| Nov052008 | Forty-four |
FYI: This entry was written at 6am on November 5th, 2008.
The results are in and I’ve been proven to be… cynical. All the talk of the voter suppression and disenfranchisement that occurred in previous elections was unnecessary because Obama has won the presidency with hugely strong numbers. Not to say that the voting process can’t be improved but the last thing America needs is another election in limbo.
I am still very concerned about California’s Prop 8. The latest numbers show the Yes vote has a small lead at 51.9% (Yes means gay marriage is banned). It looks like America is still not ready for this.
Photo from the front page of BBC News. No apparent photographer credit.
It’s an incredible time to live in America. A new milestone in the ongoing history and conversation of race. A return to making politics about dealing with real, national problems. A powerful injection of enthusiasm for the democracy. I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that American voters picked the better candidate and the best man won.
McCain gave a very gracious concession speech. He worked to quell the boos that still followed every mention of Barack Obama and he asked for unity. I think this is only the first step in bridging the rift that the McCain-Palin campaign has encouraged but I cut McCain slack because he did just lose a very long and very expensive race. The fact that he’s still standing tall is testament to how tough this guy is. I really hope his actions from this point forward reflect the sentiment of his speech.
Watching the coverage tonight, I was still completely baffled about how the pundits call it. Pennsylvania was called early for Obama and I just knew that this was it. If McCain couldn’t gain any ground in PA after devoting so much of his resources there, then this election is not going to swing his way. Then Ohio slipped out of his grasp and it was all over. I have no idea how they called Ohio with only 20-something percent reporting but they did and it looks like they were right. Other plesant surprises that I found this morning were: Virginia, Colorado and Florida for Obama and the close race in North Carolina.
President-elect Barack Obama has shaken the cynicism out of a lot of people. From party members to new voters to people that had given up on politics to the political pundits themselves. Now he’s redrawn the lines between blue states and red states and my hope is that he continues to blur these lines and forge ahead with his message of unity and cooperation.
Hand on my heart, I don’t think I’ll ever be this moved by politics ever again. I’m overwhelmed.
| More? |
|
