The 2008 election was an interesting one. Never had I seen the American people so involved and excited for an election. But the greatest reason was the variety in the mix: an African America junior senator from Illinois with hardly any experience, an ex president’s wife and New York state senator, and a veteran and one time prisoner of war. The campaigns started fiercely and I saw politics for what it really is. Every one was airing everyone’s dirty laundry. If you are not into American politics I will give you the breakdown. If you are a conservative, you are Republican with the color Red. If you are liberal, you are a democrat with the color Blue.
I watched all four debates and came to a conclusion after seeing the first two. The democrats had a plan. A plan that did not waiver each time a camera was in front of them and if the election was fair, they deserved to win. Obama came under criticism as the media attacked and labeled him as unpatriotic because he didn’t put his hand on his chest during the national anthem. They criticized his status and citizenship wondering if indeed he is really American as they questioned his birth certificate. That his middle name is Hussein did not help issues. Some media reported even that he is in cohort with terrorists and he is Muslim. Of course the Republicans jumped on that bandwagon using that for some of their campaigns and commercials. His fights back were his key quotes “Yes we can”, “We need a change from the last 8 years”. He reassured the people and had a relief plan for the middle class-no tax increment. He had a plan for health care-affordability, education and energy which were top priority for him. He was smart enough to focus his campaign on key states like Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio, Iowa and Virginia that hadn’t voted democrat in years. In the end, it pais off.
The Republican Party failed for many reasons. The first being that they were fighting a battle that was greater than them (the economy had collapsed in the hands of a republican and Americas are scared). Americans are not living in fear of terrorisms anymore. They are afraid of not having a job, losing their home, and being in huge debts with no way out. The second was their strategy which showed that they failed to plan. McCain started out aggressively attacking Obama and this made him less popular among the people. Thirdly, they failed to disassociate themselves from Bush who is Republican so the question to the Republican ticket was how are your policies different from Bush’s policies? No one gave a clear cut answer.
When Clinton lost during the primaries and Obama picked Biden as his Vice President, McCain decided to make Sarah Palin his Vice president. The strategy behind this was to get women on his side and have sympathy votes. But it backfired. Not only was she a drag on the Republican ticket, she was clueless. This was obvious in the way she answered questions during interviews and how she avoided questions during her debate stating several times “I don’t know what you are talking about but I am gonna answer what I want to”. She tried to hide her ignorance by winking at the camera several times as if it were a beauty pageant (oh I forgot she was once a contestant at a beauty pageant) .While Biden provided answers to questions asked and gave solutions to some of the problems plaguing the country. I asked myself after the debate considering McCain age that if something really happened to McCain could I trust Palin to be my President and the answer was an emphatic No and I think this also caused some people to vote Democrat.
On the night of the elections result, the crowd at Chicago Park went wild when he won. People cried for joy, men wept like newborn babes, while others were speechless. I sat on my bed in disbelief. He won by a landslide-turning predominantly Red states Blue. We cannot talk about this election without talking about race yet there were all kinds of people at that park: White, Black, and Latino folks, young and old. I was in shock that Americans could rise above race and embrace something new and different. McCain’s concession speech was generous and graceful and I think his popularity shot up 10 points at the polls. If only he had started out this way.
I cannot write this blog with failing to mention people who took heat for their belief especially Republicans who publicly declared that they were voting Democrat. I did not understand the enormity of this election until I heard that Christopher Buckley lost his job over this election. He writes for the National Review (a predominantly conservative magazine founded by his father) and when he publicly declared his endorsement for Obama giving a detailed explanation of why, many readers and contributors expressed their displeasure and anger. He offered his resignation from the column which was accepted by the editors. This election has given me hope and faith in the American populace. But really why did the Obama-Biden ticket win? Was it because most people were sick of watching the economy crumble, losing their homes and jobs they decided to go right? Was it because the incumbent Republican Party had failed to draft an economic plan or pacify Americans? Even if the Republicans lost, they would have been able to minimize their loss and prevent it from going down history as a land slide.What ever the reason I have realized that there is really power in the people and I am humbled by the whole experience.
