President Barack Obama on Sunday thanked supporters during an inauguration gala at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., commending them for their commitment to “the basic notion that when we put our shoulders to the wheel of history, it moves.”
From Obama’s remarks:
As I look out on the room, we’ve got people from every walk of life, every corner and nook and cranny of this country, every state, every city, every suburb — people who have invested so much heart, soul, time, money, energy. One of the things that made this campaign unique was the degree of investment and ownership people had in this common project of ours, because you understood this was not just about a candidate; it was not just about Joe Biden or Barack Obama. This was about us, who we are as a nation, what values we cherish, how hard we’re willing to fight to make sure that those values live not just for today but for future generations.
All of you here understood and were committed to the basic notion that when we put our shoulders to the wheel of history, it moves. (Applause.) It moves. It moves forward. And that’s part of what we celebrate when we come together for Inauguration.
