Wednesday, December 24, 2008 1:19 PM

Obama Delivers Holiday Message

By MARY GILBERT

President-elect Barack Obama addressed a troubled nation on Christmas Eve, acknowledging the challenges that many Americans are facing this holiday season while promising to carry a sense of "common purpose" into the first days of his new administration.

Obama opened his radio/YouTube address by thanking the "brave men and women" serving overseas, as well as the families who will have to celebrate without them this year. "Their extraordinary and selfless sacrifice is an inspiration to us all, and part of the unbroken line of heroism that has made our freedom and prosperity possible for over two centuries," Obama said, promising to keep the troops in his prayers and asking all Americans to "continue to offer them our full support."

The President-elect also sympathized with those "struggling" to stay afloat as the economy continues to sink. "Now, more than ever, we must rededicate ourselves to the notion that we share a common destiny as Americans; that I am my brother's keeper, I am my sister's keeper," he said, making a biblical reference he has returned to often in his speeches. Obama vowed that this spirit of service to one another "will guide my administration in the New Year" and predicted that, if Americans work together to come up with "new ideas and new innovation," the country will move forward into better times.

Finally, Obama drew a historical parallel to the Christmas 232 years ago when George Washington and his men crossed the Delaware River, winning a surprise victory against the British and giving "new hope to the cause of independence." The lesson that Americans have carried forth since 1776 -- and which particularly applies today as we face an uphill climb to get the country back on the right track, he says -- is "that hope endures, and that a new birth of peace is always possible."