An emotional Condoleezza Rice praises President-elect Obama

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice congratulated President-elect Barack Obama on his victory this week in an emotional moment rarely seen by a high ranking U.S. public official.

Rice called Obama's election an "extraordinary election" for America.

"This was an exercise in American democracy of which Americans across the political spectrum are justifiably proud," Rice said. The Secretary praised Senator John McCain, who she said had been "gracious" in his concession speech and called him "a great patriot." But she spent most of her brief press conference praising the newly elected president.

"I want to note that President-elect Obama was inspirational and I'm certain he will continue to be," Rice said. "One of the great things about representing this country is that it continues to surprise. It continues to renew itself. It continues to beat all odds and expectations," she added.

In a reference to the preamble of the Constitution, Rice said "Americans are not going to be satisfied until they really do form that perfect union. And while the perfect union may never be in sight, we just keep working at it and trying."

"As an African-American, I'm especially proud because this is a country that's been through a long journey in terms of overcoming wounds and making race not the factor in our lives," Rice said. "That work is not done, but yesterday was obviously an extraordinary step forward."

Rice was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama and succeeded the first black secretary of state, Colin Powell, and the first female secretary of state, Madeleine Albright.

The full video is available on CNN's web site.