than 220
y e a r s .
B u t
finally,
we have
made history in
America. By electing Barack
Obama our first African-
American president, the
United States can finally
stand up and say that we are
among the civilized nations
that saw their dreams and
helped to realize those
dreams.
Americans all
throughout the
country cast their
ballots on
Tuesday. This
election mattered
to people.
Not in 40 years
have we seen
this much excitement
over a presidential
choice.
Even young people
became grippingly
engaged. This election no
doubt divided people, but the
time for healing has begun.
America voted with exuberance
and passion, and that
same passion should be used
to bring our country back
together.
If your candidate lost, it’s
not time to live in spite. It was
a hard fought election that
was carried through by the
winds of change. People were
tired of the last eight years,
and that’s what helped propel
this election in the direction
it went. Granted, John
McCain did make some catastrophic
mistakes.
He should never have
admitted that he didn’t know
much about economics,
which was a strange decision.
He also should not have chosen
Sarah Palin as his running
mate. She proved over and
over again that she was not
intellectual enough to even
sniff the West Wing. Had he
chosen an economics-minded
VP like Mitt Romney, he
might have had a better
chance.
How different would this
election have been like if
Hillary Clinton had won the
Democratic nomination? She
likely would have lost the
Western swing states, but she
would have done better in
states like West Virginia,
Kentucky, Tennessee and
Arkansas. It would be an
interesting race.
But it’s now Obama’s
chance to rewrite the history
books. The first African-
American president in our
history will have much to
deal with in the form of two
wars, an economic recession,
an ever increasing culture
war in our country, and a rising
debt that only gets larger
by the day. Can Obama really
deliver on the change he
promises if he has this much
to deal with? One would
hope so, but pessimism has to
be in the back of your head.
It seemed a long time coming,
and for the many of us
that watched 2000 and 2004
and were heartbroken after
each long drawn out election
night, it was nice to see our
candidate win when it was
still Tuesday. Granted, I started
to feel good about his
chances when Pennsylvania
was called, and knew he was
going to win when Ohio was
called.
With such a strong mandate
for change, Obama can now
go into the White House on
Jan. 20 with the knowledge
that he is the chosen candidate
by a vast majority of our
country.
We want him, we’ll stick by
him, and we’ll fight for him
as he fights for us.