]It was around 9 45 in the morning in India. Obama has
just crossed the 270 mark. The TV screen, on BBC
channel reporting on the election results, fleetingly
shows a teen-aged Black girl, obviously an Obama
supporter, quietly drying the corners of her eyes.
Moments after, prehaps a minute or two, I see Jesse
Jackson streams of tears rolling down his eyes. No, he
is makes no effort to wipe it out. He just keeps
lightly chewing his index finger with the customary
intent look on his face. What he tried but couldn't
achieve (was it ages back?) has now been achieved. At
least almost. No, he does not appear to be cribbing.
When at about 10 30 (IST), Obama, the lanky one with
fairly booming voice, announces before a huge crowd in
Grant park, Chicago, "Change has come to America!",
Jackson's intent face is again on the screen.
Obama tells that the road is long, the climb is steep,
but Yes We Can! Many young, and not so young,
regardless of colour of the skin breaks into the
chant: Yes We Can!
Obama tells that the power of America is not in its
armed might or scale of wealth but in its ideals. The
crowd, estimated to some 125,000 cannot agree more.
Today's event, is by all means, is at least as
momentous as the fall of the Berlin Wall.
No, the history cruel slavery, the history of world's
arguably the ugliest racist oppression just does not
vanish into thin air with wave of this magic wand -
the result of the presidential election today.
But it constitutes a sharp turn, opens up enormous
possibilities to rewrite history on a new page.
Tears in the eyes of the teen aged black girl, tears
in the eyes of Jesse Jackson, tears in the eyes of so
many others - both black and white -are testimonies to
those possibilities and constitute a watershed in
modern history.]
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/?hpid=topnews
Posted at 11:10 PM ET, 11/ 4/2008
Obama Rides 'Change' Message To The Presidency
Barack Obama becomes the first African American to
wwin the presidency, changing the political map in the
process.
Barack Obama's victory tonight affirms a fundamental
re-shaping of the electoral map that has dominated
American politics for the better part of the last
decade. The Illinois senator capitalized on a strong
desire for a shakeup in the status quo and a deep
dissatisfaction with the current president and
direction of the country to score a historic win
across the political landscape.
Obama's victory was both broad and deep; he won hotly
contested states in every corner of the country from
New Hampshire in the Northeast, and likely Virginia in
the South to Ohio in the Midwest and New Mexico in the
West.
The win also marked a re-ordering of the political map
as Obama ran surprisingly well in a series of states
-- Virginia, North Carolina and Indiana to name three
-- long considered to be Republican strongholds at the
presidential level.
In broadening the electoral map, Obama made good on a
pledge from early in his campaign to break the
traditional red state/blue state divide into which the
country had been split since the closely contested
presidential election of 2000.
Early indications were that the senator from Illinois
would enjoy significantly larger margins in the House
and Senate as well.
Senate Democrats picked up four seats early in the
night -- North Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia and
New Mexico -- and seemed likely to claim victories in
Colorado and Oregon as well. Senate Minority Leader
Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) narrowly held on in a tough
race against Democrat Bruce Lunsford while appointed
Sen. Roger Wicker (R) appeared likely to hold his seat
in Mississippi. Those two Republicans wins are likely
to keep Democrats from winning the 60 seats in the
Senate that would allow them to break Republican
filibusters.
On the House side, Florida was an early center of
action with three incumbents -- two Republicans and
one Democrat -- losing. The Democratic domination in
the Northeast was furthered by Jim Himes' victory over
Republican Rep. Chris Shays, and two easy open seat
victories in New York.
But the story of the night was clearly Obama, the
first African American nominee of either party and now
the first black man to be elected president of the
United States.
The keys to Obama's victory are myriad but two factors
stand out: the remarkable unpopularity of President
George W. Bush and the Democratic nominee's massive
fundraising edge.
In the national exit poll, just 27 percent of those
surveys approved of the job Bush had done as president
while roughly three times that number disapproved.
While McCain did his best to separate himself from the
tarnished Bush brand, exit polling in key states
showed he had not done enough. In Pennsylvania, more
than half of all voters said McCain would be a
continuation of Bush policies and that bloc went for
Obama by a 90 percent to 10 percent margin.
Obama's massive financial edge is the other critical
factor that stands out when analyzing his victory.
Obama opted out of the public financing system early
in the summer and by September and October it was
clear he had made the right political choice --
outspending McCain on television at a three- and
four-to-one clip in key battleground states. Obama's
financial edge also guaranteed him a large and
effective ground operation, a turnout effort that
proved crucial to his narrow margins in some of these
swing states.
Much will be said and written of this race in the
days, weeks, months and years to come. But, what is
clear tonight is that the man and the moment have met.
Barack Obama is the next president of the United States.
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