---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Sukla Sen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
[It was around 9 45 in the morning in India. Obama has just crossed the 270 mark. The TV screen, on BBC channel reporting on the election results, fleetingly shows a teen-aged Black girl, obviously an Obama supporter, quietly drying the corners of her eyes. Moments after, prehaps a minute or two, I see Jesse Jackson streams of tears rolling down his eyes. No, he is makes no effort to wipe it out. He just keeps lightly chewing his index finger with the customary intent look on his face. What he tried but couldn't achieve (was it ages back?) has now been achieved. At least almost. No, he does not appear to be cribbing. When at about 10 30 (IST), Obama, the lanky one with fairly booming voice, announces before a huge crowd in Grant park, Chicago, "Change has come to America!", Jackson's intent face is again on the screen. Obama tells that the road is long, the climb is steep, but Yes We Can! Many young, and not so young, regardless of colour of the skin breaks into the chant: Yes We Can! Obama tells that the power of America is not in its armed might or scale of wealth but in its ideals. The crowd, estimated to some 125,000 cannot agree more.. Today's event, is by all means, is at least as momentous as the fall of the Berlin Wall. No, the history cruel slavery, the history of world's arguably the ugliest racist oppression just does not vanish into thin air with wave of this magic wand - the result of the presidential election today. But it constitutes a sharp turn, opens up enormous possibilities to rewrite history on a new page. Tears in the eyes of the teen aged black girl, tears in the eyes of Jesse Jackson, tears in the eyes of so many others - both black and white -are testimonies to those possibilities and constitute a watershed in modern history.] http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/?hpid=topnews Posted at 11:10 PM ET, 11/ 4/2008 *Obama Rides 'Change' Message To The Presidency* Barack Obama becomes the first African American to wwin the presidency, changing the political map in the process. Barack Obama's victory tonight affirms a fundamental re-shaping of the electoral map that has dominated American politics for the better part of the last decade. The Illinois senator capitalized on a strong desire for a shakeup in the status quo and a deep dissatisfaction with the current president and direction of the country to score a historic win across the political landscape. Obama's victory was both broad and deep; he won hotly contested states in every corner of the country from New Hampshire in the Northeast, and likely Virginia in the South to Ohio in the Midwest and New Mexico in the West. The win also marked a re-ordering of the political map as Obama ran surprisingly well in a series of states -- Virginia, North Carolina and Indiana to name three -- long considered to be Republican strongholds at the presidential level. In broadening the electoral map, Obama made good on a pledge from early in his campaign to break the traditional red state/blue state divide into which the country had been split since the closely contested presidential election of 2000. Early indications were that the senator from Illinois would enjoy significantly larger margins in the House and Senate as well. Senate Democrats picked up four seats early in the night -- North Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia and New Mexico -- and seemed likely to claim victories in Colorado and Oregon as well. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) narrowly held on in a tough race against Democrat Bruce Lunsford while appointed Sen. Roger Wicker (R) appeared likely to hold his seat in Mississippi. Those two Republicans wins are likely to keep Democrats from winning the 60 seats in the Senate that would allow them to break Republican filibusters. On the House side, Florida was an early center of action with three incumbents -- two Republicans and one Democrat -- losing. The Democratic domination in the Northeast was furthered by Jim Himes' victory over Republican Rep. Chris Shays, and two easy open seat victories in New York. But the story of the night was clearly Obama, the first African American nominee of either party and now the first black man to be elected president of the United States. The keys to Obama's victory are myriad but two factors stand out: the remarkable unpopularity of President George W. Bush and the Democratic nominee's massive fundraising edge. In the national exit poll, just 27 percent of those surveys approved of the job Bush had done as president while roughly three times that number disapproved. While McCain did his best to separate himself from the tarnished Bush brand, exit polling in key states showed he had not done enough. In Pennsylvania, more than half of all voters said McCain would be a continuation of Bush policies and that bloc went for Obama by a 90 percent to 10 percent margin. Obama's massive financial edge is the other critical factor that stands out when analyzing his victory. Obama opted out of the public financing system early in the summer and by September and October it was clear he had made the right political choice -- outspending McCain on television at a three- and four-to-one clip in key battleground states. Obama's financial edge also guaranteed him a large and effective ground operation, a turnout effort that proved crucial to his narrow margins in some of these swing states.. Much will be said and written of this race in the days, weeks, months and years to come. But, what is clear tonight is that the man and the moment have met. Barack Obama is the next president of the United States. Peace Is Doable ------------------------------ --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth?hl=en-GB -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
