"MY FELLOW Americans, I am proud and humbled to have received your support as president of the United States." (Wild cheers.) I am not proud, however, of this election, or of my own role in it.
"We have heard much about division in our land: red versus
blue; Middle America versus the coasts; flags versus peace signs; even
"We are all Americans, and we are all in trouble. We face challenges at home and abroad that require the hands and hearts and brains of every one of us working together. In Congress, in our communities, in the community of nations, we cannot afford another moment of partisan gridlock.
"Tonight, I dedicate myself and my administration to healing these divisions and restoring civility to our politics -- starting with the way we run our campaigns.
"Both my opponent and I are better men than our campaigns would have you believe. Each of us entered into an increasingly toxic political climate not for personal gain but because we truly believe our approach is best for America -- different as those approaches may be. My opponent didn't deserve the kind of personal attacks that defined this campaign. And neither did I.
"Our campaign ads were full of manipulation, distortion, and sometimes outright falsehoods. They were an insult to the long-suffering American voter.
"I take personal responsibility for much of this. I allowed my surrogates to impugn the integrity and intelligence of my opponent, and when I felt it was getting too close, I joined in myself.
"I refused to blow the whistle on a campaign-finance system that has thoroughly corrupted our politics. I allowed groups exploiting loopholes in our reform laws to run wild on the chance they would benefit me. When I think of all the good that might have been accomplished with the $1 billion-plus spent on this campaign -- feeding hungry families, finding cures for diseases, fighting the war on terror -- the word `obscene' barely begins to cover it.
"I shamelessy used religion to defend my candidacy, exposing what should be a private relationship with the Almighty for crass political gain. The Founding Fathers knew what they were doing when they kept sectarianism out of the public realm, and I should have let it stay there. Instead, I tried to outchurch the other guy. "I let a few big issues dominate the debate and let less powerful constituencies fend for themsleves. I barely uttered a word about poverty or offered hope of redemption to the homeless, the addled, the addicted, or the 2 million Americans in our jails and prisons.
"I sat by and allowed civic discourse to descend into a shout-fest of bilious invective. Words like `traitor,' `liar,' `Hitler' -- powerful words reserved for the rarest of circumstances -- became so much a part of everyday vocabulary that they lost their meaning. I didn't call a stop to such language because it excited my base. We should not forget that the translation of `Al Qaeda' is also `the base.'
"The one redeeming part of this campaign came today, when voters came out in extraordinary numbers to demonstrate their faith in the system. Voter turnout broke all records. In Ohio and New Hampshire, in Florida and Iowa, people helped others under crowded, sometimes tense conditions -- sharing folding chairs, bottled water and snacks while they waited for hours to exercise this precious franchise.
"You voted in spite of the campaign we gave you, not because of it.
So I dedicate this acceptance speech to you, dear voters. I promise you that I will not allow the coarsening of our civic life to continue. I will use the bully pulpit of the presidency to lift up, not to tear down. I will stand by a set of decent, universal American values and not be swayed by the person with the biggest bullhorn or fattest wallet. I humbly ask for your trust. I may ask for sacrifices, but I know Americans are willing to make them.
"I'd like to close tonight with words from the second inaugural address of Abraham Lincoln -- a great leader who knew a few things about healing deadly divisions in this land. They are uncannily appropriate tonight.
" `With malice towards none, with charity for all,' he said, `let us bind up the nation's wounds . . . to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace -- among ourselves, and with all nations.' "Thank you, and God bless America."
Renée Loth is editor of the editorial page. Her e-mail address is loth@globe.com.