Last night was unbelievable. Last night was once in a lifetime. Last night was a vindication. Last night I finally smiled and breathed a sigh of relief. Last night was the warm, welcoming embrace that will hopefully led us out of the deep abyss of despair and abhorrence.
A month ago, I mentioned that Obama's nomination by the Democratic party was like a revelation. This could really happen. A real challenge to the purported equality and egalitarianism of this country that I so very much love with all my heart.
Last night things changed forever.
Yesterday started early for me. Like many Americans, I had to work on the same day that our General Election takes place. This meant an early start to the morning to wait in line at the polls. Remarkably, the line was short at my polling station. The decision was easy and quick. I stared at the bubble that I filled in on the ballot. I thought to myself quietly, "Please, Lord, let this happen."
The rest of the day at work was long and uneventful. Being on the West Coast, any results wouldn't be released until about 4:30pm. I made plans to meet up with my good friend DLee (short for Dan Lee) in Seattle at our old college pub. 4:30 finally came and the news started to roll in. I had a brief flashback to 2004 and remembering how terrible Kerry underperformed on election day. But then, tantalizing and wonderful news started to come in. Indiana was in play! Obama was leading in Florida! Virginia was too close to call! Obama was leading in Ohio! Reluctantly, I had to leave work and drive into the city and hopefully, I wouldn't miss the celebration. This was going to be a rout!
An hour later, I finally hit the old wateringhole, Bill's Off Broadway. I ordered up a pitcher for myself and DLee and I was shocked at the news on the screen - McCain was still hanging in there. Ohio was still in the balance, and Florida was really really close. Indiana was to close to call. Flashbacks to that fateful night 8 years ago and remembering the litigation and constant disappointment and anger. Four years ago at this very same time, I was lamenting how terrible a campaign Kerry ran. Then, suddenly the TV screen flashed, OHIO TO OBAMA. The bar immediately erupted in cheers. I sent several text messages and started to completely and fully believe.
Prior to this moment, I would always mention to people that Obama wasn't elected yet. Anything can happen on Election Day as 2000 and 1992 showed. These things were not decided by Gallup polls or exit polls. I am not a superstitious person but I'd rather not be overconfident. With Ohio's votes going to Obama, I slowly realized "This is it! this is going to happen!".
Florida was going to Obama. He is at about 200 electoral votes now. A sweep across the West Coast of the US could give him the presidency. This is really going to happen. But then, no news for minutes and minutes. The polls in Washington didn't close until 8pm and the wait was making everyone anxious. Pizza and some beer helped pass the time. DLee was practically cheering and making plans to the victory party. My cynical and cautious side began to perk up again. This is too close, he should be crushing him. The entire southern US was going red.
Perhaps you are reading this and wondering why would I be so negative? Ohio and Florida seals the deal, game over. But in an election were the main questions about Obama were fictional things like "Is he really a Muslim?", "was he actually born in the US?", "I heard he went to school in a madrassa.", "I just can't trust him", I had a very hard time believing that white America would elect a black man as president. Just 30 years ago there were still States were interracial marriage was illegal. Think about that, it wasn't just frowned upon. It was ILLEGAL, which meant you could go to jail for simply falling in love. When Barack was born in 1961, there were over 30 states were miscegenation was absolutely and positively illegal.
And like a bolt of lightning, the entire West Coast of the United States was covered in blue, 270 electoral votes, its over. I jumped out of my seat and cheered. The entire bar erupted like nothing I've ever heard before. I started high fiving people around me. Jesse Jackson is crying on TV, Oprah was there screaming her heart out. McCain came on TV and gave his concession speech. The entire bar was remarkably quiet during the entire speech. Boom, there it is, I remember saying (not my most poetic moment but it happens). I ran outside to call my parents and I could barely them as the entire city of Seattle was honking their car horns in celebration.
Back in the bar, we just started waiting for Barack's speech, the victory lap, the moment many of us have been waiting for 8 years. When he appeared on that stage in Chicago's Grant Park, people in the pub were standing up and applauding...applauding the screen! Unbelievable! His speech started and there was absolute silence all around me. I said to my buddy, "Are you ready for 4 years of this?" A nod and a smile was all that I got in return.
A very interesting and telling moment encapsulated the entire campaign. Earlier when McCain gave his concession speech, he mentioned how proud he was of Obama, and McCain's supporter started to boo loudly. During Obama's victory speech, cheers rang out when McCain was mentioned. It was a poignant moment.
After the speech, we cheered and drank, more high fives, more cheers. After all of this, I needed to get some fresh air and I wanted to see the revelry outside. Once DLee and I hit the street, the sound was overwhelming. Car horns were blaring and people were just cheering, cheering out loud. I have never seen anything like it before. People were just happy. It was like a great weight was lifted off our shoulders and we were just happy. Walking around the neighborhood, people would randomly hug me and I would dole out as many high-fives, pats on the back, and congratulations as I could. I was to put it simply, euphoric.
A few blocks away, we found that people just stopped traffic and were dancing in the streets. In a scene that was repeated all across America and the world, we cheered, chanted, and danced in the middle of street with over a thousand people. Chants of "O! Ba! Ma!" were common, but what was remarkable were the chants of "USA! USA! USA!". Later on, I would find out that if anything young people in my demographic voted in record numbers. 70% of our demographic voted for Obama. In a sense, we helped usher in a new era. In Indiana (a state that Bush won by 20 points in 2004), the youth vote was the deciding factor.
The scene was unbelievable, even the police seemed happy. The local grocery store sold out of champagne. There were no fights, no arguments, no anti-McCain or Republican chants. We were just happy and joyous. In all my experience, I have never seen Americans react like this after an election.
Of course, the work is not finished. The rising of the sun tomorrow will not solve our problems. January 20th will not fix everything. Work is to be done, and for the first time in 8 years, the nation has a lot of reason to hope.
This was a vindication. This was for Dr King. This was to finish what RFK started. This was unbelievable but it really happened, and I was there.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jll5baCAaQU
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/05/the-monster-years/
http://www.king5.com/video/index.html?nvid=300108
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/7710108.stm
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