When President Barack Obama first hit the campaign trail this year, he tried to silence his doubters by insisting  his re-election bid was “still about hope,” the slogan that propelled him to the White House in 2008. Almost exactly six months later, he took the stage in Chicago’s McCormick place to deliver a rousing victory speech in which he aggressively defended his promise of hope and change after a first term filled with partisan gridlock and a long, bitter presidential race.

“Tonight, more than 200 years after a former colony won the right to determine its own destiny, the task of perfecting our union moves forward. It moves forward because of you,” President Obama began. “It moves forward because you reaffirmed the spirit that has triumphed over war and oppression, the spirit that has lifted this country from the depths of despair to the great heights of hope, the belief that while each of us will pursue our own individual dreams, we are an American family and we rise or fall together as one nation.” Read More