Barack Obama Elected 44th President of the United States
On November 4, 2008, Illinois Senator Barack Obama was elected the 44th President of the United States.
By electing the first African-American President of the United States, America turns an important page in our history. Over 100,000 people celebrated in Grant Park, Chicago as the election results were announced. Barack Obama addressed the crowd, which responded with euphoric chants of “Yes, We Can!”
Obama not only won all of the traditionally Democratic states, he also won the key battleground states of Florida, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. New battleground states emerged in 2008, and Obama won them all: Virginia, North Carolina, Indiana, Colorado, New Mexico, and Nevada. Missouri was the only traditional battleground state that John McCain won.
The Obama campaign fulfilled the important goal of expanding the electoral map by winning states in the South and the Southwest. In Political Science, a “landslide” is when a candidate wins by more than 10%. Obama won an electoral landslide, defeating McCain 364-174. The popular vote was closer, with a margin of approximately 7%. Election officials are still counting the votes, and at this time the totals are Obama 63,893,037 (53%) and McCain 56,404,917 (46%).
Obama won for several reasons: widespread disapproval of the Bush administration and the U.S. economic meltdown made the conditions extremely difficult for John McCain. The Obama campaign was truly historic in assembling the largest grassroots organization ever in the U.S. Literally millions of people volunteered and/or donated to the Obama campaign. This led to many newly registered voters and very high turn-out for Obama on election day and even earlier due to “early voting” provisions in some states. Obama’s messages of hope and uniting Americans resounded strongly in a country tired of division and fear.
Analysts will continue discussing what this all means. The vote totals were very decisive but not overwhelming. Many states were very close, but the 2008 election was a much clearer decision than the extremely close 2000 and 2004 presidential elections.
The Democratic Party gained seats in both the Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives, building on the gains Democrats made in the 2006 congressional elections. The Democrats are projected to have a minimum of a 56-40 majority over Republicans in the Senate, with results for 4 seats still being counted. Democrats are projected to have a minimum advantage of 254-173 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, with results for 8 seats still being counted. Consequently, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-California) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) have increased their power.
The Obama administration and the Democratic Party clearly have a “mandate” to enact some important changes. Voters want and expect action. The Democrats now have the power and hold that responsibility. We will hold them accountable two years from now in the 2010 congressional elections.
Simply by electing Barack Obama, the image of the United States throughout the world has improved, literally over night. This is not enough and this is not policy. The Obama administration faces many perilous global circumstances. Establishing new U.S. policies in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan are key first steps.
Necessarily, people will focus mainly on the economy, and this is not a simple problem to solve. We have some short-term major problems and long-term major problems. The U.S federal government needs to do more to stabilize the financial markets and bring relief to the struggling middle class. We are likely in the beginning of a long, deep recession. Extending unemployment benefits and tax relief for the middle class are obvious first steps toward easing the pain. The U.S. must become more competitive in global markets and we need a strong and stable dollar. For both the short-term and the long-term, the U.S. economy must provide good jobs for the middle class.
The high costs of energy, health care, and education are long-term problems that have hampered the U.S. economy. We have an historic opportunity to restructure these vital sectors. This is likely where the political battle lines will be drawn in the early days of the new Obama administration and stronger Democratic majorities in the House and Senate. The success or failure of new economic policies will depend largely on the American people and Obama’s leadership abilities. A working majority of U.S. voters must support specific new policies in order for changes to occur and be effective.
John McCain gave a magnanimous concession speech, which included this call for unity:
I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next president our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together, to find the necessary compromises, to bridge our differences, and help restore our prosperity, defend our security in a dangerous world, and leave our children and grandchildren a stronger, better country than we inherited.
Whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans. And please believe me when I say no association has ever meant more to me than that.
The United States has changed. For the momemt, U.S. politics have shifted toward the left. It is up to the Democratic Party to work with the American people in forming new policies that will improve our country.
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