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WASHINGTON -- "America has spoken," President Bush said Wednesday as he claimed a second term and appealed to voters -- even those who opposed his candidacy -- to back his agenda.

"I'm humbled by the trust and the confidence of my fellow citizens," Bush told hundreds of Republican supporters gathered two blocks from the White House after a long night of poll watching and uncertainty. "With that trust comes a duty to serve all Americans. And I will do my best to fulfill that duty every day as your president."

The president outlined the short but ambitious goals that will define his next four years in office -- fighting the war on terrorism, pressing for stable democracies in Iraq and Afghanistan, simplifying the tax code, allowing younger workers to invest some of their Social Security withholdings in the stock market, raising accountability standards in public schools and upholding "our deepest values and family and faith."

Bush tried to reach out to the 55 million voters who chose Democratic Sen. John Kerry instead of him. Many of those voters said they weren't enthusiastic backers of the Democrat but rather strong opponents of the president's policies, including the invasion of Iraq.

"Today I want to speak to every person who voted for my opponent," Bush said. "To make this nation stronger and better, I will need your support and I will work to earn it. I will do all I can do to deserve your trust."

"A new term is a new opportunity to reach out to the whole nation," he added. "We have one country, one Constitution, and one future that binds us. And when we come together and work together, there is no limit to the greatness of America."

And he congratulated Kerry, despite the strikingly long, expensive and negative campaign the two waged.

"We had a really good phone call," Bush said of their phone conversation earlier in the day. "He was very gracious. Senator Kerry waged a spirited campaign, and he and his supporters can be proud of their efforts."

The celebratory tones were subdued -- but not absent.

"We had a long night, and a great night," the president said. "And because you did the incredible work, we are celebrating today. ... The campaign has ended, and the United States of America goes forward with confidence and faith."

There was no mention of the indignities that re-election spares the president: He will not repeat his father's failure to earn a second term in the Oval Office and he will not become the nation's first wartime president to be booted from office.

En route to his appearance, Bush's motorcade was extra-long at more than two-dozen vehicles. Several hundred people lined the streets, almost all clapping and cheering, many holding Bush-Cheney signs. One man shook pompoms and yelled "hey hey hey!" A lone demonstrator held a sign that read, "More Bush, more lies."

He appeared on stage with first lady Laura Bush and their twin daughters, Barbara and Jenna, by his side. Vice President Dick Cheney, his wife, Lynne, and their daughters were there as well.

Cheney reintroduced the president to the nation and sounded the refrain sure to become a mantra for the new Bush White House. The vice president seized on Bush's popular vote majority and claimed for the president the mandate he failed to win in his disputed 2000 victory.

"The result is now clear: a record voter turnout and a broad, nationwide victory," Cheney said. "President Bush ran forthrightly on a clear agenda for this nation's future and the nation responded by giving him a mandate."

The president had hoped to give his victory speech much earlier than, but the election stayed close through the night and the Democrats indicated they might keep fighting for Ohio. Then Kerry conceded.

In their telephone exchange that came at 11:02 a.m., Bush told the Massachusetts senator, "I think you were an admirable, worthy opponent" and waged "one tough campaign," according to White House press secretary Scott McClellan.