On Election Day, we spoke to some of the thousands of people as they gathered in Grant Park in Chicago before Barack's Election Night speech:

As one supporter said:

He can't do it by himself... He has to do it with each and every one of us. Just like we showed up to the polls today to cast our vote, we have to continue to show up and do what we're suppossed to do... to help this world be a better place.

Over the past two years grassroots supporters across the country have shown up, day after day, to work for change. For many of you, we know that this is just the beginning. We want your feedback on what's next and where we go from here. You can also share your memorable stories and experiences over the course of this historic campaign.

One of the most inspiring things about this campaign was to see how generous people actually are when they are exposed to tools and information that they can use for the greater good. -- Jade from Rochester, New York

Two weeks after Election Day, supporters are continuing to use the online tools at My.BarackObama.com to gather together to celebrate, to reconnect, and to find ways to stay involved politics and in their communities.

There are hundreds of events planned for the upcoming weeks. Cambridge, Massachusetts supporters are organizing a "Thank You Party" for which over 350 people have already signed up - so many that they had to relocate the meeting to a larger venue.

In Michigan City, Indiana a "One Month Anniversary Celebration" already has nearly 60 members from a dozen local groups signed up to attend.  

In Sanford, Florida supporters are turning their attention to local issues.

Judy from Camdenton, Missouri reported that:

Camden County Missouri Obama volunteers are determined to stay together in the spirit of this movement! We are considering a community service mission. Our first projects may be helping some of the neighbors we canvassed: an elderly woman who needs someone to help with her fall leaves or another elderly neighbor who would just enjoy a post-election visit. Our field organizer David encouraged us from the beginning to keep our group together and as we grew in numbers and spirit we knew we had to keep moving forward.

And in Georgia, local supporters are using MyBO to help organize for the December 2nd Senate runoff. There are nearly 60 separate events scheduled in the upcoming days, including phonebanking, canvassing and organizational meetings (you can check out Georgia.BarackObama.com for the latest on the Georgia runoff).

Even though the 2008 presidential election has ended, the tools here at My.BarackObama.com remain active. You can still find events and groups near you, or reach out in your community and create your own. We've already seen that, as powerful as the tools themselves are, it's the relationships and groups that they've helped form that are one of the true strengths and lasting legacies of this campaign.

Today, Obama for America Campaign Manager David Plouffe sent out a message to supporters, asking them to share their feedback and help answer the question, "Where we go from here."

Please take a few minutes and help shape the future of this movement.

Share your campaign experience and your thoughts on the best way to keep supporting our agenda for change.

The inauguration is just 63 days away, and as President-elect Obama and Vice President-elect Biden prepare to take office, they'll need your support more than ever.

You've built an organization in your community and across the country that will continue to work for change -- whether it's by building grassroots support for legislation, backing state and local candidates, or sharing organizing techniques to effect change in your neighborhood.

Your hard work built this movement. Now it's up to you to decide how we move forward.

Take this short survey and share your ideas.

Thanks to you, this country has an historic opportunity. Electing Barack was the first big step, but there's a lot of challenging and important work ahead.

Together, we can keep making history,

David

David Plouffe
Campaign Manager
Obama for America

From Pennsylvania:

Last night, 60 Minutes aired the first interview with President-elect Barack Obama and his wife Michelle since Election Night. The 41 minute interview covers a wide range of topics, including the economy, the ailing automobile industry, the $700 billion bailout program, the personal adjustments the two have made in their new roles and the promise they made to their daughters for a family dog.

In case you missed it, or if you want to watch again, you can see the full interview below:

Over the past few days, wildfires in Southern California have destroyed nearly 900 homes and burned over 37,000 acres of land, forcing many more families to evacuate their communities. 

Our thoughts and prayers go out to those who have been affected by the fires.

The Red Cross and Salvation Army are coordinating relief for the victims, and volunteers on the ground are being organized to help with long-term recovery efforts in the days and months to come. If you live in or near Southern California you can volunteer now, and no matter where you live you can help by donating to the relief efforts.

Throughout the campaign, we saw time and again that when ordinary people act together, they can make a huge difference.

Visit CaliforniaVolunteers.org for more information on how you can help.

Today, President-elect Barack Obama resigned his Senate seat and he sent the thank-you letter below to newspapers across Illinois:

Obama's Letter to the People of Illinois

November 16, 2008

BY PRESIDENT-ELECT BARACK OBAMA

Today, I am ending one journey to begin another. After serving the people of Illinois in the United States Senate -- one of the highest honors and privileges of my life -- I am stepping down as senator to prepare for the responsibilities I will assume as our nation's next president. But I will never forget, and will forever be grateful, to the men and women of this great state who made my life in public service possible.

More than two decades ago, I arrived in Illinois as a young man eager to do my part in building a better America. On the South Side of Chicago, I worked with families who had lost jobs and lost hope when the local steel plant closed. It wasn't easy, but we slowly rebuilt those neighborhoods one block at a time, and in the process I received the best education I ever had. It's an education that led me to organize a voter registration project in Chicago, stand up for the rights of Illinois families as an attorney and eventually run for the Illinois state Senate.

It was in Springfield, in the heartland of America, where I saw all that is America converge -- farmers and teachers, businessmen and laborers, all of them with a story to tell, all of them seeking a seat at the table, all of them clamoring to be heard. It was there that I learned to disagree without being disagreeable; to seek compromise while holding fast to those principles that can never be compromised, and to always assume the best in people instead of the worst. Later, when I made the decision to run for the United States Senate, the core decency and generosity of the American people is exactly what I saw as I traveled across our great state -- from Chicago to Cairo; from Decatur to Quincy.

I still remember the young woman in East St. Louis who had the grades, the drive and the will but not the money to go to college. I remember the young men and women I met at VFW halls across the state who serve our nation bravely in Iraq and Afghanistan. And I will never forget the workers in Galesburg who faced the closing of a plant they had given their lives to, who wondered how they would provide health care to their sick children with no job and little savings.

Stories like these are why I came to Illinois all those years ago, and they will stay with me when I go to the White House in January. The challenges we face as a nation are now more numerous and difficult than when I first arrived in Chicago, but I have no doubt that we can meet them. For throughout my years in Illinois, I have heard hope as often as I have heard heartache. Where I have seen struggle, I have seen great strength. And in a state as broad and diverse in background and belief as any in our nation, I have found a spirit of unity and purpose that can steer us through the most troubled waters.

It was long ago that another son of Illinois left for Washington. A greater man who spoke to a nation far more divided, Abraham Lincoln, said of his home, "To this place, and the kindness of these people, I owe everything." Today, I feel the same, and like Lincoln, I ask for your support, your prayers, and for us to "confidently hope that all will yet be well."

With your help, along with the service and sacrifice of Americans across the nation who are hungry for change and ready to bring it about, I have faith that all will in fact be well. And it is with that faith, and the high hopes I have for the enduring power of the American idea, that I offer the people of my beloved home a very affectionate thanks.

"The climate has made millions of Americans who haven't been involved in a political campaign ever in their lifetimes very active. We estimate that 70 percent of our grass-roots volunteers haven't worked in a campaign before. . . . We're somewhere just shy of 2 million volunteers, and we think we can potentially triple that on Election Day." - Deputy Campaign Manager Steve Hildebrand

One of the most amazing aspects of the grassroots movement that grew alongside this campaign is the number of people within it who had never been involved in politics before, had never seen themselves as political or had never known the role that an individual can play. For many of them, this campaign has provided a chance to learn not just about politics, but about their communities and themselves. 

Kimberlee from Kentucky explained what she learned from this experience:

What have you learned along the way?

On the afternoon of November 4th, with the work of the election almost done but the results still unknown, one of the members of the National Call Team, Eleanor in Clovis, California took a moment to record her story and the part she played leading up to this moment. She wrote on the group blog:

I signed up for Camp Obama thinking that I was going to stuff envelopes - not actually talk to real people....especially people across our nation. That myth was shattered quickly and happily. After my first calls to New Mexico, I became hooked. I called from the office on Shaw and Maroa, my home, and at Obama gatherings on the weekends. I talked with people in Ohio, Virginia, Nevada,Colorado, Missouri, and Pennsylvania. I have forged bonds with those who both supported Obama and were on the fence. One theme emerged after each session: the need to reduce the division and heal the broken promises. Some felt betrayed by politicians, others had a need to say everything bad about one candidate or another. Each time, I found a way to meet halfway.

I learned that the folks in Ohio were so friendly and kind. Even if they were voting for another candidate, they were nice about it. Virgina was close behind.

...I learned about the lives of so many folks. First, the pundits are wrong. Age is not a barrier to reasoning the better candidate. The wisest voters were those who were chronologically older but of a much younger spirit. One woman who was in her eighties shared that she cast her vote for Obama for her grandchildren so they would not have to die in Iraq. I think those who experience the worst of hard times know what is ahead and want to protect their families from the pain they recall.

Serving as a volunteer on the phonebank has enriched my life and left me feeling that our nation has grown into that purple majesties...the reds and blues have seeped together to form a purple hue.

Of Election Day itself, Eleanor wrote:

Today is a day to remember. Today is a day to cherish... I am proud that I could make a small -- less than small, a fraction of a fraction -- contribution to the whole that I now feel a part of.

Millions of volunteers like Eleanor played their own small part in this campaign, making phone calls, knocking doors, organizing. The online community here has provided a way not just for supporters to connect with the campaign and contribute to the work at hand, but to share their experiences as well. Together you're building a record of a moment in history. 

What part did you play, and what did you learn from your experience with this campaign?

And above all, I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it’s been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years – block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand. – Barack Obama, Election Night 2008   

The 2008 presidential campaign was one of the longest and largest in history. With the help millions of individuals who invested in this movement for change, we were able to build sophisticated voter contact and get out the vote operations in over a dozen battleground states. But from Iowa onward, the foundation for it all was a grassroots, door to door outreach effort not seen in presidential politics for a generation. 

In mid-October, weeks before the final GOTV push even began, a volunteer named Johnny knocked on a door in Ohio and spoke to the 10 millionth person contacted by the Obama campaign:

Johnny and Jason's meeting is just one of countless stories from the past 21 months, but in many ways these small stories are the story of this campaign – the story of ordinary people reconnecting to politics and to their communities, finding a voice and the means to make a difference.

These are stories worth telling, worth sharing and worth remembering. They're the key to understanding not just what happened over the course of these last 21 months, but what can happen next. 

Take a moment tonight to share your own story about your experience with this grassroots campaign, what you saw and the part you played, what you learned and the lessons you'll take away.

On the night of November 4th a long, collective journey culminated with Barack Obama being declared the president-elect. It was an historic event, and one that would not have been possible without a grassroots network of supporters that spanned the country.

For many people, their first real connection to that network was here on this site, either through the blog or through the groups and events on My.BarackObama.com. Together, these supporters used the online tools to communicate, raise money, make phone calls, and organize. More than 1.5 million users formed over 30,000 groups and created over 200,000 offline events, culminating in a massive Election Day get out the vote effort unlike any that had ever been seen before.

One week later, even as offices across the country are being closed down and cleaned out, the MyBO group listservs are still active, the comments on the blog remain lively, and offline events continue to spring up on My.BarackObama. As Dan in Phoenix, Arizona explained:

[MyBO] is just too dynamic and has been truly home to so many people over the past 22 months that it just couldn't die. Kind of reminds me of the famous line from Frankenstein, "It's Alive!"

One week later, MyBO is in fact very much alive and well.

In addition to the countless inauguration parties and election victory celebrations being planned across the country, a number of people have been inspired by the call for community service and volunteerism that has been a part of Barack's message from the beginning. 

In Seattle, a small group is meeting this Saturday for a community service project to clean up Rainier Valley.

In Los Angeles, Blue Star Family Members for Obama are planning to attend as a group a benefit concert for the USO. 

In New Orleans, grassroots supporters are organizing a "Fathers Meeting" to discuss how men in their community can become more active in the lives of their families. 

In Florida, a group is using MyBO to promote pet adoption, inviting people to the Alachua County Animal Service's "Adoptahon" and Open House, and a supporter in Highland Park, Illinois is using MyBO to organize a new book club.

As Chris Hughes explained last week:

What has made My.BarackObama unique hasn't been the technology itself, but the people who used the online tools to coordinate offline action. My.BarackObama has always been focused on using online tools to make real-world connections between people who are hungry to change our politics in this country.

You can still find events and groups near you, or reach out in your community and create your own. The tools here are your tools now -- they always have been.

Here's a closer look at the limited edition 2008 Victory t-shirt, which is available now with a donation of $30 or more:

Your donation will help provide resources for the Democratic National Committee, whose 50-state field program played a crucial role in this election. It took unprecedented resources to staff up all 50 states, train field organizers, and help build the infrastructure for our field program, and the DNC held nothing back. We saw the results on Election Night, and we'll continue to see the legacy of those efforts in an electoral map that now looks much different than the ones before.

From the beginning, this campaign has been an investment -- in people and resources that have created an infrastructure to accomplish real change. Our grassroots supporters are part of that infrastructure now, and through your work we've shown that change can happen. 

As reported on Change.gov, the office of the President-elect Barack Obama today announced the strictest, and most far reaching ethics rules of any transition team in history. The rules are:

• Federal Lobbyists cannot contribute financially to the transition.
• Federal lobbyists are prohibited from any lobbying during their work with the transition.

• If someone has lobbied in the last 12 months, they are prohibited from working in the fields of policy on which they lobbied.
• If someone becomes a lobbyist after working on the Transition, they are prohibited from lobbying the Administration for 12 months on matters on which they worked.
• A gift ban that is aggressive in reducing the influence of special interests.

Norm Ornstein, from the American Enterprise Institute, said in relation to the announcement:

Restoring trust in government is a prerequisite to enacting good policy and the tough choices the country needs. This ethics policy for the transition is a far-reaching, bold and constructive step to do just that. The policy may exclude some good people with deep experience in their fields, but it will also exclude those who see government service as a springboard to financial success, or who are more intent on pleasing future potential employers or clients than making tough choices in the public interest. As much as anything, this ethics policy is a statement about the tone and tenor of the Obama administration. It is a good sign.

Read more reactions to today's announcement . . .

In observance of Veterans Day, President-elect Barack Obama today released the following statement on Change.gov:

As we mark Veterans Day, all Americans are united in honoring the extraordinary service and selfless sacrifice of our nation's veterans. Our veterans are part of an unbroken line of heroes who have defended the American people and stood up for American values - from the beaches of Normandy to the battles in East Asia; from the deserts of Kuwait to the skies above Kosovo; from the cities of Iraq to the mountains of Afghanistan. Since 9/11, a new generation of American heroes has borne a heavy load in facing down the threats of the 21st century, and their families have been asked to bear the painful absence of a loved one. These Americans are the best and bravest among us, and they are all in our thoughts and prayers.

"On this Veterans Day, let us rededicate ourselves to keep a sacred trust with all who have worn the uniform of the United States of America: that America will serve you as well as you have served your country. As your next Commander-in-Chief, I promise to work every single day to keep that sacred trust with all who have served. May God bless our veterans, and may God bless the United States of America.