My Thoughts on the US Election

It is hard to express how I feel about the recent election of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States of America.  It is an amazing feeling of pride that I feel for my country.   I have been excited for other elections when my candidate has won but somehow this is different.  I believe that this election will have a transformational effect on the US and perhaps the world.

I have been obsessed over the election since the conventions.  It didn’t matter what country I was in during the past three months, I was constantly connected to my laptop.  If I had free time, I was exploring political websites trying to get the latest information.  Huffingtonpost.com, Politico.com, Fivethirthyeight.com, Dailykos.com, CNN.com, Dailyshow.com.  It didn’t matter--- if they discussed politics I was on it.

I think to some degree I was making up for the disconnect I felt about this election.  I am so used to be involved in campaigns whether my own or others that acquiring information was a way to fill the void. 

In August 2004, I was at the Harrison Roadhouse Restaurant and watched Barack Obama take the stage during the Democratic National Convention and give his famous speech.  Immediately after the speech, I called my friend Glen Brooks, who does community organizing with the Chicago Police Department, and asked if Obama was the real deal.  He responded that he was and that some day he would be president.  I don’t think either of us thought that night it would be four years later.  I assumed after a few terms in the Senate, Obama would be a formidable candidate.  I was still unsure if America was ready to vote for an African-American for the highest office in the nation but I thought he would be competitive. 

As we went into the 2008 presidential campaign cycle, I was on record as a Hillary Clinton supporter.  Though I liked Obama and found him inspirational, I didn’t think the country was ready to vote for him because of both his race and his experience. I guess I underestimated my fellow countrymen and women.

During my first two months of travels, I found Obama more and more compelling.  On March 1, 2008, a few days before Super Tuesday, I wrote a blog post that explained why I was changing my endorsement from Clinton to Obama.  I am sure neither campaign took any notice of my change but for me to change mid-stream was a difficult decision. The responses from friends ranged from disappointment to understanding. 

Here are a few paragraphs from that post.

"What I know is that Obama brings hope to the people of my county.  He brings hope to the world.  We elected a guy for the past eight years who hadn't left the country for his first 40 years on the assumption that he would surround himself with good thinkers. I have no doubt that Obama will surround himself with the best thinkers.

I WAS a Clinton supporter.  I believed after 2004 she could get elected.  I did the electoral college math and knew she could win the election.  She could win Ohio-Florida.  I just wanted a Democrat to win.  Our country needed a change.  I still believe she would be a good president.

Last night I changed.  It is hard for a politician to change.  As the former Mayor of East Lansing, I am on the public record supporting Clinton.  I know for some I will be a traitor.  I know for others I will have joined the bandwagon late.  But I have never cared what they thought- I believe in what I believe.

I am now an Obama supporter.  You do not know how hard it is write this.  I have grappled with this my whole trip.  I justified who I supported because she could win but now I believe there is something bigger. Obama will bring people back to the process. Even if he loses he will make people believe in government again...Travel changes people.  It has made me more idealistic."

Because of the time difference, I watched some election coverage right as the East coast polls closed before I went to sleep.  I woke up a few hours later and Obama was still leading in the Electoral College tally but hadn’t made it to the magic number of 270.  I knew my friends were at election parties and a few were headed to Grant Park to hear Obama speak win or lose.  I was missing home. 

I was torn because I wanted to watch the results but I needed to join my fellow volunteers on the bus to head to the village where we were building houses for Habitat for Humanity.  Almost all of the volunteers in my group were Obama supporters and though the election hadn’t been called there was a buzz and sense optimism.  Everything was falling into place.

As we drove through the crowded streets of Bangalore, India, a few in the group were trying to get data connections for their I-phones.  We needed information and final confirmation.

Then my phone rang.  My cousin had given me an extra phone so I would have one while I was in India.  My aunt, who lived had in New York for many years before heading back to India, was screaming on the phone.

 “He did it, Sammy, he did it.  He won.  He won.  CNN has called the election.”

Shortly after that call, my uncle a former member of the Indian parliament, called to wish me congratulations.  After that my mom called.  It was the first presidential election she voted since becoming a US citizen in 2005.  He had won.  HE HAD WON!

After that first call from my aunt, I had looked back in the bus and saw my fellow volunteer, Patti, who was wearing a MoveOn.com/Obama t-shirt, raising her hands in victory.  The I-phones were connected and the news had hit.   It is the visual that I will remember when people ask me where I was when I heard Obama make history.

It was at that moment that I realized there was no better place for me to be but on that bus.  Though it would have been great to hear Obama’s acceptance speech live or be with campaign volunteers in East Lansing, I was exactly where I needed to be.  It was fitting that I was in a foreign country heading to a volunteer project.  It is everything that the Obama campaign represents for the future.  A new direction in foreign policy.  A stronger commitment to civic engagement.  I was proud to be on that bus.

Comments

[cathi o]

It was an amazing time in Grant Park! I heard your wife Sangeeta was there with two men to make up for your absence. As a minority from one of the whitest cities in the US, Obama is such an incredible symbol of what can be achieved. I'll be proud to call him my president.

[Allison]

I love hearing about your experiencing the election from over there. Here, it's also change. People are more friendly, people are smiling, hopeful and wanting to gather together. Just wanted to let you know we're holding the hope alive in EL :)

[S.Chittenden]

This is first time I've voted democrat. If, in 4 or 8 years, we regret the choice we've made I'm heading to your house and I'm going to kick you square in the stones. Yes it will hurt, but I'll buy you a beer when it's all said and done.

[Robin]

It would have been so much fun to be with you for the final moments, in a room full of screaming supporters, visionaries and idealists... but I am so very glad that you are where you are. I was sitting home, all by myself, kids all tucked in bed... In the quiet of the night, my world changed as intensely as yours did on a bus full of new friends in a foreign land. I watched all the speeches and when Barack was done all I could say was, most sincerely, "Thank God." It's a whole new day.