Remarks by U.S. Ambassador John L. Withers II U.S. at the Election Breakfast (November 5, 2008)

Good morning ladies and gentlemen,

Thank you for attending and sharing with us a very special day, the day after the elections of 2008.

I want to thank the American Chamber of Commerce for hosting, arranging this event in conjunction with the American Embassy.
I would like to take a little privilege and speak to you less as the American Ambassador to Albania than as an American citizen and a voter.  Today is a very special day for America and for Americans. The elections results of last night have declared Barack Obama to be the President-Elect and have changed the direction of American history.

Many decades ago, Dr. Martin Luther King expressed a dream for America. It is a dream that captivated Americans and is shared by millions from all walks and statuses of life.  He dreamed of a day that would come in which Americans would not judge each another by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.  Today, millions upon millions of Americans, whether they be black or white, whether they be old or young, whether they be male or female, whether they be straight or gay, have shown that they wish to fulfill the dream that Dr. King shared decades ago.

They looked at two of the finest that America could produce. Senator John McCain, who is one of the finest Americans of our generation: a man of integrity and so much courage that when he was a prisoner of war in Vietnam and had the opportunity to be released early under a special program, refused.  Rather, he preferred to remain in jail with his fellow prisoners of war.  And Senator, now President-Elect Barack Obama - an African American who had the audacity to hope. 

A choice was made between these two fine Americans on the basis of issue, of programs, of ideas.  And America preferred the one over the other without disrespect to the person who lost the race.

This morning, I received dozens of emails from my friends and family in the United States. When you take all of the sentiments that were presented in those various emails, they all came down to one thing: the one question, “Well, how do you feel now?”

I thought about that a little bit as I was coming over here and I think the only way I can describe my feelings is this. There was a song sung by the African-American slaves during the time of their bondage centuries ago.  And amongst the lines in that song were words that I would paraphrase thus:

On my way to the promised land,
I heard from Heaven today.
God is going to give me his right hand,
I heard from the Heaven today.

How do I feel? I feel like I’m standing amongst my beloved American countrymen, and we are reaching out and we are touching the hand of God.