President Obama!



I actually didn't believe this was possible. But it is. America will have a half-black, African/American (because I refuse to say that he would be black or African-American, just a matter of principle...) president next year.

Tonight I went to two different places to follow the elections results: first to a huge Democrat party in midtown Manhattan, where there were just too many people and I had to escape to a smaller bar in Lower East Side. The fist photo is from the big party, and the other one is from Stanton Street in LES (Lower East Side) where somebody (maybe a Republican?) apparently lit a motorcycle on fire, causing two fire trucks to rush on the street. In the subway a couple was reading a fresh copy of the Daily News with a cover of a smiling Obama - very quick action for the press if they really released it at 1 a.m. already!

I just returned to my home in Harlem and I can still hear people shouting "Obama!!!" outside on the street six floors below me. Overall, I'm sensing that people feel more relieved than exuberant. I heard many people say they are proud to be Americans again or that their country has been given back to them and that the change is coming, obviously, as Obama's campaign promised.

I am not so sure about the change, but one thing is for sure: most of the world is happy for America today. However, Obama's daughters might be the happiest little girls in the world right now, being promised to have a puppy in the White House...

But, almost half of the country did not vote for Obama. Most of the white, religious, less-educated and anti-abortion people did not want him to be a president. African-American, university-educated, non-religious, liberal Americans got what they wanted. Next year will show if Obama is really what he promised to be and what they needed. I can say to be definitely happy for this country, with reservations. Nothing will really change before people change their attitudes - yes, we can? I hope so. We'll see if tomorrow morning we wake up in a communist country, with statues of Lenin on the streets: Obama was labelled as a Socialist, after all.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Mielestäni Riikka yksinkertaistaa liikaa jakoa Obaman ja McCainin äänestäjien välillä. Vaikka nuo mainitsemasi erot ovat varmasti totta, ovat muutkin syyt vaikuttaneet: perinteinen puolueuskollisuus, käsitys USA:n roolista maailman turvallisuuspolitiikassa sekä keskushallinnon vallasta ovat syitä, jotka saavat myös koulutettuja ihmisiä McCainin taakse.

Toisaalta, Obama sai yli 6 miljoonaa ääntä enemmän kuin McCain. Se on iso ero, joka valitsijamiehissä korostuu entisestään eikä onneksi jätä tilaa jossittelulle. Johtuen vaalitavasta Yhdysvalloissa erot tuppaavat jäävän pieniksi, vaikka jommman kumman ehdokas olisi kuinka huono.

Hienot vaalit, ja eurooppalaisesta (erityisesti 'liberaalin' Pohjois-Euroopan) näkökulmasta tulos oli mainio. Obama teki mielestäni oikein korostaessaan olevansa myös republikaanien presidentti. Ja McCain vakuutti Obaman olevan myös hänen presidenttinsä. Tärkeitä sanoja, joiden merkitys punnitaan kun Obama alkaa luotsata maataan kohti (toivottavasti) parempia aikoja.
05 November, 2008 10:47
Riikka said…
Noin yksinkertaisesti jako esitettiin myos CNN:n vaalivalvojaisissa hienoilla diagrammeilla - suurin osa aanista meni noin ("does not go to church", "college-educated" -> suuri osa aanista Obamalle), mutta moni aanesti Obamaa myos vain siksi, etta ajatus Sarah Palinista presidenttina oli liian pelottava :)

Harmillista, etten jaksanut eilen enaa Harlemiin loppuyosta - siella oli kuulemma uskomattomia tunteenpurkauksia, uskonnollinen tunnelma ja 125.katu taynna ihmisia. Eikohan Harlemissa tosin juhlita koko viikko tata...

NY Times oli joka paikassa loppuunmyyty, ehka iltapainosta loytyy myohemmin!
05 November, 2008 17:03
Anonymous said…
Joo, minäkin katselin CNN:ää, ja diagrammit olivat hienoja. Valitettavasti ne yksinkertaistivat asiaa kovin paljon, ainakaan minä en huomannut koskaan käytettävän useampaa muuttujaa kuin kaksi, joista toinen oli aina "kumpaa äänestää". Olisi ollut mielenkiintoisempaa nähdä, ketä kirkossa käyvät, korkeasti koulutetut, huonosti tienaavat, aborttia vastustavat ja Irakin sotaa kannattavat äänestivät. Niitäkin varmasti löytyi.

CNN:n vaalivalvojaiset "hologrammeineen" saivat minut kaipaamaan Tarmo Ropposta ja lyijykynää...
06 November, 2008 10:31
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