Obama tears up as he thanks campaign staff: 'I'm really proud of all of you'

In a video published to YouTube by the Obama campaign, the newly reelected president is featured wiping away tears as he thanks volunteers and campaign aides for their hard work, telling them, "I'm really proud of all of you."

The president explained that when he worked as community organizer in Chicago, he had no idea what he was doing, but the experience shaped him in a profound way. "I grew up -- I became a man during that process," he said. "So, when I come here and I look at all of you, what comes to mind is not that you guys actually remind me of myself, it's the fact that you are so much better than I was in so many ways."

"I'm absolutely confident that all of you are going to do just amazing things with your lives," Obama continued. "You'll be what Bobby Kennedy called the ripples of hope, that come out when you throw a stone in the lake. That's going to be you."

The president added that even before the election was decided on Tuesday night, "I felt the work that I had done had come full circle."

"What you guys have done means that the work that I'm doing is important, and I'm really proud of that," he said, wiping away tears. "I'm really proud of all of you. What you guys accomplished will go on in the annals of history. People will read about it and people will marvel about it. But the most important thing you need to know is that your journey is just beginning. You're just starting. Whatever good we do over the next four years will pale in comparison to what you guys end up accomplishing for years and years to come."

This video was published to YouTube on November 8, 2012. President Obama tears up around 3:25.