DES MOINES - Key White House hopefuls made speeches Thursday after Iowa voters picked Democrat Barack Obama and Republican Mike Huckabee as the winners of the country's first nominating contests. Here are some notable quotes:
-- Democratic winner Barack Obama, Illinois senator:
"They said this day would never come. They said our sights were set too high. They said this country was too divided, too disillusioned to ever come together around a common purpose. But on this January night, at this defining moment in history, you have done what the cynics said we couldn't do."
"We are choosing hope over fear. We're choosing unity over division and sending a powerful message that change is coming to America."
"Hope, hope is what led me here today. With a father from Kenya, a mother from Kansas, and a story that could only happen in the United States of America."
-- Former senator John Edwards, who took second in the Democratic race:
"What happened tonight is the Iowa caucuses said we want something different, we're going to stand up, we're going to rise up. We're going to create an America that all of us believe in."
"Corporate greed has got a stronghold on America, and unless and until we have a president in the proud tradition of Teddy Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, who has a little backbone, who has some strength, who has some fight, who is willing to stand up to these people, nothing will change. We will never have the America that all of us dream of."
-- Senator Hillary Clinton, third in the Democratic race:
"I am so ready for the rest of this campaign and I am so ready to lead."
"I have set big goals for our country, I want to rebuild a strong and prosperous middle class and to me, that is the most important job the next president will have."
"We will restore America's moral authority in the world and we are going to tackle all of the problems that are going to be inherited because of the current administration, including ending the war in Iraq and bringing our troops home and then giving them the support that they need."
-- Republican winner Mike Huckabee, former governor of Arkansas:
"I wish it were all over tonight and we could celebrate the whole thing. But, unfortunately, if this were a marathon, we've only run half of it."
"Most of the pundits believe when you're outspent 15:1 it's impossible to garner the support necessary to win an election. Tonight we proved that American politics still is in the hands of ordinary folks like you."
-- Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, second in the Republican race:
"Well, we won the silver ... Just because you win the silver doesn't mean you're not going to come back and win the gold in another race.
bur-ksh/pmh
01/04/2008 05:08 GMT