Obama Names Kaine DNC Chairman

PRESIDENT-ELECT BARACK OBAMA: (joined in progress) ... we would build a movement for change. With the support of ordinary men and women who gave whatever time and money they could spare, we did just that. And that's why we can truly call our success on November 4th not just a Democratic victory, but an American victory.

On the other hand, it would be a mistake to take our success in the campaign as a sign that our work is somehow complete. At a time when the challenges we face in this country are so vast, we cannot afford to abandon the movement we've built. We have to strengthen it.

We must build a movement for change that can endure beyond a single election, and that will require redoubling our efforts to reach out to Americans throughout our 50 states, north and south, east and west. It will require finding candidates for elective office whose policies and plans are rooted not in ideology, but in what works.

And it will require shedding our ingrained habits of taking money from federal lobbyists and special interests, and relying instead on small donations from ordinary Americans.

We're in a strong position to rebuild a Democratic Party committed to these principles because of the outstanding work of its current chairman, Howard Dean.

For nearly four years, Howard has served our party and our nation as a visionary and effective leader. He launched a 50-state strategy that made Democrats competitive in places they had not been in years, working with my chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, to give Democrats a majority in the House for the first time in over a decade.