Hillary Clinton Concedes: ‘This Is Painful, And It Will Be For a Long Time’ Democratic nominee says ‘we must accept this result,’ look to the future By Colleen McCain Nelson

http://www.wsj.com/articles/hillary-clinton-concedes-this-is-painful-and-it-will-be-for-a-long-time-1478710250

Democrat Hillary Clinton publicly conceded her loss to Republican Donald Trump Wednesday, calling on the nation to give the president-elect a chance to lead while acknowledging that her defeat was deeply painful.

In a speech before supporters in New York, the former secretary of state said this election had revealed that the U.S. is “more deeply divided than we thought,” but she urged her allies to have an open mind about the man who will be the 45th president.

“We must accept this result,” she said. “Donald Trump is going to be our president.”

 Mrs. Clinton said she congratulated her Republican rival and offered to work with him for the good of the country. She asked her backers to “never stop believing that fighting for what’s right is worth it.”After suffering a shocking defeat at the hands of an opponent with no political experience, Mrs. Clinton’s decades-long career in public service came to a likely conclusion in the brief but somber speech. Fighting back emotion, she offered encouragement to the young leaders who would follow in her footsteps and revealed her own sadness about an abrupt ending that she didn’t appear to anticipate.

“This is not the outcome we wanted or we worked so hard for,” Mrs. Clinton said. “I know how disappointed you feel because I feel it, too…This is painful, and it will be for a long time.”

Mr. Trump pulled off one of the biggest upsets in political history on Tuesday, rolling up victories in key battlegrounds and notching unexpected wins in a few Democratic-leaning states. Mrs. Clinton had the edge in most polls leading into Election Day, but Mr. Trump rode a populist wave fueled by frustrated voters to win the presidency.

In her first public remarks since the election, Mrs. Clinton said she was proud to have been the champion for women across the country. CONTINUE AT SITE

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