Friday, November 07, 2008

Welcome, President Obama

Paul Krugman, the New York Times columnist and Princeton professor who recently was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics, had an extremely poignant comment about Barack Obama's election. "If the election of our first African-American president didn't stir you, if it didn't leave you teary-eyed and proud of your country, there's something wrong with you," he has written.

I did not initially support Obama as the Democratic candidate. The party had an impressive lineup of candidates during the primary election race, each of whom, I believed, was far more electable than Obama.

My primary interest was to see the Republican candidate defeated. I recognized that Obama was an exceptional political figure. But I feared that bigotry would prevent an African-American from being voted into the White House.

Happily, I was proven wrong. The election of Obama demonstrated to the world that the United States is indeed a unique multi-racial and multi-ethnic democracy. His victory should restore the magnificent international image that we enjoyed until President George W. Bush's irrational and aggressive foreign policies destroyed it.

In response to Obama's election, American flags are once again being waved enthusiastically abroad rather than being burned in anger. Bigots are unfortunately still around in our country, but they have been defeated.

9 Comments:

Blogger Mari Meehan said...

They often speak of a new President's "honeymoon". This time the whole country is on one.

Friday, November 07, 2008 5:26:00 PM  
Blogger Lydia said...

Welcome, indeed. You mentioned American flags here. It's interesting to me that even my impression of our flag has changed. When my husband would put it out on our porch for holidays during the last eight years I had an aversion to flying it, to being in any way linked to those people who seemed to fly it with a middle finger extended to the rest of the world and to many fellow citizens. My feeling has completely changed with Obama's election. I saw Maya Angelou interviewed about the election and she sort of bubbled these words at the end: I AM an AMERICAN!

Friday, November 07, 2008 5:44:00 PM  
Blogger Sylvia K said...

Really like your new blog format, looks great. I read that piece by Krugman, too. It's been interesting to hear so many people express such feelings of joy and excitement, both here and around the world. It's a great feeling!

Friday, November 07, 2008 6:50:00 PM  
Blogger meanderings said...

Tears - yup!
Pride - yup!

Friday, November 07, 2008 8:39:00 PM  
Blogger Peggy said...

I think the election showed how much we have underestimated the voters in the US. I am so proud to be an American and it is so nice to feel like that again!

Saturday, November 08, 2008 5:43:00 AM  
Blogger Darlene said...

it's hard to come back to earth after Tuesday night.

Saturday, November 08, 2008 3:31:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yes, stirred to tears and wishing I had a ride downtown to be among the diverse crowd, cheering and hugging in gleeful celebration of change and moving forward!

Sunday, November 09, 2008 3:05:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Mort,

I worked at the polls here in Pennsylvania on Tuesday from 6:30 A.M. until 10:00 P.M. I am the Minority Inspector(minority meaning Democratic.) My district has 1,400 registered voters (60% Republican) and 1,200 people personally came in to vote and we had 70 absentee ballots.

At 8 P.M. we locked the doors and turned the keys on our three electronic voting machines. That triggers the tape to begin rolling which has registered the votes all day. When I looked at the first tape and saw Straight Democrat 345..Straight Republican 145 I tried hard to keep a poker face in front of the R's in the room. Then the votes of split tickets began to roll and they were 60-40 for Obama. Now I'm feeling a litle giddy. Next machine. Straight Democrat 456..Straight Republican 230. Splits are 55-45 Obama. I'm woozy. Almost the same results on the third machine. I want to leap in the air and give a cheer but I remain silent. The R's are watching with great interest but they are NUMB.. I'm jubilant inside; Good Bye Palin, don't let the door hit you in the backside as you leave for Alaska...

Now the Absentees are opened. 40 Obama..30 McCain. Be Still My Heart!!!! I knew then that it was all over for the R's.

I got home, exhausted, but thrilled to see the crowd in Grant Park,Chicago, waiting for Barack to appear and watching the huge screen that was counting up the votes.

Then, I heard the announcer say, "Pennsylvania has put Barack Obama over the top with their 21 electoral votes" and the crowd went wild, and for the first time that day, I cried. Then Good Old Ohio came through and that was the icing on the cake for me.

What a night. I'll never forget it.

Sunday, November 09, 2008 10:21:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Well said! I originally supported Joe Biden as my choice for Prez, but now I got a twofer. Obama's election is a turning point in political, racial, and cultural history. l
Wow!

Thursday, November 13, 2008 4:06:00 PM  

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