(Or, Yes. We. Did.)We did it. After eight years of mind-numbing bullshit, we finally have a new leader. It is a truly historic day that I'll never forget.
Growing up, my memories of presidential elections drew exclusively from the fact that they were so close to home: first with Michael Dukakis, a former Massachusetts governor, in '88; then Paul Tsongas, a senator from my hometown, Lowell, in '92. That year, Clinton defeated Tsongas in the primary and went on to become President. So aside from assuming that all presidents had to somehow originate from my home state (foreshadowing unsuccessful runs by Kerry and Romney), politics were not a priority in my life. This trend would continue into adolescence.
As the Clinton years went on, I began to develop a better idea of the importance of the position of President of the United States. Despite my admitted lack of deep political knowledge, I tried my best to at least maintain a basic grasp on the situation. Playing saxophone, good. Sex with interns, bad. Compared to Bush Sr. and the Gulf War, impeachment hearings for a paltry semen stain seemed silly to me. I couldn't see what the fuss was about. I suppose hindsight really puts things into perspective. None of this was more apparent than in 2000, the year I cast my first ballot.
Now, we all remember that year with mixed grief, disbelief and anger. In my dorm room at UMass, just as we began celebrating Gore's "victory" with skunked beer spilling on ruled notebooks, what would become one of the worst presidencies in American history had begun. It's a little unnecessary to rehash the details of the past two terms. The entire world is painfully aware of those realities. In retrospect, I find it interesting that my formative adult years are inextricably bound to that presidency. Pretty much all of our lives were influenced by it. So for me, this current election was - and probably will remain - the most important in my lifetime.
In the days and months leading up to Election Day '08, it felt like the most excruciating countdown to the most uncertain decision at the most unstable time ever. Lofty. Even though the general mood in the final days was positive, everyone knew that we couldn't rest until it was official. We had all been fucked at the last minute before, mind you. For me, this felt like the final inning of Game 7 in a Red Sox/Yankees playoff series that we were *just* about to win, with me hanging off the edge of my seat, knees shaking my ankles into the floor, mouth agape and eyes glued to a TV screen. Maybe it's this Boston mindset ingrained in my psyche, but I just can't rest easy until the outcome has been confirmed by at least ten separate media sources, a victory parade has been scheduled and a trophy or speech has been given before a crowd of cheering onlookers.
Bright and early on the morning of November 5th (i.e. late Tuesday night in the US), over a hundred compatriots and I played hooky from work and set up camp at a local American bar, fueled with heaping breakfast plates ("Breakfast with Barack" har har), free flow caffeine (sorry, ran out of coffee, only have Coke), and enough Chinese "Obama 奥巴马 2008" swag to make a killing on eBay years from now. The energy was high, though that nagging uncertainty still overshadowed my mood.
Affirmative Action Wet Dream
Viv and Neil: Obama's Biggest Campaign ContributorsThe crowd was a big old mix of Americans, who would summarily hoot and holler their hometown allegiance whenever CNN announced their state's winner. While mostly white, there was also a healthy dose of black folk, some ABCs, and an Indian dude. Even a few witless Republicans somehow managed to wander in thinking it was just an "American" gathering, not an explicit "Obama" gathering, the idiots.
Malone's First Floor
Ebony and Ivory! Perfect Harmony Starts Now
This Kid Loves Obama(and, on a side note, boogers too. I saw him eat like 10 in the span of a minute!)
The Friendly Local PhotogsWatching CNN, I felt like we had tuned in to the wrong channel. At points it felt like Monday Night Football, with the booming music, swooshing sound effects, and overblown anchorperson shouting. I was half expecting a CGI football to go flying past Wolf Blitzer's grizzled head, hitting Anderson Cooper in his pretty face. Then the very next minute, like New Year's Eve in Times Square, with the ominous CNN PROJECTION (TM) graphics counting down the seconds until the next batch of states were announced. I got a few laughs from the scant coverage of the Republican base in Phoenix, especially their frenzied boys choir performance. Wow, they sure bring out the heavy hitters. My personal favorite bit came during the insanely hallucinogenic hologram segments. If you haven't seen it yet, CNN basically beamed in anchors from different cities via freaky 2-D hologram, Star Wars style. Like Leia in A New Hope, even Black Eyed Peas frontpea, Will.I.Am, made a quick cameo.
"Help me O-ba-Ma Kenobi, you're my only hope!"(Certainly I couldn't think that I was the only one that thought of this within the first 2 seconds of seeing this awesome advance in technology?)
At the start of the coverage, I expected a nailbiter. However as each hour passed and state after state proved their ability to vote for the right guy, the possibility of a landslide had me secretly grinning like a fool. But I didn't want to jinx anything, so the anxiety and nervous shaking continued.
At noon, about 11PM US time, CNN's hyperactive "Breaking News" animation flashed across the screen for the first time.
Barack Obama Elected President
The room exploded in celebration. As Stevie Wonder blasted through the speakers, it was pretty much official. Seeing the screaming (and crying) crowds in Grant Park, Kenya, and before my eyes in Shanghai, I too was moved to tears. We finally did it, together, and it felt so damn good.
Watching Obama's amazing speech in Chicago, before a crowd so massive that you'd think Lollapalooza was back in town, I couldn't help chuckle to myself at the sight of all those white people nodding their heads and shouting out "Yes we can" in response to Obama, gospel church style. In addition to hope, he's also going to inject the country with soul ~Mmm-hmm, das righ'~ Needless to say, the speech was moving and emotional to watch, but seeing Oprah leaning on that fat white dude just pushed me over the edge. Hand me more tissues...
Although it's going to be a rough start, I believe Obama can bring the change he's promised. Hopefully he doesn't get as much criticism as Taiwan's Ma Ying-jeou, who not only shares an alma mater with Obama, but also has the astronomically unfair expectation to clean up eight years worth of accumulated shit in a very short span of time. [Editor's note: they are both also dashingly handsome and quite eloquent too.] In the very least, we'll be able to reclaim a more positive image in the global community, which is something every expat American can be thankful for. Though I will truly miss the inspired comedic soundbites that spew forth from Bush's retarded mouth, it is time for a change. My dear friend, Jigga, summed it up best by saying:
I've never felt this proud to be an American. I have a feeling I'll be telling my grandchildren about this monumental day: the day a black man, nee, a fellow halfie, became President of the United States of America.
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