November 4, 2008 – Thank you. Thank you, my friends. Thank you for coming here on this beautiful Arizona evening.

A century ago, President Theodore Roosevelt’s invitation of Booker T. Washington to dine at the White House was taken as an outrage in many quarters. America today is a world away from the cruel and prideful bigotry of that time. There is no better evidence of this than the election of an African American to the presidency of the United States. Let there be no reason now for any American to fail to cherish their citizenship in this, the greatest nation on Earth. Senator Obama has achieved a great thing for himself and for his country. I applaud him for it, and offer in my sincere sympathy that his beloved grandmother did not live to see this day, though our faith assures us she is at rest in the presence of her creator and so very proud of the good man she helped raise.

My friends, we have — we have come to the end of a long journey. The American people have spoken, and they have spoken clearly. A little while ago, I had the honor of calling Senator Barack Obama to congratulate him on being elected the next president of the country that we both love.

In a contest as long and difficult as this campaign has been, his success alone commands my respect for his ability and perseverance. But that he managed to do so by inspiring the hopes of so many millions of Americans who had once wrongly believed that they had little at stake or little influence in the election of an American president is something I deeply admire and commend him for achieving.

This is an historic election, and I recognize the special significance it has for African-Americans and for the special pride that must be theirs tonight. I’ve always believed that America offers opportunities to all who have the industry and will to seize it. Senator Obama believes that, too. But we both recognize that though we have come a long way from the old injustices that once stained our nation’s reputation and denied some Americans the full blessings of American citizenship, the memory of them still had the power to wound.

Thank you, and God bless you, and God bless America. Thank you all very much.

Senator Obama and I have had and argued our differences, and he has prevailed. No doubt many of those differences remain. These are difficult times for our country, and I pledge to him tonight to do all in my power to help him lead us through the many challenges we face.

I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next president our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together, to find the necessary compromises, to bridge our differences, and help restore our prosperity, defend our security in a dangerous world, and leave our children and grandchildren a stronger, better country than we inherited.

Whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans. And please believe me when I say no association has ever meant more to me than that.

It is natural tonight to feel some disappointment, but tomorrow we must move beyond it and work together to get our country moving again. We fought as hard as we could.

And though we fell short, the failure is mine, not yours.

I am so deeply grateful to all of you for the great honor of your support and for all you have done for me. I wish the outcome had been different, my friends. The road was a difficult one from the outset. But your support and friendship never wavered. I cannot adequately express how deeply indebted I am to you.

I am especially grateful to my wife, Cindy, my children, my dear mother and all my family and to the many old and dear friends who have stood by my side through the many ups and downs of this long campaign. I have always been a fortunate man, and never more so for the love and encouragement you have given me.

You know, campaigns are often harder on a candidate’s family than on the candidate, and that’s been true in this campaign. All I can offer in compensation is my love and gratitude, and the promise of more peaceful years ahead.

I am also, of course, very thankful to Governor Sarah Palin, one of the best campaigners I have ever seen and an impressive new voice in our party for reform and the principles that have always been our greatest strength. Her husband Todd and their five beautiful children with their tireless dedication to our cause, and the courage and grace they showed in the rough-and-tumble of a presidential campaign. We can all look forward with great interest to her future service to Alaska, the Republican Party and our country. To all my campaign comrades, from Rick Davis and Steve Schmidt and Mark Salter, to every last volunteer who fought so hard and valiantly month after month in what at times seemed to be the most challenged campaign in modern times, thank you so much. A lost election will never mean more to me than the privilege of your faith and friendship.

I don’t know what more we could have done to try to win this election. I’ll leave that to others to determine. Every candidate makes mistakes, and I’m sure I made my share of them. But I won’t spend a moment of the future regretting what might have been

This campaign was and will remain the great honor of my life. And my heart is filled with nothing but gratitude for the experience and to the American people for giving me a fair hearing before deciding that Senator Obama and my old friend Senator Joe Biden should have the honor of leading us for the next four years.

I would not be an American worthy of the name, should I regret a fate that has allowed me the extraordinary privilege of serving this country for a half a century. Today, I was a candidate for the highest office in the country I love so much. And tonight, I remain her servant. That is blessing enough for anyone and I thank the people of Arizona for it.

Tonight, more than any night, I hold in my heart nothing but love for this country and for all its citizens, whether they supported me or Senator Obama, I wish Godspeed to the man who was my former opponent and will be my president.

And I call on all Americans, as I have often in this campaign, to not despair of our present difficulties but to believe always in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here.

Americans never quit. We never surrender. We never hide from history, we make history.

NJ.com’s Coverage of the Rider University College Republican’s Country First Rally: Click

Lawrenceville, NJ, October 29, 2008 – The Rider University College Republicans are hosting a “Country First” Rally to energize the Republican Party in the waning days of the 2008 election season.

The rally will be held on Wednesday, October 29, 2008 in the Cavalla Room of the Bart Luedeke Center. From 6 pm to 9 pm, Republicans from across the state will gear up for the blitz weekend, which is the final campaign push before Election Day. “We are expecting about 200 people,” says Joshua Hursa, Chairman of the Rider University College Republicans. Hursa adds, “We have an exciting list of speakers and distinguished guests. We feel holding a rally is important in the last days before the election. The Republican Party needs to come together to push our candidates over the finish line.”

Invited speakers include New Jersey GOP State Chairman Tom Wilson; State Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean Jr.; Former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan, NJ Director of Americans for Prosperity; John Crowley, Honorary Chairman of Building the New Majority; Assemblyman Richard Merkt, Republican Candidate for Governor; James McSorley, Candidate for Mercer County Sheriff; and Mayor David Fried, Robbinsville.

We first went door to door for Mercer County Sheriff Candidate Jim McSorley.  We hit about 40 homes in a neighborhood right down the road in Lawrence Township before driving to Toms River, New Jersey to campaign for 3^rd District Congressional Candidate Chris Myers and the rest of the Republican slate.  The Rider Republicans called voters in Ocean County to make sure they send in their absentee ballot applications.  We also knocked on 70 doors in a local neighborhood before driving back to Rider. 

Sunday, October 19, 2008

We went back to the Lawrence neighborhood and dropped the rest of the literature for Sheriff Candidate Jim McSorley.  From there, we drove to Montgomery to continue door to door work for 7^th District Congressional Candidate Leonard Lance.  The district we were campaigning in was won by 2 votes by the democrat. 

All told, we dropped over 300 pieces of literature for all of the candidates this weekend.

Let your voice be heard in opposition to more New Jersey voodoo economics!  Exercise your First Amendment rights to be heard on the defining issue of New Jersey’s future!  What is at stake is the largest toll increases on the NJ Turnpike, Garden State Parkway and Atlantic City Expressway, as well as introducing tolls on Rt. 440 in Middlesex County!  Governor Corzine believes in raising tolls drastically instead of reducing spending and government.  Join us in telling him he is wrong: IT’S THE SPENDING STUPID!

Date: Saturday February 9, 2008

Time: 1:00 pm

Place: Hightstown High School, 25 Leshin Lane, Hightstown, New Jersey 08520

Contact: Kyle Battaglia  battagliak[at]rider.edu