Consul General Speeches

President’s Night, Melkweg, Amsterdam, November 4, 2008

Good evening ladies and gentlemen.

It is great pleasure for me to welcome you to the President’s Night for what promises to be an exciting and entertaining night.  As a U.S. diplomat in Amsterdam I love having the opportunity to share uniquely American experiences with people in The Netherlands; whether it is an American football game at the Amsterdam Arena, an Independence Day celebration aboard a U.S. Navy frigate anchored in the center of the city, or our upcoming Thanksgiving holiday.  But I have to tell you that I am simply thrilled to be here to celebrate the U.S. elections with you and watch the results roll in.

The long road of this extraordinary presidential campaign ends tonight, or more likely, in the wee hours of tomorrow morning.  In the 22 months since Barack Obama and John McCain announced their candidacies for the Presidency of the United States, people across the U.S. and around the world have followed this singular contest in a way that we have never seen before.

Over the past two years, a field of 9 Democrats and 11 Republican hopefuls has become the race between Obama and McCain – a riveting drama, and a terrific political spectacle, as both seek the pinnacle of American political power.

These elections have dominated the American national dialogue – from school children to retirees – and captured the interest of people all over the world.  We are a witnessing history, watching a contest that has yielded the first African American presidential nominee of a major political party, the candidacy of a venerated war hero, and the prominence of women candidates for the highest offices in the land.  This presidential election is the first in half a century where neither of the candidates is a sitting President or Vice President.  So there is a sense that we are turning an important page in the history of the United States tonight.

This presidential election offers a clear choice between two absorbing candidates.  Barack Obama has moved countless Americans, not least with his eloquence and compelling personal history as the son of a black Kenyan father and white mother from the state of Kansas.  His meteoric rise to national prominence is founded on a background as a community organizer, law professor and serving U.S. Senator.  His messages of change and unity are credited with inspiring voters and bringing a new generation of American young people to political activism.

John McCain, a decorated war hero with over 50 years of service to his country, has built his campaign around his record as an experienced Washington insider – with prodigious foreign policy and domestic policy credentials – who has earned a reputation as a “maverick” – someone who has been willing to challenge convention and his own political party on key issues.

But this election is a lot bigger than the personalities involved.  More than the usual contest between Democrats and Republicans, between Obama and McCain, the American electorate and the world are captivated by this election because the stakes are so high.  We face serious challenges and the candidates offer clearly different approaches to them.
In the final weeks, the dominant focus of the campaign has been the economy.  All eyes are on the economic policy proposals of the two candidates as they both try to convince a worried and skeptical electorate that they have the ability to lead United States out of its current economic difficulties.   At a time when the U.S. economy is shedding jobs by the hundreds of thousands, housing foreclosures are at an unprecedented level, and the turmoil on Wall Street is being felt on every Main Street across the country, voters want to know more than anything else who will be more effective in creating jobs, restoring home values, controlling the cost of health care, and reversing the economic slide that they believe threatens their and their children’s futures.

There are a record 188 million Americans registered to vote in the U.S.  Before the sun rose on this election day, a third of all registered voters had already cast their ballots.  And we are watching an unprecedented turnout today with people waiting in line, sometimes for many hours, to make their voice heard.

The intensity of the campaign and the news coverage of the elections will reach a fever pitch in the coming hours, as each candidate makes his last campaign stop, delivers his last speech, and as a legion of volunteers continue to go door to door urging people to the polls.

Tomorrow morning in Amsterdam, we will know the decision that Americans have made about their future.  In anticipation of a clear result, I’d like to quote a former president from the speech he made on his inauguration day almost 47 years ago.  John F. Kennedy said of the election in which he prevailed,

“We observe today not a victory of a party but a celebration of freedom …”
It is an honor for me to welcome you to a true celebration of democracy and what I am sure will be a memorable evening for all of us.