Image by jmtimages via Flickr
am not going to try to write a long intellectual entry on what happened last night. I can only post snapshots on we witnessed. My feelings are still too raw. I woke up this morning, like in 2000 and 2004, with a knot in my stomach; expecting a different outcome. I rushed to grab my morning paper to make sure it was all real. That today wasn’t Election Day and I just dreamt that Sen. Obama had won over 330 Electoral Votes.
It was real.
It did happen.
Senator Barack Obama is our President-Elect.
My 5 year old, who has been an Obama fan since last Spring, kept asking me this morning, “Did Obama really win?” Through tears, I said “Yes. Yes he did.”
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I spoke to some of my older family members last night. The constant refrain was, “That young man did it. He ran a great campaign and didn’t let anyone tear him down. I never thought I’d live to see this day.” They reminisced on growing up in segregated towns in the South and Midwest. One 92 year old cousin, in Arkansas wept as he talked about he had to keep his head down, just so he would stay out of trouble, “Today, I hold my head high, like Obama did throughout his campaign.” I cried.
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Sen. McCain’s concession speech, was the most classy concession speech I think I’ve ever witnessed. Even though from July on he ran the exact same campaign Sen. Clinton did, his concession speech was exactly the one she should have given in June.
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The first black President won this election without the Self-Appointed Godfathers of Blackness. We didn’t have to see Rev. Jesse Jackson or Rev. Al Sharpton pontificating on our TVs last night for the first time in my lifetime. Rev. Jackson was shown, tears streaming down his face, as he stood with thousands in Grant Park.
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Scholars will study the Obama campaign forever. Not just political scholars, but in business classes, PR majors, technological studies. Every tool out there was used, even abused if my text messages and emails are any indication. The branding was simple and consistent, from slogan to font, to color. The business acumen of where and how to raise and spend money, would make many major corporations jealous.
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Social media came into its own this election cycle. Twitter broke most stories before even blogs had a chance to write up something. This election cycle belonged to black bloggers. It seemed that they alone were taking advantage of social media tools, not just to announce new posts, but to organize GOTV and appearnces. It was a simple way for them to stay in contact with their readers outside the blog and get more on-the-ground reporting from around the country.
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I still haven’t received my shirts from the Obama-Biden campaign. I’m sad.
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The ground campaign of Obama’s was probably the best of any campaign ever. Speaking to friends who worked for the campaign and speaking to people who volunteered from the campaign, they all said the same thing, “This is the first election where people from DC who had never stepped foot in my town, didn’t come in to tell us how it is. They gave us ownership and listened.”
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A few weeks ago, Republicans started whining about how Democrats shouldn’t have a majority because that would be dangerous for the country. All of a sudden they despise the idea of one party controll the Administrative and Legislative branches of government. I’m still trying to find where they were so distraught about this in 2000 and 2004. It’s a disengenious arguement and insulting to my intelligence. Republicans need not fear. Democrats do not govern to abuse power. A Democratic majority will have it’s hands full rolling back and repairing the damage of the last 8 years.
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Best quote of the night, after the election was called for Sen. Obama: “Meanwhile, in D.C., two guys named George and Dick have placed the single largest order for industrial strength paper shredders that Office Depot has ever had to fulfill.”
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When I had heard that Fox News (!) had called Ohio for Sen. Obama, I thought I was going to faint. When I saw that he had also won Florida, I had to sit down. Thank you to both states.
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I can only hope that we never have to hear or see the hatefulness that is Gov. Sarah Palin.
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And finally, we’ll never learn what Republican voters liked about Sen. McCain. It’s a testament to spin, that when asked the most intelligent offering was the tired, “Obama’s a socialist/radical/communist/Muslim”. That never explained McCain’s appeal.
