Election Day 2008: Fired Up and Ready to Go, UPDATED: Victory for OBAMA!
Last night Senator Barack Obama was elected the 44th President of the United States! Woooooooo hoooooooo! Sorry had to get that out there. It was such a triumphant and remarkable moment in our nation’s history that marked a new dawn and a new era for America and for the world. I’ve had the privilege of going to one of the best universities in the nation, to work for one of the top companies in the world, and achieve many things without much resistance…but last night at 8PM California time was the first time in my life that I truly felt like anything is possible in this world! I couldn’t be more proud, more inspired, and more optimistic by these results. Finally we have a President that represents all of us and a man who will bring prestige and honor to the rest of the world. We went from “Yes we can” to “Yes we did”! Here is Obama’s speech last night in case you missed it.
What does this election mean to you? Where were you at when you heard the results?
*Watch “Fired Up and Ready To Go”, Obama’s closing remarks before election day
Election Day officially kicked off in the US with the first results coming in from two New Hampshire towns. As is tradition the towns of Dixville and Hart begin voting at midnight and release their results minutes later. Barack Obama won in both towns, both of which went for Bush in the last two elections. In Dixville Obama beat out McCain 15 to 6 votes to become the first Dem candidate since 1968 to capture the town’s win. In Hart Obama received 17 votes to McCain’s 10 with 2 votes going to Ron Paul.
Watch the Dixville results:
Today millions of people will hit the voting booth to make their voices heard. Regardless of who you support, it is damn near impossible for anyone to not believe that result of the past 8 years of disastrous Republican rule has been hell. We need to fundamentally change the trajectory of this country. That is why I will be gladly and proudly voting for Senator Barack Obama! I plan on hitting the polls at 7AM, then spend the rest of my day following every single development of the day.
So anyway…to kick off the day, I have a videos that I think are fitting for the election. First up…and I know this is going to seem odd coming from me but I have to go with Eric Clapton’s “Change the World” featuring Babyface. I know this isn’t a political song, but this is one of my all time favorite songs and the title and the upbeat vibe of the song is appropriate for today.
Perhaps what could be considered the most powerful and far reaching video of the election is Will.I.Am’s brilliant “Yes We Can”. This video has inspired millions and it’s a great way to get the day started. Please, please, please do not let your apathy or cynicism win out over hope and the belief that change is possible. Exercise your right and VOTE! This is the most important election in decades and whether you believe it or not you cannot afford to sit this one out.
What are your plans for election day? Do you plan on voting in the morning or later in the day? Come back to share your election day voting stories. What are you seeing at the polls? Are you noticing higher voter turnout at your precinct? Are more of your friends and family voting? How are you feeling about what day means for our country?
Posted by Reecie
I went before work to vote, right when the polls opened. It had just stopped raining in my part of LA county (Long Beach), but that didn’t stop people from forming a line before 7am.
This election turnout is already huge. Let’s go Obama!
If you’re in Los Angeles I’ve seen reports of free Krispy Kreme, Ben and Jerry’s and Starbucks.
So…I got up bright and early to go vote this morning when the polls open. Me, my mom, and my brother all decided to go to the polls together. I brought my camera and made sure I took pics in front of the polling place and shot a little video after we voted to document the moment. The line was out the door and we ended up waiting about 20-30 minutes. My neighborhood is Obama country and everyone was excited and enthusiastic about casting their vote.
I was sooooooooooo proud to vote for Sen. Obama and Sen. Biden! But at the same time I was super cautious making sure I checked, and double checked, and triple checked to make sure that I voted Obama and not some other fool. One of the important propositions on the ballot was Proposition 8 which I voted against. We are on the verge of election the first Black President and that shouldn’t coincide with writing discrimination and bigotry into our state’s constitution.
This is now my third election and this is by far the greatest that I’ve felt voting. When I got in the car I played “Change the World” and then turned to the Steve Harvey Morning show and danced along to “Ain’t No Stopping Us Now”….how fitting!
Make sure you guys go out there and VOTE! Make your voice heard so you can tell your kids and grandkids that you were a part of something historic!
http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v355/121/91/5301662/n5301662_36776941_1905.jpg
Written from my iPhone this morning:
It’s beautiful. I am in line with about 500 people out here at 7am in the morning - http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v355/121/91/5301662/n5301662_36776436_1189.jpg
I live in a predominately black neighborhood - and to see all shades of blackness in unity to support one man had to be the closest feeling to marching with MLK back in the 1960s. Personally, I think that this morning meant more than the Million Man March.
People have been out here since 6am in the rain. I am all for Obama but I’d rather be late to work than wet in the rain. LOL.
It’s also a mini battleground here. Right at the no solicitation line, it’s the prop 8 extremists passing out info.
In California, Prop 8 is the right to eliminate same sex marriage, which is arguably the most important bill on the ballot due to it’s authority to amend the Constitution to limit what people can or cannot do. I, personally, think that the state should call gay marriage something like…like garriage. That way religious folk can be content with marriage being between a man and a woman and gay folks can have the same legal privileges as married folks. Homosexual couples can say “We are happily garried” or “We are going through a givorced.” Sounds weird, but it would work.
Funny thing is…I walked out of my apartment and saw license plate that said “OBAMASI,” which means “Obama Yes.” (Click here to see -
http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v355/121/91/5301662/n5301662_36776433_3386.jpg)
And I understand why people decided to vote early or vote absentee. However, there is nothing like the Election Day experience. It’s the difference between listening to a live recording and attending a concert. How great is it to walk around with your “I Voted” sticker? As a friend’s FB status said…”it’s like getting ash on ash Wednesday”. - http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v355/121/91/5301662/n5301662_36776924_3514.jpg
Now, I am enjoy my free coffee from Starbucks for being a proud voter.
My initial plan was to leave work early to vote later on this afternoon. But I’m happy I decided to stop by my polling station to see how the line was at 7am. Since I live in a little area called Hacienda Heights, the line was just starting to form at 7am. It was less than 30 minutes before I was able to cast my vote (for the 1st time in California) for this history-rocking election that I’m so happy to be a part of! Then it took me another hour plus to get to work in Long Beach. :o)
Let’s keep Obama and his family in our prayers!
lmao@ “garriage”…that’s clever! People would probably still hate though.
I say if you want to ban gay marriage to “protect traditional marriage” then ban divorce. People want to point to the bible and say gay people are sinners, but married people supposedly pledge their union til death do you part…so my problem is with the hypocrisy of people’s attitudes about the sanctitiy of marriage. Traditional marriage has been made a complete mockery of by millions of straight people…and I think that is far more damaging than letting gay people get married.
It is important to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. Gay marriage doesn’t affect me personally, but setting a precedent that writes in discrimination into my state’s constitution is a slippery slope that I don’t want to get on. People should learn to be more tolerant of other people and live and let live.
Anyway…great pics thehonorable. Everyone else feel free to share your pics!
I went to my precinct around 6:15 this morning and it took about two hours to cast my ballot, and I was the 89th voter. There was alot of new voters, and people that hadn’t voted in a while that made it a little longer wait on my side. The line for the other district was barely existent at times (I got work to do!), while my side had a consistent number of people coming in. I was happy when I got to class that there wasn’t many people there, and the people I talked to had voted, or planned to do so later. I’m hoping everybody reaches their poll in time so they will be able to vote, and I hope more everyday people start getting involved in the political process so true change is more out to happen.
Reecie - you make a great point. The best way to protect traditional marriage is to ban divorce. Not to get biblical, but the only reason for divorce is in a “traditional marriage” is marital unfaithfulness, which implies sexual immorality. It’s funny how word “traditional” is promoted in this campaign…and it’s assumed association with “religious” - yet, being traditional and being religious are not one-in-the-same.
Yet, the beauty of this country is the freedom we have the choice to do what we want, no matter what someone else may think is right or wrong.
That’s why I voted against Prop. 8. It has NOTHING to do with marriage or my sexual orientation. Prop. 8 will never effect me in any way (even though the Prop said that it could have an impact on CA Sales Tax) because I will “traditionally” marry a fine black woman (hopefully, as stunning as Michelle Obama). I voted against Prop. 8 because I don’t want the state to have more control over my choice of freedom.
I co-sign thehonorable. You hit the nail on the head to the exact point I aws driving home…we are free in this country to live our lives with who we see fit and nobody should be forced to stay married or prevented from getting married.
Oh yeah and Rae welcome to Cali voting!
Thanks Reecie!
BTW, I was the 29th person to vote at my precint.
My husband and I voted this past Saturday…..OBAMA Baby!!!!
Today’s my birthday so Sen. Obama winning would be a GREAT gift!!!!!
Happy Birthday Denise!!!! Obama winning would be a super dope gift to you and to us all.
J- 2 hours for 89 people? Wow that seems hella slow! I was reading that in NY they have voting machines where you have to pull a lever…that’s super archaic!
I like how we do it out here which is by scantron ballot.
Wow am so excited! I can’t wait until OBAMA officially becomes president of this country today. I voted last week and am asking everyone else out the to exercise to their right and VOTE!!!
@ reecie and mr h just wanted to say NO AM NOT DEAD…..just incase you were wondering. And by the way RIRI looked HOT in that TI vid. LOL
JW I was beginning to wonder about you and figured if this post didn’t cause you to turn up then I would have to email you or something. Glad to have you back!
I went to vote @ 2pm and I was #1366 which was a huge difference from the primary election. My kids wanted me to wait for them so they could go with me to view this historical day. I was surprised at how emotional I was after placing my vote. I pray Sen. Obama will be PRESIDENT. We need a change, USA is in some serious trouble and I don’t think McCain/Palin will be any help in helping us recover.
Reecie, we have electronic voting. There’s a dial you turn to place the cursor on who you want to vote for. Instead of voting straight party ticket like I did, most went through each one, then they also voted in some of the extra things that were on the ballot. Some people just weren’t prepared, and got confused with some of those things. The staff tried to get extra machines, but precincts were crowded all over the city so we had to deal with it.
I’m glad enough people got out in KY for Obama to where we don’t look so one sided, and stereotypical, even though McCain has won KY. I just heard on PBS (on a local election show) that we have the lowest number of African Americans in the southern states at 7 percent, and the commentator said that we would never turn to a blue state because of the level of education in KY.
I feel so misrepresented by KY at times, but it’s home, and I’m proud we got out to the polls. Hopefully I’m not up for too long tonight. Pray ya’ll.
@ reecie na i wouldn’t leave out my favorite site! Am watching this election very carefully at this moment and Obama is doing really good and i hope that that continues until he FINALLY becomes our president. I was so excited at work yesterday that i yelled out to two white nurses ” aren’t you all glad that we will be having our first black President, am soooo happy”.
One seemed enthusiastic but the other didn’t utter a word. Another employee nudged at me ( a black one) to keep quiet and that i shouldnt have said that because they would not be happy about that. but at that moment when i said that i didn’t care what color or race and still dont ‘ the individuals were. I was just and still am excited about this historic event and will continue sharing my excitement about it with every one out their regardless of who they are. Anyways it is so cool that you actually got to stand so close to him. I hope one day i will get to meet him too. Take care and enjoy yoursef tonight when OBAMA BECOMES OUR FIRST BLACK PRESIDENT OF AMERICA!!
@ reecie, WE WON WE WON WE WON!!!!!!!!!
OBAMA IS OUR PRESIDENT! am just going to cry right now because am so happy. Our ancestors fight was not in vain. We now can say that without a doubt, even more than ever before.
That acceptance speech was truly magnificent
OBAMA… you have made our country proud
Yes we did!!!!!!
I am still in awe!
Change is here!
My generation has now made our mark on history…
I am so proud to be black in america
There is something that Barack said not too long ago that really reflects right now, it was something like “i try not to let the highs get to high and the lows get to low”…this is an amazing moment..but Barack’s speech reflected the fact that we have a long way to go. If you notice it wasnt celebratory, he was calm, stern and assertive about the fact that this is a great moment in not only black history, but also American history, but lets not get ahead of ourselves.
So lets celebrate the moment, but come tomorrow we have a lot of work to do..and I say we because Barack can not bring upon change alone…as he said during his speech “this moment alone doesn’t bring change, it only gives us the chance to bring change…”
whoooooo
one day i’ll be able to tell my kids/grandkids i was alive when this happened. i think i’ll leave out the part about how i was in the shower when they announced the results though
they dont need to know about that part.
incredible. i am still glowing from the outcome of this election.
My favorite part was at the end when Biden and Obama’s family were hugging and talking to each other..we need unity in the world…hopefully they can bring that
Yesterday was the most cracking election day I’ve ever been a part of. After scrambling all day to find the perfect venue to watch the election results I was able to recruit thehonorable to join me after work at a restaurant not too far from where the official LA Obama party was being held.
When we got there the music was soooo loud, but every screen was turned to the election returns so I was ok with it. The best part is that they offered free tacos, a free shot of tequila, and a buy one get one free happy hour drink (I got two mojitos). So yeah…needless to say I was hella juiced! My mom joined us and before long it was time to head over to the official party. Over 14,000 people RSVPd so I wanted to get there early to secure my spot inside.
We got there and boy must I say it was INCREDIBLE! There were thousands of people there and everyone had a shirt, sweater, bag, button, or Obama sticker. People were buying shirts and putting them on right there in the middle of the room! lol. I picked up my drink tickets, thehonorable went to the bar and got us some drinks and we were on our way to the ballroom. The music was great, the energy was amazingly cheerful, and the crowd was so diverse and lively. We cheered as each projection was made and at exactly 8PM Cali time we roared with approval and cheers as Obama was announced as the next President.
Another cool thing about the night was that the party featured the artist behind the magnificent and iconic branding of Obama’s image. That was great!
Overall…certainly a night to remember, one for the history books and one of those defining moments in life that you want to savor in order to recount in meticulous detail for your kids and grandkids one day.
Last night was incredible. It was great watching history in making. All those ignorant people who think Obama is a muslim planning to take over America can eat a dick. Success if the best revenge.
To quote Sarah Palin: We didn’t lose the election we just came in second place.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBN6jdn0VQg&eurl=http://hypebeast.com/
I know this is an Obama post, but I just wanted to say I’m disappointed Prop 8 didn’t pass…this victory is bitter sweet for me. I’m not gay, but I know many gay people that deserve equal rights. Hopefully, this is just a generational thing and within the next few years as youger people take more control, gay people will have all their rights too.
katherine, i think you mean you’re disappointed that it did pass. Prop 8 moved to ban gay marriage, being against it was the better thing- to some at least. personally, taking rights away from others is jacked up and since it doesn’t concern anyone but those getting married, it really shouldnt have been up for debate. but as far as i know, it is still going on, since there were a lot of absentee ballots that still need to be counted since the actual voting day votes were close-ish. or something like that.
and, of course, congrats to obama.
yes, supdiddle you’re right, it was a typographical error..thats what I heard too, but i’m still very concerned about what this says about our country. We rejoice at the equality seen by Barack Obama’s presidency, but then in the next moment we take the already existing rights away from others. I feel like we only completed half of the job…
yeah, i figured that’s what it was. and yeah, but at least we’re moving in the right direction. tolerance has to start somewhere, since it cant seem to all come together at once, so why not let it start with the president himself?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSUEbdebWjY
Now that the hype has somewhat died down and not to take away the enormity of what has happened over the past few days I like to make a few observations.
First of being mixed and growing mixed is a hard thing. Sure you can afford to be and roll with a particular culture or flavour or eat a particular type of food when you feel like and that’s the beauty of it but the bad aspect of it is that you get sneered at and disrespected because you are just what you and you have no bearing over that – and that not only causes depression and anxiety its creates an identity crisis. So first off, commend that.
Second, what’s really irked me about the conclusion of this campaign is the side issue that somehow now black people feel empowered and have a mandate to do and be who they want to be – i mean its so cliché , you’re cliché-ing the cliché and its just ridiculous to hear that coming from prominent people within business and industry. What it boils down to is individual or community responsibility and as I have posted before the whole charade undermines and adds insult and injury to the history of black struggle and black entrepeneurialship because people tend to put people into boxes without knowing the truth of the matter.
But this more than anything is a culture thing and most races, I know mine, are guilty of it in some way or fashion (I see it, I hear it and I hate it). It’s funny because when it comes down to it a culture can come together so readily and so quickly and in masses to vindicate an individual perceived to be treated unjustly and yet when it comes down to the minor or trivial issues there is so much bickering and backstabbing and political posturing that it undermines the capacity of a culture to move forward and become more than what they are – especially when there’s money involved. People are so stuck in the past and are so stuck in their ways of doing things that it brings down others who are wanting things to be different and for things to be fair and equitable. And it’s the culture within the culture that needs to change.
Obama is the closest thing to the President of the world (in some respects his hands are tied and he is damned if he does and damned if he doesnt) and his achievement should be a reminder to everyone that being lazy won’t get you anywhere in life. It is your self-doubt and laziness that will define and limit who you are. The same can be said for John Mccain. Most people would have been too readily to write him off but it’s pretty incredible the tenacity and spirit he has showed throughout the whole culmination and timing of the campaign. Any innuendo and fears about his capacity and age are crushed. And his story is a compelling one also. His concession speech was commendable also.
When the smoke clears and the dust settles, that fact shouldn’t be oversighted.
and hip hop to some extent has been partially responsible in perpetuating the myth as evidenced by most of the tracks that have been flooding the internet as of late.