November 5, 2008 | Stuart Loh
They say that success is demonstrated best by how you respond when you get knocked down, and election night 2008 is how America responded
STANFORD, CALIFORNIA — November 4, 2008. The student lounge began filling up at 3.00pm, as the first polls around the country began to close on the East Coast. The flyers advertising the event said that no alcohol would be provided, but nonetheless, cases of beer and bottles of wine had been procured — though hopefully they would be used to toast to victory rather than drown our sorrows.
The mood was light and positive. Whenever CNN, or MSNBC called a state for Obama, people would cheer. When states were called for McCain there was silence, but, most notably, never were they any jeers or booing.
East Coast counting was well underway when I had to go to class just after 4.00pm, with some toss-up states shaping up to be a close battle. There was a large amount of distraction during a normally engrossing class on international deal making.
In class, I kept refreshing the New York Times’ “Big Board” summary page and various liveblogs and saw Obama’s EV count edge slowly up past 100, 150, and then 200. It hovered there for a while, with states such as Indiana, Missouri, Florida and North Carolina still hanging in the balance. Iowa fell to Obama. By 6.45pm, I was crawling up the walls as class ran overtime.
I got back in time for the 7.00pm round of polls to close to find that the student lounge was standing-room only. It was relatively uneventful for that hour, but we were kept entertained, not least of all by reporters appearing “via hologram” on CNN. There was the occasional cheer as various other less-crucial states were called, but the real lead up came just before 8.00pm, when the West Coast polls were due to close. Obama was still about 60 EVs short of hitting 270 and anticipation was growing in the atmosphere.
As CNN counted down the seconds to 8.00pm, the crowd joined in.
Five. Four. Three. Two–
The projector screen went blank. A second of confusion, then the first boos of the night. The television feed had been lost.
A second later, the screen lit up again and the news was emblazoned all over the screen: CNN had called the Presidential election for Barack Obama!
Pandemonium.
The room erupted in mad cheering. Everyone leapt out of their seats. Arms were waving in the air, hands were clapping, people were hugging. There was hollering. There was hooting. There was laughing. There were tears.
Years of waiting, and for many supporters, years of hard work, released in a torrent of unforgettable euphoric emotional catharsis.
And all around the nation, the same theme was being played out. From Grant Park, Chicago, to New York City, to Colorado.
Students celebrate as the 2008 Presidential election is called for Barack Obama at the Stanford Law School Student Lounge, California
McCain was magnanimous in defeat.
We adjourned to the campus bar to watch Obama’s victory speech, and as he came on stage, the cheers burst out once more. As he spoke, everyone fell silent. And then he electrified the crowds — in Grant Park, at our bar, and all across the country — as he had been doing for months and months now. Another incredible display of oratorical brilliance.
Statistically, the win was no surprise. Despite the understandable fears of minority groups that this moment would be stolen from them and despite the worries with faulty electronic voting machines (come on, how hard can it be to design a reliable machine which doesn’t really do all that much?), there was no real surprise. But there was real suspense and anticipation. Real amazement and awe.
The more cynical among us pointed to the Americans carrying on like “typical” Americans, deriding the chants of “USA! USA!” and “Yes we can!” Some pointed to the fact that Obama was just one man in a nation with many problems without quick fixes. Some pointed to the fact that Obama would be bound to disappoint, and that the road ahead would be long. Some ask what the big deal was, since, was it really all that unexpected? Yes, it really was. Maybe not tonight, but think back to only one year ago. Six months ago. No, just a mere two months ago.
But this election was always more than just one man. That one man was the centerpiece for so much more. This election showed the world, but perhaps more importantly, the American people, that their country had moved forwards. That they were still capable of history-making progress, after years of non-change. It renewed their faith in the democratic process and in the way their system worked. Previous generations had great achievements such as the abolishment of slavery, desegregation, and the moon-landing. Now this generation has the election of Obama.
Yes, the election outcome is a means to an end. But the election outcome was also an end in and of itself.
Politics has always been a dirty game, but Obama scrubbed up the image. He refused to subscribe to the notion that it’s “just politics.” He had been criticized for being naïve in thinking that he could run for President and still keep a clean image. How many times was he called out for agreeing with McCain in the debates too much, repeating the words, “You’re right,” when McCain was right. How many times was he criticized for failing to rush to condemn Rev. Wright? Or criticized for not attacking more when Clinton and McCain turned to negative campaigning and attack ads? Not that Obama has been absolutely clean in this respect, but the contrast between him and his opponents was stark.
And who runs a campaign on the flaky concepts of “change,” and “hope”?
Obama showed to the jaded world that yes, perhaps idealism could prevail. Perhaps it’s not naïve to hope for a change to the status quo. That things don’t always have to go the way things have always been. Normally, those sentiments are reserved for the world of comic book superheroes and wishful thinking.
It’s not Obama’s policies that make him a once-in-a-lifetime leader. It’s the ability to inspire and rally a nation of people embittered and hardened by the challenges they faced in their daily lives. A President cannot help everyone, but perhaps if he can help them to help themselves, that is even better. And by lifting a nation such as America, it in turn lifts the world.
I saw last night an America filled with Americans who loved their country. And a world filled with foreigners who had an instant newfound respect for America. Despite the statistical inevitability of it all, the impact was not dulled by the realization that the new President-Elect of the world’s only superpower was an African-American with a foreign first name, the middle name of a dictator, and a surname that sounds like a terrorist. And not too long ago, they said it wasn’t possible. They dismissed it out of hand.
I always thought it was parochial to say that this story could only happen in America and no other country. But then I thought, what other country in the world has done what America has done? What other country in the world could do what America has done? Not in Europe, not in Asia, and not in Australia. Not today. In Kenya, the saying goes that it’s easier for a Luo (the ethnic tribe to which Obama’s father belonged) to become President of the U.S., than to become President of Kenya, in reference to the recent leadership conflicts between the Luo and Kikuyu tribes.
America has copped much justified condemnation and criticism over the last several years. But credit is due where credit is due, and last night was America’s night.
How can you remain cynical to chants of, “Yes, we can!” when you realize: Yes. They could. Yes. They did.
Stuart is based in Stanford, California.
Article posted
on Wednesday, November 5, 2008 at 7:42 pm in Politics
