we have news to
report at this hour.

NBC News is projecting

that when all the caucus-goer's
preferences are counted up,

Barack Obama will win
the Iowa caucuses

on the Democratic side.

- Holy shit.
- (cheering)

Holy shit. Holy shit!

(cheering, screaming)

(screaming, laughing)

(excited chatter)

(laughing, squealing)

History.

History. Unbelievable.

Unbelievable. There is hope.

H-O-P-E.

Woman: How are you feeling?

- Pretty good.
- We just told her.

Woman: You did? What'd she say?

Not much. She jumped. (laugh)

Who knew?

I might throw up now,
It's okay, though.

Wow.

- Sasha Obama: What?
- Vietor: It's one state,
49 more.

Sweet:
Winning Iowa is a big
victory for Barack Obama.

This gives him the momentum

to be the first African American

to actually win the Presidency.

Obama:

Man:

A state that's,

so few minorities as Iowa has,

I think we've proven
a lot of people...

It proved a lot
of people wrong tonight.

Woman (PA):
So now, I would like
to introduce you

to the next first family of
the United States of America.

(crowd cheering)

♪ ♪

(applause)

Yeah!

(cheering, applause continues)

Crowd (chanting): Obama! Obama!

Thank you, thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you, Iowa.

(cheering)

I used to get really kind of
ecstatic at things like this,

but now Plouffe is
rubbing off on me,

and I've got a real even
kind of metabolism.

We'll win New Hampshire
in five days

and then we'll feel really good.

(sniffling) I feel good.

Oh, man.

(crying)

What I was so pleased with was,

not just the fact that
we won all the raw numbers,

but what it showed
about the country.

I think it's fair to say

that there were some
who were skeptical

that young people
would come out,

that Independents
and Republicans

would be voting
Democratic in the...

Caucusing in
the Democratic caucus.

Man:
Can you just describe
that moment when

it sort of sunk in that
you and your family

won the first...
The first battle?

Uh...

We've felt good for
the last two weeks...

because we were so proud of what
was happening on the ground.

We were seeing
the crowds, and so,

regardless of how the numbers
played out exactly,

we were really confident
about us having changed

how politics operated

in this caucus,

and it makes me very
optimistic about the country.

I think we can do it
with the country as a whole.

- Thank you, guys.
- That wasn't bad, guys.

- Woman: Thank you.
- Alright, let me go to sleep.

- Thank you.
- Man: Thanks, Senator.

- Can you sleep?
- You bet.

(laughter)

Gibbs: Uh, what is this?

Obama:
How come we can't see
the Patriots game?

It's blacked out.

How can the Patriots
game be blacked out?

We didn't... They say
we didn't purchase it.

Toot, it's your grandson.

I realized I hadn't talked
to you in a while.

And so, I was thinking...

That was, in fact, how I started
thinking about how...

How come I'm not
in Hawaii right now?

'Cause that's where
I usually am.

-(bus chatter)
-That's where
I belong. Exactly.

(jet engine roaring)

- Woman: Who's that?
- Suhaila Soetoro-Ng:
Me and Uncle Rocky.

- Uncle Rocky have big ears.
- (Woman laughs)

Ooh.

(indistinct)

Konrad Ng:
What's it like to have
Barack Obama

as your brother
and my brother-in-law?

Maya Soetoro-Ng:
There are moments, of course,

when you recognize that
there's sacrifice involved,

and like I said,
he belongs to the world now

and, you know,

you have to sort of
come to terms with that

and to know that
your conversations

aren't necessarily
going to be as long.

He's awfully busy, and...

and that you might not have him
for two weeks at Christmastime

and, you know, December,
that sort of thing.

But again, you realize,
well, it's...

it is worth it.

Neil Abercrombie:
His father had been
spotted by AID folks

in Kenya as someone

with the kind of intellect,

the kind of drive,
the kind of energy

that we were hoping
to attract as students

back in those days,
in the late '50s, early '60s,

to come to the United States.

Barack's mother,
almost the mirror opposite.

She was sweet and kind,

but very, very smart.

But a much more placid
personality.

Still water ran deep with her.

It's an interesting thing,

because he is
the embodiment of his mom,

uh, in his demeanor,

but his intellect,
of course, is like his dad.

I've always said that,

"Barack, you'd always be
that voice of reason."

So, as a kid,
he had that voice of reason.

He wasn't one of those kids
who just went with the flow

because that's what
you're supposed to do.

And I do see that in
him now as an adult.

You know, and I think that's
what appeals to so many people.

Maya:
This is where Barack grew up,
with our grandparents.

They lived on the 10th floor,

and our grandmother
still resides there.

Titcomb:
His grandparents,
you called them grandparents,

but they were his parents,
you know, growing up here.

He was just a very normal boy.

He wanted to be

a big-time basketball player.

And he played basketball

every minute that he could.

He had a group of boys that

would come over
to this apartment

and raid the refrigerator,

and go play basketball
and do things.

I know this is hard on you,
missing all of us,

Maya and all the kids.

Well, I love you, sweetie.

Alright, bye-bye. Yeah.

That was a good call.

(crowd chanting)

(chanting continues)

Last night, Barack Obama won
an historic victory in Iowa

beating Hillary Clinton.

For Clinton, what was once
considered inevitable

is now barely likely.

Are Democrats over Hill
and looking for a change?

Is Barack Obama on the eve of
what it looks like a victory?

Not only that,
I mean it looks like

the trajectory
is still going up.

Man:

I actually don't think
she's been way ahead.

She was way ahead in
the polls at one time.

She's not way ahead
in the polls now.

- Yay, Obama!
- Woo!

Wolffe:
We got used to him
having big crowds, okay?

But to get a big crowd
in New Hampshire

- (chatter)
- is not... is really unusual.

I mean, look at this line!
It stretches...

Around the block
doesn't do it justice.

Something's happening here.

♪ ♪

These people are still here.

It's because their movie's
now gonna get a lot better.

Hey, guys!

This is it. This is...
This is our...

Our army.

I don't know who thought about
doing a college rally at 8:30.

That's stupid.

(inaudible)

Man (PA):
Ladies and gentlemen,
please welcome

a woman who will be
the future First Lady,

Michelle Obama.

(crowd cheering)

Follow the arrow out,

In case I was like,
where do I go?

Barack Obama is surging
right now in the polls.

Hillary Clinton
and Mitt Romney are sinking.

Can Clinton and Romney survive?
If they lose tomorrow...

Young people voted at the same
rate as senior citizens, which...

-(indistinct)
-Oh, we did. We won
all of them, but still,

just to see all these
new people to decide,

- we're gonna try this time.
- Woman: Yep.

Here's when Democrats
in New Hampshire

will make their minds up,
and Independents.

Tomorrow, the debate.
How will Hillary perform?

She does well in debates.

What can you say to
the voters of New Hampshire

on this stage tonight,

who see your resumé and like it,

but are hesitating on
the likability issue,

where they seem to like
Barack Obama more?

Well, that hurts my feelings.

- (laughter)
- Moderator: I'm sorry, Senator.

Hillary Clinton:
But I'll try to go on.
He's very likable,

I agree with that.

- I don't think I'm that bad.
- You're likable enough.

- Thank you so much.
- (laughter)

So I was riding in the bus
with him on Monday,

before the primary,
and someone said...

Looked at their e-mail
or something and said,

"Hillary had a breakdown
of some sort

on the trail, and it's online."

You know, I have so many
opportunities from this country,

I just don't wanna
see us fall backwards.

(voice breaking):
You know, so...

(applause)

You know, this is
very personal for me.

It's not just political,
it's not just public.

I see what's happening,

and we have to reverse it.

Axelrod:
I remember thinking at
that moment, I don't know.

I don't know how
this is gonna play.

Because one of the things
that had plagued her

was this sort of lack of
authenticity and humanity,

and here was this
very human moment,

and whether she was crying
because she was losing or not,

she was showing an emotion
people could relate to.

-Man: Mr. Obama!
Come on, come on!
-(chatter)

- Are you nervous?
- Obama: What's up?

Man:
There's more
and more people...

No, I'm not nervous,
I feel great.

We just wanna make sure
everybody goes to the polls.

We've only won one state.

If we do well tonight,
maybe two.

Then there are 48 to go.

Linda, Hillary Clinton
woke up this primary morning,

her Presidential aspirations
potentially on the line,

ready to work for
every last vote.

(crowd cheering)

She traveled to five different
polling sites in five hours

trying to rally her supporters,
hoping to turn the tide

against her predicted
by the polls.

Ryan Lizza:
The exit polls all
day have gone from...

The first wave was
about nine points,

the second wave about
four or five points,

and the final wave
is about one point,

Obama over Hillary, all three.

And now, the returns that are
coming in are showing her up

by like five or six points.

As soon as we started
getting returns,

Matt Rodriguez,
our state coordinator,

looked at some precincts
from Manchester

and he said,
"How could this be?"

You know, we're gonna lose.

And CNN is now ready to project
that Hillary Clinton has won

the New Hampshire primary.

Hillary Clinton will emerge
the victor tonight.

Axelrod:
So, we went up to
tell Barack that

we weren't gonna win
the New Hampshire primary,

he having gone into his
dinner with his wife,

thinking that he was
preparing for a victory.

We were in a hotel room,

and whenever...

Gibbs and Axelrod come
up with that kind of

sheepish hangdog look,
then you know that

things aren't going
the way they're supposed to.

- (cheering)
- I want especially

to thank New Hampshire.

Over the last week

I listened to you,

and in the process

I found my own voice.

(applause, cheering)

He leaned against the wall

and smiled kind of,

uh, wanly, and said,

"This thing's gonna go on
for a while, isn't it?"

Obama:
When we've been told
we're not ready,

or that we shouldn't try,

or that we can't,

generations of Americans
have responded

with a simple creed

that sums up the spirit
of a people.

"Yes, we can."

- (crowd cheering)
- Yes, we can.

I didn't consider that
a low point in the campaign.

I actually thought that was
a good moment in the campaign.

It was whispered by slaves
and abolitionists

as they blazed the trail
towards freedom

through the darkest of nights,

- "Yes, we can."
- (cheering)

It was the call of
workers who organized,

women who reached
for the ballot,

a President who chose
the moon as our new frontier,

and a King who took us
to the mountaintop

and pointed the way
to the promised land.

"Yes, we can" to
justice and equality.

(applause)

We had come out of
Iowa so energized,

and, you know,
everybody was giddy.

And...

you know, although I think we...

believed that we were
guarding against hubris,

I'm not sure we were.
And I remember,

after having lost New Hampshire,

going to my supporters over the
next couple of days and saying,

"I think this is a good thing."

We have to earn this.

- (indistinct chatter)
- (buzzing)

(TV chatter)

Just getting my hair cut.

- (laugh)
- I don't know.

I'd rather just get a haircut.

Thank you, I appreciate that.

- This is one of
my quiet places.
- Barber: Right on.

- Alright. That means you too.
- (laughter)

(crowd chatter)

Obama:
Somebody have any water for me?

I'll get you a water.
Do you have a card?

Obama: I mean, you know...

(man speaking on PA)

- (man on PA continues)
- (indistinct)

(man on PA continues)

Yeah.

Charles Ommaney:
It felt like 18 months.

(jet engine idling)

Jeff Zeleny: It's February 5th.

To the rest of the world,
it's Fat Tuesday.

To the political reporters
trapped on this plane,

it's Super Tuesday,

which means the Democrats
are voting in 22 states,

the Republicans are
voting in 21 states.

This is the biggest
political day of the year.

The biggest challenge of
this Super Tuesday contest

is just the breadth
and expansion of it.

There are contests in 22 states,

15 primaries, seven caucuses.

Tonight,
there are 1,681 delegates

picked for
the Democratic convention,

which is more than half
of the delegates you need

to win the nomination.

-This is the first week
that Senator Obama
-(applause)

has caught up with her
in national polls.

Really, only a week ago,
he was still 10 points down.

For Senator Obama,
this is probably

the biggest week
of his campaign.

(office chatter)

Woman:
When do you think this
is gonna be decided?

(indistinct chatter)

Who knows? It could be
a complete nightmare.

- Woman: You think by March?
- Uh...

There's like...
There's something we call

the "Doomsday Scenario," which
is the Pennsylvania primary,

sometime in mid-March.

But, I don't even know.
I don't even know.

Now that we get to a house
divided cannot stand,

it doesn't even...

It actually doesn't sound
as much like a call.

Adam Frankel:
Are we landing
on something here,

and then just applause,
and then kind of do the sound,

- start with the whisper thing?
- Favreau: Yeah.

Alright. What began as a
whisper in Springfield, right?

Can we say something
like "found its way"

to somewhere in Iowa?

"Where people who wanted..."

And then start getting
a little concrete?

Say that maybe,
you know, maybe I want ch...

(laugh) Maybe I want change.

-Ben Rhodes: Change
sounds pretty good.
-(laugh)

- Frankel: Not bad, right?
- Favreau: I'm for change.

Rhodes:
George Bush,
he's for change now too.

♪ ♪

(indistinct)

My name is Ronnie Cho. I'm with
the Barack Obama campaign.

Here in Arizona,
the Latino turnout's

gonna be very important for us.

Hopefully you heard
today is election day.

Blake:
I've let go of Mike Blake
a long time ago.

You get to a point where you're
not even thinking about that.

You're so passionate
that you want him to win.

There's a huge protest vote
against Republican policies

and it's a record
turnout in New Mexico.

I'm hearing the same in
Arizona and Colorado, Utah,

California...

Cho:
There's gotta be some water,

and just make sure
you get it done.

We need granola bars,
we need the water there.

This line is just
getting longer and longer

- by the minute.
- Crowley: The Clinton Campaign

believes that Illinois
will go for Barack.

New York, New Jersey,

California will be theirs.

Woman:
Have you picked a candidate?

Definitely Barack.

We voted for Hillary Clinton.

Yeah.

I think we need
a woman President.

- Nice to see you. Hey, sweetie.
- (chatter)

How are you?

- I'm here.
- Nice to meet you.

♪ ♪

Water, anyone?

Alright. You want one, babe?

He is what I dreamed about.

And this, to me,
is just off the charts.

All: Hillary for President!

Woo!

Blake: Ward 5, Precinct 3.

Let's just come on inside

so people don't
stand in the cold.

We absolutely annihilated here.

Obama don't have to worry

because God's got him.

He is that shining light
we've been looking for.

Man 1:

Man 2: No. No, never.

Can you imagine if
85% of the people

voted every election?

You couldn't get
these bums in there.

♪ Keep on teachin' ♪

Obama:
I still think that Senator
Clinton is the favorite.

You know, she had 20,
30-point leads

in many of these states.

We've been closing some ground.

What day is today?

Super Tuesday.

Right.

David Axelrod.

- A-X...
- E-L-R-O-D.

Yeah. We've been waiting
on you all day.

- (laughter)
- All day.

Could be a great night.

- Democrat, please.
- (chuckle)

- This man been waiting on you.
- You'll ruin my reputation.

- You know, look at these.
- (crowd cheering)

Now Utah, Minnesota,

North Dakota,

Kansas.

I mean,

there you go!

We're just loading it up!

Two weeks ago, we were
20 points behind

in the national Gallup Poll,

and tonight, we're basically
fighting her to a draw,

and winning states
in her own backyard.

What began as a whisper
in Springfield

soon carried across
the cornfields of Iowa,

where farmers
and factory workers,

students and seniors
stood up in numbers

- (applause)
- we had never seen before.

It's been a clean sweep
for Barack Obama

on this Saturday night.

-(crowd cheering)
-He carried
the Virgin Islands.

He carried Washington State,

Nebraska, and now Louisiana.

Obama:
They stood up to say
that maybe this year

- this time can be different.
- (cheering)

Maine hands him his
latest victory tonight.

It comes on the heels

of a sweep of
three states yesterday.

Obama: Change will not come

if we wait for
some other person.

Wolffe:
Barack Obama has won
the Potomac primary.

-(applause)
-That's DC, Maryland
and Virginia.

Obama:
We are the ones
we've been waiting for.

(crowd cheering)

She is in the midst of
a losing streak of sorts.

He's gonna be the best
President we've ever known.

Obama:
We know that what began
as a whisper

has now swelled to a chorus
that cannot be ignored,

- (cheering)
- that will not be deterred,

that will ring out
across this land

as a hymn that will
heal this nation,

repair this world,

make this time different
than all the rest!

Yes, we can.

- Let's go to work.
- (crowd cheering)

- Yes, we can.
- (crowd chanting)

All: Yes, we can.

Yes, we can!

Thank you, Chicago.
Let's go get to work.

- I love you.
- (cheering)

Tim Russert:
He has successfully
broadened his coalition,

which could be very bad news
for Hillary Clinton

going into Ohio and Texas,

coupled with the momentum
of having won

10 consecutive primaries
and caucuses.

I think we can expect a very
challenging couple of weeks.

- That's my guess.
- Woman: Super-negative. Super.

Yeah. I don't ever...
I never had them pegged

as folks who would
come out with a white flag

and say, "We give up."

That's not their gestalt.

Announcer:
It's 3:00 AM, and your
children are safe and asleep.

-(phone rings)
-But, there's a phone in the
White House, and it's ringing.

Something's happening
in the world.

Your vote will decide
who answers that call,

whether it's someone who already

knows the world's leaders,
knows the military,

someone tested and ready
to lead in a dangerous world.

It's 3:00 AM, and your
children are safe and asleep.

Who do you want
answering the phone?

♪ ♪

Clinton:
I'm Hillary Clinton
and I approve this message.

Answering Machine: (indistinct)

(dialing)

Answering Machine:
26 other callers present.

Tewes (phone):
I cannot stress this enough,

that everybody does doors.

Everybody. This weekend,
everybody on staff,

I don't care who you are,

I will be doing them. I expect
the political folks to do them,

I expect the press
folks to do them,

I expect the schedulers
to do them.

Everybody does a shift.
Everybody.

- (laughter)
- Obama: It's a beautiful day.

We're getting folks out,
campaigning everywhere.

And so I just wanna
make sure that I say hi

to these guys coming in.

Walter!

- How are you?
- Alright. How are you?

- Fine. Good to see you.
- Good to see you.

-How are you, sir?
Nice to see you.
-(indistinct)

- Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you.

- (phone ringing)
- Stephanopoulos, hold on.

(woman speaks indistinctly)

- Hey.
- (indistinct phone chatter)

Yeah, I agree with that.
No, I agree with that.

I think that the reality of this

is gonna begin to set in.

There... There is.
We said there's no...

There's no course for her other
than just search and destroy.

And I don't think

there's an appetite
for that in the party.

Uh...

What are you asking me?
Say that again, George.

Woman: How are the numbers?

Close.

Woman: Yeah?

They're, uh,
really, really close.

Like, the first wave, we were...

ahead in Ohio, behind in Texas,

ahead in Ohio by two,
behind in Texas by one.

The second wave,

she's ahead in Ohio by three,

and we don't know Texas.

Maybe she's ahead
by two or three there.

But it's so close that
these exit polls become...

less meaningful, you know. So...

I just don't know.
I mean, it's gonna be...

it could be
the nightmare scenario,

which is she ekes out wins
in Ohio and Texas,

we win more delegates,
so it's even clearer

that she can't be the nominee.

And yet she finds
encouragement to stay

and fight a kind
of trench warfare here.

So that would be unfortunate.

Woman (TV):
We have a Democratic Party in
Ohio that is divided by race,

gender and age.

Here are the numbers.
First, race.

Among white voters,

Clinton is winning women by
a large margin. Look at that.

66% to Obama's 44%.

(indistinct)

The exits are so fucked.

There's no way that, like,
it could even be close

if the exits are right about
white men and white women,

who both went for her
in big numbers.

Right.

(indistinct chatter)

- Cho: Hey, guys, how are you?
- Hey, man!

-How you been?
How's it look out here?
-We're hoping they'll fit.

- We got way too many people.
- Cho: Too many people?

-So, what's, uh...
Yeah, you're right.
-(indistinct)

- Woman: I said,
they're not gonna...
- It's okay. Yeah. It's alright.

Obama button, anyone?

Okay, you got one, there you go.

Obama button? No?

This one is for you.
Obama button? Perfect.

Obama button, anyone?

-Almost there,
guys. Almost there.
-(chatter)

Alright, hang out for
a little while longer, guys.

Don't leave us.

- How much what?
- (office chatter)

Yeah. Why, are they saying
they're gonna win Texas?

Right.

Alright. I'll work something
up and I'll send it to you
quick.

Do you know what time
he's going out to speak?

Okay, cool. I'll do that.

(hangs up)

Favreau:

Thank you for waiting.

Uh, every delegate counts.

So, this campaign in Texas has
only a couple hours left in it,

so hang out with us, please.
Don't leave, don't leave.

We need you. (laugh)

A huge comeback for
Hillary Clinton tonight

in this Democratic
Presidential race,

and a major, major achievement
for John McCain.

He captures the Republican
Presidential nomination.

Two storylines unfolding.

John McCain is the Republican
Presidential nominee,

but Hillary Clinton
now coming back

from a series of losses

to Barack Obama's
in Super Tuesday.

The wins in Ohio and Texas

are oh so significant

for Hillary Clinton
in going forward.

Let's take a look and recap.

- (cheering)
- You know that they say.

As Ohio goes,
so goes the nation.

- (cheering)
- No one says that.

(laughter)

Obama:

(hangs up)

We don't have a choice
when it comes to our relatives.

We have a choice
when it comes to our pastors.

Goddamn America!
That's in the Bible!

For killing innocent people!
Goddamn America!

How could you go to
this church for 20 years,

and not know this guy said this?

There's no way Obama
can shade it.

"Well, you know, I sort
of agree, but I..."

You know, no. That's crazy.

Bill O'Reilly:
New polls say Barack Obama's
taking a big hit

because of his pastor,

but there is a racial divide.

I think it's a bunch of crap.

It's been taken out of context.

That Reverend Wright looks
like a raving maniac to me.

I don't think for one moment

that Obama believes
in those things.

If I belonged to a church
that had that much hate in it,

I wouldn't belong
there very long.

I'm fearful that, uh,
Obama feels the same way.

Dr. King said
many of the same things.

If this is the best candidate
that we have to put up

for President
of the United States,

this country's
in terrible trouble.

Strictly, Obama's out.

- (jet engines whirring)
- (inaudible)

Wolffe:
Campaigns are fashioned
in the image of their maker.

And then, of course,
the sort of main narrative

of this campaign

has been about his identity.

We're not used to
an African American politician

talking, thinking,

behaving like he is.

And when a story like
Reverend Wright pops up...

There have been plenty of
controversial preachers

and pastors
in American politics.

Clearly, in this case,
we're fascinated by Wright

and about Obama because of race.

Cho:
You know, we're... sort
of in a street fight

for the nomination here.

The events with Reverend Wright,

and the attacks, and...

You know, it makes it
difficult to keep

the tone of our message

and to maintain
the integrity of that.

At one of our field offices,

they just spray-painted slurs
about Barack on the window.

And the downtown office
right here,

somebody threw a barricade
through the window,

broke the windows.

It... It sucks.

Living in a world where
the rules that you're living by

and the rules
that the campaign lives by

aren't necessarily the rules
the world lives by.

Zeleny:
This week, I think, has been
the most trying week

of the Senator's campaign,
because he really had to deal

with something personal.

There were super delegates,

there were other
Democratic supporters

calling, e-mailing
members of his staff saying,

"Look, this is killing you,

you need to do something
about this."

This is an issue
that will stay with him

for the rest of the campaign,
however long that is.

(crowd cheering)

(rumbling)

If they come at us on this
what's it gonna look like?

Is it just gonna be "Goddamn
America," or is it gonna be...

you know, US. of KKK A?

- If they use it, it's gonna
be him condemning America.
- Right, right.

Axelrod:
I think we all were
a little unsettled

by the Wright deal.

It was coming at us
with such ferocity.

If Wright became a surrogate
for Barack Obama,

then, certainly,
the race was over.

What does it... If it's, like,

just a total over-the-top...

You know.

So we have two versions
of the Wright response.

Axelrod:
It was a troubling time,

and no one had a great idea

about how to deal with it.

Except Barack, which was,

"let's go right at it."

(TV chatter)

Barack called me up
Friday night,

I think he called Plouffe
as well,

and said "I want to give
a speech on Wright,

"but it has to be
bigger than Wright.

"I wanna talk about
this whole issue

of race relations in
our country." And he said,

"I don't know whether
it's gonna help us or not,

"but I think that it's a moment

"in which we can
confront this thing

"in a way, this thing being
the issue of race,

in a way that could be
really valuable."

Man:
Give me a sense of
what you're anticipating

from Barack Obama today.

I don't know. It's clearly
a very important speech.

It's gonna be a defining
speech for him.

I hope he talks as much
about patriotism

and his feeling
about the country

as he does about race.

Reverend Wright's comments
were not only wrong,

but divisive.

Divisive at a time
when we need unity.

Racially charged
at a time when we need

to come together to solve
a set of monumental problems.

But I can no more disown him

than I can disown
my white grandmother,

a woman who helped raise me,

a woman who sacrificed
again and again for me,

a woman who loves me

as much as she loves
anything in this world,

but a woman who once confessed

her fear of black men who
passed her by on the street.

Favreau:
You know,
he felt good about it,

because he knew
what he wanted to say.

He had known it for
a long time, probably,

and it had crystallized
in his mind

after the controversy erupted.

And the way he is is that
he's just confident enough,

and, "Look-it. This is
what I believe to be true.

"This is what I think
about this issue,

"I'm gonna say it.
If people buy it,

"they buy it. If they don't,
what can I do?

"You know, I... I... I, you know,

spoke as honestly as I could."

Wolffe:
Well, my first
impression is, uh,

just what a gutsy move it was
to have the speech at all.

Here you have, obviously,

a candidate of a very different
complexion in many ways

really confronting
this hot button,

very emotional issue, head-on.

Really, words can't describe

how I felt to hear that speech.

It was moving. It really was.

- Woman: That was a great speech.
- It was pretty good.

- Woman: How'd it
feel to give it?
- Huh?

- Woman: How'd it
feel to give it?
- Strong.

(indistinct chatter)

Plouffe:
We are not terribly, uh,

buffeted around by

the conventional wisdom crowd,

- (basketball chatter)
- because the truth is,

every day there's
something written or said

that is a challenge to Barack,

challenges our
campaign strategy,

challenges our execution.

And, you know, not that
we're being arrogant.

The truth is that sometimes
feedback is very important,

that you need to know.

But for the most part, you know,

you just gotta keep
your eyes straight ahead,

know where you're going,

know what your strategy
is to win.

As I said,
we don't have real...
a lot of message angst,

because Barack has a very
clear sense of who he is

and what he's saying.

So, I'm not making
a long speech.

I just wanna come by and say
hello to everybody. Thank you.

(cheering)

Wolffe: The race is important.

Every twist and turn
is important.

But the shape of the race
is what it is.

He has a lead in
pledged delegates that

she's highly
unlikely to overturn.

So, this is all
about an argument

they're making
for super delegates,

these party insiders

who are steadily trickling
towards Obama.

- Alright, fire away.
- Woman: Senator, are you gonna

wrap up the nomination tomorrow?

Obama:
We feel good about
the number of super delegates

that we've, uh,
been accumulating,

and my sense is

is between Tuesday and Wednesday

that we got a good chance
of getting the number

that we need to
achieve the nomination,

but, obviously,
there are two more...

♪ ♪

Senator Barack Obama
goes over the threshold,

goes over 2118 delegates.

He will be the Democratic
Presidential nominee.

Favreau: Final speech.

- Woman: Really?
- Favreau: Just emailed.

Woman: What's the tone?

- Tone is victorious.
- Okay.

You know, we won, thank you,
thank you, other candidates,

thank you, Hillary,
you're great.

McCain, blah, blah, blah,
hope, change, you know.

(indistinct chatter)

So, listen, uh...

Man: What's that?

(TV chatter, cheering)

In the end,
while this primary was long,

I am so proud we stayed
the course together.

(crowd cheering)

Clinton (TV):
It means that every single

United States citizen
had a chance

to make his or her voice heard.

Senator Obama has inspired
so many Americans
to care about politics,

and empowered so many more
to get involved.

Hi, it's Robert Gibbs
with Senator Obama.

Hi, how are you?

I am good.
Senator Obama is wondering

if Senator Clinton
was available.

- (indistinct)
- Hello? Can you hear me?

(indistinct chatter)

Gibbs:
Hi, Huma,
it's Robert Gibbs again,

Senator Obama's trying
to reach Senator Clinton.

Shh.

(indistinct chatter)

(chuckle)

Hey, Huma, this is Barack.

Uh, just calling Hillary

to congratulate her
on South Dakota.

And, uh, I look forward

to working with you guys soon.

She can call us back
anytime at 312-533...

Hope you guys are doing well.

Talk to you soon. Bye-bye.

(indistinct chatter)

(chatter continues)

- Obama: Looks pretty good.
- Nicholson: It sure does.

(music playing)

We filled it up, right?

Gibbs:
Barbara didn't tell you
about overflow?

-(TV cheering)
-Dick Durbin (TV): Inspiring
the dreams of a nation.

Tonight,

Barack Obama will accept
our nomination,

to be President of the
United States of America.

We still would've
won if she hadn't...

We'll go backstage and then
how long we are backstage?

Nicholson:
About three minutes
at the least.

(TV continues)

- (Obama speaking)
- Yes. Good luck.

(indistinct PA)

Obama:
When I was practicing
the speech for the first time,

and I came to the end

where I talked about King

speaking in the
Lincoln Memorial,

and... and I choked up

and had to stop.

I mean,
Dr. King's speech happened

when I was two years old.

So, you know, anybody who's

60 or over,

remembers it vividly.

And, uh...

And the majority
of African Americans

at that time couldn't vote

much less run for President.

- (indistinct speaker)
- (crowd cheering)

(cheering gets louder)

(music rumbling over speakers)

Thank you.

To Chairman Dean,

(cheering)

and my great friend Dick Durbin,

and to all my fellow citizens

of this great nation,

with profound gratitude

and great humility,

I accept your nomination

for Presidency
of the United States.

(crowd cheering)

(cheering continues)

(fireworks exploding)

Obama: Okay, everybody,

now it's official.

We couldn't have done it
without you.

Whoops. I'm sorry.
Okay, let's try it again.

Okay, now it's official.

- I can't remember this...
- (laughter)

There's only two lines! Okay.

-You're making me
feel better.
-(laughter)

Okay, now it's official.

- But this... Man, we couldn't...
- (laughter)

Hey, where is the
teleprompter guy?

Alright, come on, come on.
Let's try it again.
We're gonna do this.

- Okay, this time
we're gonna do it.
- Alright.

Hello, everybody.

Woman:
How will you avoid that you
are going too negative?

How will you balance it
out into a positive?

We wanna make sure
that people understand
my agenda.

What I will do as President.

I am confident that if
the American people know

what my plan for America is

and what John McCain's
plan for America is,

then I will win this race.

I don't spend
a lot of time thinking about
John McCain's negative ads.

If I did, I wouldn't be spending

much time thinking
about other things,

because they come
fairly fast and frequently.

My friends and fellow Americans.

I am very pleased
and very privileged

to introduce to you
the next Vice President

- of the United States,
- (cheering)

Governor Sarah Palin

of the great state of Alaska.

(crowd cheering)

(music blasting)

Are you ready to shake
things up in Washington?

(crowd cheering)

I think Sarah Palin
has really helped to spark

the Republican ticket,
I really do.

I don't think anybody,
including the Democrats,

saw this coming.

She's a dangerous person,

and I just would
dread the thought

that she's a heartbeat
away from the Presidency.

America's big.

(laughter)

Just traveling around Ohio,

you realize how big
this country is,

and then when you go
to all 48 states

in the continental United States

and you go to Hawaii,

I have to say Alaska's the one
state I haven't visited,

-(laughter)
-which, now that I think
about it, I'm gonna have to...

I'm gonna have to get up there.

Man:
Is there still
an 18-state strategy

or a 50-state strategy, or... Now
that we're getting down to it,

are some states
coming off the map?

Plouffe:
We have a huge number of Bush
states that McCain is defending.

So, yes, the normal
battlegrounds of Ohio

and Missouri are very
competitive.

But there's new states.
Virginia, Colorado,

Indiana, North Carolina.

We're playing offense
in 11 or 12 states,

including states
that McCain never thought
he'd have to defend,

so if you look
at the battleground states
in the electoral college,

we think McCain's
in real trouble here,

because he has to pull an inside
straight at this point to win.

♪ ♪

Woman: Who is Barack Obama?

I'm afraid this is
someone who sees America

as imperfect enough

to work with a former
domestic terrorist.

Woman:
Barack Obama and domestic
terrorist Bill Ayers.

Friends.

How dangerous.

On November 4th, let's leave
Barack Hussein Obama

wondering what happened...

Obama's a terrorist,
don't you know that?

He wasn't born in America.

I do not want a black man
running my country.

This is little Hussein.

(laugh)

Axelrod:
I think it's getting
very ugly out there.

I mean, what McCain
and Palin are doing
is really irresponsible.

I mean, they're inciting people.

Don't believe for a second
this election is over.

Don't think for a minute

that power will concede
anything without a fight.

We're gonna have to work
like our future depends on it

in these last few days,
because it does.

Since the convention,
it's basically been like this.

I mean, it's been a wild ride.

We saw with John McCain
that the Palin pick

really gave him a bounce.

But really, the game changer

was the economy goes into
this incredible meltdown.

The fundamentals of
our economy are strong,

but these are very,
very difficult times,

and I promise you
we will never put America

in this position again.

I know how tough
it is right now in Nevada.

But we've faced
difficult times before.

The American story has never
been about things coming easy.

It's been about
rising at the moment

when the moment was hard.

Woman: This past week alone,

we made over
450,000 phone calls,

knocked on over 110,000 doors,

but that's what it's gonna take.

So as exhausted as we are,

we were told a long time ago
we wouldn't get to this point.

Right?

- Right?
- All: Right.

And, you know, a month...

You know, it's...
It's pretty surreal.

Like, in four more weeks

we finally get to
the ultimate goal of winning,

which we... we have to win.

We have to win.

(indistinct chatter)

- Axelrod: Right. Here he is.
- Anita Dunn: Here he is.

- Obama: I'm here.
- Dunn: Good morning.

Hey! Good to see you, guys.

Ron Klain: I think
there are a few new things
we want to work on. Medicare.

What you want to say about
McCain's announcement today...

Plouffe:
The debates are huge.
McCain jettisoned his message.

His message was all
about experience.

Now, he's given that up.

So, he's saying the election's
all about change.

Well, so are we. We've been
saying that for 20 months.

So we think that's a debate
we're well positioned to have

because McCain isn't
changing the economy.

If you're not gonna change
the economic policies

that have failed the country,
that's not change.

You seem to feel the need
to really answer

every single McCain attack.

I think our view is,
you're at a stage in the race,

you won two debates,
your numbers are strong,

where you can
just push past him.

You shouldn't feel vulnerable

to every single thing
the guy says.

I mean, I think if he
presses me on honesty,

I mean, the, uh...

I think there's
nothing wrong with...

The only thing is,
I don't wanna sound whiny

about his lies.

Senator McCain keeps on
talking about me being risky,

but let me tell the American
people what's risky.

I think Senator McCain's plan

for taxing your
healthcare benefits,

potentially leaving
20 million people

without employer-based
healthcare,

I think that's risky.

If this whole debate
were on economics,

that'd be fine with us.

What role do you think

that character
and judgment should play

in the people's
voting for President?

Well, inevitably, Bob,
it plays an important role.

The question is, Senator,
what does your friendship

with Bill Ayers tell us
about your judgment?

Well, first of all, I think
it's important to note that

Senator McCain's made this
the centerpiece of his campaign

at a time when we're going
through the worst

financial crisis
since the Great Depression.

Mr. Ayers does not
advise my campaign,

and he certainly would
have no involvement

- in my White House.
- You may just wanna say so...

"It's important for the
American people to understand

who it is that's gonna be
advising me in the White House."

Small thing.

Let's talk about
what my plan does.

What's our four things again?

- (indistinct)
- Jobs!

Man, jobs.

Hopefully that won't happen
during the debate.

(laughter)

Huh?

I don't...
I don't remember my plan.

- (laughter)
- But it's a really good plan.

(crowd chatter)

Michelle:
It is so good to see you.

Now, are you guys like me?

I get nervous
at the debates?
I hate the debates.

Yeah.

This is big in the campaign

because this is the time for

John McCain to try to
turn things around.

It's his last chance.

Again, you launched
your political campaign

- in Mr. Ayers' living room.
- That's absolutely not true.

And the facts are facts.

Obama:
Let's get the record straight.

Mr. Ayers is not involved
in my campaign,

he has never been involved
in this campaign,

and he will not advise
me in the White House.

So, that's Mr. Ayers.

Now, I don't mind being attacked

for the next three weeks.

What the American people
can't afford, though,

is four more years of
failed economic policies.

And what they deserve

is that we talk about
what's most pressing to them.

- Man: How do you feel, Senator?
- (jet engines whirring)

Woman:
On the final day of his
historic run for President,

Barack Obama got this sad news.

His grandmother had passed away.

This is NPR News.

Obama:
You know, obviously this
is a little bit of a...

a bittersweet time for me.

Some of you heard
that my grandmother,

who helped raise me,
passed away early this morning.

- (crowd chatter)
- And, uh...

Look, she... She has gone home.

(crowd cheering)

Here name was Madelyn Dunham.

She was one of those
quiet heroes that we have
all across America,

who... They're not famous,

their names aren't
in the newspapers,

but each and every day,
they work hard.

They look after their families.

They sacrifice
for their children

and their grandchildren.

They aren't seeking
the limelight.

All they try to do
is just do the right thing.

And in this crowd, there are
a lot of quiet heroes like that.

That's what America's about.

That's what we're fighting for.

- After decades - (chatter)

of broken politics
in Washington...

after eight years of failed
policies from George W. Bush...

(crowd booing)

You don't need to boo.
You just need...

- You just need to vote.
- (crowd cheering)

After 21 months

of a campaign that has taken us
from the rocky coast of Maine

to the sunshine of California,

we are one day away

from changing America.

- (crowd cheering)
- One day.

Woman: That's right!

Obama:
Tomorrow, at this defining
moment in history,

you can give this country
the change that we need.

(scattered cheering)

You can do this.

Right here in North Carolina.

(crowd cheering)

-Crowd: Yes we can! Yes we can!
-Obama: We will win
this general election,

you and I together!

We're gonna change this country!
We're gonna change the world!

Thank you, everybody.

(all cheering)

(indistinct)

Thank you, guys.

Alright, Karen. You gonna
be at the gym tomorrow morning?

(laughter)

Yeah, for sure. Thank you, guys.

- Thank you.
- Thank you.

- Alright, Jake.
- (indistinct)

Yeah, I appreciate it.
Thank you.

Thank you. Alright,
guys. Appreciate you.

These guys have been carrying

-all the heavy equipment
the whole time.
-(laughter)

Thank you, guys.

And you too. You don't
get enough credit.

Thank you, thank you.

Okay, guys! Let's take off,
let's go home!

(applause, cheers)

(indistinct chatter)

Hey, how you doing?

(overlapping shouting)

Nice to see you.

Where are the lines, guys?

Where are...?
Where are the TV cameras?

Hey, we're that good.
We're getting them in and out.

(indistinct chatter)

Now, I read the paper
this morning,

saw what was going on,

and as an act of friendship,
I voted for McCain.

(chuckle)

- All set, sir?
- Yes.

Done.

Woman: How'd that feel?

It felt great.

It felt, uh...

I think it's the beginning
of a long and emotional day.

Woman: Today is history.

That's what it is. It's history.

When I got to my car
and I saw the line,

I actually cried.

Man:
I've never seen this
kind of a line here

in 20 years,
so I'm feeling optimistic.

It's a great sign seeing
everybody getting out.

This is the most important
election of our life.

You know,
this really will determine

so many things about our future.

♪ ♪

Man (phone):
...next President of
the United States of America,

- Senator Barack Obama!
- (applause)

Obama (phone):
I wish that my grandmother
had been here to see this,

and I wish my mother
had been here to see it.

They're in a better place now,
they're looking down on us.

And yet to see

my daughters be a part of this,

that's something, presumably,
that they'll never forget.

Michelle seemed to
really take a long time

deciding who to vote
for for President.

- I was a little...
- (laughter)

(indistinct)

Just remember, everybody who's
listening. Stay in line.

Don't get discouraged.

- Man (phone): Hold the line.
- Obama (phone): Hold the line.

- Bye-bye.
- Bye-bye.

How do you keep doing this?

It's going in a circle.

Good Lord.

James Clyburn:
Usually I come to this precinct

and get in line right
around 6:30, 6:45.

And I'm usually

within the first
15 or 20 people to vote.

Well, people were here
standing in line

at 5:00 AM this morning.

My daughter got here at 6:30,

and I think she is...

she's probably number 200.

♪ ♪

Axelrod: Winning elections is...

who has the momentum at the end.

Do you feel good about
the way you're closing?

I think that we closed well.

I think we closed
much better than McCain.

But, you know,
I'm gonna be nervous.

It's about 20 to noon,

and there's
a big turnout everywhere,

just like we expected.

Blake:
Uh-huh.
We just got word that

Osceola Township in Owen County,

that the clerk there is not
allowing people to vote

if they don't have ID,
which obviously is illegal.

Hey, what's new? What do you
hear? What do you know?

Sounds like Florida's good, huh?

See, what happens
on election day,

is you just call people saying,

"What do you hear,
what do you hear?"

And nobody actually
knows anything, so it's...

Michelle:
This will be a long day.

Those lines are long.
We want people
to hang in there.

We'll be, uh, honored
and ready to serve.

Katie McCormick Lelyveld:
Okay. When we come back
we're gonna do eight more.

- Eight more?
- Yeah.

- (laughs)
- That's all.

There's no problems
discernible anywhere.

♪ ♪

The only thing I'm really
surprised by is that, uh...

African American
turnout seems low.

Pennsylvania black
turnout seems low.

Young people across the board
seems a little low,

but I bet that
they're out-sampled

in the early voting.

Pennsylvania's
the only one that's

giving me buzz.

I mean, the truth is,
when you think about it,

I mean, for all our anxiety
and everything else,

when you got a black guy
named Barack Hussein Obama,

how could you lose?

I hate waiting.

Favreau: I hate it.

This has been the longest day
of the entire campaign.

Gibbs: Yeah.

You know,
if it's possible to feel

anxious and calm
all in the same breath,

that's probably
what I'm feeling,

with a heavy dose of
being very tired.

But, you know, we're excited.

We've worked two years
for this moment.

It's now in the hands
of the voters

and the people of this country.

We have great
confidence in that.

Hi, Smiley. I'm so
glad you're here. (kiss)

Meredith Turner:
20 months later, it's come
down to two hours remaining

- and you're at a loss.
- Nowhere to go.

(laughs)

Everybody wants me out,
nobody needs me anymore.

- This would be the last one.
- Woman: That's right.

This is my last
campaign activity

prior to this evening.

Axelrod:
Virginia looks good. Nevada,
New Mexico, New Hampshire.

Uh, Iowa. Colorado.

I mean, the only ones that are,

you know, look challenging,
are Florida, Indiana, and Ohio,

which is the ones
that you would expect.

But, I mean,
North Carolina looks...

Where is North Carolina?

If it were here,
it'd look really good.

Woman: I'm 63 years old.

I've been crying
since 4:00 this morning.

♪ ♪

This is momentous.

Win or lose,
the game has been changed.

So, Fox thinks we have 291

with Virginia, Iowa, Colorado,
New Mexico, Nevada, easy.

Well, I tell you what.

What I'm really excited about
is just to see that turnout

all across the country
seems to be extraordinary.

And, you know, we started
this campaign with the idea

that the American people
are decent and generous,

and if we've got people
participating,

that bodes well for the future.

You know, the turnout stuff
is really good,

and... turnout stuff
looks very good.

You know, I mean, you know,
we still have to open up

the fucking vote and see

that they're voting
the way that we think they are.

(phone chatter)

Yes. And that's it,
that's all you need.

That's all you need.

- Okay.
- (phone chatter)

(laughs)

Right, see you.

- Wait, what?
- Wait, what?

(overlapping chatter)

- (people cheering)
- (clapping)

They just called Ohio, dipshit!

- Oh, shit!
- Woman: What?

Barack just won Ohio.

Reporter (TV):
We have very
important news. Ohio...

Oh, my God! This thing's...

This thing is over.

They just called Ohio.

Oh, they did?

(indistinct)

(indistinct chatter)

Okay. Look, we gotta
go to a party or something.

I can't be in here anymore.
Just be quiet.

- (laughs)
- Let's get outta here!

(indistinct chatter)

Pete Giangreco:
Alright, look at that.

We just whacked 30,000
off their margin.

We're gonna get your 100,000.

Reporter (TV):
We're within an hour
and a half of polls closing.

Now, people who were not
convinced that the 2004 Ohio...

- (indistinct)
- (laugh)

(people cheering)

Iowa!

(phone ringing)

This is Jon.

Hey, there!

I can't believe it.

(laughs)

It's unbelievable.
It looks really good.

You feeling good?

(laughs) Right now, it is.

Are they calling something?

Yeah, they're calling Virginia.

What is it, 22?

Hey, can I have a beer?

...of fighting it out
on Republican turf

is paying off.

We can't say which way
these states are gonna go,

but we can say that by
forcing McCain to spend time

and money and energy
in states like...

Axelrod:
Palin is speaking
at 11:00 Eastern.

I wonder if she's communicated
this to the McCain people.

(laughter)

Fox called Virginia.

Favreau: Uh-huh.

Uh-huh.

Okay.

Okay. Okay.

Oh, and one paragraph up,
Axe had one edit.

When it says there will
be setbacks and false starts.

Uh, he has, "There are
many who won't agree...

"with every decision or policy
I make as President,

and we know that government
can't solve every problem."

Okay.

(typing)

That's good?
Alright. Congratulations.

Early... Early congratulations.

(laughs)

Got a speech.

ABC's definitely calling
at 11:00.

- Jim Messina: 11:00 East?
- Dan Pfeiffer: 11:00 East.

11:00 East, which is,
like, in five minutes.

That'll be a moment, huh?

Charlie Gibson (TV):
Somebody in the Obama campaign,

talking to George and me
just the other day,

said it was the debates
that did it.

- Shit.
- At 11:00 in the east,

8:00 in the west...

Here's history, fellas.

Gibson:
We will not declare anybody

to be President
of the United States

until he gets over 270.

But, in just 10 seconds
from now,

the polls are closing
in California,

Oregon, Washington, Idaho,

and also in the state of Hawaii.

Crowd:
Ten, nine, eight, seven, six,

five, four, three,

two, one!

Williams (TV):
11 PM on the East Coast,
and we have news.

Barack Obama will be

the 44th President
of the United States.

(crowd cheering)

(cheering)

Yeah!

- Yeah! We won!
- (laughing)

(applause)

(screaming, laughing)

- (clapping)
- Way to go.

(crowd screaming)

(cheering)

(screaming)

All: Obama! Obama!

Obama! Obama! Obama!

Obama!

All: Yes, we can! Yes, we can!

Yes, we can! Yes, we can!

(chanting continues, muffled)

I gotta call my mom.

(crying) Mom...

(sobbing)

(sniff)

Man (TV):
It's clear that Barack Obama

is elected President
of the United States.

(indistinct shouting)

Woman: Woo!

(indistinct murmuring)

(applause)

(cheering)

Thank you.

Alright, fellas.

Don't party too hard!
Alright, congratulations.

- It's actually hard...
- When they say...

When they say that, man.

It's just hard to process.

Yeah, man.

(sigh)

-We still got some
states in. (indistinct)
-(laughs)

(indistinct)

(clapping, cheering)

Woman: Good job, good job!

(cheering)

Okay, so now, you're gonna work
on the next four years
afterwards?

Axelrod:
Hey. I'm just
celebrating tonight.

(street chatter)

(rings)

- Hello?
- (phone chatter)

I'm in an elevator, we're
going up to see Barack, so...

- You okay?
- (phone chatter)

Okay. We'll be over there soon.

Okay.

(TV chatter)

- Plouffe: Hey. We're...
- Axelrod: Room 3607.

- Security: 36? Here.
- Axelrod: Yep.

(indistinct)

- Excuse me, do you
have a hard pin?
- Woman: I'm with these guys.

Plouffe: Looks like a party.

Man: Just down to your right.

- (indistinct)
- Axelrod: Hey, how are you?

- Man 1: Hi, guys.
- Man 2: Congratulations.

Thank you. Thank you.

- (indistinct)
- (back patting)

- Hey.
- Unbelievable.

(indistinct congratulations)

- Plouffe: A long two years.
- Woman: A long two years.

(patting, groaning)

- Woo.
- (laughing)

-In here?
-Yeah, come on in.
The Bidens just went in.

- Man: Congrats.
- Move aside!

(party chatter)

I've been looking forward
to seeing this place.

Man:
Okay. Thanks a lot.
Bye, Ruth.

(laughing)

-Don't start crying.
Don't do it.
-I've already done it.

I've already been crying.

Okay.

Okay. So, well, you know,
I know you were...

The President-elect is
definitely looking forward

to speaking, uh,
with the Prime Minister.

Unfortunately, currently,
right now, he's...

He's unavailable.

Um, but what I will do

is somebody will reach out
to you very soon

to try to arrange a time for the
President-elect to speak with...

(overlapping chatter)

-Obama: Alright,
guys. Let's do this.
-(slam)

("This Land Is Your Land"
by Bruce Springsteen playing)

(crowd cheering)

They said this day
would never come.

(cheering)

They said our sights

were set too high.

(cheering)

But on this January night,

at this defining
moment in history,

you have done what the cynics
said we couldn't do.

(crowd cheering)

♪ This land is your land ♪

♪ This land is my land ♪

♪ From California ♪

♪ To the New York Island ♪

♪ From the Redwood Forest ♪

♪ To the Gulf Stream waters ♪

♪ This land was made
for you and me ♪

♪ As I was walking ♪

♪ That ribbon of highway ♪

♪ I saw above me ♪

♪ The endless sky ♪

♪ I saw below me ♪

♪ A golden valley ♪

♪ Yeah, this land was
made for you and me ♪

♪ This land is your land ♪

♪ This land is my land ♪

♪ From California ♪

♪ To the New York Island ♪

♪ From the Redwood Forest ♪

♪ To the Gulf Stream waters ♪

♪ Hey, this land was
made for you and me ♪

♪ I roamed and rambled ♪

♪ And I followed my footsteps ♪

♪ To the sparkling sands of ♪

♪ Her diamond deserts ♪

♪ And all around me ♪

♪ A voice was sounding ♪

♪ This land was made
for you and me ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪