The President. Thank you. I think that's just been arranged.

Well, thank you all very much. It seems we did this 4 years ago, and let me just say, well, you know, good habits are hard to break.

Just a short time ago, Walter Mondale phoned me, and to -- --

Audience. Boo-o-o!

The President. No -- to concede. He told me the people had made their decision and, therefore, we were all Americans, we'd go forward together.

But Nancy and I would like to express -- --

Audience. Nancy! Nancy! Nancy!

The President. They're yelling for you. They're yelling for you. Nancy, Nancy.

Audience. Nancy! Nancy! Nancy!

Mrs. Reagan. Thank you.

The President. Nancy thanks you.

You know, we could spend the rest of the next 4 years thanking all of those who have made this night possible. But there are a few I'd like to mention this evening. First, Nancy and I want to express our warmth and our deep gratitude to George and Barbara Bush.

Audience. Bush! Bush! Bush!

The President. And, George, if you're watching down there in Texas, thank you for campaigning so magnificently all across this country. And believe me, I'm very proud to have you as my partner for this next term. As far as I'm concerned, there has never been a finer Vice President.

And a thank you, too, to Paul Laxalt, our campaign chairman. Paul is in Washington, and I understand he's there watching in a room like this with people like yourself who are there for the same reason. And there is no better personal friend than I've ever had, and there's no better ally to have at your side when you're in a campaign.

And, Paul, we're grateful for all that you've done over the years. And all of you there in the Shoreham Hotel ballroom, a deep thanks for all that you have done.

And Paul would be the first to say how much help he had and what an outstanding job was done by Ed Rollins, our campaign director. And, Ed, please know how grateful I am for the way you put together the finest campaign organization, I think, in the history of American politics.

Our thanks, too, to Mayor Margaret Hance, our deputy campaign chairwoman. She gave of her time so generously.

Back in Washington, we owe so much to the great work of the Republican National Committee and its chairman, Frank Fahrenkopf. Frank and all those dedicated people who worked with him gave -- well, they give politics a good name. We wouldn't have enjoyed this victory tonight without them.

And now, I have a special thank you for something that began here in this State almost 20 years ago. First by the dozens, and then by the hundreds, and finally by the thousands, we've seen our friends, all of you volunteers and workers who came to our side to help. From California, then across the United States, you have each given selflessly of yourselves. And I have no words to properly thank you for all that you've done.

We set out, I remember back those almost 20 years ago, and said that we could start a prairie fire here in California, one that would capture the intensity of our devotion to freedom and the strength of our commitment to American ideals.

Well, we began to carry a message to every corner of the Nation, a simple message. The message is: Here in America, the people are in charge. And that's really why we're here tonight. This electoral victory belongs to you and the principles that you cling to -- principles struck by the brilliance and bravery of patriots more than 200 years ago. They set forth the course of liberty and hope that makes our country special in the world. To the extent that what has happened today reaffirms those principles, we are part of that prairie fire that we still think defines America -- a fire of hope that will keep alive the promise of opportunity as we head into the next century.

Four years ago, when we celebrated victory in this same room, our country was faced by some deep and serious problems. But instead of complaining together, we rolled up our sleeves and began working together.

We said we would get inflation under control, and we did. We said we would get America working again, and we've created more than 6\1/2\ million new jobs. We said that we would work to restore traditional values in our society, and we have begun. And we said that we would slow down the growth of government and the rate of its spending increases, and we did. We said we'd get interest rates down, and we did. We said we would rebuild our defenses and make America prepared for peace, and we have.

Now, I wish I could take credit for this, but -- --

Audience. Yes!

The President. -- -- but the credit -- no, the credit belongs to the American people, to each of you.

Our work isn't finished; there's much more to be done. We want to make every family more secure, to help those in our inner cities, on our farms, and in some of our older industries which are not yet back on their feet. And the recovery will not be complete until it's complete for everyone.

By rebuilding our strength, we can bring ourselves closer to the day when all nations can begin to reduce nuclear weapons and ultimately banish them from the Earth entirely.

You know, so many people act as if this election means the end of something -- --

Audience. No!

The President. The vision we outlined in 1980, indeed the passion of the fire that we kept burning for two decades, doesn't die just because 4 years have passed. To each one of you I say: Tonight is the end of nothing; it's the beginning of everything.

Audience. 4 more years! 4 more years! 4 more years!

The President. All right.

Audience. 4 more years! 4 more years! 4 more years!

The President. All right. Okay. All right.

What we've done only prepares us for what we're going to do. We must continue -- not only into those next 4 years but into the next decade and the next century -- to meet our goal of sustained economic growth without inflation and to keep America strong.

Our society is a society of unlimited opportunity which will reach out to every American and includes lifting the weak and nurturing the less fortunate.

We fought many years for our principles. Now we'll work to keep those principles in practice. That's what we have to leave to our children, and to their children, and they are what this campaign was all about.

We've come together again. We're united again. And now, let's start building together and keep the prairie fire alive. And let's never stop shaping that society which lets each person's dreams unfold into a life of unending hope. America's best days lie ahead. And, you know, you'll forgive me, I'm going to do it just one more time: You ain't seen nothin' yet.

God bless you. Thank you all very much. Thank you.

Note: The President spoke at 9:31 p.m. in the Los Angeles Ballroom at the Century Plaza Hotel.

Earlier in the evening, the President received congratulatory telephone calls from the Vice President, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney of Canada, Crown Prince 'Abdallah of Saudi Arabia, and Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone of Japan. Later that evening, he received a telephone call from Walter Mondale.

At the hotel, the President spent time with members of his family and attended receptions for administration and campaign officials.