More than five million people in the U.S. claim some form of Native American identity. November is Native American Heritage Month and host Michel Martin is having a series of conversations with author Anton Treuer. Today, they talk about some of the particular political and economic challenges facing Indian Country.
With the election over, President Obama and Congress face major challenges in the coming weeks — namely the so-called fiscal cliff. But with the power breakdown remaining the same with a Republican-led House and Democratic-led Senate, how will lawmakers come together and break the gridlock? Weekends on All Things Considered host Guy Raz talks about this with NPR's senior political correspondent Mara Liasson as well as the outgoing senators Joe Lieberman and Kent Conrad.
The election is over and the deadline for the so-called "fiscal cliff" is drawing closer. Host Michel Martin speaks with NPR Senior Business Editor Marilyn Geewax about how the two relate, and what it could mean for America's economic future.
In the new movie Lincoln, actor Daniel Day-Lewis is getting a lot of attention for his spot-on portrayal of our 16th president. But Ben Burtt, the sound designer, also deserves credit for the film's authenticity. You may not know his name, but you surely know his work.
Ben Burtt is something of a legend in the movie sound world. He has won numerous Oscars, including for his work on Star Wars.
Burtt invented that iconic swoosh of the light saber, using the hum of an old projector and the buzz of a television set.
When it came to Lincoln, Burtt wasn't going to settle for recreating the sounds of Lincoln's life in some studio. He wanted to capture the real thing — sounds Lincoln actually heard.
So Burtt and his team set out, recording equipment in hand, to capture the sounds from actual objects that have survived the years since Lincoln knew them.
"I love American history and I've always been a student of it," Burtt tells weekends on All Things Considered host Guy Raz.
DreamWorks
Daniel Day-Lewis takes on one of America's most famous presidents in Lincoln.
The Bishop of Durham, Justin Welby, has been appointed as the next archbishop of Canterbury and leader of the Church of England. The former oil executive has only a year's experience as a bishop. Philip Reeves has the story.
The Greek Parliament has approved a sweeping set of austerity measures that were aimed at keeping the country in the eurozone. Members voted on $17 billion in cuts to salaries, pensions, public sector jobs and health care spending.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo says Hurricane Sandy will have a big impact on state budgets. That storm could cost his state $33 billion in economic damage. The situation is much the same in New Jersey.
Now that the election has passed, Washington, D.C., is looking ahead to forthcoming "fiscal cliff." Robert Siegel talks with Arizona Republican Congressman and Senator-elect Jeff Flake about the approaching cliff and the upcoming session of Congress.
Syrian opposition figures are meeting in Qatar, trying to forge a more coherent coalition to counter President Bashar Assad. Their ranks include militant jihadists as well as peaceful protesters. Host Scott Simon talks to Andrew Tabler of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy about Syrian opposition and recent troubling reports that some rebels have committed war crimes.
First of two parts
It's not often that a book comes out that rewrites a country's history. But that's the case with Tombstone, which was written by a retired Chinese reporter who spent 10 years secretly collecting official evidence about the country's devastating great famine. The famine, which began in the late 1950s, resulted in the deaths of millions of Chinese.
For Yang Jisheng, now 72, the famine hit home while he was away. He was 18, busy preparing a newspaper for his boarding school's Communist Youth League, when a childhood friend burst into the room and said: "Your father is starving to death."
Yang rushed home to find a ghost town — no dogs, no chickens, even the elm tree outside his house was stripped of bark, which had been eaten.
Enlarge Louisa Lim/NPR
Yang Jisheng, 72, spent a decade working undercover, secretly amassing official proof of China's great famine. "When you are writing history, you can't be too emotional. You need to be calm and objective," he says. "But I was angry the whole time. I'm still angry."
A new Congressional Budget Office report explores the economic and budget impacts of the "fiscal cliff. The non-partisan government agency warns automatic tax hikes and spending cuts could do serious damage to the economy.
Tesla Motors usually makes headlines for its technology. Its new Model S is the first entirely electric vehicle to be named car of the year by Automobile Magazine.
Friday's news is less flattering: A judge in New York will take up a lawsuit against the company about how Tesla sells its cars.
When Mark Seeger bought a Tesla in Seattle, he was actually just looking for a pair of shoes.
"I was looking for a Banana Republic 50 percent-off sale," he says. "I had no intention of going into Tesla or buying a car that day."
Then he walked past Tesla Motors' Bellevue, Wash., showroom. It's one of a handful of Tesla's company-owned stores. Within five minutes, he'd put down a deposit for an electric car that costs more than $50,000.
"This is the most expensive impulse buy I've ever done," he says.
This isn't a typical sale for Tesla Motors, but according to car dealers in Massachusetts, if it had happened there, it would have been illegal.
The issue is that Tesla sold the car through its own store, instead of through a local dealership.
Robert O'Koniewski, the executive vice president of the Massachusetts State Automobile Dealers Association, is suing Tesla for opening a store in a local mall.
In Massachusetts, franchise law 93B prohibits a manufacturer from owning a dealership, O'Koniewski says. An auto dealer association in New York is also suing Tesla.
Typically, car manufacturers build the cars, then ship them out to local car dealers, which have to meet the various manufacturers' standards.
Manny Quinones is a sales manager at one of those dealers, Manhattan Motorcars in New York.
"We're multibrand, so we have brand-specific showrooms," he says.
Each brand represents another manufacturer that can require expensive equipment and training. Not having to meet those various needs, O'Koniewski says, gives Tesla an unfair advantage.
"Those dealers are investing millions of dollars in their franchises to make sure they comply with their franchise agreements with the manufacturers," he says. "Tesla is choosing to ignore the law and then is choosing to play outside that system."
Tesla insists it isn't breaking the law, in Massachusetts, New York or anywhere else. But it is clearly trying to play outside the franchise system.
Jeremy Anwyl, vice chairman of Edmunds.com, thinks that's the real issue.
"Let's say consumers really liked buying from a factory store. That would put dealers in a tough spot because they've been saying for years that the franchise system is actually good for customers," he says.
And if customers like the Tesla model, then the franchise system — and the laws that prop it up — could be in trouble.
"If you step back, why do we have these laws? Well, the dealers would argue, 'Well, we made a big investment, so we deserve to be protected,' " Anwyl says. "But travel agents made a big investment, and they didn't get any protection."
Right now, there are only a few thousand Teslas on the road. But if they become more mainstream — as Tesla plans — they could be a model for other manufacturers. Much of that will depend on how Tesla is able to handle the things dealers do now, like service. New Tesla owner Seeger, for one, isn't worried — because the Tesla is a simpler kind of car.
"An engine is very complex — lots of hoses and belts and pulleys and God knows what, wires," he says. "The Tesla has a motor and a single-speed transmission and four wheels. That's kind of it."
Then again, he's still waiting in line to receive his first Tesla.
"I'm number 11,100 and I believe 97 for the Model S," Seeger says.
His second Tesla, the Model X, won't be out until 2014. Maybe by then the legal battles over Tesla's showrooms will be resolved.
Iran is stockpiling gold. That's the way David Cohen sees it. He's undersecretary of the Treasury, and the Treasury's point man for the banking sanctions the U.S. has imposed on Iran.
"Iran is attempting to hoard gold, both by acquiring it and by preventing the export of gold from Iran, in a somewhat desperate attempt to try and defend the value of its currency," Cohen says.
Enlarge Vahid Salemi/AP
Iranians make their way through Tehran's main bazaar. Iran's economy is under increasing strain, and its currency has fallen sharply.
Iran is stockpiling gold. That's the way David Cohen sees it. He's undersecretary of the Treasury, and the Treasury's point man for the banking sanctions the U.S. has imposed on Iran.
"Iran is attempting to hoard gold, both by acquiring it and by preventing the export of gold from Iran, in a somewhat desperate attempt to try and defend the value of its currency," Cohen says.
Enlarge Vahid Salemi/AP
Iranians make their way through Tehran's main bazaar. Iran's economy is under increasing strain, and its currency has fallen sharply.
Steve Inskeep talks to conservative activist Richard Viguerie about why he thinks Governor Romney lost his bid for the White House.
When voters go to the polls in San Diego on Tuesday, many of them will be greeted by Boyd Applegate. The 56-year-old truck driver has worked nearly every election — primaries and general elections — for the past 20 years.
Election Day starts early for Applegate. Around 4 a.m., he piles ballots and election materials into his car and drives the 25 miles to the precinct. Throughout the day, he is greeted by people who recognize him as the guy at the polls, year after year.
"People call me by name and tell me about their families, and I have a lot of friendships solely based on Election Day," Applegate told his sister Rhonda Dixon at StoryCorps.
Applegate drives a big 5-axle class-8 truck. These days, he hauls military freight for a living.
"December of this year I will actually achieve the 5-million-mile mark," he says. "And I still love to toot the horn when I see a kid yank his arm down in the window in traffic. I always respond to that."
In 1993, Applegate won the Goodyear National Highway Hero award for saving three people's lives in two accidents, nine weeks apart. That award is like the Medal of Honor for the trucking industry.
Although he has changed jobs over the years, Applegate has always been a truck driver, and always takes Election Day off. He says he keeps coming back to the polls because he believes what he is doing is important.
"Over the years, I've run into many people who are naturalized citizens — they've come from all over the world," he says. "I've had people approach me and ask me, 'How much do I have to pay to cast my ballot?'
"I've had people with tears in their eyes, grown people, who are voting for the first time in their life because the country where they come from, they didn't have that right."
Applegate says he's glad to "help lighten the mood and set them at ease that they're doing fine, and there is no wrong way to vote.
"I'm there as a representative of what's right in America, and I enjoy it."
Audio produced for Morning Edition by Michael Garofalo and recorded in partnership with KPBS.
The Oscar race for best foreign-language film rarely comes without a helping of muslin-and-bonnet dramas stuffed with misbehaving royals, masked balls and burgeoning job opportunities for food stylists. As heritage cinema goes, however, the year's Academy Award entry from Denmark is a firecracker.
Though it's dressed to kill in regulation brocade and upswept hairdos, this fact-based tale of high-born love and betrayal has a great deal more than Danish pastry on its mind. A Royal Affair is far from the first movie to show how the road to democracy is almost always washed with blood, but its release is especially timely as we witness the savagery accompanying regime change the world over.
The year is 1776, and as the rest of Europe emerges from feudal darkness, Denmark — widely admired today as a model of freedom, tolerance and benign government — remains mired in medieval fundamentalism, its impoverished people ground under the heel of a reactionary politburo whose honchos use their unstable young king, Christian VII, as a rubber stamp for maintaining despotic rule. As played by the terrific theater actor Mikkel Folsgaard, Christian is, to put it charitably, a wild card who hangs out with hookers when he should be performing husbandly duties for a new English wife, Queen Caroline Matilda, whom he calls "Mother."
Played by Swedish actress Alicia Vikander, an insufficiently spirited looker who's more suitably cast as demure Kitty in the upcoming Anna Karenina, the queen languishes, lonely and bored to death. She perks up — as who among us would not — with the arrival of the slow-burning Danish superstar Mads Mikkelson. Best known as the baddie from the Bond movie Casino Royale, Mikkelson plays Struensee, the King's German physician, a devotee of Enlightenment rationalism and a shrewd reader of character who has His Wacky Majesty tamed and eating out of his hand in no time at all.
Mikkelson has a granite jaw, cheekbones that threaten to fly off his face, and a penetrating bedroom stare that quickly proves irresistible to the neglected queen. Soon Struensee and Caroline are trading more than quotes from Rousseau and Voltaire; as if steaming up the satin sheets and devouring forbidden literature weren't risky enough, the lovers form an improbable but potent alliance with Christian to crank out a slew of democratic reforms designed to transform Denmark into a modern nation-state.
Needless to say, the ruling zealots, aided by a scheming dowager (Trine Dyrholm) with her own designs on the throne, aren't about to let all this progress, never mind their fringe benefits, pass without a fight. Their brutal resistance, and the blowback from Struensee's unfettered belief in science and reason, exact a terrible cost in the short run while laying the groundwork for a complete reinvention of Danish society.
Enlarge Magnolia Films
The true story is one that many Danes know, but the film is particularly relevant given contemporary struggles for freedom.
The Greek Parliament has approved a sweeping set of austerity measures that were aimed at keeping the country in the eurozone. Members voted on $17 billion in cuts to salaries, pensions, public sector jobs and health care spending.
The mercury hit 100 for ten consecutive days in some places last summer, and the drought of 2012 may be a preview of what climate change will bring: amber waves of extremely short corn. In Barbara Kingsolver's seventh novel Flight Behavior, climate change delivers antithetical weather to eastern Tennessee — such that "the neighbors' tomato crop had melted to liquid stench on the vine under the summer's nonstop rains, and their orchard grew a gray, fungal caul that was smothering the fruit and trees together." The novel is set in a year in the near future in which "the very snapping turtles had dragged themselves from silted ponds and roamed the soggy land looking for higher ground." That verb "roam" tempted this reader to picture the turtles on horseback, but that is a minor infelicity in a novel of great scope.
The book's central premise is that millions of monarch butterflies appear on a mountainside in eastern Tennessee. They have been displaced from their historic wintering site in Mexico by environmental degradation and climate change. But they are unlikely to survive Appalachian snow — catastrophic population loss is certain, and extinction likely. Tourists, entomologists, and activists congregate nearby.
Enlarge David Wood
Barbara Kingsolver's previous books include The Poisonwood Bible and The Lacuna.
Robert Siegel and Audie Cornish read emails from listeners about an author who estimates he's read almost 7,000 books.
The Greek Parliament has approved a sweeping set of austerity measures that were aimed at keeping the country in the eurozone. Members voted on $17 billion in cuts to salaries, pensions, public sector jobs and health care spending.
Efforts to revamp Syria's fractured opposition reached a peak at a conference in the Persian Gulf state of Qatar. The U.S. has led what some have termed an overly public diplomatic campaign to restructure the opposition in exile and tighten its links with rebel commanders on the ground in Syria.
With the election over, attention in Washington has turned to the nation's debt and deficit challenges — most immediately the looming fiscal cliff. That's the $600 billion worth of expiring tax breaks and automatic spending cuts that begin to take effect Jan. 1.
The president and the Congress agreed to those automatic measures to force themselves to find a more palatable compromise to rein in deficits. On Wednesday, there was an attempt to jumpstart that process.
In his victory speech Tuesday night in Chicago, President Obama signaled his desire to find a compromise. He said the priorities for his second term included deficit reduction. Eighteen hour later at the Capitol, House Speaker John Boehner, offered the president a tentative olive branch.
"Mr. President, the Republican majority here in the House stands ready to work with you, to do what's best for our country," Boehner said.
Last year Boehner's House Republicans steadfastly refused to raise taxes to reach the balanced deficit-reducing budget compromise sought by the president, one that included both tax increases and spending cuts. On Wednesday, Boehner suggested that had changed.
The Two-Way
Shake A Leg Or Throw A Fist? Which Will It Be On Capitol Hill?
Robert Siegel talks to Scott Horsley about President Obama's first day after re-election.
Melissa Block talks with Senator Mark Warner of Virginia about the looming so-called "fiscal cliff" and what steps might be taken now that the election is over.
With most of the elections settled, the winners must now determine how they will deal with the impending "fiscal cliff" of spending cuts and tax increases that happen in two months. David Welna reports.
More than an hour before taking the stage to formally announce his re-election, @Barack Obama tweeted his victory. He wrote, "This happened because of you." Obama was one of millions of people who tweeted on Election Day. Traffic on the social networking site peaked at 11:19 p.m. Tuesday when the TV networks called the race.
Imagine a ballot Tuesday that confronted you not with a choice between candidates named OBAMA and ROMNEY, but that looked more like this:
How much do you support the REPUBLICAN?
Pick only one.
Utterly _____
More than that ____
For much of Election Day, that was what viewers encountered in watching Fox News' coverage. President Obama was, in the words of Fox & Friends co-host Steve Doocy at the outset of the day, a guy who "promised hope and change — a lot of stuff — and he didn't deliver."
Actually, it's worth reading the question Doocy posed to former Obama aide Robert Gibbs in full.
DOOCY: "Robert, a lot of people are going to go to polling places later today. They've got two names. They've got Mitt Romney, a guy who was a successful businessman, saved the Olympics, was governor, stuff like that — or Barack Obama, who a majority of Americans voted for last time. And Barack Obama, your boss, promised hope and change, a lot of stuff, and he didn't deliver. And so now, four years, later, they say, 'You know, there's been gridlock in Washington, nothing got done, I'm going to give the other guy a shot.' "
The question was all the more remarkable in that it lacked the key defining element of a question mark. His co-hosts had equally loaded exchanges — and conversely gentle ones with Gibbs' counterpart, Romney adviser Ed Gillespie.
Fox analysts and reporters rightly noted that 2012 did not inspire a captivating campaign. As David Gregory, host of NBC's Meet The Press, said, "This is not as great a night. This is not hope and change."
Yet at virtually no point did Fox News, through its journalists or especially its commentators, appear to entertain the idea that Obama may have won voters' trust on a personal level, or identified policies that voters found appealing, or notched any worthwhile accomplishments. Even the Democratic or liberal analysts were largely reduced to talking about electoral tactics and the unresolved gridlock confronting Obama in a second term. Both valid — but not the entire story on a night Obama coasted to an electoral college victory.
After Obama won four years ago, Fox News executive vice president Bill Shine, who oversees its opinion programs, suggested that a Democrat in the White House would allow the network to emerge strongly as "the voice of opposition."
It clung to the role zealously Tuesday night.
Several pundits, including Bill O'Reilly and Stephen Hayes, cited Superstorm Sandy as a stroke of good fortune for the incumbent, as it allowed Obama to look presidential as he aided New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a leading Republican.
"While Gov. Romney was talking about bipartisanship," Brit Hume said, "the president gave an image to Americans on television of him practicing it. That's pretty strong medicine."
In the evening, O'Reilly said Republicans had failed to grapple with the changing demographic face of the American electorate. The U.S. was becoming more like Western Europe, he went on, as Americans wanted others to bear their every burden — turning President John F. Kennedy's famed admonition on its head. So O'Reilly was effectively ascribing Obama's victory to the desire for handouts, especially among people of color, though O'Reilly very explicitly said such indolence cut across racial lines.
Dana Perino, the former George W. Bush press secretary, noted that women favored Obama heavily, pointing to abortion as an issue raised as a scare tactic by Democrats. Left unnoted in that exchange: declarations by two Republican Senate candidates that women should not be allowed to obtain abortions even in the case of rape. Many analysts elsewhere pointed to those statements Tuesday night as both men lost, but it also infused relevance into abortion as an issue for the race.
"President Obama will win because he ran a good campaign," said political anchor Bret Baier. "He will not win because of the state of the economy."
The coverage on Fox proved largely dour, depressive, even epically denialist.
It occurred to me as I followed Tuesday night's television coverage of the elections results that our networks have gotten terrific at incorporating extraordinary context in their political coverage — providing, of course, that the subject of coverage is about who gets power.
In the past four general election cycles — even given the epic group fail of election night reportage — we as viewers have become used to understanding how and why candidates win, state by state, precinct by precinct. Spoiled, even.
I feel as though we understand the conservative take of the Florida Panhandle, the Democratic list of North Virginia, the western Pennsylvania county that serves as a bellwether, better than we do ourselves.
The insight Fox provided was less about the election itself than the coming clash within the Republican Party. The fight would be over whether Mitt Romney was too moderate a choice, or had failed sufficiently to appeal to the minorities making up an increasing number of U.S. voters.
After Fox News' own "Decision Desk" declared Ohio had gone to Obama, Fox News Sunday anchor Chris Wallace announced that officials with the Romney campaign called to push back, saying the margin was too small to make such a projection. A fair thing to report. Apparently the Romney folks reached out to Fox first; correspondents on other networks reflected similar complaints a bit later.
Enlarge Fox News
Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly walked down the hallway to ask the Fox decision team to explain the reasoning behind their Ohio call, which contradicted Rove's analysis. Click here to watch the interview.
Russian President Vladimir Putin sent word welcoming President Obama's re-election. But the Russian government and state-run media sought to discredit the American electoral process.
Among Chinese citizens, there is a sense of frustration and fascination that Americans have the right to vote for their own leaders.
Leigh Bardugo is the author of Shadow and Bone.
Frank Herbert's Dune was the first coming-of-age story that resonated with me: drugs, destiny, messiah complexes — it had everything. But what really shook me was its scale. At age 12, my life was the tiny, miserable cycle of home, school and the mall. Dune cracked it all open. There was a hell of a good universe next door, several in fact, and that made my little world a lot more bearable.
While Holden Caulfield was moping and breaking windows, Paul Atreides (Dune's protagonist; Muad'Dib to the faithful) was equipping me with a junior-high survival guide. Paul is not a classic underdog. He's the son of a duke. He's been trained since birth in combat, diplomacy and general badassery by a cast of geniuses and battle-hardened weirdos with impossible-to-pronounce names. But when his world is turned upside down — when he leaves his home, loses his father and enters a physically and politically hostile environment — he doesn't whine and cry and brood. He adapts. To this day, I can recite the Bene Gesserit litany against fear. It's a great, geeky party trick, but back then it was also good gospel for an oft-pummeled kid:
"I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain."
Preach, my witchy sisters. The steady diet of literary fiction assigned by my teachers gave me plenty of characters with whom to commiserate, but not much concrete advice on how to endure daily snubs and painful insecurity. On Arrakis, resourcefulness was rewarded, strength was valued, and courage was required. OK, so Paul ends up being omniscient and worshipped as a god. But in junior high, a few delusions of grandeur can make for excellent armor. And as special as Paul is, it was the epic context of his story that made the real difference.
It's a cop-out to ascribe the appeal of science fiction and fantasy to escapism. Lots of literature is escapist and the very act of reading (whatever the content) necessarily takes you out of a given moment. For me, Dune was escapist, but more importantly, it was expansive. It was a glimpse at the infinite; at histories barely hinted at but wholly felt; at destinies constructed over millennia, thwarted in a lifetime and rebuilt in a heartbeat. Its scale was so vast that it literally redefined possibility for me.
I'd been slogging along, eyes on the ground, just trying to make it through another day of the relentless, petty slice and grind that is being a preteen girl. Herbert tilted my chin up so I could see the stars.
PG-13 is produced and edited by Ellen Silva and Rose Friedman with production assistance from Annalisa Quinn.
Ohio was supposed to be the pivotal battleground state for both presidential candidates until it wasn't. The vote in Ohio was squeaky close. But still many would argue it didn't decide the election.
Although exit polls showed a majority think the country is on the wrong track, voters still gave President Obama a second chance and four more years to govern. For a look at what to expect in a second term, Renee Montagne talks to Neera Tanden, who runs the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank in Washington, D.C.
Transcript of President Obama's victory speech in Chicago on Tuesday. Source: Federal News Service
Editor's Note: NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by a contractor for NPR, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future.
(Cheers, applause.)
AUDIENCE MEMBERS: (Chanting.) Four more years! Four more years! Four more years! Four more years! Four more years! Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. (Sustained cheers, applause.)
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. (Cheers, applause.)
It moves forward because of you. It moves forward because you reaffirmed the spirit that has triumphed over war and depression, 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 and as one people. (Cheers, applause.)
Tonight, in this election, you, the American people, reminded us that while our road has been hard, while our journey has been long, we have picked ourselves up, we have fought our way back, and we know in our hearts that for the United States of America, the best is yet to come.
(Cheers, applause.) I want to thank every American who participated in this election. (Cheers, applause.) Whether you voted for the very first time — (cheers) — or waited in line for a very long time — (cheers) — by the way, we have to fix that. (Cheers, applause.) Whether you pounded the pavement or picked up the phone — (cheers, applause) — whether you held an Obama sign or a Romney sign, you made your voice heard and you made a difference. (Cheers, applause.)
I just spoke with Governor Romney and I congratulated him and Paul Ryan on a hard-fought campaign. (Cheers, applause.) We may have battled fiercely, but it's only because we love this country deeply and we care so strongly about its future. From George to Lenore to their son Mitt, the Romney family has chosen to give back to America through public service. And that is a legacy that we honor and applaud tonight. (Cheers, applause.) In the weeks ahead, I also look forward to sitting down with Governor Romney to talk about where we can work together to move this country forward.
(Cheers, applause.)
I want to thank my friend and partner of the last four years, America's happy warrior, the best vice president anybody could ever hope for, Joe Biden. (Cheers, applause.)
And I wouldn't be the man I am today without the woman who agreed to marry me 20 years ago. (Cheers, applause.) Let me say this publicly. Michelle, I have never loved you more. (Cheers, applause.) I have never been prouder to watch the rest of America fall in love with you too as our nation's first lady. (Cheers, applause.)
Sasha and Malia — (cheers, applause) — before our very eyes, you're growing up to become two strong, smart, beautiful young women, just like your mom. (Cheers, applause.) And I am so proud of you guys. But I will say that for now, one dog's probably enough. (Laughter.)
To the best campaign team and volunteers in the history of politics — (cheers, applause) — the best — the best ever — (cheers, applause) — some of you were new this time around, and some of you have been at my side since the very beginning.
(Cheers, applause.) But all of you are family. No matter what you do or where you go from here, you will carry the memory of the history we made together. (Cheers, applause.) And you will have the lifelong appreciation of a grateful president. Thank you for believing all the way — (cheers, applause) — to every hill, to every valley. (Cheers, applause.) You lifted me up the whole day, and I will always be grateful for everything that you've done and all the incredible work that you've put in. (Cheers, applause.)
I know that political campaigns can sometimes seem small, even silly. And that provides plenty of fodder for the cynics who tell us that politics is nothing more than a contest of egos or the domain of special interests. But if you ever get the chance to talk to folks who turned out at our rallies and crowded along a rope line in a high school gym or — or saw folks working late at a campaign office in some tiny county far away from home, you'll discover something else.
You'll hear the determination in the voice of a young field organizer who's working his way through college and wants to make sure every child has that same opportunity. (Cheers, applause.) You'll hear the pride in the voice of a volunteer who's going door to door because her brother was finally hired when the local auto plant added another shift. (Cheers, applause.)
You'll hear the deep patriotism in the voice of a military spouse who's working the phones late at night to make sure that no one who fights for this country ever has to fight for a job or a roof over their head when they come home. (Cheers, applause.)
That's why we do this. That's what politics can be. That's why elections matter. It's not small, it's big. It's important. Democracy in a nation of 300 million can be noisy and messy and complicated. We have our own opinions. Each of us has deeply held beliefs. And when we go through tough times, when we make big decisions as a country, it necessarily stirs passions, stirs up controversy. That won't change after tonight. And it shouldn't. These arguments we have are a mark of our liberty, and we can never forget that as we speak, people in distant nations are risking their lives right now just for a chance to argue about the issues that matter — (cheers, applause) — the chance to cast their ballots like we did today.
But despite all our differences, most of us share certain hopes for America's future.
We want our kids to grow up in a country where they have access to the best schools and the best teachers — (cheers, applause) — a country that lives up to its legacy as the global leader in technology and discovery and innovation — (scattered cheers, applause) — with all of the good jobs and new businesses that follow.
We want our children to live in an America that isn't burdened by debt, that isn't weakened up by inequality, that isn't threatened by the destructive power of a warming planet. (Cheers, applause.)
We want to pass on a country that's safe and respected and admired around the world, a nation that is defended by the strongest military on earth and the best troops this — this world has ever known — (cheers, applause) — but also a country that moves with confidence beyond this time of war to shape a peace that is built on the promise of freedom and dignity for every human being.
We believe in a generous America, in a compassionate America, in a tolerant America open to the dreams of an immigrant's daughter who studies in our schools and pledges to our flag — (cheers, applause) — to the young boy on the south side of Chicago who sees a life beyond the nearest street corner — (cheers, applause) — to the furniture worker's child in North Carolina who wants to become a doctor or a scientist, an engineer or an entrepreneur, a diplomat or even a president.
That's the — (cheers, applause) — that's the future we hope for.
(Cheers, applause.) That's the vision we share. That's where we need to go — forward. (Cheers, applause.) That's where we need to go. (Cheers, applause.)
Now, we will disagree, sometimes fiercely, about how to get there. As it has for more than two centuries, progress will come in fits and starts. It's not always a straight line. It's not always a smooth path. By itself, the recognition that we have common hopes and dreams won't end all the gridlock, resolve all our problems or substitute for the painstaking work of building consensus and making the difficult compromises needed to move this country forward.
But that common bond is where we must begin. Our economy is recovering. A decade of war is ending. (Cheers, applause.) A long campaign is now over. (Cheers, applause.) And whether I earned your vote or not, I have listened to you. I have learned from you. And you've made me a better president. And with your stories and your struggles, I return to the White House more determined and more inspired than ever about the work there is to do and the future that lies ahead. (Cheers, applause.)
Tonight you voted for action, not politics as usual. (Cheers, applause.) You elected us to focus on your jobs, not ours.
And in the coming weeks and months, I am looking forward to reaching out and working with leaders of both parties to meet the challenges we can only solve together — reducing our deficit, reforming out tax code, fixing our immigration system, freeing ourselves from foreign oil. We've got more work to do. (Cheers, applause.)
But that doesn't mean your work is done. The role of citizens in our democracy does not end with your vote. America's never been about what can be done for us; it's about what can be done by us together, through the hard and frustrating but necessary work of self- government. (Cheers, applause.) That's the principle we were founded on.
This country has more wealth than any nation, but that's not what makes us rich. We have the most powerful military in history, but that's not what makes us strong. Our university, our culture are all the envy of the world, but that's not what keeps the world coming to our shores. What makes America exceptional are the bonds that hold together the most diverse nation on Earth, the belief that our destiny is shared — (cheers, applause) — that this country only works when we accept certain obligations to one another and to future generations, so that the freedom which so many Americans have fought for and died for come with responsibilities as well as rights, and among those are love and charity and duty and patriotism. That's what makes America great. (Cheers, applause.)
I am hopeful tonight because I have seen this spirit at work in America. I've seen it in the family business whose owners would rather cut their own pay than lay off their neighbors and in the workers who would rather cut back their hours than see a friend lose a job. I've seen it in the soldiers who re-enlist after losing a limb and in those SEALs who charged up the stairs into darkness and danger because they knew there was a buddy behind them watching their back. (Cheers, applause.) I've seen it on the shores of New Jersey and New York, where leaders from every party and level of government have swept aside their differences to help a community rebuild from the wreckage of a terrible storm. (Cheers, applause.)
And I saw it just the other day in Mentor, Ohio, where a father told the story of his 8-year-old daughter whose long battle with leukemia nearly cost their family everything had it not been for health care reform passing just a few months before the insurance company was about to stop paying for her care. (Cheers, applause.) I had an opportunity to not just talk to the father but meet this incredible daughter of his. And when he spoke to the crowd, listening to that father's story, every parent in that room had tears in their eyes because we knew that little girl could be our own.
And I know that every American wants her future to be just as bright. That's who we are. That's the country I'm so proud to lead as your president. (Cheers, applause.)
And tonight, despite all the hardship we've been through, despite all the frustrations of Washington, I've never been more hopeful about our future. (Cheers, applause.) I have never been more hopeful about America. And I ask you to sustain that hope.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: We got your back, Mr. President!
PRESIDENT OBAMA: I'm not talking about blind optimism, the kind of hope that just ignores the enormity of the tasks ahead or the road blocks that stand in our path. I'm not talking about the wishful idealism that allows us to just sit on the sidelines or shirk from a fight. I have always believed that hope is that stubborn thing inside us that insists, despite all the evidence to the contrary, that something better awaits us so long as we have the courage to keep reaching, to keep working, to keep fighting. (Cheers, applause.)
America, I believe we can build on the progress we've made and continue to fight for new jobs and new opportunities and new security for the middle class. I believe we can keep the promise of our founding, the idea that if you're willing to work hard, it doesn't matter who you are or where you come from or what you look like or where you love (ph). It doesn't matter whether you're black or white or Hispanic or Asian or Native American or young or old or rich or poor, abled, disabled, gay or straight. (Cheers, applause.) You can make it here in America if you're willing to try.
(Cheers, applause.)
I believe we can seize this future together because we are not as divided as our politics suggests. We're not as cynical as the pundits believe. We are greater than the sum of our individual ambitions and we remain more than a collection of red states and blue states. We are, and forever will be, the United States of America. (Cheers, applause.)
And together, with your help and God's grace, we will continue our journey forward and remind the world just why it is that we live in the greatest nation on earth. (Cheers, applause.) Thank you, America. (Cheers, applause.) God bless you. God bless these United States. (Cheers, applause.)
The most expensive election in U.S. history could be decided by one a tight margin. As results begin to roll in, all eyes are on Ohio, Florida and other swing states that are still too close to call. And both campaigns have lawyers at the ready in case of recounts or problems at polling places.
Lynn Neary talks with Robert Smith, who was covering Election Day in New York.
The candidates' speechwriters are busy crafting two different sets of remarks for two different outcomes: A victory speech and a concession speech. Former Clinton White House speech writer Paul Glastris and former Reagan White House speech writer Peter Robinson talk about the art of the speech.
Lynn Neary talks with Jeff Brady, who was covering Election Day in Colorado.
Talk of the Nation's favorite film buff Murray Horwitz lobbies for his picks for the best Election Day movies of all time. From Reese Witherspoon's Tracy Flick running for student council president in Election, to Chris Rock playing a fictional first black president in Head of State, cast your vote.
Voters have been bombarded by political ads, but some topics have gotten very little attention this election season. Host Michel Martin speaks with a panel of journalists about some of this election's hidden issues. She speaks with NPR's Marilyn Geewax, Jennifer Ludden, and David Schaper, as well as The Washington Post's Melinda Henneberger.
Host Michel Martin continues the conversation about the big issues missing on the campaign trail. Issues like crime, caregiving, poverty and climate change might affect millions of people, but they may not win a lot of votes. Martin speaks with a panel of journalists about whether these issues will enter the conversation over the next four years.
Mitt Romney wrapped up his last full day of campaigning Monday night at the New Hampshire farm where he opened his run for president in 2011. About 12,000 supporters showed up to back the GOP presidential candidate. On Tuesday, Romney will make stops in Pittsburgh, Pa., and Cleveland, Ohio.
Eastman Kodak has received approval to end retiree benefits by year's end. Monday's ruling by a New York bankruptcy judge will save the company millions as it emerges from bankruptcy. It will also mean higher health care costs for thousands of retirees and their families.
In New Jersey, still reeling in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, local officials are preparing for an Election Day riddled with struggles and complications. The state has changed its voting rules to try to accommodate voters displaced by the storm.
Aatish Taseer is the author of Stranger to History.
Actor Richard Burton was one of the most acclaimed actors of his time, but his tumultuous relationship with Elizabeth Taylor captured the public's curiosity. A new book of his diaries reveals his dramatic personal life. Host Rachel Martin talks to Burton's daughter, Kate, and Chris Williams, who edited the diaries.
From the outside, this white metal container looks like all the other mobile structures at Forward Operating Base Shank, the main NATO base in Afghanistan's Logar province. But rather than housing soldiers, offices or latrines, the building contains a fully functioning — if spartan — radio studio.
It's known by the U.S. military as a RIAB, or "radio in a box." But the Afghans, says DJ and presenter Saifitullah, call this station Unity Radio. It broadcasts daily from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. to the surrounding provinces, and Saifitullah says the station gets calls from listeners some 30 to 40 miles away.
"We have different shows in this radio station, including political shows and also some recreational music and also messages," he says.
In the key state of Iowa, supporters of President Obama and Mitt Romney and talking to thousands of potential voters. In the last days of the campaigns, the hope is to inspire voters who might not otherwise go to the polls.