CHANGE COMES TO
AMERICA
By Matt Decker, Mandate Washington
DC
3.30am EST/8.30am GMT:
"It's been a long time coming, but tonight... change has
come to America," said President-Elect Barack Obama. And so it has.
'Historic' is an overused term - but if the election of the first black
President isn't historic then what is?
In the end, it turned out to be as convincing a result as
some recent polls predicted, with Obama now projected to win a total of
338 electoral college votes to McCain's 159 (he needed 270 to become
President). While Obama's campaign team were keen not to depress the vote
by sounding over-optimistic it had become clear in recent days here in
Washington that unless something remarkable happened, Obama was going to
win - and win big. Turnout was high across the country with some people
waiting hours to cast their ballot. In some areas turnout is reported to
be 'unprecedented'.
Obama appeared with his family, and his running mate Joe
Biden, before a crowd of tens of thousands in Grant Park, Chicago. Many
people in the vast crowd, which stretched back far into the Chicago night,
wept as Mr Obama spoke, including veteran civil rights leader Jesse
Jackson.
"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," he said.
Obama supporters spilled out onto the streets across the country. Here in Washington tens of thousands arrived for an impromptu street party on Pennsylvania Avenue, celebrating the election of the Senator from Illinois. It's hard to remember scenes like it in recent American political history.
Not only did Obama win the majority of the states expected to lean towards him, but he also made historic gains in states such as Virginia, Florida and Colorado. Mr Obama's victory was delivered on the back of unprecedented turnout levels among young voters and African-Americans in some of the key swing states.
John McCain, castigated in recent weeks for turning his back on the centrist ground that made his name, produced a gracious concession speech. Taking personal responsibility for any mistakes in his campaign he said: "We must work together to get this country moving again."
Although many commentators viewed this election as
unwinnable for John McCain, given the state of the economy and George
Bush's unpopularity, there is no doubt that Obama ran the better,
tighter campaign. He raised unprecedented amounts of money from
millions of Americans and single-handedly kept the US advertising industry
afloat at the start of a recession. But he also energised a new generation
of activists and supporters. HIs positive messages of change, coupled with
the anthemic refrain 'Yes we can!' have touched a nerve in American
politics that has lain dormant for many years.
But heading into a recession, and engaged in two wars
around the world, it will take more than high-flown rhetoric to lead
America during the next four years. Obama is riding a wave of optimism,
but now the task will turn to making sure that it doesn't ring
hollow.
Five moments that defined the US
election
"I'm just a hockey mom"
Sarah Palin burst on to the national scene in a blaze of
glory, wowing delegates at the Republican Convention with her small-town,
red-state values and plain speaking oratory. It was a sign, said the early
polls, that the game had changed in McCain’s favour. But after a month of
gaffes, flubbed interview questions, merciless satire from Tina Fay and
rows over her wardrobe, it seemed that McCain’s Palin pick had raised as
many questions as answers about the candidate’s judgement. Was Palin
a decisive factor in the election? You betcha!
"I am suspending my
campaign..."It
was the economy, stupid. With recession looming, foreclosures rocketing
and unemployment rising, blame fell on the Wall Street fat cats and their
Republican friends in Washington. Running as a Republican candidate
(even a maverick one) this year was never going to be easy, but October’s
financial meltdown made it almost an impossibility for John McCain. When
this was compounded by questions about the candidate’s judgement over the
suspension of his campaign, Senator McCain’s poll numbers started to
mirror the plummeting Dow Jones index. But, unlike the big banks, nobody
was able to bail out John McCain.
"I'm Barack Obama, and I approved this
message"
The money spent on US campaigns is always mind-boggling,
but the long campaign that came to an end yesterday was expensive even by
Washington standards. Over $2.4 billion in total has been spent on the
primary and general election campaign, the bulk of it by Barack Obama, who
shattered previous fundraising records. Although he was rightly criticised
for rejecting public funding (after promising that he wouldn’t), Senator
Obama was left with a massive financial advantage going into the last few
weeks of the campaign. He outspent his rival by around 3-1 on television
adverts and was even able to broadcast a half-hour prime-time infomercial
last week. In a country where money still makes the world go round, the
cash shortfall made it very difficult for John McCain to stay
competitive.
"Just
who is Barack Hussein Obama?"
This was supposed to be the ‘decent’
campaign, between two sensible, moderate candidates. But the gloves
came off when McCain spinmeister Steve Schmidt decided that the path to
the White House ran over what was left of Barack Obama’s character. Did
the Illinois Senator ‘pal around with terrorists’? Was he a terrorist
himself? A latte-sipping elitist communist? An advocate of infanticide?
Republicans said these questions were valid because the country knew too
little about the man who would be their leader; Democrats called it
desperate. But the Dems themselves were not blameless, with adverts
questioning Mr McCain’s ‘erratic judgement’, historical scandals, and
irascible temper. As with every other campaign in history, neither side
covered themselves with glory when it came to decency.
"They get bitter, they cling to guns or
religion"
When Hilary Clinton left the race after the primaries, the
pundits predicted that the 'culture wars' which had defined American
politics for decades would be a thing of the past. But the election was
again a tale of two Americas - Barack Obama was overheard remarking that
small-town voters are "bitter", while Sarah Palin raged at the
"coastal elites". Some Republicans even suggested that there was a "real
America" and an "un-American America". For all McCain's previous centrism,
and Obama's pitch to be the candidate of the entire nation, this election
proved that the country remains the Divided States of
America.
|
PRESIDENT-ELECT OBAMA
 Barack
Obama was born in Hawaii in 1961, to a white American mother and a
Kenyan father. After his parents separated he was largely brought up
by his maternal grandparents in Hawaii.
He
graduated from Columbia University from where he went onto become a
community organizer for a Chicago church-based group, helping poor
South Side residents cope with a wave of plant closings and running
voter registration programmes.
Growing
disillusioned with his ability to affect change, he then attended
Harvard Law School, and in 1990 became the first African-American
president of the Harvard Law Review. Graduating with a Juris
Doctor, magna cum laude, he turned down a prestigious judicial
clerkship, choosing instead to return to Chicago to practice
civil-rights litigation and neighbourhood economic
development. He also began teaching at the University of
Chicago Law School.
In
1995 his first memoir, “Dreams of my Father,” was published, in
which he explored his mixed racial background. His
second book, “The Audacity of Hope”, discussing his political values
was published in 2006, earned him a Grammy for Best Spoken Word for
the CD version.
Obama
was elected as a Democrat to the Illinois Senate in 1996,
representing some of the poorest areas of Chicago’s South Side. In
2000, he was heavily defeated by incumbent Bobby Rush in a
Democratic primary run for the US House of
Representatives.
In
2004 Obama was elected to the U.S. Senate as the freshman senator
from Illinois, and gained national attention by giving a rousing and
well-received keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention
in Boston.
In
February 2007, Obama announced his candidacy for President.
The Democratic primaries were particularly hotly contested, with
Hilary Clinton only conceding after every state had elected
delegates. While the contest had been drawn out, it helped
Obama’s campaign establish extensive ground operations across the US
and to build up an historic fund raising operation. This was
invaluable in helping President-Elect Obama cross the finishing line
in the race to the White House.
MY YELLOW
AMERICANS...
|