Barack Obama Is Elected President

Barack Obama told the crowd that “the road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep.” (Source: Getty Images)

CHICAGO — Barack Obama defeated John McCain to become the first African American elected president of the U.S.

The 47-year-old Democratic senator from Illinois sealed his victory by defeatingMcCain in a string of wins in hard-fought battleground states — Ohio, Florida, Virginia, and Iowa.

“If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer,” said Obama in his acceptance speech.

He then went on to thank those who made his victory possible: “I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last sixteen years, the rock of our family and the love of my life, our nation’s next First Lady, Michelle Obama.  Sasha and Malia, I love you both so much, and you have earned the new puppy that’s coming with us to the White House.  And while she’s no longer with us, I know my grandmother is watching, along with the family that made me who I am.  I miss them tonight, and know that my debt to them is beyond measure.

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“But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to — it belongs to you.”

Before Obama made his way to Grant Park, McCain gave a concession speech from his home state of Arizona. “In a contest as long and difficult as this has been [Sen. Obama’s] success commands my respect for his ability and perseverance. He managed to do so much by inspiring the hopes of some millions of Americans who once wrongly believed they had little at stake or little influence in the election of an American president,” said McCain. “It is something I deeply admire and commend him for achieving. This is an historic election. I recognize the special significance it has for African Americans. And for the special pride that must be there tonight. I’ve always believed that America offers opportunities to all who have the industry and will to seize it. Senator Obama believes that, too.”

CHANGING POLITICS

Transformational is an adjective that has been frequently applied to Barack Obama and tonight he has transformed a nation. His victory comes 40 years after a period when some blacks weren’t even allowed to vote.

For the thousands of people who traveled to Obama’s election night celebration in Chicago’s Grant Park, hope took on new meaning tonight. This is especially true of those who live in the city’s poorest neighborhoods that continue to struggle from a history of racial discrimination and extreme economic strife.

“Jesse Jackson used to say that the hands that picked cotton now pick presidents,” says Robert Smith, a San Francisco State University political scientist. And given our history it’s particularly interesting that Obama’s actually an African American in the sense that he’s a direct descendant of an Africa rather than of slavery. It really closes the loop in a way because the son of an African has become the first black president of the United States.”

Vice President-elect Joe Biden, who also ran for vice president and his seventh term as a Delware senator candidate, will now serve Obama and all of the American people. According to the Associated Press, either outgoing Gov. Ruth Ann Minner or Gov.-elect Jack Markell, who is a democrat, will appoint Biden’s replacement.

President George W. Bush called Obama to offer his congratulations. “Mr. President-elect, congratulations to you. What an awesome night for you, your family and your supporters. Laura and I called to congratulate you and your good bride. … I promise to make this a smooth transition. You are about to go on one of the great journeys of life. Congratulations and go enjoy yourself,” Bush said, according to the White House.

Television cameras showed Rev. Jesse Jackson at Grant Park with tears streaming down on his face.

BITTERSWEET VICTORY

Obama’s victory was clearly bittersweet for coming right on the heels of the death of his beloved grandmother, who had nurtured him and helped lead him on this historic and momentous occasion. He appeared more somber than joyous as he delivered his remarks. But as one observer noted, it may be that he was simply feeling at peace now that he has finally reached the end of an extraordinarily difficult battle.

Earlier this year, few would have predicted tonight’s matchup between Obama and Republican rival Sen. John McCain. The GOP base had long been suspicious of McCain and Obama was considered to new on the scene to be taken seriously. New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, armed with the financial and human resources of a powerful political machine built over many years with husband former President Bill Clinton, was considered by most experts to be the Democratic frontrunner. “Who is he kidding?” most ordinary people wondered, including blacks, who in the past had automatically supported the largely symbolic presidential campaigns of Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., Al Sharpton, and others. He doesn’t have a chance.

As Obama noted tonight, “I was never the likeliest candidate for this office.  We didn’t start with much money or many endorsements.  Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington — it began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston.Â

It was built by working men and women who

dug into what little savings they had to give five dollars and ten dollars and twenty dollars to this cause.  It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation’s apathy; who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep; from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on the doors of perfect strangers; from the millions of Americans who volunteered, and organized, and proved that more than two centuries later, a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from this Earth.  This is your victory.”

After months of grueling primaries from coast to coast, the so-called neophyte out-organized, out-fundraised, and out-messaged the grande dame of Democratic politics, forcing Clinton to concede in June that he had the requisite number of delegates to move on to the general election match against McCain. Although there must have been a number of moments when he wished she had conceded earlier, perhaps Clinton did him an enormous favor. The extended primary season allowed Obama to hone both his campaigning skills and his message, almost like a boot camp to beat the Republican nominee.

Tonight, Clinton issued the following statement, “Tonight, we are celebrating an historic victory for the American people. This was a long and hard fought campaign but the result was well worth the wait. …For too long, middle class families in this country have felt invisible, struggling alone as wages stagnate, jobs disappear, and the costs of daily life climb upward. In quiet, solitary acts of citizenship, American voters gave voice to their hopes and their values, voted for change, and refused to be invisible any longer.

Change trumped experience and now hope has trumped culture. Once Wall Street collapsed and McCain made the fatal error of proclaiming the nation’s economy fundamentally sound, voters who never thought they’d vote for a Democrat much less a black man, put their personal issues aside and chose the candidate who offered the strongest economic prescriptions.

Already the nation’s president-elect appears to understand the enormity of the tasks that await him. “The road ahead will be long.  Our climb will be steep.  We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America — I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there.  I promise you — we as a people will get there.Â

“There will be setbacks and false starts.  There are many who won’t agree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know that government can’t solve every problem.  But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face.  I will listen to you, especially when we disagree.  And above all, I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it’s been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years -— block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand,” he told the crowd.Â

“Certainly Obama’s victory is historic and transformational, a symbol of how far America has come in its more than two-century struggle with the ideals of a democratic polity. I think it is a moment of immense pride and reflection for the American people. It’s not just that a populace elected a black president; rather, to paraphrase the immortal words of MLK, we all overcame a history of institutionalized racism and inequality,” says Larry Berman, a political scientist at the University of California, Davis.Â

But will this election truly change the dynamic of race relations in America? “Yes,” says Smith, “In the sense that African Americans will have a new sense of pride in the country and feel like it’s a better place. Whites will, too. This will bridge the racial divide with both groups having a new sense of appreciation for the country and its possibility.”Â

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