During his 3 PM (EST) statement at the White House in response to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s resignation, President Obama said, “Egypt will never be the same … Over the last two weeks the wheel of history turned at a blinding pace as the Egyptian people demanded their universal rights.”

Obama said that throughout the course of the revolution the rest of the world watched a new generation emerge. He promoted the ideals of dignity, nonviolence, and peaceful protest, and referenced similar protests throughout the course of history.

“There’s something in the soul that cries out for freedom,” Obama said, quoting Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Although Obama was congratulatory in tone, he cautioned that Egypt must remain a responsible leader in the world by lifting emergency law, revising the constitution and holding fair and free elections.

“This is the power of human dignity,” Obama said, speaking of the inspiration that spread from Tahrir Square to the rest of the world.