It was, in the end, a fairly gracious concession speech given the tone of the campaign over the past several weeks:
(CNN) — Sen. John McCain on Tuesday urged all Americans to join him in congratulating Sen. Barack Obama on his projected victory in the presidential election.
“I pledge to him tonight to do all in my power to help him lead us through the many challenges we face,” McCain said before his supporters in Phoenix, Arizona.
McCain’s running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin, was standing with him, but she did not speak.
With his projected win, Obama will become the nation’s 44th president.
Obama will address the country from a rally in Chicago, Illinois, later Tuesday night.
The Illinois senator will become the first African-American to win the presidency.
Supporters in Chicago cheering, “Yes, we can” were met with cries of “Yes, we did.”
Obama’s former rival for the Democratic nomination, Sen. Hillary Clinton said in a statement that “we are celebrating an historic victory for the American people.”
“This was a long and hard fought campaign but the result was well worth the wait. Together, under the leadership of President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and a Democratic Congress, we will chart a better course to build a new economy and rebuild our leadership in the world.”
There were some boos from the crowd in Phoenix, but McCain is far too smart a politician not to understand the historic significance of the results of this election.
