dawn_felagund | Obama Just Won the Election ...

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I am stunned and delighted! WOO! HOO! (as my neighbor just yelled!)

*joins you and your neighbor in a hearty WOO! HOO!* :D

Squee! I told myself I wasn't going to look at any election news until tomorrow morning (remembering how much fun 2004 was :P), but I couldn't resist and just about fainted when I saw Obama's number go past 270. :D

I know! I was completely prepared to go to bed with most of the battleground states "too close to call" and not sleeping well and waking up to a snafu ... When the commentators said that they were coming back with updates at 11, I figured that vote counts were in for one of the battleground states. When they put a notice up that Obama had been elected 44th President of the U.S., Bobby and I both stared at it for about five seconds without saying anything. I kept waiting for it to go away with an, "Oooops, that was a technical difficulty ..." but it didn't go away. It took a moment for the news to sink in, since I was not expecting anything like it so early.

2000 will always be my nightmare election. I remember sitting in Bobby's room--we still lived with our parents--watching each state come in and celebrating when Gore won Florida and so "won" ... then it was retracted. I remember watching all that like it was yesterday. I'm glad my third Presidential election turned out better than my first and second! :)

I KNOW!!!!

And he was so crazy gracious!

Huzzah! :D

He's such a wonderful speaker. I thought his speech was great (and, actually, McCain's was great too).

(nod) I seriously think both of them were being genuine when they spoke well of each other. :) I think they should have parties & have dance offs together! XD

Were you watching 11 news when the "44th president" thing showed up? Because i thought it was an "oops," too, that they were testing images or something & accidentally put it up, because it was so early. I didn't flail or anything because mother was right there (i my cynical reputation to keep & stuff, yknow), but i was definitely in amazement. :}

(Tiara Tango for the occasion. ;D)

Congratulations!

...from a very very very relieved European...

Thank you. That relief is definitely shared! :D

Wooooooooooo hoooooooooooooooo! Congrats! :D

Thank you, thank you! *joins you in mad!crazy celebration*

There may still be some cringing. Obama is a laughing stock in Britain.

It's funny because I've never seen or heard anything but good things about Obama in the UK. Everyone I know and everyone I talk to, no matter how much or how little they know about American politics, understand that a vote for Obama was a vote in the right direction.

I've never heard or seen any bad remarks. I'm sure there have been a few, not everybody is going to like or agree with him, just as not every American likes or agrees with him, but I think to say he is a "laughing stock in Britain" is fairly misguided.

He's a well educated, very well spoken, decent man who has great ideals and ideas, who believes in equal rights for all and who has made not only America but a lot of nations believe for the first time in eight years that something great can be achieved.

Beautifully put, Kirsty. Thank you. :)

Hmmm. With all due respect--and full admission that I'm not in the UK (though I have family that is)--I do question this. I have received nothing but supportive comments from European friends, and while I realize that family and friends can hardly represent all of Europe (much less the UK, which is unlike continental Europe in many regards), I think "laughingstock" might be a little too strong. I've no doubt that there are people who didn't/don't support his candidacy all over the world, but he's a smart and articulate man; his election represents, for many people, the final breaking of a major racial barrier, a barrier that many countries "ahead" of us have yet to overcome. I fail to see what one could find in that worth mocking, much less believe that the majority of a Western nation would come away with such an interpretation.

But, if this is the case, just imagine the fun that would have been had with Sarah Palin ... ;)

Maybe it's just amongst the kind of people I know and the kind of comedians I listen to, I freely admit, I haven't asked everyone in the country. His rhetoric rings hollow to ears accustomed to Blair and we can't understand how he got away with talking to people, particularly the black voters, as if they are stupid.

Believe me, Sarah Palin is even more mocked and despised. She makes Bush look bright and I know of at least one comedienne who will be devastated that she lost.

One thing that astounds me is that after all that endless fuss, he's still not even President. Over here, the new Prime Minister moves in the day after the election. Dragging it out until January seems very strange.

Sorry for taking so long to reply, but I got hijacked by Real Life (tm), ridiculous things like having to pick and dry fennel seed. But I wanted to reply to your comments since I really appreciate that you've made them. :)

His rhetoric rings hollow to ears accustomed to Blair and we can't understand how he got away with talking to people, particularly the black voters, as if they are stupid.

I haven't heard enough of Blair to comment on the differences, and my laptop doesn't have a sound card so I can't even prep with a half-hour or so on YouTube! So I can't offer much there, but I did find it a bit surprising that Obama is seen as talking down to people because I didn't get that impression at all. There was something of a rousing debate over here (embarrassingly enough) by (Republican) voters who thought that Obama was "too smart" and "too intellectual" to be President. These are the people that Palin was brought on to woo ... But anyway, that had more to do with his association with academia (from teaching law), I think, than his mannerisms. There was the unfortunate quote where he said that many Americans "cling" to guns and religion to overcome the insecurities in their lives, and he was called out on that--perhaps rightfully for poor word choice, if nothing else--but that is the only example I can think of, and it was more talking about people as though they were stupid than talking down to anyone.

Do you think this impression has anything to do with his tendency to speak slowly and almost haltingly? This is the primary Obama mannerism impersonated on SNL, as far as I can see. Personally, I rather liked this about him: His sentences actually make sense, which is rare among American politicians these days, and he appears to be thinking about every word and not reading off of a cue card. Even McCain, in many of the debates, despite his years of experience, would start a sentence and then end on something completely different. I'm hypersensitive to words; this drives me nuts.

Over here, the new Prime Minister moves in the day after the election. Dragging it out until January seems very strange.

I don't know well enough how your system works, but it makes perfect sense given our system. It is less obvious in this election--which Obama clearly won--but consider that in 2000 and 2004, the votes of a single state determined the election. And those states were very close. It is now a week after election day, and there are some Congressional races that are still being counted. Or, in the 2000 Presidential election, all of the court cases and investigations into the vote count in Florida took until January.

Now, maybe our system is wonky ... I'm inclined to agree with that. I understand the principles on which it was founded (which have to do with giving large, sparsely populated states in the middle of the country an equal say against the densely populated states on the coasts) but not that I necessarily agree with them. 2000 showed that the majority of the country could favor a candidate, and that candidate could still lose. But I am going off on a tangent ...

Anyway, my point is that having the new President take office the day after the election would never work in this country give the number of votes there are to count and the system used to determine the winner.

I should also point out that the racial angle is far more important in America than in Britain. We think of Obama as a politician, not as a black politician. Same with Hilary Clinton, a politican, not a female politician. When the democratic candidate thing became a question of whether they were more troubled about a woman getting in power or someone who's black, it didn't look good.

However, I am glad that if America was breaking boundaries it didn't decide to do both at once with the ghastly Rice woman.

To put the race issue as it stands for the US into perspective a bit ...

During the Democratic primary, 1 in 6 white voters in Pennsylvania said that race was a factor for them in their decision between Obama and Clinton. 75% of them voted for Clinton. These are scary numbers when one considers that the Democratic party is the liberal party (the Republican party still being saddled with vocal racists) and that Pennsylvania is hardly a backwoods state. Or ... 12.5% of Pennsylvania Democrats are willing to admit to pollsters that they are racist? I dread what the numbers would look like for midwest Republicans.

When I used to put together information on security threats on recent prison releasees for my job, each month there were several from the KKK, White Supremacists, Neonazis, and other hate groups. This is Maryland; this is one of the most liberal and progressive states in the country.

Or, hand in hand with that, there is one county in Maryland that shall go unnamed where two of my black coworkers refused to serve warrants because of the level of KKK activity there.

Or my (black) future brother-in-law was turned away from a job because "we don't hire people like you here," in pretty much those exact words.

So, racism is not something that we have gotten over. Believe me, I envy a country where this is not an issue and hope that one day I can claim with confidence that I live in one.

Which is why Obama's election was such a symbolic victory for people, like me, who care deeply about civil rights and view our country's racist past and present as a terrible embarrassment. It does, in many ways, represent people's ability to finally see past his skin color to judge him on what he has to offer as a President. I hope that it is a first step in putting our lingering prejudice behind us.

I hesitate to draw comparisons between race relations because there are too many factors to make tidy parallels and they can quickly become unfair. But a way to think of the US electing a black man as President as the UK electing an Indian man as PM.

Watching Presidential election results come in should count as aerobic exercise!

That's why we went to bed ;) I am glad that a fresh wind is coming!

I don't blame you! You would have been up till 5 a.m. since the announcement was made at 11 p.m. EST! I would have been asleep by this point if I wasn't being carried on adrenaline and hot chocolate. ;)

I'm so proud of our country right now. :)

I so totally agree with you. I began Bush's reign ashamed of him (and the f*ckup that put him in office) and the people that were following him and, over time, slowly began to grow ashamed of my own identity as an American. I wondered sometimes if I really fit in the culture of my own country, particularly when--early in the general election--McCain and Obama were so close in the polls. I wondered what it took for people to get over the hate and fear that turns so many voters to Republicans ... and wondered if they could.

I also worried that we would see another Florida in 2000 or Ohio in 2004, where voters' voices weren't being heard. I didn't think that I could be part of a country that continually, at that point, elected presidents through dishonest and unscrupulous means.

But ... Obama not only won but won by a huge margin, enough that I feel, for the first time in a long while, that I share many of the same values as my countryfolk.

(I know, this was a ginormous reply to your relatively short comment, but your comment sums up how I feel so well that I had to write a novella explaining why. ;)

Congratulations! It's crazy how many Canadians over here are happy about this too. ;D

Yes, I've been awed at how many non-US friends reply to my LJ posts or tell me in emails how excited people in their country are about Obama. I do feel rather sorry that our election coverage is foisted on everyone else ... but I'm heartened that Obama has the support of so many people around the world. It's been a while since our president had that ... it's a good feeling. :)

Obama is very interesting news so no worries. And my American colleagues' very passionate water cooler talks about him put Obama in my "radar" as early as March (?) when he was still competing with Hillary.

Congratulations!

Thank you! (Have some Feanorians ... ;D)

Hehehe--thanks! They're with me constantly nowadays--each demanding more smut scenes for the Bond fic I'm working on.

It's not even my country, and I am ecstatic (for all my wise words about not being starry-eyed, etc). *hugs* Go you.

Thank you! *hugs back* Most of the people who have posted here so far aren't even US citizens, so you're not alone. As I told

a_wayfarer in the comment above yours, it's wonderful to have such support from the rest of the world for once. ;)

Yes, after eight years of pity and scorn all the love (and jealousy *cough*) you're getting now must be a wonderful change!

Everyone at university was vaguely euphoric yesterday, when the news were certain. We didn't even talk about the elections, but people were grinning like idiots all over the campus. The joy and cheer and celebration must have produced enough positive energy to save the planet, should Obama's determination, brains and charisma not be enough. ;)

That's just so very cool. I've watched a lot of documentations on the elections in the last few weeks/days and even though there seemed to be an obvious tendency towards a democratic vote in a lot of states I couldn't really believe in Obama winning until it really happened. And such a clear vote, too - more than two thirds! Woohoo. :)

~~... and then he's rather attractive, too...~~

P.S. (totally OT!): I know it's been some time since you sent it, but thanks for the pretty postcard from the UK! Incidentally, not only did I come to your mind when you were visiting Gothic churches, I also had to think of you every time I saw a pretty illumination in the museums of Florence (which I still will have to do a post about...). :-D

I couldn't really believe in Obama winning until it really happened.

That was me too! Bobby can tell you that I have been a nervous wreck for weeks. I was anxious all day yesterday. I kept feeling like something would happen that would keep Obama from the presidency ...

So now Bobby gets to gloat that he was right and I was wrong in my anxiety. Let him gloat! ;)

~~... and then he's rather attractive, too...~~

Lol, yes he is! He is the first presidential candidate in my history as a voter who doesn't have some goofy mannerism or facial feature that bugs me. (Biden's teeth, McCain's "wind-tunnel face," Palin's ... everything.)

You're welcome about the postcard! :D As for illuminations ... *envies* I've only seen a couple in person, at the Met this summer, though they were very shiiiiiny ... ;)

Great! We're all very happy for you (and relieved). Congratulations

Thank you! :D Relief seems to be a common feeling about this election all over the world ... ;)

THANK GOODNESS!!!! I was honestly worried, even though headlines and stuff said Obama was favored. I just couldn't quite believe it - it seemed to good to be true. But he did win! :D

I didn't find out until this morning. As my friend said, it was kind of like Christmas - you have to go to bed to make it come and hope you get a nice present! ;)

Even my Dutch roommate said she'd have cried if McCain had won.

Hear hear! I was terribly worried as well; Bobby can attest to how uncharacteristically gloomy and anxious (characteristic, though for a different reason ;) I've been over the past few weeks. Months.

I love your Christmas analogy! But you're, what, six timezones ahead of me right now? The result came in (most unexpectedly!) at 11 p.m. EST. That's 5 a.m. your time? Now if you were like Bobby was as a kid on Christmas, you would have been up and bothering your parents by then ... ;)

I'm glad I got to stay up for it. I would not have slept otherwise, and I was worried that it would be so close that it would take all night to get the battleground results in. And, hey, your second-home state went Dem for a change! :D

Yep, six! I stayed up til about 2, but then HAD to sleep. So up by 5 wasn't going to happen. ;)

Then my Italian professor asked, "State contente?" The answer was a resoundingly relieved "SI!"

I saw!! Go state, I'm so proud! And my first-home state was pretty darn close, considering!!

I guess now when I go to England in December (which I have irresponsibly decided to do), I won't have to state "seeking political asylum" as my reason for entering the country! ;)

I'm not surprised that Obama won - he seems like a decent chap, on the whole. So did Tony Blair, to start with, of course, but there's no reason to think that Obama won't really be what he seems, I suppose. I'm just surprised that so many people voted for McCain and Palin, and for Bush in '04 and '08. What do people see in them?

You've asked the million-dollar question, I think. :) My personal theory: I think that it comes down a lot of times to religion. I can see, based on the Republican party's platforms, three major groups of people who would vote for them:

Classical conservatives who believe in the party's traditional advocacy of fiscal conservatism, personal responsibility and liberty, and states' rights.

Rich people or owners of large corporations who like the tax breaks that the Republican party tends to grant, which largely favor them, and the Republican party's belief in deregulation.

"Moral" voters who are drawn to the Republican party's embrace of issues like abortion, same-sex marriage, abstinence-only sex ed, teaching creationism in schools, and so on.

Bush really drew on the third group. He was a born-again Christian and an evangelical; he was vocal against abortion and stem-cell research and other issues that draw the 20-33% of Americans who identify as evangelical to that party. I have seen compelling arguments made for the fact that evangelical voters tipped both the 2000 and 2004 elections in Bush's favor.

McCain the "maverick" had never pandered to the religious right before it behooved him, as the Republican nominee, to do so. Even so, it felt hollow, like pandering. I personally think that Palin's appointment as the VP candidate was in part to address the party's fear that the evangelical voters who won Bush two elections would stay home for McCain or turn to third-party candidates.

I think the Palin pick backfired, though, because while Bush had connections to the intellectual conservatives and big business through his family (so the first two groups of Republicans were comfortable voting for him, despite his wonky religious views), Palin spat in the faces of both of those groups, especially the "intellectuals," many of whom were beginning to sour on the Republicans anyway, since the party has advocated the exact opposite of fiscal conservatism, personal liberty and responsibility, and states' rights.

Unfortunately, there is a large bloc of people in this country who bitterly despise intellect and who, therefore, embraced mush-mouthed imbeciles like Bush and Palin for being "just like them." Palin spent much of her campaign running on the premise that she represented the "heartland" (despite being from Alaska ... but we already knew she was geographically challenged) and an "outsider" who didn't need things like foreign travel to qualify her as a candidate (and the nerve of anyone to challenge her on that! Stuck-up liberal intellectuals!) I think that because these voters' core values are based on irrationality, then candidates like Obama and even McCain who are largely defined by their intellect and rationality don't appeal to them.

That's my very unqualified and simplified take on things. :)

I suppose it's quite common for non-intellectuals to be suspicious of anyone particularly clever, simply because they wouldn't understand complex and possibly mathematical reasoning. OTOH, people in this country according to the latest polls are now more keen on 'intellectual' Gordon Brown than the more populist leader of the opposition, even though it's Brown's policies of overspending during the good times and changing the official measure of inflation when the current index goes too high that got the UK into its current financial mess. Never mind the whole U.S. sub-prime mortgage business - just because banks in the USA were lending money to people who would find it very hard to repay it is no excuse for the UK to follow suit (any more than it was with Iraq). I guess that when things get tough, more people are ready to trust the boffins (even bungling ones)!

she of the brown dusty attic-smelling wings

Obama Just Won the Election ...

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