u/Artistic_Victory

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Chicago, Illinois November 4th, 2008

The crowd chants: “FORD! FORD! FORD!”

He waits. Then steps to the podium.

“Tonight… the American people chose the future!”

Loud cheers.

“Not because the future is easy.”

“Not because the present is comfortable. But because this country has never been built by people afraid to move forward. This election will be remembered as historic. Because tonight, in the middle of economic fear… uncertainty… and doubt…The American people decided that decline was not inevitable.

Millions of Americans are anxious tonight. About their jobs. Their homes. Their savings. Their future.

I understand that. And I want every American to hear me clearly:

This administration will act decisively to stabilize the economy, restore confidence, and rebuild growth.

But we are not going to spend the next four years merely reacting to crises. We are going to modernize the foundations that allowed those crises to happen.”

The crowd quiets again.

“Throughout this campaign, people heard a word repeatedly: Fordism.”

Small laughter. Ford smirks slightly.

“Some thought it was a slogan. It isn’t. It is a belief. A belief that technology should expand freedom rather than limit it. A belief that democracy should become more open, more responsive, and more connected to the people it serves. A belief that markets work best when they are transparent, accountable, and built for the modern world. A belief that innovation is not a luxury…

But the engine of national strength and renewal.”

Huge applause.

“For too long, our politics argued about the size of government. Big government. Small government.” He shakes his head slightly. “Meanwhile, the real question went unanswered:” “Does it work?”

Applause.

“Fordism begun from that question. Not with ideology trapped in the last century…

But with building systems worthy of the century we actually live in.”

“Tonight, I also want to speak to Americans who did not vote for me. You are not my opposition. You are my responsibility.” Applause. “And while this administration will pursue change domestically, America’s commitments abroad will remain as they were decided in the Washington Conference of 2002. President Vern Ehlers served this country during extraordinarily difficult years. And where his administration acted to defend American security and uphold our alliances… My administration will continue that responsibility. The world must know tonight that America remains strong, stable, and engaged.

This country once led the world because we believed impossible things were worth building. The interstate system. The moon landing. The internet. Now it is time to build again. A digital infrastructure worthy of the American people. Energy systems for the next century. Transparent institutions. Modern democracy. I spent part of my life pretending to live in the future.”

Laughter.

Now we have the chance to actually build one.

“The People’s Liberal Party must become the party of modernization. Not nostalgia. Not bureaucracy. Not fear of change. We must become the party that embraces innovation… Without abandoning fairness. The party that believes markets can create prosperity… When guided by transparency and accountability. The party that trusts the American people enough to give them a greater voice in their own democracy.

Thunderous applause.

Every generation of Americans inherits a system built by the generation before it. And every once in a while… A generation is asked not merely to preserve that system

But to rebuild it.

This is that moment. And starting tonight…

We begin.”